Novello di Toscana Nuovo Fiore Frescobaldi

This one is a bit better than the Villa Sarti Novello. It is a red wine of Sangiovese. The bouquet is retained, not very intense. Fairly vigorous mouth on rather hard tannins.

   

Villa Sarti Novello

Ok, here's the first one. But before I go with it let me stand corrected about the prize issue. The other day I told you that the 'new wines' were kind of expensives for their quality; well I was presently surprised that it is not the case this year. Most of the wines are under $10 CAN with 1 or 2 at $15. Not bad.

The first one I tasted (well drank would be more appropriate :-D) is the Villa Sarti Novelle Merlot Delle Venzie. Located in Negrar, in the centre of the Veneto area, the Sartori family cellars with passion, since 1898, their wines. This vino novello is not bad after all. Of course it has a big taste of grape showing the young age of the wine but no after taste or acidity. I drank it with sausages... no fine cuisine here ;-) It could go also with a big greasy pizza ;-) Nevertheless, a good start for my 'new wines' experiments.

   

Vino Novello

Novembre 16: the day of the new wine or "vin nouveau" if you prefer. This day is a celebration of summer. It is a marketing thing more than anything that is still very popular around the world. In a lot of countries, people will be waiting in line to buy the new arrivals of the "beaujolais nouveau". But what is this "beaujolais nouveau".

Basically it is a wine that is made from grapes that were harvested during this summer. It doesn't give great wines, of course and the worst part is that they are quite expensive for the quality. But nevertheless, like any marketing trend, it works and people are buying... and I'll buy also ;-) Why? Simply because like I said before, it is a celebration, a special day for wine amateurs. Did you know that this event started after WWII?

Apparently, 2005 will be an exceptional year for new wines: the best in 20 years. We'll see. I will taste some and give you my comments. I count on you to do the same.