Arnaldo Caprai Rosso Outsider 2006

Arnaldo Caprai Rosso Outsider 2006

Hello everybody I am WineNineterchuk and this is your Daily Gr... oh wait, I got confused. So as not to upstage the terribly exciting news within the Wine Blogging community I thought I would just enter a simple tasting note on a top drawer wine that has to be among the best value wines anywhere in the world. So, keeping it tight ...

Last weekend I had the jolly good fortune to visit Umbria and the vineyards of Arnaldo Caprai, I've been to Caprai before, (link it up me - Arnaldo Caprai) the vineyard and tasting rooms are amongst the most informative and stylish in Sagrantino and it's a pleasure to taste here in such beautiful surroundings.

The main Caprai buildings are awash with in depth information about the soils of the area, ageing and oak etc, and for those really interested in the vinification of Sagrantino, one of the worlds most tannic wines, it is an informative day out. A free one too.

As I've already written extensively about Caprai's facilities and range in 2009, I'll let you follow the link above if your heart so desires and just get on with what I want to talk about, which is, the Rosso Outsider.

Now, Caprai already has two infamous wines, the Collepiano and 25 Anni Sagrantinos are the signature Caprai wines (amongst the best examples of the grape) but it's the Merlot/Cabernet Rosso Outsider that I fell in love with in 2005 (95 Points - me) and whose personality simply could not be ignored in the big, over the top, 2006.

Caprai Rosso Outsider 2006, is very similar in style to the 2005 but yet more extracted, concentrated and with a finish as long as your arm. The 2006 has an obnoxiously overwhelming fragrance of wet pencil and tobacco, you would think for all the world that this was some young slip of a Pauillac and yet, not sat even in Bolgheri, we're sampling Cabernet Sauvignon perfection? Blended perfection?

This is Umbria, but with the '06 vintage fairing so well for Brunello/Chianti we should not be surprised the Cab blend has fared so well. The structure of this wine, the biting tannins and length are a real power play and if the price of Bordeaux and Super Tuscans make your eyes water, this could be the next "go to" place for age worthy, merlot/cab blends. MARK IT DOWN. Super Umbrians are coming and Marco Caprai, the media savvy company head is leading that charge.

Arnaldo Caprai Rosso Outsider 2006 - £30 - BUY
Intense ruby red with pronounced, youthful aromas of graphite, blackcurrant and with sweet spicy overtones. On the palate the wine has extreme grippy tannins and an intense oak bent that I'm gambling will drop away over the coming years, I hope, to be replaced by the dark forest fruitiness that can be found on the long punchy finish. Incredible structure but not to be drunk now. 93 Points

The 2005, in my opinion, is far better for drinking over the short term and is much more fruit forward at this young age. If you're prepared to wait, the '06 would be an interesting gamble. However, if you buy a case of both, you're sure to win, and that's what I have done!

Where can I buy this wine?

For us Brits - Lea and Sandeman carry the 01 for £25
For us Europeans - Superiore.de carry this vintage for £30. ,
For you Americans - Grapes The Wine Co have the '04 for $60

Leave a Comment

Are you ready for the Super Umbrians? Have you already heard their call, are you in fact, already enrolled? Vive la revolucion in the tiny village of Montefalco. Vive indeed.

Most Read Blog Posts - May 2011

Tignanello 2006
Italian Wines 2011
Verdicchio di Matelica

Arnaldo Caprai Rosso Outsider 2006

Arnaldo Caprai Rosso Outsider 2006

Hello everybody I am WineNineterchuk and this is your Daily Gr... oh wait, I got confused. So as not to upstage the terribly exciting news within the Wine Blogging community I thought I would just enter a simple tasting note on a top drawer wine that has to be among the best value wines anywhere in the world. So, keeping it tight ...

Last weekend I had the jolly good fortune to visit Umbria and the vineyards of Arnaldo Caprai, I've been to Caprai before, (link it up me - Arnaldo Caprai) the vineyard and tasting rooms are amongst the most informative and stylish in Sagrantino and it's a pleasure to taste here in such beautiful surroundings.

The main Caprai buildings are awash with in depth information about the soils of the area, ageing and oak etc, and for those really interested in the vinification of Sagrantino, one of the worlds most tannic wines, it is an informative day out. A free one too.

As I've already written extensively about Caprai's facilities and range in 2009, I'll let you follow the link above if your heart so desires and just get on with what I want to talk about, which is, the Rosso Outsider.

Now, Caprai already has two infamous wines, the Collepiano and 25 Anni Sagrantinos are the signature Caprai wines (amongst the best examples of the grape) but it's the Merlot/Cabernet Rosso Outsider that I fell in love with in 2005 (95 Points - me) and whose personality simply could not be ignored in the big, over the top, 2006.

Caprai Rosso Outsider 2006, is very similar in style to the 2005 but yet more extracted, concentrated and with a finish as long as your arm. The 2006 has an obnoxiously overwhelming fragrance of wet pencil and tobacco, you would think for all the world that this was some young slip of a Pauillac and yet, not sat even in Bolgheri, we're sampling Cabernet Sauvignon perfection? Blended perfection?

This is Umbria, but with the '06 vintage fairing so well for Brunello/Chianti we should not be surprised the Cab blend has fared so well. The structure of this wine, the biting tannins and length are a real power play and if the price of Bordeaux and Super Tuscans make your eyes water, this could be the next "go to" place for age worthy, merlot/cab blends. MARK IT DOWN. Super Umbrians are coming and Marco Caprai, the media savvy company head is leading that charge.

Arnaldo Caprai Rosso Outsider 2006 - £30 - BUY
Intense ruby red with pronounced, youthful aromas of graphite, blackcurrant and with sweet spicy overtones. On the palate the wine has extreme grippy tannins and an intense oak bent that I'm gambling will drop away over the coming years, I hope, to be replaced by the dark forest fruitiness that can be found on the long punchy finish. Incredible structure but not to be drunk now. 93 Points

The 2005, in my opinion, is far better for drinking over the short term and is much more fruit forward at this young age. If you're prepared to wait, the '06 would be an interesting gamble. However, if you buy a case of both, you're sure to win, and that's what I have done!

Where can I buy this wine?

For us Brits - Lea and Sandeman carry the 01 for £25
For us Europeans - Superiore.de carry this vintage for £30. ,
For you Americans - Grapes The Wine Co have the '04 for $60

Leave a Comment

Are you ready for the Super Umbrians? Have you already heard their call, are you in fact, already enrolled? Vive la revolucion in the tiny village of Montefalco. Vive indeed.

Most Read Blog Posts - May 2011

Tignanello 2006
Italian Wines 2011
Verdicchio di Matelica

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004 was sent to Wine90 House almost a year ago and had been gathering dust all this time sat quietly in amongst more well known Italian names all the while maturing to what turned out to be a perfect drinking age. Whether I caught Blasi Bertanzi Impronta at the height of its drinking curve or simply found it the perfect accompaniment to the mushroom penne pasta dish of that evening I'm unsure, but one thing I am sure of, is that this wine is taking off right about now.

The Blasi Cantina is on the outskirts of Umbertide, and here, in an unassuming location for excellent Italian wine, a young vintner is making some serious noise in the local area and beginning to attract some national attention. The awarding of due bicchiere for the Cantina's cheapest €4 red made local wine fans sit up and pay close attention, but it is with the Impronta, his most expensive bottling at €12-16 that the true quality of his wine and dedication to his craft shines most brightly.

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004 is in equal parts a Sagrantino, Merlot and Sangiovese blend from northern Umbria, this IGT wine is in the tender care of Mauro Blasi whose low yields and human intensive wine production methods create wines of outstanding quality. The grapes spend 20 months, individually, in french oak, later blended in stainless steel. The wine then spends a further year maturing in bottle.

Northern Umbria is not renowned for its quality wine production, though of course, the area has been producing wine, like the rest of the country for millennia. The best wines of Umbria have traditionally come from its southern half so it's especially exciting to find a wine of such quality outside of the area.

The Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004 is not found on these shores as no importer has taken up the Blasi Cantina ... yet. However, it can be ordered via Italy through the trusty wineshop.it website.

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004 - BUY - €15
Sitting a deep, thick, brooding, dark cherry red this is an impressive wine before you've yet lifted your glass. On the nose this wine has a great licorice, tobacco and blackcurrant profile. The palate is thick, full and long and 100% fruit intensive with blackcurrants, dark cherries and a hint of licorice on the finish. This is a beautifully balanced wine, perfect in fact in balance with fruit, intensity of weight and alcohol playing in harmony. I think the 2004 is drinking at its optimum right now in 2011 and for this I would give this wine - 92 Points

A stonking score for a wine from this area and at this price, but this wine is on the money for the moment, but it now, to drink it now.

Where can I buy this wine?
Wineshop.it seem to be the only company selling this wine for the moment, still selling the 04's too.

Leave a Comment
Interested in hearing from anyone who has tried these wines or knows of other secret sensational wines from Umbria?

Most Read Blog Posts - May 2011

Tignanello 2006
Italian Wines 2011
Verdicchio di Matelica

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004 was sent to Wine90 House almost a year ago and had been gathering dust all this time sat quietly in amongst more well known Italian names all the while maturing to what turned out to be a perfect drinking age. Whether I caught Blasi Bertanzi Impronta at the height of its drinking curve or simply found it the perfect accompaniment to the mushroom penne pasta dish of that evening I'm unsure, but one thing I am sure of, is that this wine is taking off right about now.

The Blasi Cantina is on the outskirts of Umbertide, and here, in an unassuming location for excellent Italian wine, a young vintner is making some serious noise in the local area and beginning to attract some national attention. The awarding of due bicchiere for the Cantina's cheapest €4 red made local wine fans sit up and pay close attention, but it is with the Impronta, his most expensive bottling at €12-16 that the true quality of his wine and dedication to his craft shines most brightly.

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004 is in equal parts a Sagrantino, Merlot and Sangiovese blend from northern Umbria, this IGT wine is in the tender care of Mauro Blasi whose low yields and human intensive wine production methods create wines of outstanding quality. The grapes spend 20 months, individually, in french oak, later blended in stainless steel. The wine then spends a further year maturing in bottle.

Northern Umbria is not renowned for its quality wine production, though of course, the area has been producing wine, like the rest of the country for millennia. The best wines of Umbria have traditionally come from its southern half so it's especially exciting to find a wine of such quality outside of the area.

The Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004 is not found on these shores as no importer has taken up the Blasi Cantina ... yet. However, it can be ordered via Italy through the trusty wineshop.it website.

Blasi Bertanzi Impronta 2004 - BUY - €15
Sitting a deep, thick, brooding, dark cherry red this is an impressive wine before you've yet lifted your glass. On the nose this wine has a great licorice, tobacco and blackcurrant profile. The palate is thick, full and long and 100% fruit intensive with blackcurrants, dark cherries and a hint of licorice on the finish. This is a beautifully balanced wine, perfect in fact in balance with fruit, intensity of weight and alcohol playing in harmony. I think the 2004 is drinking at its optimum right now in 2011 and for this I would give this wine - 92 Points

A stonking score for a wine from this area and at this price, but this wine is on the money for the moment, but it now, to drink it now.

Where can I buy this wine?
Wineshop.it seem to be the only company selling this wine for the moment, still selling the 04's too.

Leave a Comment
Interested in hearing from anyone who has tried these wines or knows of other secret sensational wines from Umbria?

Most Read Blog Posts - May 2011

Tignanello 2006
Italian Wines 2011
Verdicchio di Matelica