Aia Vecchia – Vermentino / 2024
Toscana IGT – Tuscany / Italy 🇮🇹
Overview
100% Vermentino from coastal Tuscany. A fresh, Mediterranean-driven expression highlighting purity, salinity, and balance. Crafted to emphasize drinkability without sacrificing varietal character.
Aromas & Flavors
Citrus zest, green apple, and white peach layered with subtle herbal notes and a touch of sea-breeze salinity. Clean, bright, and inviting.
Mouthfeel
Light to medium-bodied with a zippy, refreshing profile. Acidity is well-controlled, giving lift without sharp edges. The finish sits right in the middle, neither short nor extended, making it incredibly easy to keep going back for another sip.
Food Pairings
Seafood, grilled vegetables, light pasta, bruschetta, or simple appetizers.
Verdict
A pure, clean, and beautifully made Vermentino that overdelivers in drinkability. Not flashy, just precise, refreshing, and consistently satisfying.
Did You Know?
Vermentino thrives in coastal regions like Tuscany and Liguria, where maritime influence enhances its natural salinity and freshness, often giving the wine its signature “sea-breeze” character.
🍷 Personal Pick
This is my kind of “patio pounder”—zippy, dry, and dangerously easy to drink. Not because it lacks complexity, but because it’s so well made that it flows effortlessly. Whether by the pool or alongside light bites, this wine adapts and delivers every time. — 3 months ago
Friday night dinner - drinking well now — 5 months ago
Fruity forward. Soaked mouthfeel. Great wine for great price — 6 months ago
Brought this back from Portugal in 2023 and finally drank it. Awesome wine even if it was maybe a little past its prime. Classic Vinho Verde citrus and floral nose and a dash of minerality. On the tongue it's missing that light effervescence I love but it still brings a lot of citrus and light fruit sweetness that balances the acidity. Would absolutely buy again if I can find it over here! — 9 months ago
From magnum. — 2 years ago
Delicious! Dark chocolate, blackberry, black currant, a little spicy and sweet. WS northern Italy tasting. — 4 years ago
Happy Easter. — 3 months ago
2024 vintage on Mar 13th 2026 — 3 months ago
At Pinard Wine Bar for the SFU Alumni event with Malachi and the Skoners! Lovely cab. — 4 months ago
Nose - Crayons (in a good way), Old wood barrels and Petrichor. Main tastes - Muted fruit flavors because it’s so soft and smooth on the tannins for the most part. Maybe a bit of crab apples from the acid. Really approachable food wine. I love Montepulcianos so I’m a bit bias here with my rating but overall it’s really nice. — 9 months ago
Nose is very rocky with loads of flowers and fresh cherries and some cassis. Lovely wet earth as well. Echoes of Burgundy. Also that metal smell I get from Nerello and Etna wines. Fresh and energetic with an invigorating palate and not as much depth as the Chiuse Vidalba which is the high end cuvee but this is delicious and very well made. Nose has a floral-cassis thing that is so appealing. Nose now has hits of tar and forest floor. Really dig this. Super juicy and so pure. Excellent. Long as f. — 4 years ago
Salty minerality on the nose with a hint of citrus, the palate is all minerals with crisp green apple and some lime acidity, but the weighty body keeps it balanced. Super yummy, which I don't usually say of an Italian wine! — 3 months ago
Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2021
Torre d’Orti – Veneto, Italy 🇮🇹
Overview
A traditional Amarone crafted primarily from Corvina (with Corvinone), Rondinella, and a small percentage of Molinara, produced using the appassimento method (partially dried grapes). 17% ABV. A powerful expression leaning rustic rather than refined in this vintage.
Aromas & Flavors
Dried cherry, baked plum, subtle fig, light cocoa, faint walnut and restrained raisin tones. Tertiary notes present but not deeply layered.
Mouthfeel
Full-bodied and structured with elevated alcohol. Firm tannins and a slightly edgy texture. Lacks the seamless velvety integration expected from more polished Amarone examples.
Food Pairings
Braised meats, aged cheeses, wild boar ragù, mushroom-based dishes.
Verdict
Technically correct and gastronomic, but did not fully deliver the plush refinement and layered complexity often associated with top-tier Amarone. Better at the table than as a contemplative standalone pour.
🍷 Did You Know?
Corvina is the aromatic backbone of Amarone, responsible for cherry and spice notes, while Rondinella contributes color and structure. Balance during drying is crucial, integration is everything. — 4 months ago
Good wine. — 2 years ago
Brambly berry pie, watermelon, delicate effervescent. Perfect Lambrusco for a warm day or apero hour.
(Btg at Bottino in Chelsea NYC) — 2 years ago
Brian Wakelin
Marvin brought it to dinner. — 2 months ago