WTN: Two from Italy -- one good, one not

[Brad Ballinger]

2003 Arnaldo Caprai "Poggio Belvedere" Umbria IGT. 80% sangiovese, 20% ciliegiolo. Fermentation and aging in stainless steel (some additional aging in bottle). Caprai is primarily known for Monefalco DCO and Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG wines. Those who are waiting for the tannins in the Sagrantino to mellow (which seems like it can take forever) will want to stock up on the Poggio Belvedere to enjoy during the wait. This wine does a very nice job of giving off both fresh berries and spice at the same time with secondary floral tones. There's a nice level of acidity to keep everything bright. It may be a tiny bit hollow in the midpalate, but I think it needs a bit of air to fully flesh out.

2004 Luciano Landi Lacrima di Morro d'Alba. Lacrima di Morro d'Alba is both the DOC and the grape variety. I don't write it very often, but I can't see myself every having this wine cross my lips again. I've enjoyed wines from this DOC in the past, but this was my first experience with this producer. While there was a characteristic floral component to the those, those flowers were caked with dirt that was full of nettles. The wine just smelled dirty. It didn't taste much better. Thin, nettle-like, unripe. I even tried to ask what would anyone who is not me like about this wine, but came up empty. Makes me wonder how an importer, distributor, and retailer could all agree to go ahead and put the wine on a shelf.