Pizzini

I went to a tasting of the current Pizzini releases. The 2008 Rosetta is a rose based on Sangiovese. It has a light, slightly orange colour. Its flavour is quite savoury, the acidity often associated with Sangiovese is not present, but the wine is a little short. Not very complex, but a good lunch wine.

The 2007 Arneis is not very similar to the Piedmont wines. They tend to be fresh and slightly fizzy. This wine had more mineral and earthy characters and is a little broad on the palate - not my favorite.

Sangiovese is probably what Pizzini is best known for and the 2006 Sangiovese does not disappoint. It shows vibrant red cherry fruit, is quite savoury and dry, yet has an elegant finish. This wine can certainly stand up to the better Chianti Classicos.

The final wine was the 2003 Nebbiolo. I was particularly interested in this, as I have yet to try an Australian Nebbiolo that comes anywhere near the Piedmont quality. Well, nothing has changed. The wine has medium weight, is not very complex and has nice dusty flavours. However, this wine lacks the flavour spectrum of its Italian counter parts and also does not have the length in the finish. Nebbiolo is a difficult and work intensive grape which tends to be reflected in high prices. The wine then has to deliver something special. So far, we are still at the experimentation stage in Australia.