Tag Archives: verdicchio

Wine of the week: Garofoli Macrina 2019

Garofoli Macrina
Garofoli Macrina /$12-$15

The 2019 version of the Garofoli Macrina shows vintage differences, but those are to be appreciated in a wine at this price

How screwy are wine prices these days? Consider the Garofoli Macrina, an Italian white that has long been a Wine Curmudgeon favorite.

I paid $12. It’s $14, marked down to $12, at an East Coast retailer, but $15 at another. And it’s $17 on Wine.com. Ain’t wine availability grand?

So what’s a wine drinker to do? Buy the Garofoli Macrina ($12, purchased, 13%) if you can get it for less than $15. It’s that well made and that enjoyable, and especially as spring arrives.

The Garofoli is made in the Marche region with verdicchio, one of the seemingly countless number of Italian white grapes that gets lost in the pinot grigio shuffle. It’s much more interesting than pinot grigio, with more depth and more structure, and sometimes shows an almost almond flavor.

Garofoli is a top producer in the Marche, and this wine has a DOCG designation, which the Italians use to identify a distinctive (if not always higher quality) appellation. In this case, the DOCG matters for quality.

The 2019 is bit more bright and fresh then the 2017, the last Garofoli I tasted. There‘s green apple and lemon, so it’s fruitier and less citrusy, and the almond and spice isn’t as noticeable. But that’s a vintage difference and not something to complain about.

Highly recommended – a Hall of Fame quality wine that should be on the short list for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Garofoli USA

Wine of the week: Garofoli Superiore Macrina 2017

arofoli Superiore MacrinaThe Garofoli Superiore Macrina is an Italian white wine that offers surprising quality and value

Of all the things the Wine Curmudgeon loves about wine – and I love almost everything about it – my favorite might be finding an inexpensive wine of tremendous quality that I knew nothing about. In other words, a wine like the Garofoli Superiore Macrina.

The Garofoli Superiore Macrina ($13, purchased, 12%) is an Italian white wine made with the verdicchio grape from the Marche region. Don’t worry if you don’t know either; they’re not especially important in the Winestream Media scheme of things. The only reason I bought the bottle is that the Italian Wine guy recommended it, and few know more about Italian wine value than he does.

The wine was everything it should have been – somehow, both fresh and rich, with an almost creamy approach that tasted of almonds and citrus. But it wasn’t heavy, which is what that description makes it sound like. The finish, in fact, was clean and crisp, with lots of minerality. Is it any wonder I enjoyed it so much?

Drink this chilled on its own or with almost any kind of grilled or boiled seafood (the Marche is on the Adriatic coast). A note about the price – they’re all over the board, from as little as $11 to $16.

Imported by Garofoli USA

Wine of the week: Umani Ronchi Villa Bianchi 2015

Umani RonchiThe Umani Ronchi Villa Bianchi is great cheap Italian white wine, destined for the $10 Hall of Fame

Vineyard Brands is an importer renowned for its oh so tasteful portfolio of high-end wines, which include Champagne, Burgundy, and Brunello. But its greatness as an importer is also defined by the cheap wine that it imports, like the $10 grocery store staple, the Spanish Marques de Cacera.

Which brings us to the Umani Ronchi ($10, purchased, 12.5%), an Italian white made with the unheralded verdicchio grape in the equally unheralded Marches region. This is one of those wines that makes me glad I write about wine – professionally made but also terroir driven and representative of its time and place. It’s the kind of cheap wine that reminds me why I do this, and that wine does not have to be about snobbery and pretense.

How to describe everything that is going on here? Perhaps a touch of almond in the aroma, with some delicate citrus (lemon peel?) flavors, and an almost apricot pit quality to the finish. Best yet, all of that is balanced and Italian, without any allowance made for smoothness or ripe fruit or focus groups.

Highly recommended, and almost certain to be added to the 2018 $10 Hall of Fame. Drink this chilled on its own or with something like spaghetti and clam sauce or chicken and mushrooms braised in white wine, where this is the wine for both cooking and drinking.

Imported by Vineyard Brands