Italian Wine

Imagine you have just shared a date with George Clooney (or maybe Catherine Zeta Jones). How could you go out with a mere mortal ever again? After trying Marisa Cuomo's Fiorduva, other white wines pale in comparison. Cantine Marisa Cuomo is a small winery located in Furore on the Amalfi Coast, where the vines grow on terraced slopes teeming with lemon and fig trees and peregrine falcons still nest. The Fiorduva, named for the Fjord of Furore, is a blend of three indigenous grapes: 30% fenile, 30% ginestra and 40% ripoli harvested late into the season. Fr... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City

The 2006 Selvagrossa Trimpilin is 100% sangiovese and is vinified in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks where it remains until after the malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged in barrique for 16 months. Selvagrossa’s first production for the Trimpilin was in 2002 and in this 2006 vintage, 250 cases were produced. The wine is really beginning to blossom now; the sangiovese’s tight core of cherrylaced flavors is gradually uncoiling to show this wine’s strident purity. In the mouth the wine is spicy, full of complex fruit and hints of vani... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

This beautiful estate in the village of Abbadia di Montepulciano in the hills of southern Tuscany is owned and operated by Simona Ruggeri and her two daughters, Anna and Margharita. The activities of this azienda are predominantly devoted to the production of fruits and vegetables. But, approximately 10 hectares of prime hillside land is set aside for the cultivation of the finest grape varietals. The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano experiences a fermentation period that can last up to 25 days. This wine is aged for two years in a combination of small and m... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood

Etna Rosso is made of Nerello Mascalese, with the permitted addition of up to 20% Nerello Cappuccio, of which Ciro Biondi takes full advantage. This shows an almost Burgundian combination of finesse and substance, leaving a wonderful lingering impression on the palate . The enologist here is Salvo Foti, also from Etna, whose respect for the indigenous flavors of the mountain is evident; the wine shows no overt oak, only excellent, clean and balanced winemaking. This wine has far more weight and complexity than you'd expect from the relatively pale color... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse

According to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The 2008 Sauvignon Terlaner reveals a typical varietal bouquet wedded to a fairly ripe expression of apricots, peaches, and flowers. This mid-weight, steely Sauvignon possesses lovely balance if not quite the harmony of the Weissburgunder. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2012." (10/09) Ignaz Niedrist is one of the most respected small producers in the Alto Adige. His wines are very expressive, brilliantly made examples of their type, including a fine Pinot Bianco (an underestimated variety that makes minerally, ag... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City

This fantastic Barbera (of "the dawn") is fine and very fragrant with a fresh perfume of red fruit and spice and loads of up-front acidity, which is just the ticket for rich (mushroom and sausage risotto, perhaps) and fried foods. Drink now or within the next five years. 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse

95 points Wine Spectator: "Shows meat and blackberry on the nose, with hints of rose perfume. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, rich and flavorful finish. Love the cocoa, berry and light vanilla bean aftertaste. This is always classic in an outstanding year. Best from 2010 through 2015." (Web only, 2009) 93 points Wine Enthusiast: "...Montosoli is a tremendous wine with impressive intensity and staying power that takes shape as cherry, tobacco, spice and bursting blueberry. Drink from 2010 through 2020." (06/09) Wine is due 12/31/2009 

Inventory: Main Warehouse

Marzemino Gentile is one of the most interesting grape varieties of Trentino. Known as the Mozart wine (as mentioned in Don Giovanni) is typical of the area of Ala and Rovereto where the soil has a characteristic basaltic rocks and therefore full of manganese. The wine has medium size body, a dark ruby almost purple color but with a delicate and unmistakable nose of violets. The taste is fragrant of wild cherries and bilberries. Perfect with pasta with mushrooms and red meat with potatoes. 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse San Francisco

According to the Wine Spectator: "Dark in color, with aromas of plum and fresh herbs. Medium-bodied, with soft tannins and a clean finish. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Best after 2009." (09/08) 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City

95 points Robert Parker "The 2001 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico is stunning in the way it has acquired tons of complexity over the years while remaining fresh and perfumed. High-toned, balsamic aromatics meld into layers of cherries in liqueur, menthol, fresh mint, spices, sweet herbs and flowers as this remarkable wine opens up in the glass. Despite its size and opulence, the wine has maintained essential inner clarity and precision, qualities that are very hard to come by in this style of Vin Santo. Rocca di Montegrossi's Vin Santo is 95% Malvasia and... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood

91 points Wine Enthusiast: "This vineyard-select Brunello is tight and bright with an attractive mineral component that rides behind overt aromas of cherry, cola and white chocolate. The mouthfeel is characterized by a smoky-mesquite note and the wine is very persistent in the mouth." (06/09) 90 points Wine Spectator: "Bright and fruity aromas of strawberries and raspberries follow through to a full body, with firm tannins and a racy, clean finish. Tight still. Give this racy wine time to develop more in the bottle. Best after 2011." (Web only, 2009) ... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate "The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano is one of the more reticent wines in this lineup of 2004 Riservas. Its vibrant, fresh color is followed by notes of violets, roses, black cherries, menthol, smoke and licorice. The wine possesses tons of structure and sheer muscle behind the fruit, suggesting this will be an especially long-lived Barbaresco. In recent vintages I haven’t been the biggest fan of the Montestefano, but this superb 2004 is impossible to resist. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2024." (10/08) 91-93 po... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse

The 2007 Selvagrossa Muschén is a forward, fresh and vibrant wine that is made from 60% Sangiovese, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. It is fermented and aged in stainless steel and sees no oak. The wine shows Sangiovese's vibrant, acidic backbone, which gives the wine its verve and direction along with some elegant cherry tones. The Merlot adds a bit of mid-palate richness and some warm texture to the Sangiovese's brightness while thickening it toward the finish. The spicy, complex Cabernet Franc is what brings everything together. This 2007 vintage is... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

91 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Nino Negri’s 2004 Sfursat 5 Stelle is rich and weighty in its expression of sweet dark cherries, spices, flowers, minerals and toasted oak. Made in an intense layered style, it offers notable depth as well as clarity in its detail. Today it comes across as quite youthful and in need of bottle age. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019." (10/07) 

Inventory: Hollywood

91 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The 2007 Passito di Pantelleria Ben Rye (Zibibbo) offers compelling notes of candied ginger, dried figs, spices, flowers and minerals. This is a medium-bodied Ben Rye that comes across as especially beautiful, without the cloying heaviness some vintages have had. The 2007 is a great showing for one of Italy’s most unique sweet wines. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2017." (04/09) 

Inventory: Hollywood

According to the Wine Spectator: "Raspberry, flowers and mineral on the nose and palate. Full-bodied, turning a little jammy and raisiny. Shows loads of new oak. A New World style. Drink now." (12/08) According to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The estate’s 2005 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is an accessible, easygoing wine. The wine offers an attractive perfumed quality to its fruit, with excellent length and poise. It should drink well over the next few years. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2012." (06/08) 

Inventory: Hollywood

96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Geppetti has produced another gem in her 2006 Saffredi, a French-oak aged blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Alicante. This textured, explosive wine boasts considerable depth and richness in its dark fruit, flowers, minerals and graphite. The wine remains extremely primary and in need of considerable bottle age in order to offer its best drinking but it is unquestionably formidable. The style combines elements of power and elegance, achieving a level rarely seen in these parts. Simply put, this is stunning j... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse

Pale and clear yellow in color, the bouquet of this interesting white is at once herbal and floral, with a distinctive note of orange tree blossoms. Soft and fresh on the palate, it's wonderful with or without food. 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City

95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The 2005 Barbaresco Santo Stefano is striking in its beauty. This firm, structured wine bursts from the glass with layers of dark red fruit, spices, flowers and menthol. Medium in body, the wine possesses notable inner beauty in a transparent, almost weightless style. There is superb pedigree here, not to mention tons of class. Once again the Santo Stefano bottling delivers the goods. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2025." (10/08) 90 points Wine Spectator: "Perfumed and very beautiful, with strawberry and flowers. Su... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse

By order of the European Union, harvest 2007 marks the first vintage that the grape variety formerly known as 'Tocai Friulano' must be called Friulano. Tocai Friulano is the most typical white wine in Friuli, the northeastern region of Italy. It is an indigenous grape variety grown in Friuli for hundreds of years. This Tocai Friulano is produced in the Colli Orientali area of Friuli, an area known for its unique terroir and where world-class white wines of Italy are produced. Medium bodied, with ripe, luscious pear flavors carried by a refreshing mineral... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood

A blend of Nero d'avola and Frapatto (60/40) from one of Sicily's best-known wineries, Planeta. Produced in Vittoria, the wine is a vibrant ruby red showing bright fruit aromas and flavors like strawberry and cherry, with hints of fig. Distinctive, with food-friendly acidity and a supple texture, this wine's finish is long and rewarding. Try serving with risotto balls or Sfincione (a Sicilian-style pizza). 

Inventory: Hollywood Redwood City

This is a superb effort featuring 100% of the local Cococciola (pronounced co co cho la) grape, known for its high acidity an up-front grassiness and shows great minerality, growing on a hillside vineyard in the far flung and mountainous region of Abruzzo. Very fresh and oh-so vivid, this unusual white is delightful with simply prepared seafood dishes. 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City

The name means "hill of the apples." Apple trees were planted at the beginning of the century to stabilize a big land slide still visible today. Light gold with green highlights, explosive nose with elderflowers and hints of sage and mint, white peach and gooseberry. Dry, very balanced, ripe fruit with citrus notes, and a long, deliciously oily finale. 

Inventory: Hollywood San Francisco

95 points Wine Spectator "Shows ripe strawberry, raspberry and plum pudding. Full-bodied, with loads of ripe, juicy fruit. Chewy and tannic, yet polished. Big and powerful. Best after 2012. 270 cases made." (07/09) 94 points Wine Enthusiast: "The Brunate cru with its excellent exposure and thicker soils is usually known for its hearty, deeply concentrated wines. Instead, here we find an elegant almost feminine expression with pretty nuances of vanilla, forest berry and dried violets. It certainly does not lack power or concentration, and the delivery is... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse

According to the Wine Spectator: "Aromas of dried cherries, with hints of cedar and tobacco. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins and a crisp, clean finish. Best after 2009." (Web only, 2008) 89 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 08: "Bright, full red. Red cherry, red berries, licorice and flowers on the slightly liqueur-like nose. Then fresh and scented in the mouth, with rather polite, spicy flavors and a surprisingly juicy quality. A supple midweight that finishes with light, dusty tannins and good persistence." 

Inventory: Hollywood

90 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Smoke, tar, licorice and amarena cherries are some of the nuances that emerge from the 2007 Barbera d’Asti Tre Vigne. Clean, mineral notes frame the long, silky finish. This over-achieving, juicy Barbera is totally delicious and a great value as well, in fact, it is one of Italy’s finest wines for under $20. It is not to be missed. The Barbera d’Asti Tre Vigne is made from four parcels in Agliano with vines ranging from 7 to 70+ years (the second selection from the La Crena vineyard). Anticipated maturity: 2009-2... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

93 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: "100% montepulciano) Deep, almost impenetrable ruby-black. Exotically perfumed and decadently rich nose redolent of ripe plum, sweet espresso, chocolate-covered blueberry, moss and allspice. Mouthcoatingly sweet and rich, this offers huge volume and extract, with a fleshy mouth feel to the ripe blackberry, prune, milk chocolate and sandalwood flavors. Harmonious acids give this outsized wine a vibrant, lively feel and extend the creamy-smooth finish for what seems like minutes. I am not usually a fan ... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood

94 points and one of Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2009: "The wine's beauty and intensity are impossible to match: There’s an enormous complexity of aromas here with chocolate, black tar, spice, blackberry, forest currant and tobacco all rolled into one. You'll pick up toasted oak tones as well, but they are carefully balanced within the naturally supple and smooth essence of this standout Brunello." (Online, 03/09) 92 points Wine Spectator: "Shows currants and raspberries, with a hint of vanilla on the nose. Full-bodied, with fine tann... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse

So this isn't quite a Vin Santo, it is a Vino Liquoroso. Vino Liquoroso is more like a Port, where the fermentation is blocked by the addition of alcohol to leave a percentage of sugar. The wine is a tasty mixture of Tuscan and Sicilian grapes blended to give you the flavor and feel of Vin Santo at a price point where you don't have to use an eye dropper. If you are used to dipping your biscotti into a glass of Vin Santo at an Italian Restaurant, more than likely it is a Vino Liquoroso! 

Inventory: Hollywood

This ruby red evanescent beauty is made with 85% lambrusco grasparossa and 15% fortana (locally known as the 'golden grape'). The nose is intense and persistent with vinous notes of fruits and flowers, recalling blackberries, cherries and plums. The palate is dry, light on the alcohol and soft, with good acid and low tannin. It is just plain delicious, folks! 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City

There are many recent surprises in the region of Campania, which is perhaps the most improved winemaking area in Italy, but one thing has not changed: the wine made from the Aglianico grape grown around the village of Taurasi is still one of the glories of Italian viticulture. Contrade di Taurasi is owned by Sandro Lonardo, a schoolteacher, and his wife Enza. This Taurasi is cleanly made but complex, intriguing and fine. The wine spends about three weeks on the skins, and is aged for 18-24 months in wood, and a year in stainless steel; more recent vintag... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City

The secret to this superb wine, pride of the Valpolicella, is the special selection for the grapes placed on the wooden trays at the end of September, the meticulous control during the drying process till January/February where they are then pressed, and the loving care during the wine's aging over the next four to five years. In the mouth, it is warm, robust, full bodied, velvety, pleasantly bitter, and harmonious. It is an excellent wine for game dishes, and has no equal with grana cheese. 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse

92 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The 2003 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Pianrosso is made from the estate’s oldest vineyards. It is vinified along the same line as the regular bottling, but gets a few additional months in cask prior to bottling. This full-bodied, velvety Brunello is endowed with plenty of dark fruit, smoke, iron and tar. The tannins finish big, but the wine appears to have enough depth and length on the palate to provide a good measure of balance. The Pianrosso comes across as surprisingly fresh in this vintage, which should allo... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate "The 2006 Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo is seriously dark, rich and intense. Dark cherries, tobacco, herbs and minerals come together in this brooding, weighty Vigna del Sorbo. Today the wine comes across as completely closed and folded in on itself, but with time it should emerge as a beauty. The elegance of the superb 2004 seems missing, and this looks to be an especially concentrated vintage for this wine. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2026. My visit to Fontodi last year was fascinating, as I spent sever... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

One of my favorite Barolo wineries, Oddero is a traditionalist and makes wines of classic style. They use big Slavonian oak barrels instead of the small French oak barrels, looking more for unadulterated purity in their wines than manipulation. The Oddero Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is stunning wine, great length, power and a long finish, slightly more structured than the Villero, capable of agin 10-20+ years without a problem. (Greg St.Clair, K&L Italian buyer) 

Inventory: Hollywood

The I Favati winery is located in Cesinale, a town and surrounding hilly area in the heart of Irpinia (east of Naples, in the region of Campania), a land with a profound calling to the creation of quality wines. Irpinia's unique, indigenous grape varieties make up all of I Favati's vineyards, which benefit from a perfect exposition to the sun. Each year, the harvest is carefully supervised by brothers Piersabino and Giancarlo Favati, founders of the winery. The region of Irpinia contains the DOCG of Taurasi, which is considered by many to produce the gre... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood

Marsala may be the best known wine made from Grillo, but that doesn't mean it's the only one. Marco de Bartoli uses the Sicilian varietal as the foundation for his Vecchio Samperi Ventennale, a dessert wine that is comprised of 70% Grillo and 30% Inzolia. This amber-hued dessert wine's allure starts with a nose like ambrosia - dried fruit, savory herbs, almonds and aceto - which carry over to the unctuous palate with waves of acidity. Long on the finish, this beautiful wine should last for 20 to 30 years. 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City

From a frequent three glass award winner in the far flung locale of Emilia Romagna, the vineyards of Zerbina are perfectly situated to benefit from the constant cooling breezes off the Adriatic Sea. They produced wines of breed, elegance, charm, depth of flavor and a personality able to rival their cousins in Tuscany on the other side of the Apennines. The charming, great-value Ceregio Sangiovese, aged entirely in stainless steel, is an addictive wine for young drinking. On the nose, it shows blackberry, cherry, peppery and spicy flavours. On the palate,... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City

The improvisational wine beverage, this is spicy, light in the tannin department with cherry fruit flavors. Soooo smooth with a light sparkle! SERVE COLD! 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

85% Sangiovese, 5% Syrah, 4% Alicante, 3% Colorino, 3% Ciliegiolo
According to Robert Parker: "The 2005 Morellino di Scansano I Perazzi is a simple, vinous effort, with good juiciness to the fruit and excellent length. It will offer much pleasure over the next 3-4 years. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2010. This new estate is owned by New York restaurateurs Lidia Bastianich, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali. 'We noticed that the international varieties that are more common in the zone such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon don't do especially well here as ... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood

Clove, nutmeg and black pepper with hints of walnuts and paprika and loads of blackberry. Dalla Pancia means 'of the belly,' and you will want to put this one in yous. The palate is light bodied, featuring dusty tannins, black pepper notes, and a strong acid element. 2006 was a classic vintage in Chianti. The finish offers an extension of the tannins along with refreshing sour cherry notes. 

Inventory: Hollywood

Carpene Malvolti is one of the best known Prosecco producers. They make this intriguing Rosé from 85% Pinot Noir and 15% Raboso, a local red grape. It is very popular at L.A.'s "Mozza" restaurant, where folks regularly come away thinking it is a Prosecco Rosé. Since Prosecco is a white grape, it isn't possible to make a Prosecco Rosé! Nonetheless, the Brut is really delicious. 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse

Sweet wine fans need not apply! This Vernaccia from the oft-photographed Tuscan town of San Gimignano is very dry, even a tad sour. But it just this tangy sourness that makes the wine so adaptable with food. Fermented in steel and aged in steel, on the lees, for added complexity. Shows intense fresh fruit aromas with hawthorn and green apples, while the finish is balanced and quite persistent. 

Inventory: Hollywood

One of the most well respected new wine makers from Piedmont has created time and again award winning Barbarescos. His is also becoming better known for his elegant Docetto, Barbera and Langhe Rosso. The nose on this one is pure and clean with plum fruit and an elegant note of almond. In the palate, this 100% dolcetto is round and warm with great softness and lively tannins. A delightful note of balancing bitterness at the end (again, reminiscent of almonds) makes this a perfect accompaniment to robust, meat-based foods. Not to be missed!! 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City

90 points Wine Spectator: "There's pleasant stewed plum, blackberry and spicy vanilla character on the nose and palate. Full-bodied, with a compact and firm yet silky mouthfeel. A little in reserve now. Needs bottle age to offer more on the palate. Best after 2009. 700 cases made." (08/08) 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

"This is truly a wonderful wine but somewhere between the name and where is Molise? the wine hasn't sold....I feel bad because it is really a great expression of this least known of all Italian regions and Montepulciano! Give away price now!" Greg St.Clair K&L's Italian buyer.This is a wonderfully structured wine, obtained from a careful selection of the best Montelpulciano (100%) grapes from this estate. It shows an exuberantly fruity character with exotic spice on the nose and palate and an intense, fine and very smooth impression in the mouth. Try wit... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

Grapes for this traditionally styled Rosso di Montalcino come from the youngest vineyards on the Friggiali estate. On the nose it is fresh, fruity and floral, on the palate it shows an elegant and well-balanced structure enhanced by a vein of acidity that makes this wine ready to drink but also apt for the long ageing in bottle. 

Inventory: Hollywood

One of my favorite producers of Barolo. Elio Grasso is making monumental wines with great balance and classic varietal character. Split between the worlds of new wave and traditonal Piemontese winemaking Elio has been able to fuse the two incorporating the best of both. Micro-oxygenation and large oak barrels give the wine more suppleness, more depth, smoothness without giving up the fruit or terroir of Barolo. Simply stunning wine. 2 Bicchieri Gambero Rosso 

Inventory: Redwood City

The Poggio di Bortolone estate has been part of the Cosenza family since the end of the 17th century, and has been handed down from father to son, to find today’s owners to be Ignazio Cosenza and his son Pierluigi. This blend of syrah (80% and cabernet sauvignon (20%) is ruby red with aromas of berries and hints of vanilla. Dry, balanced and with a velvety, long finish. Aged for 6 months in barrique and 6 months in bottle. 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City

Palari Rosso del Soprano has an intense ruby red color. The fragrance is loaded with concentrated perfumes of typical berry and jam. A dry wine with lots of lush, spicy black fruit flavors in the mouth helps ease the tannins so that all comes together in a ripe and youthful finish. An appealing noble wine with great aging potential depending on the vintage. This wine is best suited for just about everything, from spicy pastas to grilled meat or barbecued chicken, and aged cheeses. A blend of local grape varieties: Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, No... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Redwood City San Francisco