Tuscany in a day!

After an overnight stay in a rather grand old Tuscan B&B, we headed south. En route we passed the impressive-looking town of Orvieto. The town stands above the surrounding landscape with many cellars carved into the “Tufo” (red-brown volcanic rock). Another trip required, I feel, to explore the town and taste the fantastic crisp, white wines of the area.

Wine cellars, Pallavicini

A couple of hours later we arrived at the gates of Principe Pallavicini. The Pallavicini’s aren’t your regular Roman family, they’re one of the oldest, noble-families in Italy. Their wine offices are full of rustic charm rather than noble shine, however. We sat down to taste with Carlo, their winemaker, and leisurely toured through 12 of their wines. A good chunk of time was taken discussing Malvasia, specifically, which Malvasia clone is best. I was informed that Malvasia Puntinata (which is used here, of course) was the right and proper one – full of aromatic, delicate tones.

Vintages are so influential in Italy and we tasted a great example. The “1670” Malvasia Semillon blend was strikingly different over 2 years. Okay, the blend had changed 10% in favour of Semillon but the wine was distinctly different:
2006 – silk, ripe fruit more akin to Riesling
2007 – ground white pepper aromas and citrus on the palate

Casa Romana vineyards, Pallavicini

Casa Romana Pallavicini’s premium red is a blockbuster blend of Cabernet and Petit Verdot, coming from a single site on the estate. If grapes could choose where to grow, this vineyard would as popular as Southwold beach on a summer’s day! Vines climb up the slopes of a volcanic cone and capture glorious sunshine and just enough breeze. On a clear day the Petit Verdot can see St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. I had to take their word for it as haze obstructed my view!

After walking the vineyards, admiring walnut and fig trees and seeing the Roman handy-work in the cellars, we had a short drive to a local restaurant. The highlight was a local delicacy of stuffed courgette flowers with ricotta and anchiovies. I’m still thinking of them as Ryan Air whisks us to Sardinia…

Walnuts... beautifully perfumed, they should be bottled!