Wine Review - 2010 Adalia Valpolicella: Tannins and Cologne For Days (Thank God for Decanters)

Shannon has successfully fended off the Strep Throat she was battling so we decided to get her back in the game.  We ventured out for the first time in a few days and surprise, surprise wine shopping was a priority. 
This wine comes from Italian winemakers Adalia.  We purchased it from Bishop's Cellar and we decided to have a homemade pizza with it.  We figured this would be a good match.  At $21.50 locally it is a bit more than we would normally pay for a Valpolicella but it is a nice Spring Saturday...what the heck.  This wine is comprised of 30% Corvina, 40% Corvina Grossa, 20% Rondinella, 10& Molinara.

We opened this wine and decanted it for probably 30 minutes before trying it and that was a mistake.  The first glass of this wine was shall we say tight....it was bitter on the finish and over-perfumed (cologned).  We came up with the analogy of this being like that friend who has too much gel and one too many buttons open on their shirt.  However, we let the wine open up and it did up a couple of buttons along the way. 

The wine finally came to a place where the fruit actually shone through.  Prior to that, it was all spice and tannins which on a young wine like this one is not the best.  It was the bitter finish that did it in early on.  It tasted like when you get 90% Cocoa chocolate thinking it is a dark chocolate bar.  Way too bitter.  Once it opened up it transitioned to rounder mouthfeel with a hint of tannin but definitely a more balanced profile.  Thank Goodness....

The wine was typically Valpolicella in the glass though with bit more darkness than we would normally expect.  The nose was perfumed (initially not in a good way) and then showed the fruit and some spice as the wine opened up.

The flavours softened over time and what was almost hotness transitioned to a way better mouthfeel and lot less bitterness on the finish.  We actually began to enjoy it once we got halfway through glass number two.  This is yet another reason that decanting helps wine become more enjoyable and drinkable.

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Typical Valpolicella colours though with a slightly deeper tinge.	4.0
Smell (0-5)	Spice and heat initially but that transitioned into a more ripe fruit sensation with some spice notes.	3.5
Taste (0-10)	Thank goodness this wine opened up.  At the start this wine finished super bitter but afterwards it balanced out and became a more rounder taste.  Ripe fruit started coming through and it tasted a lot more like Valpolicella.  It is a nice wine if you give it the time it needs but at almost $22 it is a stretch.	7.5
	Total:	15.0 / 20  (75.0%)

We said as we were tasting this that we have had better Valpolicella at a lower price and that really became the key inidcator for this wine.  If it were $17 locally it would have gotten a higher score simply due to the value.  Not at all a bad wine but certainly takes patience to get the most out of it.

Keep on drinking!

Chris & Shannon