Blithescribe attempts to talk wine: Aglianico
A wine loving friend asked me about the Aglianico I mentioned in a previous post, so I thought I would share because it’s tasty…that and apparently this week it’s my turn, self-appointed of course, to single handedly fill the LJ content void ;)
Aglianico is an Italian grape, grown primarily in a large region in the arch of the boot, and only rarely grown in the United States. It’s a very old grape. When you read about the ancient Romans drinking wine, this is probably one of the grapes involved. The fruit is very dark and produces a beautiful inky often black wine, the kind where you can only tell that the color is actually an incredibly deep purple where the wine brushes the edges of the goblet.
Aglianico can be very tannic and a little harsh when young so it is traditionally a blending grape or a wine that is aged and allowed to mellow for many years before being released as a single varietal. However, some winemakers in Italy and now in the United States have the knack for producing Aglianico as a single varietal wine that can be enjoyed early.
And now, Blithescribe, wine lover but the farthest thing in the world from being a wine writer possessed of an exquisite palate and an impressive vocabulary, will attempt to talk wine: Aglianicos like this remind me a little bit of aspects of mourvedre, nebbiolo, negrette and zinfandel but aren’t exactly like any one of them. In my admittedly limited experience, Aglianicos tend to taste of plum, blackberry, black cherry, dark chocolate, allspice, and sometimes have hints of coffee, oak and tobacco. Done right, the strong tannins “make sense” for want of a better explanation. They are an accent and a harmonious part of the overall flavor instead of a strident off-putting note. Think of the hops in Stone’s aged IRS or Old Guardian as opposed to the hops in Stone’s Ruination Ale.
And that is it for this evening. Class dismissed. Don’t forget to do a thorough job on your homework. There are, after all, sober children in Utah.