Clive Platman savours the fruitiness of the latest collection of top Italian wines.

With about 1,000 different indigenous grape varieties to choose from, Italian wine producers continue to throw up new surprises.

For a country with perhaps the longest continuous wine-making tradition, this diversity enables it to be one of the most exciting and innovative in the present day.

If there has been a weakness with wine merchant Tanners in the past, it has been Italy, where its list has been solid, but relatively small. Not so nowadays, though and, at its last spring tasting, Italy took centre stage.

To prove the point, Tanners scooped the best Chianti Classico Reserva 2007 in May’s edition of Decanter, with its Riecine.

Equally amazing, there was neither a pinot grigio nor a prosecco in sight.

If there is one caveat, Italian wine is made to drink at the table.

It’s meant to complement food, so the best of the whites have good minerality and acidity, and the best reds have juiciness and tannins. It is these qualities which can cut through rich food and combine so well with tomato-based dishes, almost a staple of Italian cuisine. The drawback is that some can be difficult to appreciate on their own.

The best value these days is from southern Italy and Sicily, where many of the varieties are little-known. At the entry level, Amanti del Vino produce a couple of mouthfilling easy-drinking reds. The first is a primitivo (aka zinfandel) from Salento, with warm, velvety damson fruit, and the second is a nero d’avola/syrah blend from Sicily, with juicy sour and black-cherry flavours.

Feudi di San Marzano are also based in Puglia, and they, too, have produced a clutch of crackers. The Bianco Salento 2009 is from a blend of white malvasia, verdeca and bombino. With honeysuckle aromas, it is a melange of citrus, exotic fruit and spice.

Turning to reds, the Negroamaro 2009 (one of my favourite southern Italian grapes) is a combination of black-cherry jam and chocolate, uplifted by some soft earthy tannins.

The Salice Salentino DOC 2007 allows for the addition of malvasia nera, and this has marked flavours of plums and figs, with a lively bite. More international in style is the ampelo primitivo/merlot from Tarantino, which is laden with soft black-fruit and spice.

The key to sourcing reliable wine is to identify a good producer, and both Alovini and Terredora fulfil this criteria. Alovini is based in Basilicata, and “Le Ralle” Greco has characters of orange blossom, peach and orange.

It is here, though, that the red varietal, aglianico, thrives – southern Italy’s riposte to sangiovese (Chianti and Brunello) or nebbiolo (Barolo). In the Terre Degli Eventi 2009, it is blended with sangiovese to produce lively cherry flavours.

The best, though, come from Vulture and the Le Ralle 2008 doesn’t disappoint, with a dense concentration of damson fruit, supported with robust tannins. More international is the Cabanico 2006, where it is blended with cabernet sauvignon, to produce a more showy, sophisticated style laden with new oak.

Terredora is located in neighbouring Campania and again has a fine reputation for using indigenous varieties. The rare white coda di volpe grape is the basis for the Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio, a confection of pear, peach and tropical fruit. The Greco di Tufo “Loggia della Serra” has fresh, minerally-sweet pear and grapefuit characters, but better still is the Fiano di Avellino, a southern Italian answer to white Burgundy, with apple freshness infused with spice, smoke and hazelnuts.

The Taurasi DOCG is the flagship of the estate and is again founded on aglianico.

The Fatica Contadina 2004 has elegant cherry fruit, underpinned with ripe tannins and develops a super-smooth cigar-box finish. It was one of the wines of the night.

Moving northwards to Piedmont, a brief mention should go to the Fenocchio Estate.

Its Dolcetto d’Alba 2008 is Italy’s version of Beaujolais cru, with easy-drinking black-cherry fruit. Also rated is the characterful spicy, black-fruited Barbera d’Alba 2008, ameliorated by 12 months in barrique.

* Tanners of Shrewsbury, tel: 01743 23450. Website: www.tanners-wines.co.uk