A tranquil day at Tenuta Colonna
The Tenuta Colonna estate is a paradise. A beautiful mansion with rooms, a family restaurant and a cellar for wine making. After breakfast, served in a warm ambiance with typical "locanda" furniture, I spent almost the entire day relaxing on the balcony of my room, surrounded by green creeper ivy, organizing ideas and future visits to producers. There are lots of producers in this area, so it is very easy to get confused and overwhelmed. I have to organize it well..
I was too comfortable.. I almost risked not moving at all from this place for the entire day! So.. a deep breath, and there we area Here are the notes from today's visit to two wineries:
Azienda Bricco Mondalino
The owner Mauro is a proud producer of Grignolino wine. Grignolino is a Piemonte's native grape very popular among locals. It produces a very particular wine: Light ruby color, light/medium body with a noticeable acidity bite and a bitter finish. On the nose it shows a flower bouquet with hints of roses and wild berries. I have to admit that Grignolino is a bit difficult to match with food especially for the extreme simplicity and for the bitter finish: I usually enjoy it chilled to 10-12 degrees and with "affettati" (salame, prosciutto). It can match the typical Piemontese "bollito misto" which is a boiled selection of different meat cuts. There are 2 DOC areas for Grignolino: Grignolino d'Asti and Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese. I am touring the latter.
Here are my tasting notes:
1) Monferrato Casalese Cortese 2003 - My score; 78/100. Cost at the store: Euro 5
2) Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese Bricco Mondalino 2001 My score 84/100. Cost at the store: Euro 9
3) Barbera del Monferrato Superiore 2001 My score 81/100. Cost at the store: Euro 6
4) Barbera del Monferrato Zerolegno (tasted from the cement vat) My score 80/100. Cost at the store: Euro 7
5) Barbera d'Asti Il Bergantino 2000. My score 85/100. Cost at the store: Euro 9
6) Barbera Monferrato Gaudium Magnum 2000 (1.5 lt) only produced in Magnum format. My score 82/100. Cost at the store: Euro 24
7) Malvasia di Casorzo "Molignano" 2003 An elegant sweet red dessert wine. My score 81/100. Cost at the store: Euro 6
Azienda Accornero e Figli
A family owned estate located a few km outside Vignale from where one can enjoy the scenery of vine hills with Vignale's castle in the background. Our tasting was performed with samples from the barrels.
1) Barbera del Monferrato Bricco Battista 2000 from the tonneau. My score: 88/100. Cost at the store: Euro 23.
2) Barbera del Monferrato Giulin 2001 from the barrique. My score: 85/100. Cost at the store: Euro 10.
I then had dinner at a local trattoria of Vignale:
1) Antipasto misto fish salad from Liguria (the neighbor region)
2) Agnolotti alla Monferrina. A specialty from this area (Monferrato): it had a sauce made with meat and vegetables but no tomatoes almost like a white Bolognese ragout.
Barbera della casa was the wine of choice.