Spittoon: We Spit So You Can Swallow
A wine tasting session to select new additions to a merchants list. The Italian white wine section was looking a little drab, unexciting and neglected. This gorgeous white stood out. Not cheap mind.
Wine Tasting Note: Franz Haas Manna, 2005, Alto Adige, Italy.
Around £18 a bottle.
Not sure what the grape varieties are in this – Gewürztraminer for sure, as the nose has a delicious edge of lychees and Turkish Delight. But there is more here – a rounded edge, a touch of oak perhaps? Delicious with weight, concentration, refinement and class.
There could be some Riesling in the blend, maybe something weighty like a Chardonnay. Whatever it all combines into a superbly interesting wine. Alcohol 13.5%.
Franz is notoriously difficult to please when it comes to his own wines. This dissatisfaction manifests itself in levels of angst that wouldn’t be out of place in a Russian novel. But it also produces wines of rare purity and balance, such is his desire to grow good grapes and preserve the flavours during winemaking. “
Scribblings Rating – 94/100 [4.25 out of 5]
We Spit... So You Can Swallow