Rivera Cappellaccio Aglianico Castel del Monte Riserva 2013, Puglia, Italy 🇮🇹

🍇 Aglianico 100%

🧐 Alcohol 13.5%

🍁 My Score 90-92 Points

🔹 Classic Aglianico nose with aromas of wild berries, black cherries, black currants, dried fruits and peppery notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied with excellent freshness, textured by fine grainy tannins and refreshing acidity. The finish is medium-long with a savoury edge, tart berries and espresso notes.

🔸 Interesting experience here! These notes are from one week ago. Last night I opened another bottle to a very different experience. I double checked my bottle to make sure that the store didn’t switch vintages. No, it was the same vintage, but the second Aglianico was much more tannic with more earthy and barnyard notes. Both bottles were very enjoyable, last nights bottle was more typical of what I expect from an Aglianico (Score 90), while the previous bottle was softer and more elegant with a wonderful combination of freshness and weight (Score 92). Based on these experiences there’s definitely some bottle variation, but either one of them are strongly recommended. Cheers my wine friends 🍷

Rivera Marese Bombino Bianco 2018, Doc Castel Del Monte, Puglia, Italy 🇮🇹

🍇 Bombino Bianco 100%

🧐 Alcohol 12.5%

🍁 My Score 89 Points 

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A beautiful, delicate nose with aromas of apples, melons, minerals, lemon zest and light floral notes. On the mouthfeel light bodied with a slightly creamy texture, fresh balanced acidity and flavours of citrus, melons and bitter almonds on the finish.

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I am quite familiar with the reds of Rivera, I have been a fan for many years.  On the other hand this is my first experience with one of their white and it’s also my first experience with this varietal.  A charming experience especially when paired with the right food. In this case it was paired with poached cod served with sautéed cherry tomatoes, chilli oil roasted crispy shallots and garlic toppings, fresh mint and coriander. The result of a perfect pairing is when the wine enhances the flavours in your food and the dish makes your wine even better. Awesome value at $18 🇨🇦 dollars, strongly recommended my wine friends. Cheers 

Rivera Cappellacio Aglianico Riserva 2010, DOC Castel del Monte, Puglia, Italy 🇮🇹

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🍇 Aglianico 100%⁣
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🧐 Alcool 13.5%⁣
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🍁 My Score 89 Points ⁣
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Intriguing nose with aromas of black cherries, plums, dried figs, damp earth, leather, espresso and smoky notes. On the mouthfeel, medium-full bodied, savoury, leathery fruit flavours, lively acidity and firm, grainy tannins. Very good length on the finish with flavours of sour cherries, dried fruits, earthy and savoury herbs all wrapped up with drying tannins. ⁣
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A different type of Aglianico for me, slightly rustic, earthy with more dried fruit than fresh fruit, lots of savoury notes and those trademark tannic structure of the varietal. It keeps getting better The longer it breathes. Definitely a very tasty wine experience. Cheers my wine friends.
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