There is some really good wine produced in Emilia-Romagna, and a whole lot of uninteresting wine. I was excited when I found this bottle of Albana di Romagna Colle del Re from Umberto Cesari, especially when I noticed the DOCG stamp. The grape in question, Albana, isn’t a mystery, but the wine it produces often times is. The grape has a documented history in the Romagna region at least back to the year 1300 but many think it was cultivated back at the end of the Imperial Roman era. The grape is made in a variety of styles including secco (dry), passito and sparkling. In the past it has been known to produce some good passito wines, but mainly undistinguished dry and off-dry whites, and so it was with amazement that in 1987, Albana di Romagna was the first Italian white wine to achieve DOCG status.
After my first few sips of this wine, I could understand the surprise of the Italian wine community in 1987, since the best I could say about this version was ‘nice’! It was had fruit on the nose and a touch of honey, but not in a very distinctive way, and the palate of just ripening apricot and bitter almond seemed to offer more in the way of residual sweetness than acidity, which made it a bit lackluster. I tasted it later in the day with a roast beef sandwich, and it seemed to be a totally different wine. There was a bit of peach to go with the apricot along with some fennel and other green herbs. The most startling transition was with the residual sweetness and acidity; there was now an absence of the former and a definite presence of the latter, making it more enjoyable. The wine was now crisp with citrus finish of a decent length. I had another glass the next evening without food, and the wine seemed to be a cross between my first two tastings with the return of some residual sweetness, which acted to dampen the citrus acidity.
All in all, even at $3 off the regular price of $18, I’m not sure if I would dip my beak in this Albana di Romagna again - although I might be tempted to try the Tre Monti version.
PS: I have created a summary chart of the small whites I’ve tasted and a photo album of the labels for those who are interested.
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