Vino Novello 2008. Cantine Tollo and Miglianico

November in Abruzzo is a good month. We get our first taste of the year’s new olive oil - emerald green and peppery; the sweet chestnuts are are gathered in sackfuls for roasting on open wood and charcoal fires; and best of all, around the middle of the month, all the local cantine release their Vino Novello.

(One’s great - one’s not so great. To discover whether it was Tollo or Miglianico who carried off the tasting honours, click on the main headline title above !)

Aglianico del Vulture. ‘Corte dei Reami’. Cantina di Venosa. 2004

You’ve probably come across wine made from the aglianico grape before as it’s the red wine grape across a great swathe of southern Italy. Pretty harsh and tannic when it’s young - but a different story entirely when it’s got a bit of age to it.

The example comes from Venosa, a town of great antiquity in the north-east corner of Basilicata, and is produced by the local co-op from grapes gathered from around 500 local growers. This 2004 will have accumuated three years in barrel and bottle before release and is just hitting its stride nicely.

(Click on the headline title above for more on this delicious red wine - with pictures !)

Torre di Giano. Lungarotti. 2006

A treat. This very wine from the classy Lungarotti stable in Umbria has been awarded an ‘Oscar Nazionale’ by the prestigious Almanacco del Berebene 2008. And it’s not difficult to understand why…

(This is the best new white I’ve tried in ages. Click on the headline title above to read more about it - and see some pictures !_