The Scoop
Day 44. Wine 12. Yes I am behind. Both volume and drama in the workosphere have kept me from you, dear readers. But fear not! I have – indeed! of course! – been drinking for you in my absence. Drinking, yes. Note taking, yes. Posting, no. But I am back on a much more reasonable schedule now – with only grading in front of me, and so blogging is a welcome procrastination from that chore – and I plan to catch up quickly to get back on track over the next few days.
Oh, and what a re-entry wine I have for you today. If you recall from my earlier review of Spinelli, I made mention that the first scent of many Italian wines inspire in me an inexplicable urge to bathe in them, to dive in and submerge myself. That wasn’t the case for Spinelli. This IS the case for the Luccarelli Negroamaro from Puglia. My oh my, this is a lovely wine.
In the glass, a gorgeous dark, rich garnet colour – the perfect shade for a “dress up” dress in autumn.
On the nose, that sigh-inducing, knee-buckling coffee/toffee Italian thing for sure, but also black current, pepper and super ripe plum… a tantalizing promise that I hoped against hope would not be dashed once again…
And then, on the palate, a luscious revelation. Black cherries and cassis, rich buttery toffee, and great pepper spice. Fruit forward and very smooth but balanced with great solid tannins. A lovely medium finish. Structured but very sippable, this would go beautifully with a big grilled Porterhouse steak or roasted Easter lamb this weekend.
Overall, this is going to become a favorite, and I hesitate to tell you where I bought it because I want it all to myself. I don’t know enough about Negroamaro – translated from Italian, this literally means “black bitterness” which is intriguing in its own way… The grape is nearly unknown outside of Puglia and is sometimes blended with Sangiovese or Montepulciano. I need to get way more familiar with this varietal.
Year: 2012
Region: Puglia, Italy
Grapes: Negroamaro
Alcohol: 13%
Price: $14.99 at BC Liquor Store (Gorge and Tillicum)
Closure: Screwcap.
My rating (ratings are being done based on quality versus price, on scale of 0 to 5 stars): ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ This is one of the top picks to date for sure, but again, because the price is right at the top of the range, still no full five stars.
The Music Match
Keeping with the theme of wanting to bathe in this wine, a suitable song to match.
What can I do??? All I want is to be next to you…
Or for contrast, check out another version, with much younger boys:
But really, neither of these live versions match the sexiness of the regular recording, so here that is, too:
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