Tag Archives: epicuro

Oct 29 2013
14 Comments
2011, Apulia, Italy

2011 Epicuro Salice Salentino DOC

2011 Epicuro Salice Salentino

2011 Epicuro Salice Salentino

One of my earliest posts in this blog involved one of my go to, bread and butter, affordable reds: the 2007 Epicuro Salice Salentino, which is available at Trader Joe’s for $5.99. I later reviewed the 2009 vintage of that wine (decidedly less exciting than 2007). Upon one of my last Trader Joe’s visits, I realized that the 2011 vintage is now out, so in line with earlier posts, this is my review of that wine. I know this is an industrially produced, mass market wine, but I always had a soft spot for it, so bear with me…

The 2011 Epicuro Salice Salentino DOC is no longer qualified as a Riserva, unlike its predecessors. It is still made of 80% Negroamaro grapes and 20% Malvasia Nera, with 13% ABV.

In the glass, the wine displayed a decidedly lighter color than its predecessors, a watery ruby red that lacked the depth of color in the earlier vintages (I assume that this is due to less ageing in a barrel). The nose showed oriental spices (think mulled wine, a bit weird), wet tobacco leaf and earthy aromas underlying it. All in all a similar nose to earlier vintages, I think. On the palate, though, what struck me immediately was that this vintage has a decided sugary component which is too much for me. I am not looking for a semi-sweet red wine, so this was a downer. There were cherry, leather and tobacco aromas with barely noticeable tannins, so its feels mild and is rather easy to drink.

I think the earlier releases had more depth and character than this vintage. I was quite disappointed, frankly and am not sure I will reach for it again…

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Nov 30 2012
17 Comments
2009, Apulia, Italy

2009 Epicuro Salice Salentino Riserva

2009 Epicuro Salice Salentine Riserva

Some of you might remember that I wrote a quite fond review for this wine’s 2007 Riserva, if you don’t you can find it here. It is available at Trader Joe’s for $5.99. Let me just repost some of the information on Salice Salentino from my previous post:

“Salice Salentino is a red wine from Southern Italy and has had DOC (denominanzione di origine controllata) status since 1976. The village it is named after is in the heel of the Italian boot. The main grape in a salice salentino is negroamaro, which is generally described as a rustic and earthy grape.

This red has 80% negroamaro and 20% malvasia nera in it. It has 13% ABV.”

The wine poured in a dark, blackberry red into the glass. On the nose, I initially got some floral notes, possibly violets, then some mint. The wine smelled very”fresh”, not sure how else to describe it, with hints of acidity. On the palate the first impression was very spicy and floral. It had a medium bodied mouth-feel to it and the fruit I noticed was strawberry. There was a nice acidity in this wine that kept it fresh. The finish was herbal and tangy with some leather notes, and of medium length. It was a tad too acidic for my taste, but all in all a pretty decent and interesting red.

This 2009 vintage tasted significantly different from the 2007 vintage. It lacked the depth that I seem to remember (probably because I don’t get much leather and tobacco in this one), but it was still an enjoyable wine. I also am never quite sure whether I remember wines that I liked in the past more fondly than they actually were…but that is another story.The acidity is definitely more prominent and the wine seems lighter and fresher in total. I am pretty certain I will buy this one again.

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Sep 21 2012
6 Comments
2007, Apulia, Food and Wine Pairings, Italy

2007 Epicuro Salice Salentino Riserva

(This is a review of the 2007 vintage. The current vintage on sale is 2009, which I reviewed over here.)

Epicuro’s wines have been my go to Italian reds since I moved to Ann Arbor. They are reasonably priced ($5.99, I believe) and easily available at Trader Joe’s. I actually had my first sip of an Epicuro during my last weeks in Germany, when  my friend who gave me the Scharzhofberger, brought this wine for a dinner I had cooked. I had seen the bottles before, but it being such a mass label, I never tried it. They have a row of wines, differentiated by the color of their labels:

Red is a primitivo; blue is a nero d’avola; silver is an aglianico; and gold a salice salentino. They also produce a white, a vermentino.

I am not fond of their aglianico and nero d’avola, but I thought the 2008 vintage of their primitivo was great. A nice table wine, chewy and interesting, we had it for many BBQs and other evenings of just drinking wine. The currently available 2010 vintage, however, does not fit my taste. It is quite sweet, something that 2008 did not have to that degree. I don’t think I will keep buying that wine. But there still is the 2007 Salice Salentino Riserva…

Salice Salentino is a red wine from Southern Italy and has had DOC (denominanzione di origine controllata) status since 1976. The village it is named after is in the heel of the Italian boot. The main grape in a salice salentino is negroamaro, which is generally described as a rustic and earthy grape.

This red has 80% negroamaro and 20% malvasia nera in it. It has 13% ABV.

It poured as a medium to dark red. The nose was alcoholic and perfumy, with hints of leather. On the palate, I first noticed how nicely chewy this wine was. I then got cherries and herbal tastes, as well as rather strong leather and tobacco notes, which gave the wine depth. It had good acidity and the tannins came through well. A long finish made it a really enjoyable wine on a later evening. To me, this is definitely the star of the Epicuros.

As I indicated in Wednesday’s post, I had never had red wine with my risotto, so I gave it a try. And oh man, this really worked very well with the earthy flavors of the mushroom risotto. I wish I had paired them to begin with, but by the time we opened this one, I was already stuffed…

I will definitely be stocking up on this wine. Who knows how long it will be around, being a 2007 vintage? At $5.99, there is hardly anything wrong with it. It definitely tasted like a more expensive wine.

Photo taken from leftovers the next day. That said, I do like my risotto less creamy than most American chefs.

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