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Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
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Appellation
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Original Item
2008
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More wines available from San Michele
750ml
Bottle:
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COLOR: Straw yellow with golden highlights.
NOSE: Well-rounded nose with fruity apple notes.
FLAVOR: Complex, full on...
750ml
Bottle:
$20.32
COLOR: Straw yellow with golden highlights.
NOSE: Harmonious fruit nose with hints of lindenflowers.
FLAVOR:...
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Intense ruby red colour, full and complex bouquet with hints of berries and spices; elegant taste, soft, with good...
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COLOR: Straw yellow with green accents.
NOSE: Characteristic nose of fruit and floral notes.
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More Details
Winery
San Michele
Vintage: 2008
2008 saw very high yields across wineries in much of the southern hemisphere, as a result of highly favorable climatic conditions. Although in many areas, these high yields brought with them something of a drop in overall quality, this could not be said for South Australia's wines, which were reportedly excellent. Indeed, the 2008 Shiraz harvest in South Australia is said to be one of the most successful in recent decades, and western Australia's Chardonnays are set to be ones to watch out for. New Zealand's Pinot Noir harvest was also very good, with wineries in Martinborough reportedly very excited about this particular grape and the characteristics it revealed this year.
Pinot Noir also grew very well in the United States, and was probably the most successful grape varietal to come out of California in 2008, with Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley delivering fantastic results from this grape. Elsewhere in United States, Washington State and Oregon had highly successful harvests in 2008 despite some early worries about frost.
However, it was France who had the best of the weather and growing conditions in 2008, and this year was one of the great vintages for Champagne, the Médoc in Bordeaux, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay grapes leading the way. Italy, too, shared many of these ideal conditions, with the wineries in Tuscany claiming that their Chianti Classicos of 2008 will be ones to collect, and Piedmont's Barberesco and Barolo wines will be recognized as amongst the finest of the past decade.
Varietal: Champagne Blend
The careful blending of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varietal grapes has long been the secret to the success of the famous sparkling wines of the Champagne region. The wines of this region have gone down in history as the finest example of France's sparkling produce, and the methods of processing the grapes in this region have been imitated in almost every wine producing country in the world. There are actually seven different grape varietals allowed to be included in a Champagne sparkling wine, although grape varietals such as Pinot Blanc, Arbanne and Pinot Gris are used less and less commonly in its production. Whilst the Chardonnay varietal grapes offer their distinctive biscuit flavor and wonderful astringency, it is the Pinot Noir grapes (most commonly used for producing beautifully light red wines) which give the Champagne wines their length and backbone.
Region: Trentino/Alto Adige
The Italian wine region of Trentino-Alto Adige is often considered to be Italy's finest and most unique wine region, with centuries of history, and a range of different influences coming from the region's proximity to Germanic countries, as well as places like Lombardy and Venezia. However, it is usually Trentino-Alto Adige's alpine nature which causes wine fans to become the most excited, as the beautiful terroir in the foothills of the Italian Alps produce wines which are packed full of fascinating and unique attributes, due to the crystal mountain waters and plentiful minerals present in the soils of the vineyards. The three native grape varietals of the area are still used in Trentino-Alto Adige's wines, however, it is more common to find excellent imported grapes listed on the region's bottles, as great success has been had with Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay grapes over the years.
Country: Italy
There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.