I taste the foja tonda grape at last

Friday, 6:09 pm.  I managed to wait till nearly 6 to open a bottle of wine.  The long awaited Albino Armani Foja Tonda 2004.  If you remember, when the lovely Egle Armani was in New York a month ago, the bottle of Foja Tonda meant for me was confiscated for security reasons at the airport in Italy.  But she did send me two bottles and is doubtless waiting for my reaction.

Sorry to say, the first bottle was corked.  So I opened the second with some hesitation.  Would it be good?  Would I like it?  Would it be worth all this "suspense" and hokum?  Hmmm...

First taste, on an empty stomach -- just a few crackers and Moroccan olives -- the wine is fiery and out-Rhones the Rhone in strength and muscle.  A bit of a bitter tannic finish but not too because it leaves that wonderful suggestion of autumn leaves in the glass.  Fitting for an evening when the weather is turning sharply colder and, in the City, the leaves are turning at last.  But let's back up -- the first taste gives you a sort of fat, glyceric (?) kiss, a sensation of flavor as full and shapely as Dianne Brill.  Hmmm...

With a simple meal -- southern "Italian" comfort food, ravioli, and BUFFALO WINGS, a strange order for me, molto strano eccome  -- how is the wine now?  (Ain't this real-time tasting/drunk-getting fun?)

First, the wings.  Perfect, perfect together, as the former gov of NJ used to say with his New England boarding school vowels.  The sunny spiciness of the foja tonda complemented the highly seasoned wings awesomely.  In short, dear reader, they were fucking great togetha.

The ravioli were pretty, um, schwach.   The wine was a match for the garlicky red sauce and more. The wine made the food taste better.

So how would we rate this foja tonda from the saviours of this particular grape, Albino Armani?

Not a wine of great finesse.  But a wine of robust character that can take on strongly spiced and flavored food.  A hell of a lot of fun to drink. and to write about. 

Executive summary:  Foja Tonda, a wine for hearty eaters who have a sort of rugged vitality. If the Marlboro man drank wine <cough cough> he'd go for this.

Comments

[Lizzy]

WoW! Foja Tonda always seemed to me as a rude but elegant country's gentleman...educated but not dandy...
don't you agree?

[Terry Hughes]

Not really. More a rough but charming elan. Hot-blooded and a little wild. Marlon Brando when he was young.

[DAVIDE]

I my name is davide desario. I'm a friend of Susanna Crociani. I wrote you an email yesterday. You can write to me at davide.desario@ilmessaggero.it. Thanks

[Lizzy]

Marlon Brando when he was young? Well, I like it. Better than he was older, so fat and weighted down...
;-)

[Terry Hughes]

Think of him in "The Wild One".

(Non so il titolo italiano -- dalle motociclette...)

Wow!

Ecco questo vitigno (versione Albino Armani) per me.

[Lizzy]

"The Wild One" è "Il Selvaggio", in italiano. Un film del 1953. Una pietra miliare nella storia del cinema.

[Gourmet]

Are you ready dear Uncle Terry!!???
I'm coming in N.Y.C!!!! Wow...
A kiss & a hug for you..

P.s.With the security of Alitalia I have some problem to bring some bottle of wine in USA!!! ;-(
I hate this, uff!!

[Terry Hughes]

Security, boh.

A presto, Sandra mia.

[Fredric Koeppel]

"dear Uncle Terry"??????????????

[Terry Hughes]

Something wrong with that, bub?

I am her oncle d'Amerique.

[Dezel]

Hello Terry,

I think I enjoyed your description more than I would the wine, and Dianne more than the description (lol).

The wine sounds tempting however with the right fare; I am from New Orleans and like spice so it may just work with a Cajun dish as well.

Have a nice week; these weekends go by way too fast. I might have to resort to sipping slower.

Dezel

[Terry Hughes]

Dezel, you probably would enjoy this wine with a Cajun-spice kind of dish.

As to the weekends, they sure aren't long enough. I'm still wiped out and I have to get up in 7 hours. And as to sipping slower...ooooh, yes...