The Villa Rinaldi tasting is the highlight of my week so far.

Background: Villa Rinaldi is a family-run producer in the Veneto region of Italy who are known for their unique and very interesting sparkling wines. They produce 10 sparkling labels in total, all from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, using techniques not found elsewhere in Italy. The base wines are all aged in French barriques (some being new oak) and undergo a second fermentation in the bottle (Traditional Method or Methode Champenoise) which is initiated by adding cane sugar. The bottle necks are not frozen or even chilled when they’re disgorged and all 150,000 bottles a year are done by hand (the only producer in Italy to undertake this commitment).

I found all of their bubbles had an intriguing and obvious coffee character (or more like coffee flavoured candy) which I’m guessing can be partially attributed to the wood influence.

Villa Rinaldi – Rinaldi Supreme ’99 Extra Brut – 100% Pinot Noir, coffee, caramel, biscuit on the nose with pear and apple cider. Evolving nose which continued to open up. Fine mousse, very dry and very lean acidity. Interesting and thought provoking flavour profile – very good! $125

Villa Rinaldi – Gran Cuvée Bianca ’05 Brut – 100% Chardonnay, Doughy and baked apples, hints of tropical fruit, some caramel and coffee. Very delicious! $55

Villa Rinaldi – Rosé Rosa Brut – 100% Pinot Noir with 72 hours of skin contact, strawberry and citrus (orange/lemon) with some breadiness on the nose. Very creamy strawberry and caramel palate. Delicious and complex – very good! $70

The Red and Dessert:

Villa Rinaldi – RinaldiMaior ’01 Amorone della Valpolicella DOC - Spicy black cherry and red fruits, leather, raisins, vanilla. Soft and creamy texture (softened yet present tannins), great intensity, great length. Very Good. Pushing it at $125.

Villa Rinaldi – ’00 Recioto della Valpolicella DOC – Dessert wine from dried raisinated grapes with a slight bubble – apparently the way Reciotos were traditionally made! Black cherry, maple syrup, spiced raisins. Somewhat Jerez PX-like but with more dark red fruit. Ridiculously delicious. $100 for a 375ml bottle.

The Felton Road Spread… A close #2

I was equally fortunate to later taste 5 wines from one of the top producers of New World Pinot Noir on the planet. Felton Road hails from Central Otago in New Zealand – the most southerly growing region in the world, the wines are all beautiful and silky smooth.

Felton Road – “Calvert” ’07 Pinot Noir – Bright red cherry and strawberry fruits, slight cinnamon hearts spice and cherry chapstick. Super silky with light spice. Feminine Pinot Noir. Very good. Currently reduced to $66.

Felton Road – “Block 3″ ’07 Pinot Noir - Herbaceous and minty on the nose, red licorice, more spicy red fruit and cherry chapstick. Bigger and more concentrated than the Calvert – slightly more masculine, but very relatively speaking. Very good. $95ish.

Villa Rinaldi is represented by Zamperini Trade, thanks to Rachael. Felton Road is represented by Liquid Art, thanks to Lesia!