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Articoli marcati con tag ‘Montalcino’

The Overton BBC (bring a bottle club) has a cheerfully random air about it.  This is particularly the case with ‘BBC1’. As the idea is to taste the wines blind, there is no plan about who will bring what.  Usually this works absolutely fine and often some fascinating themes emerge.  By chance three people will bring bottles from a single Burgundy village or there will be a couple of wines from the same vintage and comparisons can be made. 

October’s meeting was a bit unusual. There were more people present than in recent months with a resulting 14 bottles to taste and, of these, one was a sweet wine, no fewer than 11 were red, with just one white and, unusually, a rosé. With all the benefits of hindsight we had a fair selection of the important red wines of the world with the following areas being represented:

• Burgundy – Savigny, Volnay,
• Languedoc – Corbières
• Tuscany – Chianti Classico, Montalcino
• Spain – Rioja
• Lebanon – Bekaa Valley
• South Africa – Swartland
• Australia – McLaren Vale
• mandatory off-piste region: Morocco!

We will make up for the missing Bordeaux in a themed tasting next month and no doubt California will get its chance to shine sooner or later.  Let’s deal first with the white and the rosé minorities.  The white had people fairly foxed – warm climate certainly but then Southern France, Spain and Italy were all canvassed.  In fact it was La Forge Vineyard, Paul Mas Estate, Languedoc, 2010: bright citrus fruit, light oak notes, fullish in body, with a creamy texture.  A good start, followed a bit later by an outstanding rosé, and you can’t often say that:  pale salmon pink in colour, attractive strawberry notes, outstanding freshness, just  a hint of leafiness.  To add to the pleasure, this wine was bought at the winery by one of our members who had visited it recently, Ch. de Pibarnon, AC Bandol 2010. The reputation of Provence for top rosé from high inland sites continues.  

To bring some order to the evening, here are the two red Burgundies together, both slightly surprising in their own way. First up was Savigny-les-Beaune ‘Les Talmettes’ Premier Cru, Domaine Chenu, 2007, a pale ruby; most guessed straight away it was Pinot Noir and some were in Burgundy.  Quite savoury on the palate, but rather leathery and not really fresh – the relatively poor 2007 vintage has aged very fast.  By contrast 2001 seemed quite spirity and hot, some good savoury fruit, a good depth of flavour if a bit rustic. This turned out to be Volnay AC, Nichoas Potel from 2001. 

La Tour, Chateau Grand Moulin, Jean Noel Bousquet 2009 moved us to a hotter climate, with its rich, plummy and forward fruit, dense and compact on the palate, with medium length.  40% Syrah, 40% Carignan, 20% Grenache. 

On a roughly similar latitude, we move to our Tuscan trio, starting with a 100% cru Sangiovese, Reciso IGT Toscana 2006, created by Pietro Beconcini by massal selection from old vines present on his family estate, grown on soil rich in fossils and white clay.  It is made a in a very traditional way: fermentation in cement vats, using indigenous yeasts,  five weeks of skin contact and 18-24 months of ageing in a mixture of French tonneaux and large Slavonian oak barrels.  It has a richness in the fruit which is not typical of more classic, austere Sangiovese.  Rancia, Beradenga, Chianti Classico riserva 1999 led with coal dust, tar, some sweet leathery and floral notes which had some of our number thinking this was Barolo, if without the imposing tannic structure.  There was no shortage of tannins in the third example, Tenuta La Fuga, Brunello di Montalcino riserva, 1995.  Dusty, tea leaves and herbs on the nose, some fruitiness still, lively, mildly aggressive tannins. 

The Tuscan wines can be followed by Mediterranean West and East – better known as Spain and Lebanon.  Contino Rioja Reserva 2007 was much appreciated by people, even if only one person got close to identifying it.  Some smoke, liquorice and quite a lot of vanilla on the nose points to American oak in combination with French oak, with fruit from a single vineyard of 66 hectares.  Very good depth of flavour – though some thought not enough for a Reserva quality – perfume, good acidity, highly drinkable and elegant.  At the other end of the Med is to be found Massaya Gold, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2000, a fascinating blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Mourvèdre and10% Syrah. Plums and raisins and orange peel on the nose, very good density of fruit, persistent tannins – with all that Mourvèdre. 

From one of the oldest civilisations of the old world to the so-called new world of South Africa and Australia.  A.A. Badenhorst’s Family Red, South Africa, 2007 is a Rhone blend: Shiraz (80%), Mourvèdre (10%) , Cinsault or Cape Hermitage (7%) and Grenache (3%). Heavy weight, deep flavoured with high tannins – we claimed that they there was 10% Mourvèdre and 10% Mataro, but at that stage we thought we were in Australia!  Actually in Australia, Willunga 100 Shiraz Viognier 2007 also takes its inspiration from the Rhone, if on this occasion further north: 97% Shiraz with 3% Viognier which is co-fermented with the red grapes.  Good fruit, cool climate in style with a slightly flat middle.  Perfumed with some nice softness. 

Every blind tasting needs a somewhat unusual bottle: Domaine de Mayole Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah 2007 Beni M’Tir, Meknes, Morocco fitted the bill.  A 60/40 blend, it had sweet plumy fruit, some of it perhaps a bit stewed, with lots of mouth-filling glycerol,  and rather drying tannins.  However, no ‘essence of rubber’ as some one remarked! 

A sweet and rich conclusion to the evening.  Following our excellent ‘every style of Sherry except Fino’ evening of a few weeks ago, we enjoyed this moderately luscious, coffee, liquorice and walnut scented Moscatel from Lustau, 2007.  A few more white wines next time?  I expect so, but it is northern Italy so we will see.  

After the excitements of the Lea & Sandeman tasting (see previous post), more of the biggest names in Italian wine were on show at Armit’s ‘Blooming Lovely’ Spring tasting. Certainly they had the day for it, London being bathed in brilliant northern sunshine with temperatures higher than currently in Tuscany or even Southern Italy – briefly.  

And the wines?  Certainly there was no shortage of big names, from Italy and elsewhere – the 2008 vintage from the two Super Tuscan giants, Sassicaia and Ornellaia; wonderful Rioja from La Rioja Alta, and many more.  Bruno Giacosa is a huge name in Italy but not as well known here.  On this occasion, Giacosa’s very good varietal wines – Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo -  were shown, wines you can actually afford to drink, not just collect.   But the family who put this area on the map was certainly very well represented: Gaja, with wines from his three estates, Barbaresco of course, but then also his two Tuscan estates: Pieve di Santa Restituta in Montalcino and the second and third wines from Ca’Marcanda in coastal Bolgheri. So I could have written about the Super Tuscan aristocracy, Sassicaia versus Ornellaia versus Gaja in Bolgheri … riches indeed. 

I have written previously in much more detail about Gaja in general and his Bolgheri wines in particular. Here I want to concentrate on the single vineyard wine, Sorì Tildìn, from the family’s home area of Barbaresco, Piemonte.  The label is classic Gaja – the family name, effectively the brand name, is in big bold type, then the focus is on the vineyard name.  Gaja eschews the Barbaresco DOCG classification, in favour of the simple Langhe Rosso; the message is, this is a bottle of Gaja wine, that’s all that matters. The style of the wine itself is highly characteristic – subtle and sophisticated, nothing remotely rustic or edgy, the perfect wine for the luxury worldwide market.  Sorì Tildìn 2007 opens up with a beautiful combination of mature fruit, cherry and plums, seamlessly knit together with the cinnamon, smoke and mushrooms of presumably old oak.  On the palate the mushroom notes are very evident, along with the refined fruit, a great depth of flavour and with the fine and abundant tannins which will give this a very long life, if you can resist the temptation to drink it. The overall impression now is elegance, finesse, if you will. 

There is a catch of course – the price.   A pre-VAT trade price of £150 a bottle is going to translate to £220+ retail.  So, unless the price does not matter to you or indeed makes the product more desirable, you are going to start to think about the price in relation to the quality.   For a third of that price, you could enjoy Gaja’s Super Tuscan Ca’Marcanda, but, good though that is, you might want something more authentically Italian.  If it was my money, I would spend it on his Brunello (either Sugarille or Rennina, both around the £70 mark) which is the same price as the Super Tuscan.  Interestingly, although the flavour profile of the grape is different, the sleek style is similar, no doubt a tribute to the Gaja approach and the practice of chief wine maker, Guido Rivella.  So, the Gaja brand and quality in a Tuscan style for a fraction of the price of the Piemontese wine.  Very refined drinking!

One table at Grape Expectations Christmas Wine fair really stood out for me.  This wasn’t just because it was Italian but because it featured wines mainly from one region, Puglia, usually known as the heel of Italy.  It’s always a bonus to be able to compare local styles side by side and to taste less well-known wines.

For Puglia, the challenge remains to convert mass wine production into quality wines which will attract a decent price.  Within Italy it has to overcome prejudice against the south from the richer and more populous north; with regard to the rest of the world it has to get it’s name noticed among the famous names of Piedmont and Tuscany.  But among discerning drinkers, tiring of similar tasting Cabernet or Merlot from anywhere warm, it has much to offer: its own distinctive grape varieties of high quality, good value because of lower land prices and a reliable climate, e, of course, association with the currently fashionable brand Italy.  The cause is really helped by a committed and passionate advocate like Ian Steel who runs ‘For the Love of Wine’.  He is a specialist importer of Italian wines and his dedication and knowledge shone through this selection.

While most of the wines on offer were red, there were also three very different whites.  Frascati Superiore Villa Romane 2008 from Satinata would dispels most of our memories of inexpensive and poor wines with decent fruit and a refreshing finish. The star of the whites was Kerner Alto Adige 2009 (Castelfeder).  Floral, slightly herby and very attractive, it comes from under the Alps – a great example of the remarkable range of sites that Italy can offer.  The third white was Piedmont’s slightly sweet sparkler, full of Muscat fruit, refreshing, low in alcohol, very drinkable:  Moscato Frizzante 2009 from Volpi. These three were a great prelude to the reds.
Of the six reds, four came from Puglia.  First up was one of the signature grapes of the region, Negroamaro. This name literally means ‘black bitter’ – the colour is certainly very dense and you need to know that ‘bitter’ is one of the most prized qualities in Italian cooking – think radicchio.  However, Sampietrana’s Tacco Barocco Negroamaro 2007 is anything but bitter – yes it got tannins but it is soft, full of ripe dark fruit, with a nice finishing acidity.  Great value at under £10.

Sampietrana also produce Brindisi Riserva 2007 in its 1952 range – the date of the founding of the company, rather than the vintage. This is Negroamaro again (80%), topped up with a bit of Aglianico, a great variety from neighbouring Basilicata and Campania.  My tasting note is brief: ‘superb’. So I will borrow Ian’s:  wonderful aroma of woodland fruits and richly flavoured’.  And just under £11.

The Primitivo grape is probably the best known of the Puglian trio of grape varieties, not least in its Californian guise as Zinfandel.  And many of the best wines in Puglia come from Manduria, in the province of Taranto, right in the heel of Italy: hence Primitivo di Manduria 2008, £12.50, again from Sampietrana. What stuck me about this wine was its balance – with a big, flavourful variety like Primitivo grown in what is basically a hot and reliable climate, it is relatively easy to produce a wine full of red and black fruit. What is more difficult, but is achieved here, is to retain balance and produce a delicious and drinkable glassful.  Finally, the biggest of the three, Castel del Monte 2005, Pietra dei Lupi, £16.75, is made from the Uva di Troia grape.  This has sappy red fruit, very drinkable again despite being a rather more serious style, with good length.    This grape variety, also known as Nero di Troia, is distinctive for its tart and juicy, redcurrant fruit.  All four of these Puglian reds are worth a try, all four go well with substantial food, especially meat.

The two other wines on the stand are also worth a mention, though they carried different associations.  Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, the grape variety and then wine name, not the wine town in Tuscany, comes from the Abruzzo region, and is mainly known for being a great source of reliable, cheap, supermarket reds.  Any reliable brand will produce a worthwhile bottle at £5-6.  But, as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007, Quercia dei Corvi (£10) shows, it’s not limited to that.  This features sour berries and plums, and is very good indeed.  Finally, Rosso di Montalcino 2005 from La Campana shows how good the supposed baby of the Montalcino wines can be.  Here we are in southern Tuscany, in one of the most prestigious wine areas of Italy and with this example it does show:   brilliant mid-weight Sangiovese, blackberry and cherry fruit, characteristic rasping finish.  Not cheap at £18 but has real quality.

The message from this tasting was clear – if you want to find quality wines with individuality at a decent price, head to an unheralded region and find out what it does really well.  Quality reds from Puglia make the case eloquently.

Many thanks to Ian Steel for making the long journey from Bury St Edmunds to show these characterful wines.  His website shows an intriguing list of older vintages, both of Italian classics and of gloriously obscure bottles. I can feel a tasting coming on!