Angelini Veneto Pinot Noir

Angelini was recommended to us as an example of type that surpasses in quality what we have come to expect in everyday priced pinot, which isn't saying much since these things are pretty disappointing as a category.  As an Italian IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) wine, the juice is sourced from an expanded region and made in the international style but still, according to our research, maintains Veneto appellation characteristics.  This begs the question - What are the typical characteristics of Veneto Pinot Noir?  Try as we might we couldn't find them.  Which probably means they are just playing off the prestige of the Veneto appellation name.  

Veneto, in northeast Italy, has been called "the engine of the Italian wine industry."  As tastes have become more sophisticated in the modern era, it has grown in importance.  Not only is it home to Soave, Prosecco, Valpolicella and Amarone; it has also assumed a heightened role in the production of what California might call "fighting varietals," those everyday wines that are a step above bulk quality.  And that is what we think we have in Angelini...except that's not really fair to our most reliable vendor who, when he says something is good, it just IS.

There may be more to recommend this wine if we consider the long winemaking history of the region.  As we have said here many times, the pinot family of grapes has an unstable genome resulting in a history of vineyard mutations across Europe.  Currently there are fifty clones of Pinot Noir in Europe.  While origins for the grape geographically are uncertain, most ampelographers would put it around the middle of the continent.  Evidence shows this grape to have been around for a couple thousand years which probably means it found its way to Veneto a very long time ago.  Who would doubt the abilities of Italian winemakers with that kind of time to find the right clone and get the winemaking right?  

Pinot Noir is the great red grape of the world if you have an extra hundred dollars or so for that kind of quality.  Descriptors for any European Pinot Noir worth its salt should include finesse, elegance and complexity.  We believe Angelini may have those qualities.  Give it a try!