Wine List of the Month
Enoteca Turi
Giuseppe Turi = Enoteca Turi. Giuseppe’s passion for wine is reflected in the name
of his restaurant since the word enoteca means wine library in Italian so we suppose
that in his restaurant you need to match the food with the wine, and not vice versa.
It’s an Italian restaurant, of course, and the list is now mainly confined to Italian
wines and like the true connoisseur, Giuseppe knows that quality knows no bounds.
Over half the wines on the list are of 3 star quality or more and although the prices
are a little on the high side by national standards, the are not over the top as
far as London is concerned. Another great plus for this list is the comprehensive
and detailed notes given for most of the wines on the list together with some useful
general notes on each section. There are few half bottles on the list, but there
is a reasonable selection of wines by the glass, which are linked as recommendations
to the various dishes on the menu.
There are a number of high class Italian sparkling wines in the Sparkling Wines and
Champagnes section, but the list kicks off with a Prosecco from a small producer,
Col Vetoraz, at £31.50. Lovers of non-dosage fizz are well catered for by a choice
between the excellent Ca’ del Bosco ‘Dosage Zero’ 2002 at £65 (3 stars in Wine Behind
The Label) and the Larmandier-Bernier ‘Terre de Vertus’ NV Champagne at £67 (4 stars).
There is a House red and white from Sicily, but it would be foolish to go for these
whilst there is so much better to be found among the list. There are a number of
inexpensive Italian whites with Gravina 2008 from Botromagno at £22.50 and Falanghina
Sannia 2008 from Vesevo at £23.50 - both rated 2.5 stars. Feldmarschall V Fenner
2007 from Tiefenbrunner in the Alto Adige at £38.50 (3.5 stars) is one of the finest
examples of a Müller-Thurgau wine from this much maligned varietal. Cervaro della
Sala 2005, a mostly Chardonnay wine from one of the Marchese Antinori’s major outposts
in Umbria, is 4 star value even at £68.50, but the 4.5 star wines from Jasko Gravner
( Breg and Ribolla ) at £95.50 may be only for the wealthy anorak.
In the reds under £30, two Tuscan producers show good value for money - Luigi Alessandro’s
Cortona Syrah 2006 and Fattoria di Magliano’s ‘Heba’ Morellino di Scansano 2007 -
both £28.50 and both 2.5 stars. Even better value is the Do Zenner Nero d’Avola ‘Terre
delle Sirene’ 2005 from Sicily, which is 3.5 stars at £34.50. Rosso del Conte ‘Contea
di Sclafani’ 2004 from Tasca d’Almeira in Sicily is 4 star quality at £56, but even
better value is the 5 star Montiano Merlot from wine guru Ricardo Cotarella’s Falesco
estate in Lazio at £59. Giuseppe Masciarelli’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ‘Villa Gemma’
2004 is also 5 star quality, but at £88 it’s pushing the boat out value wise. Other
5 star wines are at even higher prices with a little vertical of Feudi di San Gregorio’s
Patrimo Irpinia at prices from £125 to £145.
There then follows a very long list of the good and the great, divided in geographical
areas starting off with Tuscany. No great Chianti bargains and some surprising omissions
from the list in such producers as Castello di Ama and Castello dei Rampolla. In
Montelcino, Colle Mattoni’s Brunello 2003 at £65 rates 4.5 stars, but if you want
to go higher, there’s no shortage of wines from £100 to £310. Guido Salvoni’s ‘La
Cerbaiola’ Brunello 2001 rates super 5 stars and comes in at £167. Super Tuscans
abound from Tenuta di Trinoro’s ‘Le Cupole’ Bordeaux blend 2004 at £46.50 right up
to Masseto 1997 at £550. 5 star wines at under £100 include Tua Rita’s Giusto di
Notri 2002 at £78, Isole e Olena’s Cepparello 2001 at £82.50 and 1999 at £85.50.
North East Italy has the 5 star Amarone della Valpollicella 2001 from Allegrini just
under £100 at £95.50, or Romano del Forno’s straight Valpolllicella 2000 (4 stars)
at the same price, and if you really want to splash out, Romano dal Forno’s Amarone
della Valpolicella ‘Monte Lodoletta’ 1995 is on at £250. Of course, if you want the
1996, you will need to fork out £300.
However, it’s not as an outrageous price as Quintarelli’s Amarone Riserva 1996 at
£520. On the other hand, Tenuta San Leonardo’s ‘San Leonardo Di Valla Garina’ 1999,
is 4 star quality at £59.50. From the North West, the two wines from the Val d’Aosta,
Torette Superiore Clos de Chateaux Feuillet 2005 from Cantina di Barro at £38.50
and the Fumin ‘Vigne la Tour Val’ 2004 from Les Crêtes at £44.50 are good value.
There are some good Barberas from Piedmont - Guiseppe Rinaldi’s 2006 Barbera d’Alba
looking best at £38, but there are also two 4.5 star wines from La Spinetta, Barbera
d’Asti Superiore 2001 at £65 and his Barbera d’Alba ‘Gallina’ 2005 at £69. The best
value Barbaresco on the list by far is the ‘Brich Ronchi’ (4 stars) 1999 from Abino
Rocca at £52 and the 5 star ‘Rabaja’ 2004 from Bruno Rocca is also relatively good
value at £95. Of course, you can choose lots of other high quality Barbarescos going
right up to Gaja Tildin 1997, 5 star PLUS at £375. Barolos, too, are represented
in a wide range of prices, from the 4.5 star Barolo ‘Otin Fiorin Pie Franco’ 1999
from Cappellano at £68, to the legendary 5 star PLUS Barolo Riserva ‘Monfortino’
1999 from the late Giacomo Conterno at £520. (£1040 for a magnum, if you are thirsty.)
There used to be a fairly substantial “Rest of the World” section but this seems
to have been forsaken now in favour of keeping the list almost exclusively Italian
with the exception of some Champagnes and some dessert wines. In the dessert wine
section, a half bottle of Macalun’s 4 star ‘Torcolato’ 2005 at £33 looks to be good
value, but there are wines of extraordinary quality there including Patrick BaudouinÕs
Côteaux du Layon ‘Aprés Minuit’ 1997 at £150 for a 50 cl. bottle and Ch. Tirceul-La-Gravière
‘Cuvée Madame’ 1996 for the same size bottle at £180, ensuring that you are well
and truly paying for scarcity value. Ch. d’Yquem 1989 at £450 a bottle is not bad
value considering that the retail price is nigh on £400. In vintage Ports, Quinta
do Noval 1985 at £65 a bottle is probably just as good as paying a lot more for older
vintages.
It’s an extraordinary well-annotated list - a great read whilst you are waiting for
your food to appear - an education in itself.
Best Value White: Feldmarschall V Fenner 2007 from Tiefenbrunner in the Alto Adige
at £38.50
Best Value Red: Montiano Merlot from wine guru Ricardo Cotarella’s Falesco estate
in Lazio at £59.
Rich Man’s Bargain: Guido Salvoni’s ‘La Cerbaiola’ Brunello di Montalcino 2001 at
£167.
Enoteca Turi 28 Putney High Street, London SW15 1SQ
Telephone: 020 8785 4449
