Wine Sediments - Feds acknowledge myth of under-age drinking in direct-shipping debate.
Wine Journalist Mark Fisher (and I really mean journalist) reports on minors buying wine over the Internet. I always thought the concept of teenagers, motivated by instant gratification, would have the patience to try to illegally buy wine over the Internet was ridiculous. Now here is some research to back that up.
The more you drink, the harder it is to find a wine that takes your breath away, that makes you step back for a second and say: Wow!
I had that experience tonight with a bottle of 1998 Barbera, La Strega, La Gazza e Il Pioppo, Oltrepo Pavese from the exciting Az. Ag. Martilde. A stunning bottle of wine that offers almost none of the attributes that knock down the big points today. Wonderfully warm and earthy with just the right touch of inelegant abandon on the nose, this wine hits the palate with a bitterness and acid zing that evolves into a wine of such length and complexity that it indeed took my breath away. It was wines like this that got me into wine in the first place and wines like that are damn hard to find these days.
This wine is boldly Italian in character with an explosive rich earthiness and bracing acidity throughout. A brilliant garnet tinged ruby, the aromas are expansive and wonderfully complex with layers of dark fruit, leather, porcini and a warm smokiness. This wine caresses your palate, not overwhelms, but in no way is it light. Rather it is quite rich and concentrated, but the acidity and tannins carry the flavors beautifully. A tremendous, length finish. Fully ready to drink, but able to grow over the next several years, this is by far the finest Bonarda I have tasted.
Those who know business travel, but love wine and food know the drill. You finally get to your hotel to0 late to seek out the best local restaurant, but you are starving. With no choice you head off to the hotel restaurant. There is little hope for an interesting wine on the list and forget anything nice by the glass. You are in corporate wine heaven - otherwise known as your wine hell.
When handed the wine list in such situations, sometimes, low-and-behold there is one wine that looks promising. This week I found a bottle of 2000 Talbott, Case Pinot Noir, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard in the midst of all the blandness. It was lovely.
It reminded me that all to often, when looking at lists we focus on varietals and price, when a better strategy may be to run your finger down the vintages. My 2000 Talbott was a full 3 to 4 years older than the other pinots on the list and what made this wine so enjoyable was the fact that it actually had few years in the bottle. It was no longer dominated by the big dark black fruit flavors of young wine, instead offering real nuance and complexity. You can't replace bottle age. Strangely enough the 2000 Talbott was actually cheaper than some of the more "famous" names on the list.
Keep an eye out for those bottles with a few years of bottle age on them when you search the wine list and not only will you be rewarded with a more interesting wine, but you just might save a few bucks as well.
No, not that VinExpo, but the Wine Expo of Santa Monica California. Perhaps “Expo” is not a good name for what they do there as it implies a gigantic wine exposition, which it is not. The Wine Expo is a small shop, although every inch is filled with wines worth drinking.
The Wine Expo is presided over by manager Roberto Rogness, whom you may also know as the nemesis of the anti-terroir Mark Squires on Robert Parker’s Forum. They have created a store that is filled with wines that have two things in common, they are labels almost nobody knows and they are outstanding wines. To top it off, they are great values.
They have accomplished this by hard work, creative thinking and the wise decision to not try to be all things to all people. The selection at the Wine Expo concentrates on two things: Italian wine and Champagne. Not that that is limiting, as Italian wine on its own is an overwhelming project. However, the store is not filled with the usual suspects: Antinori, Gaja, Giacosa, Krug, Cliquot and on-and-on….
What they have assembled are small producers, many of whom they import directly (another significant savings), who are dedicated to producing wines of character with pure flavors from varietal and vineyard. Oddly enough, their catalog physically looks a lot like The Wine Advocate, but one look at the wines selected and the commentary tells you that this is another world - and a more interesting one at that. Their Champagne selection is simply stunning, full of small estate producers and wines that sell for under $50 that blow away big name Champagne selling for hundreds of dollars. You can buy cases of Champagne here for the price of a few bottles at other stores.
Tonight I am sipping on the 1999 Bonarda, Oltrepo Pavese, Millennium from Azienda Agricola Fratelli Agnes. A bargain at $28, here is a wine that almost screams of its Italian origin, full of earthy aromas and flavors over bright fruit, with a racy acidity throughout, this is a wine that demands great food and pleasure. This is a wine I would never have known without the great work being done at The Wine Expo.
Get some guts and get on this mailing list and invest a few bucks in vineyards and names unknown, in people who make wine with passion, not Excel. Roberto will introduce you to a whole world of wine you did not know existed.
Wine Expo
2933 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404
310–828–4428 Fax 310–828–2969 Email: WineExpo@earthlink.net
Fino Sherry is a disgusting wine…at least by the time we get through with it. There the poor dusty bottle sits half-full on the back bar next to the Ports and Cream Sherry going bad as fast as it can.
It is rare to find a restaurant that properly serves and stores Fino and Manzanilla Sherry (the same thing from slightly different areas). This is a real sin as, when fresh and cold, these are among the finest aperitif wines on the planet and one of the most versatile white wines made, matching with an incredible array of dishes and, in fact, is the best match out there for Sushi.
The Sherry industry, importers and distributors must take the blame for this “wholesale” destruction of one of the world’s great white wines. Obviously none of these organisations gives a hoot if Sherry is served properly as long as someone buys it. The restaurants must also take part of the rap as serving warm, oxidized (Fino is not an oxidised style of Sherry like Amontillado and Oloroso) Fino to customers giving them good money is treating their customers poorly. Fino/Manzanilla Sherry should be served just like any other white wine they are serving by the glass. Certainly this is not too complicated of a concept for them to grasp. Can you imagine the reaction a restaurant would get if they served warm pinot grigio by the glass? Also, speaking of glasses, please stop serving fine Sherry in those crappy little liqueur glasses. You don’t have to invest in proper Sherry glasses for Fino, as your Champagne flutes will work perfectly.
Fino and Manzanilla are the most delicate of wines. They are never better than the first day they are bottled and decline in freshness every day after that. These are wines that should be consumed within six months of bottling and should be served chilled to enhance their beautiful fruit, mineral and nut flavors. The bottles should be consumed as soon as possible after opening, unless you drink Sherry very quickly, half-bottles or 500 ml. bottles are highly recommended.
There is one hero out there trying to save Fino from this awful fate. Steven Metzler at Classical Wines from Spain (http://www.classicalwines.com/) is almost a lone voice trying to educate the American trade and consumers on how to enjoy fine Sherry. He has good reason to do so as he is the importer of perhaps the greatest Manzanilla Sherry, Bodegas Hildalgo La Gitana Manzanilla, a beautiful wine that is worth all his efforts to protect. Steven imports this great wine only in 500 ml. bottles to promote freshness and carefully controls his distributors inventories to make sure they don’t offer wine past its prime. To understand the glories of this style of wine at its best, enjoy a chilled bottle of La Gitana with the freshest oysters you can find. There will be no going back.
Most people say they don’t like Sherry because their experience is limited to wine destroyed by neglect. This is like deciding you don’t like Burgundy when the only bottle you have tasted spent the last week in the trunk of a car in Arizona in August.
So I have a new cause for all of you. Save a bottle of Fino Sherry this week. Confront your bartender and get those bottles in the cooler!
For more information on Sherry - click here for my article: Sherry Use it or Lose it
Breathing may be overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I like to breath and try to do it as often as possible every day.
Breathing can do many things, it keeps us alive and opens up young wines to improve their drinkablity. What breathing does not do is replace time.
I don’t understand the claim by some that many, many hours, stretching even into days, can improve wines to the point that it almost replaces years and years in the cellar. Barolo/Barbaresco is the focal point of most of these wild claims. Time and time again you hear the refrain of, “when I first opened the wine it was closed, but after a day (or more) it finally opened…” This, I think, is a bunch of crap.
As someone who opens far more bottles than he should, I constantly find myself with a cabinet full of bottles that have been open for various days or weeks and never has a bottle been better the next day than it was after a few hours of breathing. Some wines do better than others, with some bottles remaining delicious for days, while others are shot the next morning. Strange as it may seem, the girth of a wine has little to do with how it fares with exposure to air.
A case in point, was a recent (gorgeous) bottle of 1999 Giuseppe Mascarello, Barolo Monprivato, which, when first opened was tight, but after two hours in a decanter was sublime and it then gained in complexity over the next two hours of sipping. Never once did it lose its edge. However, the next next night, this extraordinary wine was a shadow of itself: although a lovely shadow it was. The problem was, is this shadow now lacked definition. I want wine with sharp edges, not a diffuse, less interesting profile. It is best to drink a wine before it loses the edges that make it unique.
I agree you can’t argue with taste – actually no, I am debating taste on this point. I think that those who argue for outrageously long breathing periods for wines just don’t like the firm edges, that clear definition that certain wines bring you. Twenty-four hours in a decanter will make those edges hazy, less focused and demanding of the palate. While young wines certainly benefit from exposure to air before consumption, this evolution will never replace those slow years of development in the bottle. From time to time you will visit a producer who will proudly proffer a wine that has been open for days to show its durability and the precision of their winemaking, but not a one will recommend that their wine is best if you leave it in a decanter while the earth does a complete revolution before consumption: not one.
For young, tight wines like Barolo and Barbaresco, two to three hours in a decanter before serving is adequate. Nebbiolo greatness comes from its firmness, precision and edgy cut. Don’t steal a wine's character and try to turn it into merlot, revel in its tannic beauty.
Its great to see the continual expansion of high quality food and wine blogs. There can be no doubt the nature of culinary conversation is changing. Thank God. The recent issue of Bon Appetit features the following fine cooking advice on preparing a platter of fresh fruit for a spring party, “Make things really easy by everything ready the night before or – even simpler – by buying prepared fruit from the deli section of the supermarket.” So much for the concept of “fresh”
The explosion of alternative ideas brought by Bloggers are making culinary information fresher than ever. On excellent new source is The Well-fed Network (http://www.wellfed.net), which is a group effort featuring contributions from a wide range of food bloggers. On the wine side of things the Wine Sediments section of The Well-fed Network offers entries from such thoughtful writers as Tom Wark (Fermentations), Andrew Barrow (Spittoons), Lenn Thompson (LENNDEVOURS) and Mark Fisher (Uncorked) among other fine writers.
An example of the anti-Bon Appetit cutting corners approach is The Terroirista post by Tom Wark linked below:
Wine Sediments - The Terroirista.
Brilliant ruby laced with garnet. Deep bitter black licorice aromas mingle with tar and and minty chocolate over brilliant fruit. Firm and extremely layered on the palate with an amazing silky texture to the significant tannins. The dark, brooding fruit is blended with bitter amari notes balanced by a unique dry sweetness. A lively minty note expands on the finish of tar, bitter chocolate and spicy tannins. A really fine, classic Barolo. Just beginning to wake up, you don’t need to be in any hurry to drink this beauty.
Lovely brilliant light gold with green hints. Firm mineral-laden aroma with a cool stony note floating over key lime and tart peach aromas. Racy and mouth filling with bittersweet caramel flavors that frame the clean stone fruit flavors. A mouth-watering finish cries out for another sip.
1999 Tenimenti Fontanafredda Barolo La Rosa, Feb. 2004
Saved by the Bank
Like Bordeaux and Burgundy, Barolo is a complex patchwork of communes and vineyards where sometimes the space of only a few meters changes the character of the wines produced. In Barolo and Barbaresco these differences were often lost as production was dominated by large producers who bought grapes from throughout the region and labeled them as simply Barolo or Barbaresco.
However, the explosion of estate bottled wines in Alba has been changing this and slowly-but-surely the market is becoming aware that there are differences between nebbiolo grown in Serralunga d’Alba and La Morra - just as there are recognized differences between St. Julien and St. Estephe or Corton and Volnay.
The commune Serralunga d’Alba is on the eastern edge of the Barolo zone and the sandstone soils produce some of the most tannic and structured of Barolo wines. At the northern tip of Serralunga, as it reaches towards Alba, sits the great La Rosa and Gattinera vineyards that surround the historic Fontanafredda estate. This estate is indeed part of Barolo history and some of the earliest Barolo wines produced came from these cellars – a tradition that dates back to 1878.
However, the greatness that was Fontanafredda had gone into hibernation until it was rescued by the bank. That's right the bank – Fontanafredda was acquired by Immobiliari S.p.A, Gruppa Bancario Monte dei Paschi di Siena, who has also invested in two Tuscan wine properties, Poggio Bonelli and Chigi Saracini. This influx of capital and leadership has launched Fontanafredda on the road to reclaiming past greatness.
As one of the largest and oldest estates in the region they had a core of outstanding vineyard holdings - most notably La Rosa and Lazzarito in Serralunga d’Alba and La Villa (a sub-section of Paiagallo) in the Barolo commune to build upon. Under the leadership of Director General Giovanni Minetti and winemaker Danilo Drocco the entire Fontanafredda line has seen marked improvement, but what is most exciting is the introduction of a range of single vineyard wines from their classic vineyards which they have called Tenimenti Fontanafredda. This important range of wines includes offerings from all the important DOC and DOCG zones of the Alba and Asti region. Each is a single vineyard selection and the stars are, of course, the three Barolo selections; La Rosa, Lazzarito La Delizia and Paiagallo La Villa. The Tenimenti Fontanfredda releases make this estate once again a producer that should be considered by anyone who loves Piemontese wines and the 1999 La Rosa is a wine that deserves consideration from serious collectors.
Tasting Notes: 1999 Tenimenti Fontanafredda, Barolo, La Rosa
Bright ruby/scarlet with just the lightest hint of orange. Just translucent. The aromas are an exotic mix of ripe dark fruits and leather with hints of dried porcini mushrooms. Smoky ripe plums show in the nose and on the palate are followed by layers of dusty burnt cherries and bitter oranges that are still held in check by firm, hard tannins that are somehow surprisingly round in their intensity. The finish is restrained by its intense tannins, but the powerful complex fruit flavors are already starting to show through. Tasted over a four day period and the wine was still fresh and showing no oxidation on the forth day. Decidedly a wine for long-term cellaring.
It was an “in” place with a “name” chef. Racy architecture and mind-dulling pulsing modern Muzak. Everything designed to stimulate every sense possible. The only things missing are simple, clean flavors, that have no chance of survival in these food discos.
There is this compelling and uncontrolled American feeling that more is better…
My tuna tartare was overwhelmed by ginger, so what was surely sashimi grade toro was reduced to a searing ginger intensity that destroyed both fish and wine. Every course that followed was cursed by similar excess and obliteration of the prime flavors the dish was supposed to offer. After all, shouldn't tuna tartare taste more of tuna than ginger? What is sad in this more is better insecurity, is that the same chefs producing these excesses are also going out of their way to find the finest raw materials – then burying them under more and more of everything instead of letting their true character and elegance show through.
The same goes for winemakers today, who are harvesting some of the finest fruit ever produced, only to bury it under layers of oak and over-manipulation. The rule for chefs and winemakers should always be that the freshest and most expressive raw materials should be left alone to show their greatness. Add accents and highlights, but don’t destroy their essence. Cooking and winemaking should be like adding the proper frame to a great painting.
Oddly enough, the wine I ordered that night was just the opposite of the over-manipulated food. The 2000 Woodward Canyon Winery Walla Walla Valley Merlot (its OK to order merlot in Washington) was balanced and graceful. It was a wine full of edges and angles, unlike the insipid merlot offered by most producers today. It reminded me of the days (almost 30 years ago) when I discovered wine. A time when merlot was an interesting and compelling varietal only taking the lead in wines from Pomerol and Saint Emilion, before merlot became the wine hated in Sideways - and for good reason. This was a beautiful bottle, lean and firm with great complexity throughout. It was the best part of the meal and I saved my last glass to appreciate after the noisy food left our table in peace.
Food and Wine: two words that seemingly go together like ham and eggs. Yet the reality of wine today is that more and more of it does not go well with food. As chefs continue to push the envelope of complexity, the wine industry seems to be veering in two divergent directions. One branch is going down the road of clean, industrial stability with flavor profiles determined by market research and the other going down the points-driven feeding frenzy of more-is-better powerhouse wines.
I recently purchased a bottle of 2003 Peachy Canyon Zinfandel, and it convinced me that when push comes to shove, I’d rather go with blander wines with my meal than wine that could double as fuel for the NASCAR circuit. A clean, if somewhat boring, Zinfandel at 13% alcohol, actually compliments a meal better than the Peachy Canyon that weighed in at a combustible 15.5%. Strange as it seems, commercial can be better than artisan when it comes to wine.
This it the greatest danger of today’s points driven wine criticism. Ultimately it will always reward wines that are at their finest on the first sip or two. However, these very same wines dull the palate after a half-a-glass and do nothing to enhance the food on the table. Not only do they not enhance it, they conflict with food – they very thing a wine is created for in the first place.
Balance, refinement, elegance are all attributes that are as important in the kitchen as they are in the cellar.
Brilliant light ruby with touches of garnet. A nicely complex nose with hints of toasty oak, caramel sugar and black tea. Good ripe fruit on the palate, with tar and burnt wood notes over bright bitter cherry fruit. A lovely finish dominated by tea, smoke and a touch of vanilla. Very nice. Drink over the next 2 to 3 years.
It's my fault. I should have know better as it clearly states on the label 15.5% alcohol. What the hell do you do with a wine like this other than drink it with over-ripe blue cheese. Like course port on the nose, but without the sweet pleasure and complexity offered by fine Oporto. Just a brutal, undrinkable wine that has no place at the dinner table, but might (maybe) be able to make an appearance with cigars after food has fled from the table in fear. To be avoided while eating.
The usual foodie goal when they hit a city is to get to the new hot spots. To touch the new culinary buzz. This often means not only an expensive disappointing meal, but missing established restaurants that are still making your palate shiver with joy. Often it takes a situation out of your control to balance this drive to see the new and trendy and it was reservations made by someone else that brought me back to San Francisco’s Aqua. I have dined at Aqua about a dozen times and each visit was excellent, but this recent trip really brought home to me that new is not always better. Great restaurants are like great vineyards, they both make exceptional products year after year.
We chose the tasting menu, which was the right choice as, when visiting Aqua, or any other great restaurant, you want to taste as many dishes as possible.
This parade of palate stimulation went like this:
Each dish shimmered with enticing balanced, restrained, but complex flavors. Every plate was a small piece of edible art. As befitting a restaurant of this caliber, the wine list is excellent with a wide range of choices that go beyond local California wines. The food, wine, service and ambiance were exciting.
On my own I would have hit only the latest and that would have been a mistake. Consistent excellence seems to bore the public today and restaurants and wineries that make outstanding wines for many years often get ignored. Thanks to this wonderful meal, this will be a mistake I will try to avoid.
Aqua, 252 California Street, San Francisco CA - 94110 (415) 956-9662
Valle dell'Acate Nero d'Avola, Il Moro
For readers of wine newsletters the big question for Italian red wine makers would seem to be whether to use new small French oak barrels or giant well-seasoned casks. It is refreshing to see a winery choose neither and in the process make an outstanding wine that no one can fault for lacking complexity. The Valle dell'Acate Il Moro only sees stainless steel, but you will never guess that only by tasting. Once again we are reminded that it is vineyards and vines that make wines great - not coopers.
Valle dell'Acate is to be commended for betting their future on the great classic vine types of Sicily and their zone. They are also to be complimented for their restrained use of barriques. So many Sicilian wines today are overwhelmed by the heavy imprint of internationally styled "flying enologists" that seem more intent on turning Sicily into the next Australia. The wines of Valle dell'Acate show that you can make wines in a modern style without giving up traditional varieties and the unique dimension they can bring. In a world where wines are becoming more and more the same it is a good idea to be distinct.
The wines of this estate are unique and across-the-board delicious. Gaetana Jocono (pictured above) has been given the reigns of the winery created by her father in 1981, and under her leadership the wines are constantly improving. Although the estate itself was not established so long ago, she represents the 6th generation of the family involved in making wines from this region. Their vineyards are located on the southern coast of Sicily almost directly in between Siracusa and Agrigento. In these sun-soaked vineyards they focus on growing frappato and nero d'avola for reds and insolia for whites. Only one of their white wines, Bidis, includes a foreign varietal (chardonnay), while all other wines are pure examples of Sicilian varietals.
Raccolta Selection: 2001 Il Moro, Nero d'Avola, Sicilia IGT
Rating: A * Value: Excellent * Price: $22
A rich concentrated wine that is aged only in stainless steel to allow the intensity of the nero d'avola grapes to show clearly. Nothing in complexity is given up by not using wood in this multi-faceted wine - a big reminder that complexity comes from the vineyard not the barrel.
Tasting notes: Bright scarlet ruby, just translucent. Intense ripe raspberry aromas are blended with tobacco, leather and just a touch of prunes. Rich and mouth filling with a firm structure. The fruit is dense, very ripe and concentrated with a hot tobacco bite that balances the rich sweetness of the fruit. The finish is long and dramatic mirroring the tobacco and raspberry of the aromas. The tannins are apparent, but well integrated. Three of four years of bottle aging will be rewarding. A dramatic and distinctly Sicilian wine.
Other highly recommended wines:
-2002 Il Frappato: Bright ruby with purple hints, just translucent. Explosively grapy, juicy and fruity with almost a note of that "foxy" aroma you find in American grape varietals. The sweet grape flavors continue on the palate with lush grape/cherry jam impressions. The finish is dry but the sweetness of the fruit leaves a sweet impression. All this fruit sweetness is braced by a zesty acidity. A good wine for spicy tomato sauces and aged cheeses.
-2002 Insolia: Bright green/gold. Fresh apple, pear aromas with walnut highlights. Lively, clean and refreshing on the palate with good fruit balancing the zesty acidity. The clean sweet pear flavors are carried nicely by the acids. A pretty, crisp and enjoyable white.
Raccolta Selection: Prosecco
Every spring I travel to Verona for the Vinitaly wine trade fair and the week in Veneto always gets you thinking about the local wines. Sparkling Prosecco is everywhere in Veneto and a glass often automatically arrives at your table in even humble ristorante. It is a wonderful custom and few things wake up your palate or improve your mood like the refreshing froth of bubbles. Most Prosecco Spumante is pretty bland stuff, but as in every wine region there are dedicated producers with good vineyards that make wine of exceptional quality. Fortunately the number of producers making quality Prosecco Spumante is increasing every year. In Col Vetoraz and Bellenda you will find wines that represent the best this variety can offer.
After a hard days work a stop at the bar for a quick drink is a tradition stretching back several millennium. In the USA it's Miller time and in the UK a pint of bitter, but in northern Italy you are more likely to find working men with large work-hardened fingers holding a delicate fluted wine glass and quaffing Prosecco while munching on salami and potato chips. Sparking wine is part of everyday life in Italy, not something for anniversaries and New Years Eve - and it's priced accordingly. Our local bar is decidedly blue collar, but behind the bar is always a magnum of Prosecco on ice and more than a few of the oversized bottles disappear down the throats of thirsty Italians every day.
While Prosecco is often thought to be the name of a sparking wine, it is actually the name of a grape. In Veneto, wines from prosecco grapes are made into still, frizzante (lightly sparkling) and Spumante (sparkling) wines with quality ranging from tasteless to deliciously fruity and charming. Charm is what Prosecco Spumante is all about and the lovely fresh peach and citrus flavors of this grape are brought alive by the bubbles. Prosecco is for fun and for enjoying as often as possible and while it will never challenge the complexity of Champagne - for pure easy pleasure and refreshment the frothy sparking wines of Prosecco can't be beat. The simple pleasures of Prosecco remind us that very enjoyable wines can be created from humble varieties in the hands of dedicated and educated winemakers with the best vineyards.
Stretching out north and northwest of Venice are endless prosecco vineyards most of which produce flavorless frizzante and sparkling wines sold for a few Euros a bottle in grocery stores, which are often "improved" by adding a dollop of Campari or Aperol. However, on the hills around the town of Conegliano the prosecco vine is most at home and produces wines with such exceptional aromatics and freshness that the region has been awarded its own DOC, Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. The sub-region of Cartizze is considered the finest of all and wines from this small zone add that name to their labels. These wines sell for a few more dollars than plain Prosecco, but are worth it due to their additional complexity and depth - all without giving up any of their charm. Dryness designations follow the Champagne model with Brut being the driest and Extra-dry being just off-dry. Prosecco sparkling wines are made by the Charmat method, which is the best method for preserving the luscious fruit flavors of this grape.
The delicious fruit flavors and aromatics of the best wines from Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene possess such a unique and pleasurable character that they should not be considered budget Champagnes, but sparkling wines with their own place in the wine world. The choice is not which is better, Champagne, Cava or Prosecco, but which is better for the moment and, of course the budget. Prosecco is a fruit driven wine and it is the quality of the fruit flavors that define the best wines from this region. These easy fruit flavors make Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene the perfect choice when you are looking for refreshment and one of the best of choices for brunch - Easter or not.
Raccolta Selection: 2004 Bellenda Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Brut
The elegant bottle with the long narrow neck contains a wine that lives up to its presentation. It has a brilliant green/gold color filled with lively tiny bubbles. The aromas are fresh and alive with touches of peaches and sweet apples. On the palate it is creamy and frothy with sweet peach and melon flavors balanced by crisp citrus and a refreshing acidity. The finish makes you take yet another sip. ($17)
A John Given Selection: Imported by John Given Wines
Also very highly recommended: Col Vetoraz
With vineyards centered in the elite Cartizze zone Col Vetoraz is producing an excellent range of Prosecco sparking wines. These are wines that exhibit exceptional fruit purity and elegance. The Cartizze di Valdobbiadene N/V, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut And Prosecco Millesimato Dry are superb examples of the best that can be coaxed from the prosecco grape.
A Jens Schmidt Selection: Imported by Montecastelli Selections
Raccolta Selection: Boscarelli
The "modern" vs. the "traditional" winemaking debate continues in Italy, but for me varietal character is the major issue in Italian winemaking. This is a more important yardstick than the often confusing terms of "modern" and "traditional". There are many great winemakers that are very modern in their approach that make wines that still maintain the integrity of both their vines and terroir in their wines. As long as a producer respects the true flavors that their vineyards give them the questions of which types of barrels are used and what types of oak become secondary.
Poderi Boscarelli is the perfect example of an estate that has handled this balancing act very well. All of their wines are elegant and complex, but they have not lost that bit of "wildness" that layers personality into the best wines of Montepulciano. Each of their wines are worth seeking out.
Raccolta Selection: 2000 Poderi Boscarelli
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Vigna del Nocio
The complaint of where to find true Tuscan sangiovese character in wines frequently comes up in this era of heavily oaked Tuscan sangiovese wines that are often blended beyond recognition by the addition of too much cabernet sauvignon. One answer may lie in Montepulciano and it is hard to imagine a more complex example than the extraordinary 2000 Vigna del Nocio from Poderi Boscarelli. As good as this wine is - the barrel sample I tasted from the exciting 2001 vintage promises even greater things. The 2001 will be released next January.
Vino Nobile may have a grand name, but it seemed the winemaking revolution that swept Tuscany in the 1970's overlooked Montepulciano. Some producers, notably Avignonesi and Poliziano tried to push the region forward, but the lack of an easily identifiable style of Vino Nobile and the loose regulations of the DOC meant that there were a lot of mediocre wines sold making the name far less "Nobile" in the eyes of many consumers.
There is also a lot of confusion caused by the name of Montepulciano and the wines of the Vino Nobile zone do not use any of the grapes from the vine of the same name. The montepulciano vine is responsible for some very good wines in Marche, Abruzzo and Puglia, but you won't find a drop of it in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. In the case of Tuscany, Montepulciano is a lovely hilltop medieval village located east of Montalcino near the border with Umbria. As in Montalcino, the unique characteristics of the sangiovese vine in this region inspired its own name and the Montepulciano branch of the sangiovese family is called prugnolo gentile. The DOCG regulations remain very loose here and still allow for up to 20% of other approved varieties and a maximum of 10% white varieties. Fortunately the regulations amended in 1999 also allow for 100% varietal sangiovese wines. Obviously there still can be a lot of variation in style even within these new regulations.
The concept that prugnolo gentile is "the sangiovese" of Montepulciano is another concept that is dying in the face of the ongoing refinement of clonal selection of sangiovese in central Italy. As vineyards are being replanted throughout Montalcino, Montepulciano and Chianti Classico the types of sangiovese vines selected are from clones that have been identified as providing certain characteristics and superior wine and more attention is devoted to these variables than to if the vine is "brunello" or "prugnolo gentile". Thus on a technical sheet for Vigna del Nocio they list the blend as "80% sangiovese/prugnolo gentile" as it is blend of various selected clones of sangiovese with prugnolo just being one of the clones in the mix. Banfi claims they identifed 650 "clones" of brunello when they started their research in Montalcino and from this it is clear that claiming wines are made from "brunello" or "prugnolo gentile" are no longer very precise statements. The fact of the matter is that all the top wines of the best zones are now increasingly being made from a selection of the finest clones of sangiovese available without regard to the zone of their birth.
While the big firms in Montepulciano have grabbed most of the spotlight, a small gem has continued to shine brightly since being founded by Paola Corradi in 1962. Poderi Boscarelli has always been dedicated to quality and produced some this region's best wines year after year. While traditional in style, they have introduced innovations that enhance the quality of their wines without giving up the character of their vineyards. The barrels used for Vigna del Nocio are 500 and 1,000 liters - not 225 liter barriques and the oak used is both Slovenian and French. The 15% of merlot in the blend fleshes out the lean character of the sangiovese without overwhelming it. The Vigna del Nocio is a must-have for serious collectors of sangiovese. Pictured above Paola, Luca and Niccolò De Ferrari Corradi.
Tasting notes: 2000 Poderi Boscarelli,
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Vigna del Nocio
Brilliant ruby with just a hint of garnet. Just translucent. A grand sangiovese in every aspect. The aromas combine layers of vibrant bitter cherry fruit, with earthy dried porcini mushroom notes. On the palate the wine is rich and firm at the same moment. Layers of ripe, sweet raspberry flavors combine with bitter cherry and earthy, tarry highlights. An extremely complex wine that is it be admired for its terroir focused flavors and for winemaking that does not give up earthy flavors for the simple forward charm of ripe fruit. This is a wine that politely requests at least ten years of bottle age, but will not disappoint now with enough time in the decanter. I will point out that I tasted this wine at the end of a day when I tasted over 60 top sangiovese wines and it still stood out as something special. ($50)
Comments on a barrel sample of 2001: This vintage of Boscarelli Vigna del Nocio promises to be a classic. Dense and structured, it takes all of the characteristics of the 2000 up several notches. Buy both and drink the 2000's while you are waiting for the intense 2001 to grow up. An extremely highly recommended wine for collectors.
A Neil Empson Selection
Deep ruby with purple notes. Bright, fresh expansive bitter black cherry fruit aromas with a pinch of cassis. Very smooth on the palate with dark bittersweet dark fruit flavors livened up with a tangy cranberry punch. More than enough acidity to carry the round fruit flavors. Very modern, but not in the New World mold as there is plenty of acid backbone and tartness to make this a lovely match for foods. Drink now, the sooner the better. Don’t wait.