The flavor of chalk in wine of Ticino
Discover the of Ticino wines revealing the of chalk flavor during the olphactive analysis (nose) and during the gustative analysis (mouth).
Ticino is a relatively small wine region in the alpine South of Switzerland, prized for its Merlot, and located along its border with Italy. The wine region's borders follow those of the canton of Ticino, a primarily Italian-speaking enclave in the landlocked multilingual country (the canton is called "Tessin" by the French and German speakers).
Vineyard">Vineyards in region cover just over 1,100 hectares (2,700 acres) and are centred around the rivers and large, alpine lakes of the canton. The latter are a major tourist attraction - much like the lake of Como, just 5km (3 miles) from Ticino's southernmost tip - and they all share water with Italy.
Merlot is the flagship variety here. This Bordeaux variety, which may seem an unusual variety of preference for a Swiss wine region, was introduced to Ticino in the early 20th century.
It makes up just over 80 percent of the entire vineyard area and has been so successful, it has been given its own appellation: Merlot del Ticino. This can be relatively light or – when from the warmer, sunnier vineyards and carefully vinified with oak – as fine and well Structured as good red Bordeaux.
Other varieties include Chardonnay (4 percent) and Sauvignon Blanc (1. 7 percent). In total, white wines only represent nine percent of the regional output.
Other than Merlot, reds include (in order of planting area) Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and one of Switzerland's "indigenous" crossings: Gamaret.
Last year, there was much mirth on wine Twitter about a particularly excruciating tasting note. You’re right. The wine trade needs to get out more. But still… this one was a beauty. It began well enough – really quite beautiful, in fact. But before long the imaginative descriptions were getting more ornate and strained. It moved from poetic to meaningless before finishing with a reference to Burnt Norton – the first of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets – that put it firmly in Private Eye magazine’s ...
Bordeaux 2021 en primeur releases really picked up speed this week, and the launch of Ausone, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Canon, Montrose, Léoville Poyferré, Beychevelle and La Gaffelière in recent days – to name just a few – has given prospective buyers plenty to look at. Let’s not forget the debut for Lafite Rothschild 2021, too. Ausone, Canon and Pichon Comtesse 2021 Ausone is St-Emilion wine royalty, of course, and UK merchant Bordeaux Index quoted a release price of £6,000 (12x7 ...
A total of £72,600 was raised from 79 lots at the sixteenth DWWA wine auction hosted by Christie’s on 2 December – beating a record set in 2018. This total excludes Christie’s buyer’s premium. All proceeds will be added to funds raised by Decanter throughout the DWWA this year. Charities supported include The Drinks Trust, WaterAid, Cancer Research UK, Change Please, Decanter Apprenticeships and more. Over the past 12 months, Decanter has donated in excess of £100,000 to these charities. T ...