Wine of the week: Tormaresca Neprica 2012
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
Once, the Tormaresca Neprica was among the greatest cheap wines in the world. It was the best-loved wine on the blog, getting the most visitors for any review, and its popularity here even translated into better sales and distribution (or so I was told).
And then one of those things happened that happens in wine, and the Neprica ($12, sample, 13.5%), an Italian red blend, was never the same. Where it had been dark and plummy and even a little earthy, it became soft and too fruity and a little ashy in the middle. Who knows why? Did the grapes come from a different place? Did the winemaker decide to do something different? Was the brand sold (which, apparently, is sort of what happened)?
The result was just another $12 grocery store red wine that tasted like every other grocery store wine. The Neprica dropped out of the Hall of Fame, the number of people who read the reviews dwindled to insignificance, and the world moved on. I’d taste the wine every year or so to see if anything had changed, and it hadn’t.
Until this one. The Tormaresca Neprica still isn’t what it was, but it is more than another grocery store wine. Look for lots of red fruit, but not so much that there isn’t anything else in the wine. The ashy taste in the middle is mostly gone, and the finish is pleasant if not long. Pair this with red sauce and winter dishes, and be glad it’s worth drinking again.
One of my favorite pizza wines. Do you suppose it is possible that they were (sadly) trying to make the wine a little more towards the average grocery store consumer?
Yes. It changed so much that’s the only explanation, and something that’s not uncommon with Italian wine.
“Was the brand sold (which, apparently, is sort of what happened)?”
Interesting – what’s the story behind this?
After I wrote this, I got a tweet from the producer that the brand had not been sold. I think the company that owns Tormaresco was sold to a Big Wine company.
Maybe it is just me, but I have found the current vintage of Vitiano a little more fruit forward and lacking some of that Italian “barnyard” missing. It’s still good, but I hope they don’t mess with it too much.It could just be this vintage.
The red Falesco Vitiano? Not sure if I have tasted it yet.
Yup, the red. It is still fabulous, and I continue to buy it frequently, but maybe just a little difference in the method this time around. Could just be my taste buds getting older.