4. Other Black Grape Varieties Flashcards
Aglianico
Aglianico is the main black grape variety in Campania and Basilicata in the south of Italy. The wines produced are deeply coloured, intensely flavoured and full-bodied with high levels of tannin and acidity.
One of the top wines from Campania is Taurasi DOCG made from 100% Aglianico. The wine is full-bodied with complex floral and dark fruit aromas and high levels of acid and tannin.
Recommended tasting for this variety are Taurasi DOCG.
If you like Aglianico why not try Primitivo or Nebbiolo.
Barbera
Barbera is a black grape variety from the Piemonte region in northwest Italy. The wines produced have light to medium tannins and high acidity with aromas of red fruit of cherry and black pepper. As the tannins are moderate Barbera is often aged in oak, which adds flavours of toast, vanilla and sweet spice.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Barbera d’Alba or Barbera d’Asti.
If you like Barbera why not try Sangiovese or Corvina.
Carmenère
Carmenère is a black grape variety grown in Chile. It is originally a Bordeaux variety and introduced to Chile at the same time as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It is often used in a blend with these varieties but more recently varietal wines are being produced.
Carmenère wines are deep in colour, medium or full-bodied, medium or high acidity and alcohol, with high levels of tannin. Flavours include blackberry and peppery spice.
Carmenère needs the warmest and sunniest sites to ripen fully such as the regions of Aconcagua and the Central Valley. Underripe Carmenère can show pungent green bell pepper and green bean flavours.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Carmenère from Chile.
If you like Carmenère why not try Merlot.
Corvina
Corvina is a black grape variety used predominately in the blend for Valpolicella and Valpolicella Classico DOC in the Veneto region in northeast Italy. The wines range in style. The inexpensive wines are light bodied, pale to medium ruby colour, low tannins and high acidity, with flavours of sour red cherry. The more expensive wines come from plantings on the hills behind and west of Verona and these wines are more concentrated with complexity and flavours that hint at baked fruit, including plums, dried red cherries and prunes.
There is also the success of Corvina in Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG. These grapes have been partially dried to concentrate their flavours and the resultant wine is complex, full-bodied, and dry with high tannins and among the highest alcohol levels in Italy. Reciotto della Valpolicella like Amarone is made from dried Corvina grapes but the fermentation stops before all sugars are converted to alcohol leaving a sweet red wine.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella and Reciotto della Valpolicella.
If you like Corvina why not try Sangiovese or Montepulciano.
Gamay
Gamay is a black grape variety that has its home in Beaujolais, south of Burgundy. Its moderate climate produces light and medium-bodied red wines with medium or high acidity and low tannin. The wines are usually unoaked, with pronounced fruit aromas of strawberry, raspberry and cherry. Beaujolais AC is best consumed young.
Beaujolais Villages AC is superior quality wine from the north of the region. Within the Beaujolais Villages, there are ten villages, known as the Beaujolais Crus, which produce the best quality wines from the region and can improve with bottle age. These wines are labelled with the name of the village, rather than the region, for example, Fleurie AC, Brouilly AC and Morgon AC.
At the other end of the spectrum, wines labelled Nouveau are made for early drinking. These wines are a very light style, released in November following the harvest and are available until the following August.
The Gamay grape is used almost exclusively for Beaujolais and in very basic red Burgundies. Small amounts are grown in the Loire Valley; however this grape variety has not proved popular in other vine growing areas of the world.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Beaujolais and any of the Beaujolais Crus e.g. Fleurie or Brouilly.
If you like Gamay why not try Corvina.
Malbec
Malbec is a black grape variety originally from Bordeaux but is now the most important variety in Argentina. The wines produced are full bodied with medium or high levels of tannin and displaying a dark fruit character of blackberry and black plum, often with spicy flavours of clove and pepper. The best wines benefit from oak and bottle ageing.
Malbec can be blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot but it is mostly seen as a single variety. It is grown widely in Argentina but with most plantings in the Mendoza region.
Outside of Argentina, Malbec is the main grape variety in Cahors, France producing dark, deep and age worthy wines.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Malbec from Argentina and Cahors in France.
If you like Malbec why not try Zinfandel or Aglianico.
Montepulciano
Montepulciano is a black grape variety used to make Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC in the Abruzzo region in east central Italy (this should not be confused with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG which is made from the Sangiovese grape and is near the Tuscan town of Montepulciano).
The wine can range in quality with the inexpensive being simple with jammy black fruit. The better examples produce wines deep in colour, with high levels of acidity and medium to high levels of tannin and alcohol. Typical flavours of red fruit are evident including black cherry, blackberry and plums.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
If you like Montepulciano why not try Corvina or Gamay.
Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo is a thick-skinned black grape variety that makes darkly coloured, tannic wines with high levels of acidity, alcohol and uniquely savoury aromas and flavours. Red fruit flavours are accompanied by floral and earthy elements that can evolve with age into complex aromas of tobacco, mushroom and tar. The best examples of wines from this grape variety are usually full-bodied and will mature for many years and are some of the most sought after wines in the world.
The most famous wines from Piedmonte, Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG, are produced from Nebbiolo, giving the benchmark styles for this grape.
An increasing number of producers within Barolo are now showing the commune name on the label of the wine. Wines from La Morra have a softer, fruiter early maturing style, while wines from Monforte and Serralunga have a more structured style that takes longer to develop.
,br>Langhe overlaps both Barolo and Barbaresco and producers often declassify Nebbiolo for this DOC. For this reason, it can represent the best value in Piedmont.
Nebbiolo is confined mainly to the Piedmonte region of northwest Italy and is considered by many to be Italy’s premium grape variety.
It is planted in limited amounts in California, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Australia; however, none of these countries has yet produced wines that match the complexity of the great wines of Italy.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Barolo or Barbaresco.
If you like Nebbiolo why not try Aglianico.
Pinotage
Pinotage is a black grape variety developed for the moderate to hot climate of South Africa. The variety is a close relative of Pinot Noir.
Pinotage produces a range of styles, but is typically full-bodied with medium tannins and red fruit flavours of strawberry, raspberry and cherry, often with vegetal and animal notes of tar and leather.
Recommended tastings for this variety are any Pinotage wines from South Africa.
If you like Pinotage why not try Zinfandel or Primitivo.
Sangiovese
Sangiovese is an Italian black grape variety widely grown throughout central Italy but showing its best in Tuscany. Sangiovese is high in acidity and tannin and displays an array of flavours including earth, plum, red cherry and herbal notes such as green tea. The wines are often aged in oak.
Sangiovese is the dominant grape variety in Chianti DOCG; a small portion of other varieties can be added to the wine. Chianti DOCG is one of Italy’s most important wines but there is enormous variation in quality and style. Much basic Chianti is inexpensive and simple but better wines come from the sub-regions such as Chianti Classico DOCG.
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is made from 100% Sangiovese and can produce top quality wines for long ageing.
Riserva on a DOC or DOCG wine indicates that the wine has achieved a higher minimum level of alcohol and has been matured for at least a minimum number of months before release.
With the exception of Argentina, Sangiovese is only recently being grown in other countries.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Chianti, Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino.
If you like Sangiovese why not try Montepulciano or Barbera.
Tempranillo
Tempranillo is a black grape variety mainly grown in the premium wine region of Rioja DOCa in Spain. It produces full or medium-bodied reds, with medium acidity, medium tannins and red fruit flavours such as strawberry. This grape variety has a particular affinity with oak, which adds vanilla and spicy notes to the wine.
It is often blended with Garnacha – the Spanish for Grenache, which can be the dominant variety in inexpensive Riojas. Grenache adds high alcohol and some spicy notes, with light tannins.
Much of the character of traditional style Rioja comes from the oak ageing. This softens the tannins and gives sweet coconut and vanilla flavours to the wine. Over time, some very savoury animal and vegetal flavours can develop including meat, leather and mushroom, particularly in the wines that have extended oak ageing.
Tempranillo is grown throughout Spain, and the oak-ageing techniques used in Rioja are widely adopted. Wines labelled Joven are bottled the year following vintage for immediate release, and indicate the wine has not been aged in oak for the minimum required time to be called Crianza. In order of increasing age in oak and bottle are Crianza, followed by Reserva and finally, Gran Reserva.
Ribera del Duero DO produces premium quality reds from Tempranillo, with black fruit notes of blackberry and plum complimented by toasty oak flavours. Catalunya produce good quality reds in a range of styles using Tempranillo, Garnacha and international grape varieties.
As the wine producing world is continually searching for new, high-quality varieties, Tempranillo is spreading around the world most notably in Argentina, Australia and California.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Rioja and Ribera del Duero.
If you like Tempranillo why not try Touriga Nacional.
Touriga Nacional
Touriga Nacional is a top quality black grape variety grown in Portugal with the Douro DOC having the most established reputation. The variety is often used in the blend for Port but increasingly it is used on its own to produce high quality dry red wines.
The variety gives low yields of wines that are deep in colour, high in acid and tannin, with intense flavours of dark berry fruits like blackberry and blackcurrant and spices such as pepper and liquorice. The wines are usually aged in oak.
Recommended tastings for this variety are Douro red wines.
If you like Touriga Nacional why not try Tempranillo or Malbec.
Zinfandel
Zinfandel and Primitivo are the same variety. Zinfandel is an important black grape variety for premium quality red wines in California. Although a large proportion is used for off-dry fruity rosés – commonly known as White Zinfandel.
As a dry red wine it shows its best. These wines are rich, full-bodied, and high in alcohol, with flavours of black fruit such as blackberry, dried fruit of prune and raisin and sweet spices like clove and liquorice. The most intense, complex wines are made from old vines, with some vineyards having 100 year old Zinfandel vines.
Primitivo is an important black grape variety in southern Italy particularly in the region of Puglia and the island of Sicily. The wines produced are medium in acid, tannins and colour with flavours of jammy black fruit and liquorice. The grape is often a single varietal wine but equally it is blended with Negroamaro, especially in Puglia. Recommended tastings for this variety are Zinfandel from California and Primitivo from southern Italy.
If you like Zinfandel/Primitivo why not try Malbec or Aglianico
Which varieties is used for making full-bodied reds in Southern Italy?
Primitivo
Carmenère is most commonly used for…
Spicy, black fruit red wines from Chile
