One of my favorite aspects of Italian wine is that there’s
always a new region or varietal to explore. I was recently turned on to wines
from the Lugana DOC – and its autochthonal
grape, Turbiana.
(In case you’re wondering, “autochthonal” is WineSpeak for “grape
native to the region” – and I’ve written about these wonderful discoveries previously.)
Lugana is a small growing region that lies just south of
Italy’s largest lake, Lago di Garda, and is one of Italy’s more popular areas
for in-country vacation travel. My colleague Michelle at Colangelo, who sent
these samples along to me, vouched for the beauty of the region and the lake
itself. She called the wines “unique” – and based on my first experience with
them, I’m certainly inclined to agree.
About 95% of all wines made in Lugana are dry whites. As I
mentioned, the primary grape grown in the region is Turbiana – and all whites from that region are required to be at
least 90% Turbiana in the blend, although most are 100%. Turbiana was known as “Trebbiano
di Lugana” for awhile, but genetic studies indicated that it’s not related to
that other white grape.
Turbiana is a late-ripening, high acid grape which responds
well to oak aging, meaning it can be produced either in a clean “drink young”
style or one that could be more age-worthy. On trying this pair of whites, I
found it quite interesting how two wines from the same region, same grape could
provide such a stark contrast in flavor profile.
The first one we cracked was the younger one – the Armea Vitium 2018 Lugana DOC. ($16) This wine
was fairly fruit forward in style. The nose was nicely fragrant, with nicely
fragrant warm apple and vanilla aromas. Pears and apples overlaid a backbone of
mineral, with a touch of a fruity sweetness. The finish is a bit creamy, with
more of that apple flavor lingering for a good long while. Overall, it’s fairly
dry and pretty nice to drink on its own.
The other – the Podere
Selva Capuzza Menasasso 2015 Lugana Riserva ($20) -- was quite a contrast once
you get past the nose. Up front, this wine displayed a similar warm apple and
spice flavor, although more on the baking spice end of the scale. The body, though,
held a world of difference. There’s far less fruit here initially. Although there
was still the apple and pear, it quickly gave way to a wall of flint and a bit
of an astringency that reminded me initially of a Muscadet. The finish is sharp
and flinty, with a lemony linger. I thought that this wine improved a *lot*
once it got some air. I thought the flavors smoothed out quite a bit the next
day, so give this one plenty of time to open up. On their own, I still preferred
the younger wine.
On the information sheet, one of the recommended pairing was
herbed malfatti – which was a dish I’d never heard of. Turns out that they’re
small ricotta and spinach balls, mixed with herbs and boiled briefly, served
over a plate of sauce. “Malfatti” translates as “badly formed,” which
accurately described my first attempt at making these
little guys. Pushing through, though – they were quite tasty. The Riserva,
I thought, was the better wine with these – although if I had it to do over, I’d
have used a white wine and butter sauce instead of my typically fabulous red
sauce.
All in all, I thought these were really fascinating whites.
They hit a bit of a sweet spot between Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnay – which makes
them a really nice choice as the weather gets cooler but you still have a
hankering for a white. Might be a nice possibility for Thanksgiving, truth be
told.
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