Italian white grape adventures roll on: Castello di Porcia Classico 2005

My primary objective continues to be fragrant and refreshing white wines from Italy and as the summer heats up I'm happy to report on this interesting bottle, which I found peering up at me from the SAQ's bottom shelf. It is a new product in store and one of only two readily available Tocais that I'm aware of in the province. As a result, I had no trouble deciding to take the plunge on this inexpensive and unique bottle.

It's a varietal wine labelled Tocai Italiano. The name of the Italian/Slovenian Tocai grape has a vast and sordid history (see details here). The most important thing is the grape itself -- names be damned.

It is that grape which is the predominant variety in a perennial favourite of mine, the Maculan "Pino & Toi". Here, in the Tocai Italico Castello di Porcia Lison-Pramaggiore Classico 2005, no blending grapes are used, meaning that the wine can take on the Lison-Pramaggiore appellation.

(I find it kind of funny and somewhat unfortunate that the SAQ website lists this item with an ill-advised space that renders the producer's name as Castello di Porc -- Pig Castle... the difference between a Porc and a Porcia certainly could not be greater. Oh well.)

Of this appellation, The Oxford Companion to Wine says that it lies mainly in the Veneto region of north east Italy and was created in 1986 by the fusion of two previous DOCs (Italian regions carrying the Denominazione di Origine Controllata seal), the Cabernet di Pramaggiore and Tocai di Lison.

While it's not too close to San Gimignano and its Vernaccia, which live quite a bit further down the boot in Tuscany, it is a perfect substitute with a similar attack and slaking refreshment.

If Vernaccia is known for a slight bitter finish, this Tocai has more of a sour dimension and suggests a Sauvignon Blanc's tartness. The grape's alternate names include Sauvignonasse and Vert -- each one lending the notion of a pithy weediness.

I've had some cheap Tocai that end up tasting resinated and half-way to Retsina, which can be a problem though Retsina does have its own time and place for enjoyment.

Overall, this is an affordable summertime food wine with good acidity and emphasis on minerality.

"Light in colour and body, floral in aroma, and has pronounced almond notes on the palate and on the nose. It is designed to be drunk young."

Movia leads the way for Slovenian wines

For an exotic and flashy start to our New Year's Eve countdown, we opened a Slovenian wine that I had heard about on Eric Asimov's blog. It's from the winemaker named Movia and he posted on it last May. While I was in New York I happened to find it at Martin Brothers on the Upper West Side. (Unfortunately I don't think it is available anywhere in Canada).

Finding any Slovenian bottle is a challenge in this country. Not a one is available in the entire province of Quebec. That's too bad but the situation is likely changing as type this.

Just this week two of my regular stops in the blogsphere feature flattering posts on Slovenian wine. Catherine Granger reviews the bottle pictured above which I tasted, and Jamie Goode talks about more white wines from Slovenia -- Simcic whites, which exhibit an interesting tannic quality.

While I didn't take notes, I can say that the Movia Gredic Tokaj (*Tokaj in Slovenia is Tocai Friuliano in Italy) is fresh and delicious, as Catherine mentions in tasting notes on her post. Wines like this aim to change the relative absence of Slovenia in the wine shop, no doubt. While I do recall finding it sweeter than I was expecting, it did remind me of my personal favourite Tocai expression -- actually a unique Tocai blend that I review here. Rather than the notable toast and brioche flavours I was looking for, this 100% Tocai varietal is very much fruit-driven.

All in all, it made for an interesting lunch on December 31, 2006, which was sushi. I wouldn't hesitate serving it again, or trying the next Slovenian wine from the Brda region that I can get my hands on.

In the meantime, here's some *required reading on the giant mix-up that is the Tokaj/Tocai / Tokay / Tokaji name.

A wine affected by changes in climate, both micro and economic: Maculan Pino & Toi 2004

This is a Soave-type wine that gets no shortage of press online. Even though it receives an I.G.T. classification (aligning it with the often unheralded regional country wines of Italy) its maker, Maculan, needs no formal designation to please its clientele. Maculan chooses to avoid the official label of Soave in order to blend three disallowed white grape varieties in unique proportions (more on that below).

To me, Maculan has achieved much more affordable elegance in doing this. The Maculan Pino & Toi 2004, cheaper than most quality Soaves, is deliciously fragrant apple cut by deeply-etched minerality. This is my favourite kind of white wine. On the nose it possesses wet stone with wonderful aromatics. Delicate and light on the palate but strangely steely and structured too.

With a shrimp, crab and mussel pizza, the drink is tonic. The fruit suffers a little bit though, masked by the presence of the tomato sauce. With homemade chicken and pasta soup, the wine has even more of a chance to reveal its full range of sophistication. Serving it like the Fiche descriptive says with Vol-au-vent au poulet (click on the bottle image) would be right on the money.

I'm not going to so much contradict Basic Juice's profile of this wine as much as I am going to update it. I was quite interested in reading his review of the 2002 and seeing that market value was an issue for him. Two vintages later, the Euro has weakened drastically, making this bottle available in Canada for $16.70 instead of $17.80 or even more than that back in 2004. In terms of acidity, I believe the current vintage (and the 2003 one as well) is a much more balanced wine than the 2002 was. Jameson tipped me off on the 2004 vintage being something of an apogee and I'd have to agree him. In fact, on occasion during the past year, my friends and I have thought Pino & Toi's current blend (Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio mixed into a majority of Tocai) can produce plenty of gripping acidity, something that attracts me more to a white wine than it repels me.

I'm not sure if the blending has changed or if the climate working alone has been enough to present these tangible effects on the acid in the finished product. Because 2002 was notably weak in Northern Italy, I'm guessing this wine is playing its strong card now because of the favourable 2004 vintage. Take advantage of it.

Breganze, Veneto, Italia. 12%.