Bolgheri - Part One - The Establishment

Sebastiano Rosa, Winemaker and Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, owner, Tenuta San Guido (Photo ©Tom Hyland)


This is part one of a two-part series on my recent visit to Bolgheri - Tom Hyland


Ah to be in Bolgheri in February! February you say? While it’s a time of the year than can be a bit cold and overcast and while the buds have yet to bloom, it’s a great moment to be in this area. The air is crisp, the nights are clear and best of all, the tourists haven’t taken over the environs. So I get to visit estates, taste the latest releases and talk with the vintners, all at a leisurely pace.

During my two full days in Bolgheri along Tuscany’s west coast, I worked in a nice mix of famous producers as well as some smaller, lesser-known ones. Tenuta San Guido, where Sassicaia is produced, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia and Le Macchiole fit the former description while Guado al Melo and Enrico Santini represent the estates that are not household names, yet produce some excellent wines, several of which are fine values.

I'll discuss the latter two estates in my next post on Bolgheri; for the time being, let's talk about the big boys. There has been so much written about Sassicaia and Ornellaia over the years that it’s difficult to come up with anything new. In this case however, that’s a good thing, as the wines remain as great as ever. At Tenuta San Guido, winemaker Sebastiano Rosa and owner Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta led me through a tasting of four different vintages, from the 2005, released last year up to the 2008, which will not be in the marketplace until 2011. Each wine is outstanding; the standard blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc creates a ripe, gusty, spicy, powerful wine that ages for 20-25 years. The current 2006 is impressive in its complexity and the 2007 and 2008 promise even more with slightly higher acidity. This is clearly a case of “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.” The producer’s other wines, “Le Difese,” a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese and Guidalberto, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend, are also beautifully crafted and are meant for consumption within 5-7 years. (note- legendary winemaker Giacamo Tachis still acts as consulting enologist here; Sebastiano Rosa has taken over the everyday winemaking duties.)

At Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, the signature wine also remains one of the best reds of Italy. This is a slightly different blend than the Sassicaia, as Ornellaia is a cuvée of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. As powerful as Sassicaia, it is a bit more polished than that offering. This is not to say the wine is better, it is just a bit more subdued in its approach, though hardly less powerful, as the new 2006 bottling will age well for 20 years plus. The second wine, “Le Serre Nuove,” a blend with a greater percentage of Merlot and slightly less Cabernet Sauvignon, is a marvelous wine with sumptuous aromas, great complexity and marvelous Bolgheri terrior. Retail prices vary for any wine in the United States, but I’ve seen an average price for this wine between $60-$65, making this a relative bargain. It’s a wine you can store for 7-10 years and it’s a great choice to show off Bolgheri without getting into $100 and higher.

Bottles of Ornellaia and Masseto (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

One final note from Ornellaia and it’s the 100% Merlot known as Masseto, produced from a gorgeous 18 acre vineyard at the estate. This is a magnificent wine, full-bodied with tremendous concentration and remarkable structure. It’s a good a Merlot as I’ve had from anywhere in the world; I expect the 2005 bottling to be at its best in 25-30 years. Some writers have compared this wine to Chateau Petrus; while I rarely get a chance to try that wine, I’m not about to argue with this assessment. It’s difficult to find this wine, as most of it goes to a few select restaurants and it is quite expensive – it retails for over $300 a bottle – but it is one of the world’s great red wines.



Cinzia Merli, owner of Le Macchiole (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

I mentioned the big boys of Bolgheri, but you need to add at least one dynamic woman to that list. Cinzia Merli has been running Le Macchiole for several years since her husband passed away and she has performed her duties brilliantly. Her wines are beautiful with deep fruit and elegant structure and most assuredly belong in any discussion of Bolgheri’s best. She has been producing 100% varietal wines for some time now; according to regulations, she has had to label them as IGT Toscana Rosso, as Bolgheri DOC wines must be blended. But now these laws are changing and Merli will be able to sell these wines as Bolgheri DOC. These include Scrio, made exclusively from Syrah, Messorio, a monovarietal Merlot and her finest wine, Paleo produced solely from Cabernet Franc. This last wine (2005 is the current release) is a superior effort with enticing aromas of lavender, pink peppercorn and chocolate and excellent depth of fruit. Cinzia Merli is such a delightful person – it’s so nice to see her doing so well!

3-liter bottle of Paleo, Le Macchiole (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Santa Cecilia Vertical

At a recent visit to the Planeta winery near Noto in far southeastern Sicily, I joined a small group of journalists who were treated to a vertical tasting of the winery’s famed Santa Cecilia, a 100% Nero d’Avola. Along with this rare opportunity to try this many examples at one sitting, it was fascinating to learn about the changes in this wine in its brief history.

Winemaker Alessio Planeta (Photo ©Tom Hyland) led the tasting of six wines which included the 2008, 2007 (not yet released) as well as the 2006, 2005, 2001 and 1997, the initial release of this wine. The Planeta estate was set up in Sambuca di Sicilia near Menfi on the west coast back in the mid 1980s and by the middle 1990s, the family had decided to produce a signature Nero d’Avola. The plans were to release this wine from 1995 and 1996, but Planeta decided that the quality was not what he wanted, so 1997 became the initial offering. Incidentally, this was the only wine that was not 100% Nero d’Avola, as this contains 15% Syrah.

Soon after, Planeta decided to focus on a Nero d’Avola in purezza, crafting a wine that would be suitable for long-term aging. Research showed that the best area in Sicily for the variety would be in the southeastern reaches. Planeta along with his agronomists discovered a piece of land near Noto in 1998 that they believed would be ideal for this wine and have been using fruit from this site ever since; the bottlings starting with the 2003 have been produced excusively from the Noto vineyards. An underground winery was built at this property and the wine is fermented and aged in this facility.

As for the tasting, it was interesting to note the more rustic qualities of fruit from western Sicily as compared to the wines made exclusively from Noto fruit. Now that these vineyards are older (some planted in 1974 and 1975 with the newer blocks being planted in 1998), the wine has become more deeply concentrated with more elegant tannins and the dream of a Nero d’Avola meant for long-term aging is starting to become a reality.





2008 (barrel sample)
Bright purple with a slightly closed nose of plum and marascino cherry; medium-full with soft, young tannins, very good acidity and excellent fruit persistence. 2008 was less rainy than several previous years in Sicily, which is important for Nero d’Avola as the variety suffers from rain and excessive humidity. I love the structure of this wine; combined with the rich aromatics and depth of fruit, this has the potential to be an outstanding wine. (Note: The 2008 will be the first Santa Cecilia labeled as Noto DOC.)

2007
Bright purple with aromas of black plum and black licorice- deep fruit. Medium-full with excellent concentration. Big extract and still a bit tannic with very good balance and acidity. Notes of menthol in the finish. Give this time to round out; should be at its best in 10-12 years. Excellent

2006
Light purple with gorgeous aromas of blackberry, marmalade and black cherry. Medium-full with excellent concentration. Lovely balance with pinpoint acidity, subtle tannins and subdued oak. Excellent fruit persistence- this should hold for 12-15 years. My favorite wine of the tasting – outstanding!

2005
Deep ruby red-light purple with aromas of blackberry, mint, dried red flowers and a hint of nutmeg. Very good length in the finish with round tannins and very good acidity. Light herbal notes in the finish. Enjoy over the next 7-10 years. Excellent.

2001
This is Nero d’Avola from both Noto and Menfi. Deep ruby red with aromas of dried brown herbs, dried strawberry and a hint of tobacco. Medium-full with very good concentration. Good acidity, subtle oak and still firm tannins. This has a definite rustic quality and it quite different from the younger wines. Enjoy over the next 3-5 years. Very Good.

1997
This is the first bottling of Santa Cecilia and contains 15% Syrah. Light ruby red with aromas of dried cherry and cigar. Medium-full with very good concentration. Big fruit persistence, good acidity and restrained oak with rich tannins. This wine tastes much fresher than the 2001 (this could be due to bottle variation). Excellent complexity- enjoy over the next 5-7 years. Excellent.


- Tom Hyland

A Tale of Two Cities: Vino Nobile's Anteprima

View over the rooftops of Montepulciano to the distant valleys


This is second article by Bill Marsano on the recent anteprime tastings held in Tuscany in February.

Text ©Bill Marsano, 2009
Photos by Bill Marsano


"On to Montepulciano!" Hardly were those words out when a vast image out of spiritus mundi troubled my sight: 200-odd journalists, critics and wine-tradistas thronging forth from Florence's Leopolda and piling into a small fleet of large buses southbound for Montepulciano and its splendid wine, Vino Nobile. Newcomers among the gang may have actually expected to get there.

They did in due course, of course, but first we all fetched up at Chianciano Terme, a few miles southeast, owing to Montepulciano's double-edged sword. That's a subject that tempts me to divagate (N.B.: That's a verb, not a noun for another Amy Winehouse scandalo), but I'll get to that later. First, a little wine.

Noble as it is, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano can never catch a break. Even now it is insufficiently recognized, and just after World War II, when the U.S. was awash with fiasco Chianti, the few writers who mentioned it usually said a) it beat Chianti to sky blue fits but b) was seldom seen, what with just a handful producers and fewer than 400 acres.

Interest grew when Nobile was DOC'd 1966 and again when DOCG'd in 1980: Now some 170 producers work 2000 acres. Other developments were less helpful. SuperTuscans had wine-lovers tossing Bolgheri around as if they knew where it was; Chianti began pulling its socks up (to Sicily's dismay); Brunello's 1960 acreage increased 10 times over by 1980; and Morellino di Scansano sat upright in its coffin . . . .

Pouring the Nobile


Nor did the press always gave Nobile a fair shake. A colleague at a tasting once beefed "All these wines are too much alike." Not such a bad thing, I thought, for a wine seeking an identity. Then a year later I heard "I don't understand these wines. They're all over the place!" Oh: not alike enough. Whillikers! Please, people--just try some?

Nobile DOCG requires a minimum 70 percent Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese's local moniker). The Anteprima had few wines that low. One was Carpineto, which doesn't specify the blender grape(s). Should I be scandalizzato? Dunno, because Carpineto makes Nobile only as a riserva, and I swooned for the '01 and '03. Maria Caterina Dei also blends unnamed complementari (20 percent) in her Nobile. Problemo? Nah: Her Nobile normale or vino d'annata was delightful, and her Riserva Bossona, which she's been perfecting since its inaugural vintage (1999) deserves the Tre Bicchieri (Three Glasses) awarded by from Gambero Rosso. I also enjoyed her SuperTuscan, Sancta Catharina, which includes Cabernet.

Di fatto, most wines Anteprima'd were 80 percenters and many were in the 90s. Conventional wisdom (wishful thinking? speculation? gossip?) says the zone is just far enough south of Chianti to be a bit warmer and so reduce the need for blending. Yet I spotted only two in purezza wines: Salcheto and the weighty, dinner-style Torcalvano Gracciano. I quite liked both.

The blender grapes are the old-timey Colorino, Cannaiolo and Mammolo, the newer, Cabernet and Merlot. A few producers add but one although most use two or three (one uses five), so it's unusual for any one blender to overwhelm rather than contribute.

I liked Poliziano, which won a Tre Bicchieri award, as it has "with implacable regularity" since 1997; Triacca (annata and riserva both); Il Conventino likewise; La Calonica, also Tre Bicchieri and a star of the Italian Trade Commisson's January Vinoweek tastings in New York, Boston and Miami; La Ciarliana's Vigna 'Scianello; Le Casalte's Querciatonda; Lodola Nuova and Talosa, two more dinner-weight wines; Vecchia Cantina and Villa S. Anna, with their Durante noses; Il Faggeto's delightful Pietranera; Trerose's Simposio and La Villa; Valdipiatta's entire lineup, including the Pinot Nero(!); Le Bèrne (normale and riserva); Poggiagallo; and La Braccesca's normale and the riserva, the Vigneto Santa Pia.

My increasingly illegible notes say those last two "drink right down," but senza dubbia as much can be said for the Canneto, Contucci, Avignonesi, Fanetti, del Cerro, Bindella and Boscarelli, which I finished off even as they finished me.

By the way, just as Carpineto makes only Nobile Riserva, a several producers make only vino d'annata. And many a riserva does without a nome di fantasia, the ego-warming fantasy handle that is excessively popular elsewhere. So as not to miss a riserva, you'll have to look a bit closely at the label. If that's not asking too much.

Montepulciano's wealth of cheeses


Afterward came Montepulciano's customary abbondanza lunch, which could make a Puritan weep. The specialties are those wonderful fruit-topped torte and superb farm formaggi served by the very people who made them (if you ask, they'll introduce their sheep).

Then forklifts loaded the giornalisti onto lorries and medevacs, palanquins and litters pointed at Montalcino's Benvenuto Brunello.

Now I did mention Montepulciano's double-edged sword, and so must explain.

One edge is that this handsome medieval-Renaissance hilltown is all up and down--sometimes I think mainly up--and is more or less nowhere: far from the autostrada on a two skinny lanes of asphalt that wriggle like a small intestine and have exactly as many guard rails. It's between Acquaviva and Pienza, which means what? Probably that you're lost. Thus lovely Montepulciano escapes the soilsome hand of mass tourism.



Entrance to Meuble Il Riccio


The sharper edge is that Montepulciano's few hotels are either small or smaller. Il Borghetto is at the bottom of the town, whence the hike up to the centro storico will do you a world of good. La Terrazza is about halfway up and Hotel Duomo is off Piazza Grande, but the jewel in the town is Meublè Il Riccio, set in an 11th Century palazzo and run by Giorgio and Ivana Caroti with the help of son Iacopo, daughter-in-law Monica and Giorgio's mother, Antonietta. Elegant rooms, arcaded court, terrace looking onto tiled roofs and distant hills-- Oh, just Google and go, that's my motto. But be warned: you will hate having to leave.

Such homey places can't accommodate container loads of scribblers. That's why we had been off-loaded in Chianciano Terme, a spa town (your liver is our business).

American spas are indulgences where healthy-wealthy women show off their clothes, get absurdly priced beauty treatments and confide in their journals when not confiding in their sistern around a campfire and crying a lot. (Let go of the pain, girl!) Eurospas are mainly for sick people; di fatto, Italians used to get (and maybe still do) 10 government-paid spa days a year for their health. Thus Chianciano Terme is full of large new hotels and, in winter, almost devoid of life. The Nobile Consorzio had to wake the Ambasicatori Hotel from hibernation for the journalists' gala cocktail and gala dinner. Both lived up to their billing, and after sustaining sufficient damage the celebrants sought took the narrow elevator to their beds in narrow, cheerless rooms that had been decorated in the early 1960s by teams of dental hygienists engaged in a competition long and best forgotten. Never mind. Next morning, Montepulciano herself more than made up for it.
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Next: Off to Montalcino.

Prelius

Giovanella Stianti in vineyards at her new estate in the Maremma called Prelius (Photo ©Tom Hyland)






Just a brief post today as I am packing my bags for a five-day trip to Sicily to participate in Sicilia en Premeur, an event that has several dozen Sicilian wineries presenting their newest releases to journalists from around the world. I’ll write about this event upon my return.

This post is about a new estate called Prelius in the Maremma district of Tuscany. Located near the popular seaside town of Castiglione della Pescaia, the estate is owned by Giovanella Stianti, the dynamic owner of Castello di Volpaia, one of Chianti Classico’s great estates. Stianti was kind enough to take me to the estate after my visit to Montalcino as I was headed up to Bolgheri for a few days. It’s a long drive and I’m grateful to her for taking the time to make these arrangements.

This is a 10 hectare (25 acre) estate planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. The plans are to produce one white, a Vermentino plus two reds. The first red is called (at this point) Prelius and it’s from the 2007 vintage, made primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Giovanella also told me there is another red in the works, which will be a more full-bodied effort, but beyond that, she did not disclose much information.

I tasted the 2007 Prelius with her over lunch at Ristorante il Votapentole, a small, outstanding restaurant in Castiglione della Pescaia. The wine has deep purple color like many Maremma reds with appealing aromas of ripe blackberry, myrtle and vanilla and has very good concentration. There are young, graceful tannins, very good acidity and plenty of fruit in the finish. The wine is very well made and offers beautiful complexity. While it is ripe, it is not overdone; this can be a problem in this warm, sunny area. Although it’s a little early to judge the wine now, as it will not be released until the fall, I think it is very good right now and has the potential to become an excellent wine in a year or two. (The Prelius wines will be represented in the United States by Wilson Daniels, which also represents the wines of Castello di Volpaia.)

Given the oustanding work done by Giovanella and her team at Volpaia, especially over the past decade, the new Prelius project is definitely one to watch over the coming months and years.

The Anteprime Save My Day

I am pleased to announce that starting today my friend Bill Marsano (photo at left by Maury Englander) will be an occasional contributor to this blog. He is known variously as Marsanobeel and Lui Di Nuovo; I know him as a James Beard award-winning writer and one of the most insightful observers of the Italian wine scene. He himself admits only to being "a crank with some bizarre opinions."


By Bill Marsano
©Copyright 2009
Photos below by Bill Marsano


April--the cruellest month? Pace Mr. Eliot, it's February, my friends. February gives Oscars to mostly the wrong people; is National Canned Food and National Snack Food Month. It features Disaster Day (the 5th), Toothache Day (the 9th) and Hoodie-Hoo Day (the 20th; don't ask). And this February the French took leave of their senses.

Formerly a sophisticated people, the French now wage war on wine. New laws put wine on the same menace-to-society level as pornography. And according to Decanter magazine, France's National Health Ministry says “The consumption of alcohol, and especially wine, is discouraged”; Dominique Maraninchi, head of France's national cancer institute adds that "Small daily doses of alcohol are the most harmful. There is no amount, however small, which is good for you." Cieux aux Élizabeth! as my mother would have said had she ever Frenched 'Heavens to Betsy!' And Maraninchi feels much the same about red meat and charcuterie. Can I get an Ooo-la-la! here?

In short, France is awash in the Higher Nonsense. Tuscany, on the other hand, is not, so thither I skedaddled for the annual anteprime (previews) of Chianti, Vino Nobile and Brunello. The anteprime attract some 200 international critics and far-flung journalists, lightly salted with a few indigent scribblers like your correspondent, who apply themselves to the latest vintages and to rounds of dining and drinking such as would give Messr. Maraninchi the blue creevies or the dry fantods or both. This goes on without surcease for six start-early/end-late days, and we call it work.

Events opened with the Chianti Collection at Florence's Stazione Leopolda exhibition hall, in which the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico, which represents 95 percent of Chianti Classico DOCG producers had gathered about 160 of them; they in turn opened their 2008s, '07s and '06s, throwing in a dozen or so '05s just for lagniappe. The total was close on to 400 wines. To deal with this tsunamic quantity I skipped all barrel samples (the '08s promise well but can't be released until autumn) and the '07s still in barrel now won't be the same when bottled. I lit into the bottled versions of '07 and '06, two vintages that are "widely," as they say, "hailed."

Chianti Classico offers endless variety for nearly endless reasons. One is that Chianti, which lies mostly between Florence and Siena, sprawls over 173,000 acres; has numerous soil types and elevations running from 660 to 2600 feet. Another reason is the vexed question of whether Chianti should be a varietal (its latest expression) or a blend (which is what it has been for centuries).

That question is answered by the three clans of Classico producers: I Puristi, who use Sangiovese cento per cento or in purezza, refusing to blend it; I Tradizionalisti, who use at least 80 per cent Sangiovese (the legal minimum) and add such back-in-the-day grapes as Colorino and Canaiolo, and Gli Innovatori, who blend instead such international varieties as Cabernet and Merlot.

Guess what? They all make really good wine.

In relying on Sangiovese alone, I Puristi benefit from the Consorzio's years of work to develop the best possible Sangiovese clone through the Chianti 2000 program. The results show that, all other things being equal, Sangiovese can stand alone as a varietal wine. Winning examples at Leopolda came from Le Fonti, Aria, Borgo Salcetino, Piccini, La Forra, Vignamaggio (where Emma Thompson starred in "Much Ado About Nothing"), Molino di Grace, Fèlsina, La Sala, Villa Cafaggio--among others.

The Tradizionalisti make blends, and they do it the old-fashioned way, using secondary red varieties that most people have forgotten: mainly Canaiolo, to soften the Sangiovese, and Colorino, which as its name implies puts more color in its cheeks. Does some Malvasia Nera creep in here and there? Bet on it-- but you can kiss yesterday's white varieties goodbye. No more Malvasia Bianco and the enthusiastically despised Trebbiano, which made Chianti an early drinker—da pronta beva in Italian--according to the formula long ago promulgated by the Iron Baron, Bettino Ricasoli. They had been steadily reduced to derisory amounts over the years, permitted, in fact, solely for old times' sake. Now, not even that. It’s official: quella è la porta is the word. They’ve been shown the door.

Before Leopolda showed me the same I had some very nice samples of these wines: Monsanto, Badia a Coltibuono and Castello di Querceto are names known to all, senza dubbia, but these others are hardly obscure: Fattoria Nittardi, Casa Emma, Carpineto, Manucci Droandi, Lornano, Tenuta di Capraia, Montegrossi, Mangiacane, La Ripa, Nozzole, Vicchiomaggio and more. I could go on. I'd rather go back.

Gli Innovatori have their roots in the 1960s, when the great effort to systematically improve Italian wines fairly began. Many producers dumped the traditional blender grapes in favor of Cabernet or Merlot. In the early days, when they were used heavy-handedly and accompanied by too many barriques, they overwhelmed Sangiovese’s essential elegance--stepped on her gown, so to say. A lot has been learnt since. Leopolda showed some nifty examples: Ruffino Santedame, Panzanello, Bindi Sergardi, Monte Bernardi Retromarcia, Le Due Arbie, Viticcio, Riseccoli, Poggio al Sole, Il Palagio and many more.

Among the newer blending grapes is Syrah. Talk about muscle! A colleague rightly fears it'll become too popular because it's powerful enough to cover for the producer who overcrops his Sangiovese: not at all a good thing. Used judiciously, however, it seems to work pretty well. Castello di Volpaia and Isole e Olena do very nicely using only 5 per cent (Volpaia adding an equal amount of Merlot and Isole e Olena using 15 percent Canaiolo).

Many and maybe even most producers mix and match--they'll have a cento per cento, but they’ll also make blends using old varieties, international varieties, or both. That suggests not inconsistency but careful attention to the vintage by the likes of Castello di Ama, Castello di Fonterutoli, Castello di Selvole, Il Poggiolino and Villa Calcinaia. It's surely the same with San Fabiano Calcinaia, Cecchi and Villa Cerna, but they prefer to keep us guessing, saying only that they add to their Sangiovese five or 10 percent "other complementary varieties."

Two fine vintages, a plethora of fine producers--increasingly it gets harder to make a mistake with Chianti Classico; you can pretty much pick blindfolded.

Tasting through so many wines in so little time was made possible largely by an army of fleet-footed sommeliers, by the efforts of the consorzio’s president, Marco Pallanti, its marketing/communications manager, Silvia Fiorentini, and by the restorative luncheon buffet and gala dinner provided for the ravening giornalisti. As I said, we call it work.

Next: A Tale of Two Cities: Vino Nobile’s Anteprima.