Each week, InterWined.com pairs one great wine with one great meal and publishes the results along with the recipe in a little feature it likes to call ‘Blow the Bank’.

Sticking with the bread theme from yesterday, why not start the week right with some Sun-blushed Tomato & Goat’s Cheese Rolls?

Sun-blushed tomatoes and goat’s cheese make another great match for the the 2005 Remole Frescobaldi (12.5%), £7.49 from Oddbins, made from a blend of 85% Sangiovese/15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The tomatoes and cheese provide a slightly savoury balance to the tannins of the Remole (especially if opened the previous day with InterWined’s Olive & Parma Bread).

InterWined’s Own Recipe in Full

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Each week, InterWined.com pairs one great wine with one great meal and publishes the results along with the recipe in a little feature it likes to call ‘Blow the Bank’.

There are few things nicer than a warm slice of bread and a good glass of wine. So, this week, ‘Blow the Bank’ brings you both with its very own Olive & Parma Bread.

I’ve made this bread several times and in many different ways, as a bâtard, as a baguette, and as a kind of stromboli. This recipe makes the stromboli-style.

Accompanying the stromboli is a simple glass of Italian wine in the form of the 2005 Remole Frescobaldi (12.5%), £7.49 from Oddbins, made from a blend of 85% Sangiovese/15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Oddbins describes the wine as a mini-Super Tuscan and it’s hard to disagree. The flavour is earthy and tannic with a nose that smells of cherries and summer fruits. Together, the two work well and find balance — the bread with its strong olive, salt, and cheese flavours smoothing the tannins found in the wine.

InterWined’s Own Recipe in Full

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My, aren’t decent Italian wines on the expensive side?
Well, if you are looking for some wines to move you to the point of tears, money should be no object, right?
The 2003 Laurentina Rosso Piceno ‘Talliano’ is priced at around £11.50. The wine doesn’t feel as heavy as I thought, as the 70% Montepulciano gives it […]

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A recent lunch at One Blossom Street presented InterWined.com a unique opportunity: to try a very, very expensive wine, compared to a not-so pricey wine.

Owner Roberto, and wine merchant Antonello, were there for the private tasting. Roberto broke out his 2003 Barrua Isola Dei Nuraghi , made by the same folks who produce the super tuscan Sassicaia, which he said will be the next great wine to come out of Italy. He’s going to sell it for around £85 a bottle ($175).

Antonello brought his 2004 Piantate Lunghe, Conero Rossini, which would sell on a store shelf for a much more forgiving £12 ($25).

So which taste better?

Roberto isn’t a huge fan of his Barrua. He believes it is produced to appeal to more “international” tastes, and isn’t distinctly Italian enough. And he’s right to an extent, as it is a blend using French varieties: Carignano, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The wine is incredibly well-balanced. Flawless, even. Violets, plum and a strong helping of liquorice. The tannins are weak for an Italian wine, but this just makes the Barrua incredibly mellow. The loamy clay soil can also be tasted, at least that’s InterWined’s guess on what kind of earth the grapes grow in. The wineceller, Enotria, says that the wine pairs well with spicy food. They’re lying. Spicy food kills this wine. Ruins it. We tried the wine with a spicy tomato pasta with olives and hated it. 9.3 points. Drink by itself or with cheese.

Antonello’s Piantate was fuming with alcohol on the nose, but for some reason, it cut right trough the spice. His wine is a blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese — very Italian. Medium body with surprisingly soft tannins. It had nice grip, sure, but still a year too young. InterWined noted a chalky flavor, which Antonello confirmed: the vines grow in chalky soil.

How about that? 8.9 points.

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It’s a Chianti! It’s a Sangiovese!
No, it’s a Super Super Tuscan!
A super Tuscan is any wine from around Tuscany Italy that “breaks” the rules.
In this case, the 2000 Le Fioraie “Piemaggio”, has some Cabernet Sauvignon (wah?) and Merlot (gasp!) blended into the mix. Not being 100 percent Sangiovese grape means it can’t call itself a […]

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The 2004 Windy Peak Australia Sangiovese is produced be deBortoli and widely available across the US and UK.
The hints of strawberry and asphalt textures aren’t present in this bright version. And even though the blackberry and oak kinda make up for it, it tastes more new world than old.

The finish is abrupt and the body lacks weight, but the wine is fun enough to mention and should merit some conversation, whether enjoyed with friends or by oneself. It also has an earthy profile, great for more rustic foods, such as fowl with course tomatoes and olives. Would be splendid with dark chocolate: 8.3.

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The first guest brought a bottle of 1990 Carpineto Chianti Classico Reserva (primarily Sangiovese grape). Back then it went for $13 bucks, today the bottle is probably worth ten times that. It was ranked at 87 in Wine Spectator by Italy expert James Suckling. And, as usual, he is right: “Very firm and solid with complex berry, mineral and plum character. Full in body and tannins but quite refined and elegant”.

The years have since eroded the full-body and stronger tannic structure, but the wine is now extremely refined and elegant. Also there are mushrooms. Chestnut mushrooms. Probably would score 89 point on the WS scale if tasted today, but as a gift from good friends (who also cooked – spaghetti with grouper and sardines with fennel): 9.3.

Both from Denbies winery, England’s largest, the wines proved perfect for the locally sourced food. The Bacchus (grape) wine from 2004 was crisp with a hint of lemon. Grassy. Long finish. The body was a little heavy, but it was not nearly the train wreck expected. Perhaps bringing such a bad rep to the table made the wine appear more delicious. Doubt it: 8.6.

The pudding wine from Denbies is number one in one regard: the worst wine name, ever. The 2005 Surrey Gold even came in a frosted bottle, leaving the wife to first wonder aloud “who brought the Vodka?” The name, the look – Denbies, work on it.

The wine is just fine. Kinda floral (some jasmine) and easy going. Light and not too syrupy, the funny thing is that the wine finishes dry, when sweet was expected. Individual: 8.4.

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Bonterra 2004 Merlot and Zinfandel, ruby and peppery, respectively. Both full-bodied, but somewhat sweet. Well-priced and easy to drink. The lower blend of Shiraz-Carignan, whatever, cost around £5, and is about as tasty an Organic table can get.

2005 Vida Organica Sangiovese Bonarda blend, from Argentina. This nice little wine sells for £6 at one of London’s more impressive wine shops Planet of the Grapes. It’s peppery and smooth, very ripe with aromas of vine fruits. The label says red current, but InterWined tastes it as raspberry. Fun: 8.5.

2002 Williamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir Pommard: Aromas of blackberry with a hint of vanilla. Tastes of grape lollipop and smoky oak. There’s something floral and vivacious, that is muted out by the folds of jasmine perfume that come and go: 9.1.

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At any rate, the conversation turned my thoughts to the great Montepulciano d’Abruzzos going down the hatch round here: should have plenty of time to think until police find the body.

Such impressive wines, especially the 2004 Incanto. Montepulciano is an area in Tuscany that makes Sangiovese-based wines. Montepulciano is also the name of a grape grown in Abruzzo, a region in east-central Italy.

The Incanto, somewhat pricey at £10 is beautiful, with folds of chocolate and wild berries. Nice dry, old oak flavour with hints of vanilla and smoke. Really classic: 8.8.

Found a bottle of 1999 Santa Costanza (like the character in Seinfeld) Novello from Banfi – from Tuscany. Turns out it is a blend of Sangiovese and Gamay – the same grape used in Beaujolais Nouveau, that least ‘ageable’ of wines. The Sangiovese saved the wine…Aroma was grapey, the wine was grapey. But mineral notes helped make the wine unique. Really fun, the Novello. And a big surprise: 8.4.

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A bottle of 2005 Italian Job Sangiovese Zinfandel…Italian Job is a grapey table wine from anywhere in Italy. It is bold and expressive, with a touch of tar, but lacks finesse. Drink this table wine now, as it will spoil hours after opening. If won in a raffle, it represents the best value for a wine one could ever hope to have. ‘The Italian Job,’ £1: 8.0.

Also, 2004 Bonterra Merlot, Mendocino County, for £8: Ripe red cherry, with a flair of cherry coke. Maybe too much French oak. Very aromatic, and a stunner for the price. Highly recommended and extremely classy for California at this price range: 8.8.

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The Marks and Sparks white Burgundy 2004 and San Tommasi ‘Giani’ Sicilian white; both served at a friend’s finally-off-of-probation celebration. Both were good bargains, excellent and crisp. Both were served cold and felt proper, and tasted too similar, coming not only from different countries, different climates and different soils.

Also, three nights were devoted to three bottles of Bonterra Organic 2004 Shiraz Carignan Sangiovese.

All three bottles were great, with or without food, fresh and clean.

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