A Beautiful Tuscan White

The Tuscan wine district of Bolgheri, named for a quaint hamlet located some 60 miles southwest of Florence, has been one of the most celebrated in all of Italy over the past two decades. The vineyards, planted primarily to Bordeaux varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot (with a scattering of Petit Verdot) - as well as a moderate amount of Tuscany's signature red variety, Sangiovese - are located only a few miles from the ocean. Though quite different in nature than this region's other famous reds (such as Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico), the Bolgheri reds have been acclaimed as among the most distinctive in a country noted for its singular vinous offerings. You only need to know the names of a few of these wines, such as Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Grattamacco to know the quality of this wine zone.

But Bolgheri is also home to some vary special whites. Sauvignon (Blanc) is grown at a few estates and the cool climate here gives these wines a distinct edge, with grassy notes and bell pepper flavors. However, as Sauvignon (as it is generally referred to in Italy) is more greatly associated with the northern Italian regions of Friuli and Alto Adige, only a handful of producers in Bolgheri work with this variety.

Rather it is Vermentino that is the leading white variety of Bolgheri. Also grown on the island of Sardinia, where it can express its special qualities exceptionally well, Vermentino is at home in Bolgheri's maritime climate. This is a variety that needs a long, cool growing season to realize its aromatics of pine and pear which are backed by vibrant acidity. This is a wonderful aromatic white that is usually best served by fermentation and aging in stainless steel or cement tanks instead of wooden casks, which would rob the wine of its perfumes. There is often a pleasant minerality in the finish and often, as these grapes are planted so close to the sea, a light saltiness in the wine, which makes it ideal for pairing with shellfish.

I recently tasted the 2009 Guado al Tasso Vermentino and I'm happy to report what a delight this wine truly is! I've enjoyed this wine from several vintages and frankly the current 2009 bottling is as fine as I've tasted. This was a special vintage in Bolgheri (and in reality for white wines in many areas throughout Italy), as the wines have excellent depth of fruit, rich aromatics and ideal structure. These whites, while pleasant now, are just rounding out and will be better with another 6 months in the bottle, with the finest drinking well for another three to seven years.

Guado al Tasso is owned, incidentally by Piero Antinori, so you know his commitment to quality; my notes on the 2009 Vermentino focus on the honeydew melon, pear and mango flavors, the light minerality and the richness on the palate. I've tried this with Oriental food and it's a great match (especially with shrimp or pork), but I'd also love it with a vegetable risotto or pasta with clams. The suggested retail price is $25 and for me, it's worth every penny.

VINO 2010

I'll be in New York much of this week attending VINO 2010, a three-day event with seminars, tastings and dinners featuring Italian wines. Billed as the largest Italian wine event outside of Italy, this should be an illuminating time for me, as I'll get to try new releases of wines from several regions, including Toscana, Calabria, Lombardia and Friuli and also meet produces from those areas. I'm especially excited about a seminar on Bolgheri and Morellino di Scansano to be conducted by Piero Selvaggio, proprietor of the famed Valentino Resturant in Santa Monica. I'm also looking forward to what should be a fascinating seminar on the red wines of Calabria that will be moderated by Alfonso Cevola, a wine writer and wholesaler in Houston as well as a look at the underrated reds of Puglia in a seminar conducted by wine writer/educator Charles Scicolone.

I'll see many long-time friends and make many new friendships, I'm sure and can't wait for the special dinner at Del Posto, with a menu created by Lidia Bastianich!

I'll return with several posts very soon about my time in New York City.

Bolgheri - Part Two - The Young Lions

Enrico Santini (Photo ©Tom Hyland)


This is part two of my series on my recent visit to the Bolgheri wine district along Tuscany's west coast - Tom Hyland


Bolgheri is world-famous for wines such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia, but there are numerous examples of local wines that are very well made and are waiting to be discovered. Many of these are noteworthy values, with a few of the wines coming in at less than $20. I love finding wines like this; I think the vintners of Bolgheri need to get the word out that not every red wine here sells for more than $150!

To that end, I visited three lesser known estates in Bolgheri on my recent trip. Guado al Melo, owned by Michele Scienza is a small estate with impeccably farmed vineyards and a striking underground cellar that meshes beautifully with the local landscape. Scienza, whose father Attilio is one of Italy's most respected wine teachers and historians, produces a nice range of wines including a beautiful white made from Vermentino and an obscure French grape named Petit Manseng. I tasted several vintages of this wine, including the 2002, which offered lush tropical fruit flavors and deep concentration; this is showing nicely now and should drink well for another year or two.


Michele Scienza, Guado al Melo (Photo ©Tom Hyland)


For the reds from Guado al Melo, look for the Bolgheri Rosso “Antillo”, a blend of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Petit Verdot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that sells between $12 and $14 on American retail shelves; this offers nice complexity for this price and is meant for drinking within 2-3 years. The regular Bolgheri Rosso, which sells for $18, has a greater percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, giving it more tannins for mid-term (5-7 years) cellaring. Wines like this are to be encouraged, especially to help introduce Bolgheri to more consumers; not everything made here is meant to be enjoyed 25 years from now! (Premium Brands of Forest Hills, NY is the importer for Guado al Melo.)

Enrico Santini is a name you may hear more often in the near future, given the quality of his wines. Literally making wine out of his garage near the town of Castagneto Carducci, Santini is equally at home with white and red wine. His white, a blend of Vermentino and Sauvignon known as Campo alla Casa, has beautiful spearmint and pine aromas with very good depth of fruit and finely tuned acidity. This is a very enjoyable glass of wine on its own; for food pairing, try it with shellfish.

It is his Bolgheri Rosso known as Montepergoli that is quietly putting Santini among the area’s best vintners. The current bottling is from 2004, a great vintage and the wine delivers all it promises. The aromas are room-filling, with notes of dark chocolate, mocha, marzipan and black cherry. Full-bodied with excellent concentration and great fruit persistence, this is headed for its best showing in 20-25 years. The 2003 from a difficult vintage is starting to round out nicely and is much more elegant that many similar wines from that torridly hot year. I tasted the 2001 Montepergoli recently and was thrilled with its development. Now the 2004 has arrived and in my opinion this offering can stand with the best red wines of Bolgheri. The wine will arrive in a few months in the States; Vintus is the national importer. Great news is that you won’t be paying an arm or a leg for this wine!


Helena Lindberg, winemaker, Tenuta di Biserno (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Finally, I visited Tenuta di Biserno, the new property of Lodovico Antinori, founder and former owner of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia. The estate is located just outside the Bolgheri DOC area near the town of Bibbona, but shares many of the same soil and climatic conditions of the famous Bolgheri estates. Three wines, two IGT Toscana and one Bolgheri DOC wine are currently produced here with another premium red in the plans. The Insoglia delle Cinghiale is a blend of Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The new 2007 offers plenty of fruit, excellent complexity with very subtle wood notes. Nicely balanced, this is meant for consumption over the next 5-7 years. (Wilson-Daniels is the national importer for Tenuta di Biserno; the 2007 will not be available until the fall; the current 2006 bottling of Insoglio, also excellent, is $34).

The Bolgheri Rosso known as Coronato, is produced from a nearby vineyard in the Bolgheri DOC and has the typical ripeness and power one expects from a top-flight red of this district. Black licorice, black cherry and bitter chocolate aromas are backed by a generous mid-palate and a well structured finish. Look for this 2006 to be at its best in 12-15 years (the outstanding 2005 is the current release and retails for $70).

Finally, the top wine of the estate (for now) is the Il Pino rosso. This blend of 35% Cabernet Franc, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot offers beautiful structure, tons of fruit and refined tannins, with an earthy finish; look for this to be at its peak in 12-15 years. Antinori is banking on Cabernet Franc to be perhaps the best-performing variety at Tenuta di Biserno, as he believes the soils at his estate are best-suited to bring out the spice and complexity of this variety. The 2006 is currently available at $82 per bottle. Look for the premium estate red from Tenuta di Biserno to be released in the fall of this year. Based on what winemaker Helena Lindberg has accomplished so far, I’m looking forward to this wine!


Winter scene at Tenuta di Biserno (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Favorite Italian Red Wines of the Year

Detail of the Sorano Vineyard of Ascheri in Serralunga d'Alba, source of one of the author's best bottlings of Barolo from this past year. (Photo ©Tom Hyland)



This year many of my top Italian reds centered on a common theme – they were from the glorious 2004 vintage. The Barolos from that year are stunning, the Amarones are polished and the bottlings of Taurasi are wonderfully concentrated with their typical charm. Throughout the country, 2004 was a remarkable success for Italian reds.

Here are my favorites (listed from north to south in Italy):

2004 BAROLOS
Rarely has there been a collection of Barolos with such deep fruit aromas, concentration of fruit and gorgeous acidity. There are so many great 2004 Barolos that I can’t list them all, but here are a few favorites: Fontanafredda “La Villa”, the least known, but most elegant of the three cru Barolos produced by this historic estate; Cascina Cucco “Vigna Cucco” and “Cerrati”, two beautifully supple bottlings from this small estate in Serralunga d’Alba; Ascheri “Sorano Coste e Bricco”, one of the most finesseful of all the 2004 Barolos and the Ettore Germano “Prapo”, a wine with vibrant spice backed by graceful tannins.

Also, the Elio Grasso “Vigna Chiniera”, a traditionally produced beauty from Monforte d’Alba; the powerful Aldo Conterno “Romirasco”, that displayed remarkable concentration and two beautifully structured offererings from Roberto Voerzio – “Rocche dell’Annunziata Torriglione” and "Sarmassa". These wines are ultramodern in style as they are aged in barriques, yet the layers of fruit are the story and not the oak.

Finally, other top Barolos include Vietti “Rocche”; Rocche Costamagna “Bricco Francesco”, the finest bottling of this wine I’ve tasted to date; Luigi Baudana “Baudana”; Cogno “Ravera” from the commune of Novello and the Damilano “Liste” from the commune of Barolo.


Bruno Nada, winemaker at Fiorenzo Nada. He produced one of the author's top bottlings of Barbaresco from this past year. (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

2005 BARBARESCOS
Though less powerful than the bottlings from 2004, the Barbarescos from 2005 are equally impressive, at least for the best producers. Three wines take the top spots on my list: Fontanabianca “Sori Burdin” with its distinctive aromas of rose petals, cumin, allspice and dried orange peel; Fiorenzo Nada “Rombone” with its excellent fruit persistence, nicely styled tannins and lively acidity and finally the elegantly styled Rizzi “Boito” that offers plush aromas of red cherry, strawberry and red spice along with big fruit persistence and lively acidity. This is one of the most underrated producers in Piemonte and all of Italy!

2004 ANTOLINI AMARONE “MOROPIO”
This is a gorgeous Amarone that takes you back to the days when local producers concentrated more on elegance than power. This offers beautifully perfumed aromas of violets, black raspberry, a hint of chocolate, molasses and rum, is balanced throughout and has lovely acidity and subtle oak. I wish more producers made their Amarone in this style!

2004 TENUTA SANT’ANTONIO AMARONE “SELEZIONE ANTONIO CASTAGNEDI”
Although this is a bit more modern in style than the Antolini, this is still a lovely Amarone with great finesse. Big aromas of red cherry, coriander and tobacco and a lengthy finish- this is beautifully made. I prefer this wine to the riper, more powerful “Campo dei Gigli” bottling from this producer.

2005 TENUTA SAN GUIDO “SASSICAIA”
2005 TENUTA DELL’ ORNELLAIA “ORNELLAIA”
You might expect these selections from Bolgheri to be no-brainers and to some extent they are, but these are more impressive to me than their respective 2004 bottlings, as they offer more lively acidity and backbone. Some will prefer the 2004s for their power, but the 2005s aren’t exactly lighweights and I admire the overall balance of these wines from start to finish. Look for these wines to be at their peak in 15-20 years.

2005 TENUTA DI BISERNO “IL PINO”
Another Bolgheri red from a relatively new estate headed by Lodovico Antinori (formerly of Ornellaia) along with his brother Piero. This blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot has explosive aromas, excellent fruit persistence and lively acidity and should be at its best in 10-12 years.

2005 MARINA CVETIC MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO
I listed this producer’s Trebbiano d’Abruzzo as one of my favorite whites of the year and this glorious red made by the Gianni Masciarelli (Marina’s husband who recently passed away) is one of my top reds. This is a flavorful wine with notes of tobacco and myrtle with lively acidity and a long finish- it’s simply delicious!

2004 MASTROBERARDINO TAURASI “RADICI”
Is there another producer of Taurasi that makes as flavorful – and at the same time – elegantly styled bottling than Mastroberardino? The winery’s approach with this 100% Aglianico really shines in a great vintage such as 2004. You get the textbook chocolate and cherry flavors, great fruit persistence and young, but balanced tannins. Look for this to be at its best in 15-20 years.

2005 MARISA CUOMO RAVELLO ROSSO RISERVA
Here is another winery that I included in my list of best whites of the year for its 2007 Furore Bianco “Fiorduva”; this lesser known wine also makes the list for best reds. A blend of 50% Aglianico and 50% Piedirosso aged in barriques, this is quite stylish with flavors of black cherry, licorice and tobacco backed by tart acidity. It’s not a powerhouse – it will be at its best in 5-7 years - but it is quite impressive!

2004 DUCA DI SALAPARUTA “DUCA ENRICO”
For some time now, this has been one of Sicily’s most complex and beautifully structured reds. Winemaker Carlo Casavecchia has produced one of his finest efforts to date with this gorgeous effort from 2004. 100% Nero d’Avola from vineyards near Gela in southeastern Sicily, this has inviting aromas of marascino cherry and fig backed by subtle oak, lively acidity and velvety tannins. This is an oustanding bottling of Duca Enrico; look for this to be at its peak in 12-15 years.


Please note that I did not list any bottlings of Brunello di Montalcino. This has nothing to do with the current situation in Montalcino, rather it has to do with the quality of the current releases from the 2003 vintage. Though there were some successes, overall the wines offer bitter tannins, robbing these wines of their usual elegance and finesse. Given that the 2004 bottlings of Brunello will be released in 2009, I expect several of these wines to be on my list of the Best Italian Reds next year.