Palazzone Orvieto Terre Vineate 2006

Several days without blogging but not without drinking, of course. As a succession of spring vegetables enter the kitchen, I have been primarily opening whites, and cleaning the cellar from the 2006 vintage – another ripe low-acid vintage that left me somewhat bored and tired in such regions as Austria and Italy. Yet there are some good surprises, even among the less expensive wines. Here is one unassuming bottle that proved one of the most memorable food & wine match with a freshly made pesto sauce.

It is from Orvieto, in the Central Italian regiono of Umbria. Since I remember, Orvieto was one of my favourite wines – or rather, one I wished was among my favourites but that so rarely delivers. Produced from a traditional five-grapes blend (including Grechetto and Procanico, the latter better known as Trebbiano) on poor soils (some volcanic), it should be one of Italy’s most mineral and deeply refreshing whites. It is a kind of more southern Soave, if you want: not very aromatic but with enough mineral extract and structure to age well, and withstand oak.

The problem? Few producers are really working hard to produce good wines. Unlike the vast majority of Italian appellations, Orvieto has been really underperforming of late, and so very few wines are showing the real potential of the terroir. This is made worse by the fact that the appellation’s largest and more notorious estate, Castello della Sala (part of the Antinori group), is strongly focusing on French grapes, and focusing its own Orvieto DOC close to the bottom of the range.

You could say that there is only one estate that has been consistently delivering quality and character in the last years: Palazzone. The best bottling here is Campo del Guardiano which has an astonishing ageing potential despite seeing no oak and not much of a late harvest. The Orvieto Classico Superiore Terre Vineate 2006 is Palazzone’s simpler offering, a very reliable wine with good terroir character. Alcohol is surely high (14% – a pretty natural range for Orvieto) and there is the ripe, low-acid character of the 2006 vintage, but also reasonable depth and a touch of minerality. I tasted this wine upon release two years ago and the tasting note was nearly identical: this is now predictably less appley and citrusy, but showing no truly maturing notes. I don’t recommend holding on it, though. Pop the cork now and enjoy this good Orvieto with its natural food partner: chicken, rabbit (there’s no fish in the high Umbrian hills, remember) or aromatic herb-based dishes like the one I chose.

Just a joke…