7 days in Italy.
Italy
Tasted Saturday, June 16, 2012 - Friday, June 22, 2012 by nzinkgraf with 2,244 views
Flight 1 - Saracco w/ Paolo Saracco - Castiglione Tinella (6 Notes)
It's June 16th, in the midst of the longest days of the year. Berries are just starting to appear at Saracco. 10 days ago it was flowering, now berries are forming. Castiglione Tinella is dedicated to Moscato. Muscat Canelli was brought back from the Crusades over 900 years ago. Here massal selection is used. Man and nature together propagating the vines that thrive and pulling those that don't. A stone's throw away in Monferrato, Moscato underperforms, hence it's adaptation to Castiglione Tinella.
At Saracco, the average vine age is 40yrs old, planted 4000-7000 vines/hectare. There are vines up to 70yrs old and they DO make the better wines. The soils here are sand and limestone, poor soils. no clay. really its sand and chalk. white soils. The new winery is up at the top of the hill. Closer to the vineyards and Paolo's home, rather than the transport route.
Moscato, along with Lambrusco and Prosecco have long been available, but it was technology in the 70s that launched them. Autoclaves (5.5/6 bars of pressure and rounded at the top), temperature control and sterile filtration were the leaps. Technology serves to maintain freshness (brightness, fruit) in the Moscato. Its a different approach for the other wines. As it goes, if the fruit that comes in is great, Paolo claims he really has to try to fuck up the fruit.
Lots of talk about cutting deals with farmers to get control of vineyards. Now a total of 45ha of Moscato plus 10-15% of additional purchased fruit. Vineyards are located on a multitude of facings. North facing vineyards help to bring more acid to the table, but they also make for slower maturing and more complex fruit if you let them to there. For the Moscato at Saracco, it is the juice that is blended, not the finished wine. Fermentations take place throughout the year, October to June. July and August are too hot. The new vintage gets to market in November. 2 months from fermentation to delivery and the bottles now carry a 'born on' date.
Tasting some juice just about to be fermented. 2 degrees Celcius, 200g RS, a little CO2, a little SO2. 'fresh pear, juicy and flower. juicy MacIntosh apple.'
Tasting fermented juice after first filtration, about to go to bottle. 'flower is more present. fresh and juicy fruits aren't as apparent on the nose here. mineral on the nose and more fresh fruit appeal on the palate.'
Flight 2 - Marchesi di Gresy w/ Alberto di Gresy and Jeffrey Chilcott (11 Notes)
Starting with a couple of asides. Its the Tanaro River that separates Barbaresco from Barolo. The Nebbiolo Rose clone planted at di Gresy has thinner skins and in turn, more elegance. In the 1950s, only 25% of today's vineyards were planted. OK.
Alberto's family has been in Piedmont for 1000 years. Originally as money lenders to the English, but it was Alberto's father...a lawyer, who bought the farm. Now they have about 125 acres spread out in Monferrato and Langhe (rather untraditional it sounds). 200,000 bottles.
The reds here get approx. 18 months of ageing. 12 in small barrel, then transferred to large barrels for 6 months. barrels are used on average 15-16 years. Barbera is generally the first wine that goes into new barrels.
2011 vintage was picked early, because of the hot and dry August. Short 4 week harvest that also resulted in lower volume. (6 weeks is a good harvest length, with Nebbiolo coming in last. All grapes are hand picked with additional use of a sorting table. the whites are destemmed but not crushed. long and slow fermentations. in exceptional vintages post fermentation maceration. 40 day post ferm maceration for Gauin in 2011.
Cubic cement tanks to my left, but later lunch with a nice view of the Gaiun behind the herb garden. Entertainment provided as Alberto and Jeffrey dual over the turntable.
Flight 3 - Boroli w/ Alan Tardi and Achille Boroli - Brunella/Madonna di Como (11 Notes)
Just west of Castiglione Falleto, surrounded by the Brunella vineyard, at one of Boroli's two estates. Two estates because of the need to vinify Barolo within the zone of Barolo. Einaudi is a grand-fathered exception to this rule. 'Nebbiolo for Barolo can't, by law, be planted on north facing slopes.' Looking onto Brunella, we see some new plantings, oriented vertically to the top of the slope - Ritocchino. Safer, faster, more profitable. Castiglione is noted as having both east and west facing vineyards for diversity of exposition. The zone of Barolo was established in 1927, revised in 1934. There is a current moratorium on new plantings of Barolo. Again, 3 years minimum aging from January following the harvest, 2 of which, must be in wood. Riserva must age 5 years, Boroli goes for 8 years. In 1998 Boroli started by using all barrique. From 2006 onward, they use a combo of large cask and small barrel.
After the tasting, we arrive at the Madonna di Como estate. This was the first estate that Boroli operated, and is the estate where they make all the wines but the Baroli. When they took over in 1998, they ripped up 70% of the plantings and put in new clones. They're not organic or biodynamic, but they claim a respect towards nature. All the water from the hotel and restaurant on-site is reclaimed with plants that filter and clean the water. History at Madonna di Como dates back to 1060.
Flight 4 - Vietti w/ Luca Currado - Castiglione Falletto (15 Notes)
In 75AD, Pliny requested Nebia or 'wine of the fog' and put a start on the start of viticulture around Alba. Martinenga, originally a Romas site, is one of the oldest viticultural sites in the region. Barolo is 2400 acres made up of three main hills: Monforte to Serralunga, Castiglione, and La Morra. With 650 landowners, there is Burgundy-like parcelization. Luca claims 20 'Grand Cru' of Barolo and asserts Burgundy is to Barolo as Bordeaux is to Tuscany. The oldest bottle at Vietti is from 1873 (corn cob cork!!), but the history goes back to the 14/15th Century. Vietti owns or purchases fruit in 15 of the 20 Grand Cru (Ginestra, Mosconi, Bricchio Viole, Fosati, Bussia Monforte, Bricco Fiasco, etc) They just purchased 1 acre of Brunate and have 2 more or the remaining 5 Cru coming on next year. 1961 was the first single vineyard cru bottling at Vietti. Previously crus were blended together to make Riserva. Also around this time Prunoto did a single vineyard bottling. Currently 120 acres of Vietti in Barolo. At ~1 Million Euro an acre, only Burgundy is more expensive, as Champagne prices were recently eclipsed. 120 acres makes 22,000-25,000 cases a year. All estate bottled. Bruno Giacosa on the other hand is mainly a negociant.
Looking down upon the Scarrone vineyard, Luca claims that the best vineyards never face full south. SE, SW, E & W. It is noted that all of the Barbera Tre Vigne and Dolcetto is planted in Barolo designated parcels. Langhe/Alba is to Monferrato/Asti as Napa is to Sonoma. The Nutella machine is located in Alba. In Piedmont itself, grapes come first to hazelnuts second. But in the greater Langhe, hazelnuts are more prevalent.
Looking up from the Scarrone vineyard, it is the highest mountains in Europe that surround Piedmont. Mt. Blanc, etc. give an incredible microclimate to the region. There's also a glacier around here somewhere. Luca said he just went skiing there. It's these cool Alpine drafts that provide cooler nights to preserve tartaric acid, otherwise used by the vine to survive if temps remain to warm.
On to some winemaking speak. All gravity in the winery. Talk about submerging the cap during the fermentation. 2/3 of the way through fermentation a screen acts as a french press. only in ripe vintages. 30-40 day maceration and it's noted that you really need ripe seeds for this. Luca claims that stainless vs foudre ferment doesn't really make a difference because of the relatively short period of time over which fermentations take place. It's another story as far as aging is concerned. Telescopic hydrolic punch down unit used on Barbera too. There is a Roto-fermenter left in the winery, but this is only good for shorter ferments, like when a vineyard is hail damaged (or other) and quick extraction is needed.
Generally, yields are about 1 btl/vine or less than one ton/acre. Small barrels are used over 3-4 months for Malolactic. 'the barrel of the lees is the barrel of the farmer.' Talking about how all the lees were racked into the same barrel and given to the farmer as wine. These wines would last, as all the glucoside proteins in the lees would absorb the reduction in wine. These proteins release many anti-oxidants and are more preservative than sulfur. In turn, Vietti wines are bottled at 1/3 sulfur, because they are aged on their lees longer.
Speaking of yeast. The wines are all inoculated with strains here were selected in the 1780s, as natural yeasts are 'a bit of Russian Roulette.' 'Yeasts eat the sugar and shit the alcohol.'
In the cellar, big Slavonian oak casks are used. Not painted, so they can transpire, no glue between the staves, which are hand cut by an axe. They only get 3 to 5 of these boti every 5 years. 7cm staves and the trees have to be over 150 years old. At over $EURO50,000/barrel, these cost more than a Porsche. A 200 year relationship with the cooper is key to supply. All crus are vinified and aged separately for 3 years. Perbacco is aged for three years as Barolo and is a selection of 4/5 of the 11 casks that start out as Castiglione. That being said, when Villero is not made, it is part of this Castiglione/Perbacco program. The cellar is 10m underground. Humidity should be felt ON the barrel, otherwise wine is soaking into the staves and you get the taste of 'sawdust.' Priority of aging is not given to different wines. Blind tasting and same barrel regiment between quality levels. And BTW, they use an air filter in the cellar to kill Brett and bacteria. The oldest parts of the cellar were built in the 13/14th century from 11th century reclaimed lumber. One of the oldest cellars in the region, on the list of Historic Preservations and under the walls of the city. Castiglione was used a military base when Napoleon invaded. It was here that wine was made for the French army and perhaps where the 'Napoleon' bottle originated.
Flight 5 - Poliziano w/ Dott. Federico Carletti - Montepulciano; Badia a Coltibuono w/ Roberto and Emanuela Stucchi (11 Notes)
Lest I not forget...w/ Roberto Stucchi at the Badia. Relax and Chi Gong by the pond. The monestary was originally founded in 1050 by an order that fell out of favor with Florence. Purchased by the Stucchi-Prinetti family in 1846. Sharecropping has long been the way in Tuscany. The estate is 2000 acres, much of which is forest that was farmed for centuries. Speaking of Popes. Leo X was Giovani di Medici, who became Abbot of Coltibuono at 11 years old.
On to the next day, and in the vineyard w/ Emanuela. Vineyard replanting started in the 80s is almost complete. Massal selection. 20 year average vine age. 'Cetamura,' in the woods by the Abbey is a Eutruscan town currently being excavated by a team from Florida State. 32 meters down, grapes and olives have been found in an ancient well. Standing in the Monte Bello Vineyard (Sangioveto) at the Monti estate and we're just 15 minutes from the Abbey. 60ha at Monti. Organic since 2000 and Emanuela claims sharecropping failed because the best wines went to the Estate and the worst lots to the peasants. Any who. Monti winery built in 1997. gravity fed for soft tannin extraction. lizards are running around outside by the sorting table, as it's said that the destemmer is not always kind to Sangiovese. In the winery, barrique for Sangioveto and Coltis Buoni. Sangioveto is fermented in wood and extended time on the lees. 2012 vintage so far...warm winter with not much water til late spring.
Generally speaking, Tuscany has 6000ha of vines. 50,000cs of Coltibuono estate. 150,000cs of negociant. 1734 - Chianti is the worlds first wine appellation. 1930 - the region was expanded and Classico established. The Consorzio was founded in 1936/37 to combat expanse in the region.
Meanwhile, Dott. Carletti of Poliziano is the current President of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Italy's first DOCG, 1980) Consorzio. Poliziano was founded in 1961 by his father and now comprises 300 acres of vine. 125 in Montepulciano, high density plantings and 65% of vines are 20 yrs or younger. 85% French Oak and 15% American oak. All estate grapes. Previously wines were aged in large cask only, now a combination of barrique and large cask. Concrete and stainless fermentation with submerged caps. Previously, selected yeast were used, but 5 or 6 years ago back to natural yeasts. (here is the start of this natural vs selected yeast conversation. Vietti to Lageder. Discuss.) Now temperature controlled ferments at 24/25C rather than the 28/29C of the past. Post-fermentation maceration at 28/29C to extract more nobile tannin. 20 days max. Dr. Carletti claims open top oak fermenters are the best, but too risky for Brett and contaminants. experimented with Roto-fermenters in '95/96 but they were too harsh on Sangiovese and destroyed the skins. Now its all about tapered stainless steel. holds CO2 in and easier for punch downs. smaller tanks for smaller lots. BTW, 5,000 bottles of Chardonnay out there a year vs. 1M btls of red.
In the vineyards, a more recent change as the density is now at 6,000 vines/ha. a variety of clones. 30-40% estate selection, 60% of a market selection. 1999 was the first of a string of very warm recent vintages and in turn they've adjusted their leaf canopy. Previously, they'd open the canopy to give grapes more exposure in June. Now they leave them covered. They also cut top leaves to reduce photosynthesis. They've had no Spring frost since 1995. Prior to that it was 1 in 4 vintages. I guess the point is, they find themselves adjusting in the vineyard every year. And also...there's lots of clay in the soil. Poliziano was a 14th Century poet from Montepulciano, a teacher to the Medici family.
Do you follow me? All references to darkness - Prugnolo-prune, Brunello-black, Morellino-black horses
Flight 6 - Casanova di Neri w/ Giacomo Neri and... (5 Notes)
Let's set the scene, 15% of the area of Montalcino is covered by vine. There is lots of forest here. Its a dry, warm region with low humidity. Close enough to the sea to enjoy high diurnal temperature shifts. Sites are located in the South, the east and NE of Montalcino. Generally the south is dryer. The North is based on clay. The East, where the winery is located, is based on clay. The West is red to yellow soil. !!!There's a baby hummingbird flying around!!!! Wrong, there are no Hummingbirds in Italy. After further investigation that was a Hummingbird Sphinx Moth. Booo. Anyway...
Casanova di Neri was founded in 1971 and they sold wine in bulk until they started bottling in 1978. They have Sangiovese, Colorino, Cabernet. Montalcino was a very poor area in Italy. After WWII, lots of the population left. The soil is poor and tough to work with lots of rock and clay. There were 15 Brunello producers in 1978. Today there are 250. The value of the land has gone up 1000X. At 200,000 bottles/year, Casanova di Neri is the largest family owned winery in the region. They started with 12ha of vines, now they have 60ha. 500ha total with wheat, forest and olives too. Their first vineyards were those around the cellar, but the hard clay soil makes for hard, acidic wines. Then they found Ceretalto, followed by land in the South - Tenuta Nuova, Pietradonice (Cabernet). In what is seen as quietly addressing the Modern v Traditional discussion, Casanova di Neri is self-described as 'Modernist in breaking from convention.' They bottle 3 different cru of Brunello, 'white label,' Tenuta Nuova, and Cerretalto, a cool site with volcanic soil. There are also 1,000btls of a white wine out there too.
Walking around the vineyards surrounding the cellar it is noted that the 1981 plantings have wider rows for tractors and trained at a height easy for pruning/working. 4000 vines/ha. The 2004 plantings are to the Cerretalto clone at 7000 vines/ha, trained lower with closer spacing between the rows. They hot and dry climate of Montalcino makes for vineyards with fewer natural hazards and little dependence on chemical use. Here sulphur and copper are employed in relatively small quantities. In talking about climate change's effect on their practice, its said that they now leave more bunches on the vine in attempt to delay ripening. The Southern vineyards are picked first generally, about three weeks before the Estate vineyards. Followed a week later by Cerratalto.
!!!Turtles!!! kept on a grass roof above the cellar.
Grapes are destemmed, but not crushed. Whole berries maintained to retain natural yeasts (wouldn't the yeast then just be present in the liquid??), stainless steel fermentation. temperature controlled. wines are racked into barrel unfiltered. Slavonian oak of 48hL and 90/92hL used for Rosso Sant'Antimo, Tenuta Nuova and "White Label." French oak barrels of 225L and 500L used for Pietradonice and Cerretalto. (In another seeming, aside to the Modern v Traditional conversation)..."We've tried American oak, but it didn't give what we wanted."
Brunello must be 100% Sangiovese, max 8tonnes/ha!!!, 50-52 months aging, at least 24 months in barrel, at least 4 months in bottle.
Flight 7 - Later on at Casanova di Neri with the Falvo Brothers, the wines of Masseria Li Veli. (6 Notes)
Nine hours south of Tuscany is Salento, a sub-region of Puglia - the heel of Italy's boot. The Masseria was built in the 7th Century. Antonio de Viti de Marco built the property in 1896, organizing vineyard cru surrounded by trees to protect from the strong winds. Purchased by the Falvo family in 1999 in need of some TLC. Planted exclusively to indigenous varietals, planted in 'settonce' (seven vine hexagon) with albarello (bush vines). 5210 vines/ha (previously 1500) and it is added that 'settonce' give the leaves and roots maximum exposure. shadows never fall on leaves or clusters, the soil can be worked in many different directions. Also, there are now rows of leaves to block even the smallest breezes. Temperatures range from 2-7C lows to 38-40C highs. Sand and clay based soils with lots of H20 in the water table.
Flight 8 - Fattoria Selvapiana with Silvia and Federico Giuntini - Chianti Rufina (9 Notes)
Rufina is the foothills of the Apennines. Relative to Chianti Classico, this is a cooler region with substantial diurnal shift. Chianti Rufina (at 1000ha of vineyards) is 4% the size of Chianti Classico. 30-35% of wine in the region is made by Frescobaldi.
Selvapiana has 60ha of vineyard (54ha Sangiovese, 2ha Cannaiolo, Colorino, Malvasia nera, 2ha white for Vin Santo, 2ha Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Syrah), 40ha of olives, 120ha of forest that heats the estate. Organic farming and noted that fungus was tough this year and treated with copper. Cover crops are used. The soils here are deep clay and limestone. Vineyards all date from 1968-1992 plantings. 5000-7000 vines/ha. Bucerchaile bottled as single vineyard first in 1979 and it is a massal selection of vines from this vineyard that the remainder of the estate has been planted to. The estate was purchased by the Giuntini family in 1826 and the house contains a medieval tower built in the 15th century as protection for Florence.
In the cellar, there are no selected yeasts, 25-35 day fermentation/maceration, temperature controlled with lots of pump overs. In 2012 they're trying a barrel with no sulfur. 'Rufina can match Brunello in ageability.' Big casks are used for the Chianti Rufina and barrique for the Bucerchaile. Chestnut was used prior to 1999/2000 and did impart some bitter tannin.
Flight 9 - Cleto Chiarli (7 Notes)
Prior to 1860 the Chiarli family produced wines served at their family restaurant. In 1860 the restaurant closed and they then focused on wine production.
There are references to Lambrusco 2000 years ago by the Romans.
Two main areas: Grasparossa di Castelvetro and Lambrusco di Sorbara (20km N of Modena). Both Grassparossa and Sorbara are destemmed. Sorbara is the more delicate of the two and stays on its skins for 24 hours. Grasparossa stays on its skins for 48-72 hours depending on the style. Must hits a chiller immediately. After its pressed off its skins it stays at just above freezing until fermentation. 18C fermentation temperature to start and then 2-4 month ferment at 15C. Faster ferment makes for bigger bubbles that dissipate quickly, so the slow ferment is essential. Halfway through the process the valves are closed to capture the CO2. If the valves were closed the whole time, it would get to 10-12 bars of pressure, which is WAY too much for the tanks to handle. then sterile filtered, ice cold, under pressure. 700,000L capacity or 1M bottles.
Flight 10 - Alois Lageder (15 Notes)
Alois' mother farmed her garden biodynamically. As a child, and still to this day, he gets his hair cut according to the calendar as well.
The estate started with 10ha of vineyards, but now has 50ha. In 1995, the new winery was built in Magreid to replace the one in Bolzano. In 2004 the decision was made for biodynamics after years of experimentation. 2008 was really the turning point in the vineyards. For Alois, biodynamics is a RETURN to balance. Building up humus in the soil. 150 years ago fungus appears because of the monoculture of grapes and apples in the region. Preparations are done in parts of animals - horn and bladder. horn manure helps maintain soil moisture. there is horn manure and horn silica. horn manure humus is added after St Michaels day at the end of Sept, as the Earth breaths in... The quartz for horn silica is cut between Christmas and Jan 6. 2/3 g in 40L of H2O per hectare. The water must be 'dynamized' by stirring by hand clockwise for 1hr and then counter clockwise for 1hr. Alois notes (with some mystery) that cow horns can't be carbon dated. Briefly looking around the web, I can't verify this. But the rings on horns correlate to the number of calves the cow has birthed. 3 rings, 3 babies.
Walking through the garden there are trees 130-140 years old. This garden was purchased in 1991 from the Archbishop of Trento. The old winery in Bolzano was bombed twice during the war and rebuilt. As we enter the Lowengang vineyard, Alois notes that prior to Biodynamics they were picking after the 11 of November. Now generally they start 26 of August and end in October. The Cab, Carmenere, and Cab Franc here are all pre-phyloxerra vines between 80-120 years old. 250m elevation and trained to Pergola, which has the benefits of shadowing the soil and protect the bunches. In the vineyards around Magreid, we have 100% Dolomite soils with vineyards extending up to 1000m.
After harvest the soils are turned. 20 different cover crops are employed. Barley, arugula, mustard, peas, beans, annuals in some, perennials in others, calendula, flowers, etc. There's also a herd of 60-70 sheep that are brought in after harvest. For the first time (in a while), cows will be brought in after the 2012 harvest.
We're staring at the compost piles. Horse manure is for power, cow manure is for elegance. Leaves and stems are mixed in with the manure piles. Oak bark, valerium, chamomile, nettles also go into the compost preparation. 5/6 tonnes of compost are applied per hectare. added to 1/3 of the vineyards every year. Both the compost and cover crops work to build up humus in the soil. Worms (earth cows) work/aerate the soil as they come to the surface at night and go down during the warm days.
Viticulturally speaking, Alois' biodynamic vines show shorter internodal space, and in turn these vines aren't growing too vigorously at the top (like Inama) where they need to be pruned (like Inama). If you do work pruning the tops, then energy gets put into new shoots (which you have to expend work on also). Alois' vines show balance and now require less vineyard expense.
Farm as organism. Harmony.
And on the other end of this equation, there is a winery. No fossil fuels are burned, 70% photovoltaic. gravity fed and circular design. no selected yeasts for estate wines. There is a 'but...' in there. Temperature control. During harvest, phases of the moon are considered, but if it rains... They work with 110 other growers. 120ha total. 9 of the growers are Biodynamic. 35 are interested as such. In total there are 5000ha in Alto Adige between 5500 growers.
My thoughts go back to the 2001 Lowengang Chardonnay that we enjoyed with dinner last evening. Absolutely fantastic, akin to licking a brilliant quartz.
Flight 11 - Adami (3 Notes)
The grape is now called Glara.
Bosco di Gica is the driest. Vigneto Giardino is a 2.6ha steep ampitheater purchased in 1920.
90% of Prosecco comes from the province of Treviso. Prosecco can be made all the way to the Slovenian border. The DOC wines are from the flats and the DOCG wines are generally from the hills. The hill sites take 6x the work of the flats. 75% of Adami is DOC. Total of 700,000btls. Everyweek, 2 days fermenting, 2 days bottling, 2 days labeling.
Flight 12 - Tenuta Sant'Antonio with Armando Castagnedi (5 Notes)
There are both the Lasi and Mezana Valleys. Lots of white chalk and limestone. 80ha in Valpolicella and 28ha in Soave. Generally the hills are Valpolicella and the flats are Soave. Trained via Pergola Veronese. 700,000btls, 80% red, 20% white. Monti Garbi - 'Poor hill' or 'Sour hill' is where we are having a glass of Adami Prosecco right now. The Castagnedi family worked and managed vineyards until 1995 and then they established their estate. Stylistically, they go for wines that aren't TOO rich or concentrated. A focus on balance, fresh fruit, and acids.
Valpolicella - 'valley of many cellars.' Sant' Antonio's Soave (which we did not taste) is much fruitier than others. Not from Volcanic soils. It is noted that their 'Valpolicella' is less fruity and can be a little vegetal/herb when young, but 2-3 years in it starts to show.
Flight 13 - Inama with Stefano Inama (8 Notes)
Stefano's father started by selling wine in bulk to bottlers in the 1960. In 1991, Stefano gets involved with the 89/90 vintage. 1996 he quits his biotech job and also gets involved with red wines too. Inama has 3 estates in Colli Bereci. This is the hottest and driest place in the Veneto. half the rain of Soave. Inama is the largest producer of Carmenere in Europe. Carmenere originates from Dalmatia (current day Yugoslavia/Croatia.) See Carminium of Albania. 'Carmine' is deep red. It is a challenging grape that is difficult to ripen. cover crops are needed. It shows cocoa, black pepper, blackberry with soft tannin and moderate acid. works to blend with Cab and Merlot. And in turn, 17ha of Carmenere, 6ha of Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4ha of Merlot.
Speaking of architecture, Palladio worked a lot in this area during the 16th Century.
Speaking of ecology, this Adige river flooded this area up until 1000AD, when the Romans dug canals and dried out the area.
let it be know, 2010 was a small vintage, no reserve wines and in turn the basic wines shine in 2010.
Oratorio St. Lorenzo - 1600 years old. Planted in 2001/02/08/09. Surrounded by forest and bush. Loose red soil. Leaves from the upper forest give the soils high humus content. Hand prune in the winter. Rarely over 40hL/ha or less than 2 tons/acre. 'wine is made in the winter'. 'wine is made with the scissors' The agricultural year starts Nov 12th. Reverse Guyot is employed and at most 6 shoots/vine. Holes in the leaf canopy are essential for air flow. 12 ha at St. Lorenzo, 60,000 vines total. And the soils are opened up in the winter to combat tractor compaction of the soil. Generally there has been no need to add manure in St. Lorenzo. Finally, only one pruning during the summer needed.
Bradissismo, an estate dated to 1699. Red clay soils, and originally dedicated to tobacco production 'til the early 20th Century. Cabernet and Carmenere planted here. Eventually a tasting room will go in the estate.
Foscarino is trained in pergola. It's easier to work, the shoots can be spread out. 30-40 year average vine age, grass planted between the rows. VSP is not the best here, some shade is needed. From 2009 onward, no manure has been used.
Flight 14 - Marco Felluga/Russiz Superiore with Roberto Felluga and... (10 Notes)
50ha of vineyards, 80% whites. 1967 was the first year of the Fellugas at the Russiz Superiore but history of the estate and wine production go back to the 13th century. They make 200,000-240,000 bottles. Col io in total is less than 1500ha. 09s - alcohol, 10s - acid, 11s - in between. 6-24 hour skin contact on all the white.
Closing
Wines to search out - Saracco Moscato 1.5L, Vietti 2009 Perbacco, Vietti 2007 Barolo Rocche, Vietti 2007 Barolo Lazzarito, Di Gresy 06 Gaiun and Camp Gros, '11 Nebbiolo, Lageder 05 Chardonnay Lowngang, Casanova di Neri 09 Rosso SantAntimo, 07 Tenuta Nuova, Poliziano 2010 Rosso, 06/07 Asinone, 07 VIno Nobile, Selvapiana 07 Bucherciale.
2009 Saracco Riesling Monferrato Bianco
Italy, Piedmont, Monferrato
(6/16/2012)
Planted in 1999, 1ha @ 500m. Highest area. Very edgy and mineral nose. Ice and frost. All stainless steel. Palate is rather blistering à la O'Shea Scarborough Cease and Desist. Lees-y thoughts. Fucking fierce on the palate.
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2009 Saracco Pinot Nero
Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
(6/16/2012)
Along side the 2003. Plantings are now 11 years old. 2003 was the first vintage. 7th vintage. 2 different Burgundy clones.
2009: Mineral and dark red fruit aromas. Almost soft smoke notes, fresh brick, not really, hot bricks. Was $35, now down to $25. 750ml at tasting, MAGNUM at dinner, La Ciau de Tournovento.
2003: MAGNUM...has the same mineral edge as the 2009. Soft mineral ash/smoke that has a very drying appeal, but still rather primary in character on the palate. 2003 was a hot vintage and the color suggests that even next to the youth of the 2009.
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2011 Saracco Moscato d'Asti
Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Moscato d'Asti
(6/16/2012)
Peach fruit aromas and then pear really follows on the palate. 26 May 2012 bottling. That's three weeks ago. Wonderful with the cheese course. Paolo notes that the 2011 vintage Moscato show big structure that will make for lasting wines. 2011 picking started August 4th, where as usually beginning in September. It was a warm August of 2011.
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2011 Saracco Moscato d'Autunno
Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
(6/16/2012)
150hl or 18,000 btls or 1,500 cs of this wine produced in 2011. Nothing more complicated than a blend of what Paolo liked the most.
More focus in the aromas. 'For a couple $$ more than the basic you one of the best moscato period.'
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2003 Saracco Pinot Nero
Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
(6/16/2012)
Along side the 2009. Plantings are now 11 years old. 2003 was the first vintage. 7th vintage. 2 different Burgundy clones.
2009: Mineral and dark red fruit aromas. Almost soft smoke notes, fresh brick, not really, hot bricks. Was $35, now down to $25. 750ml at tasting, MAGNUM at dinner, La Ciau de Tournovento.
2003: MAGNUM...has the same mineral edge as the 2009. Has a very drying appeal, and still rather primary in character on the palate. 2003 was a hot vintage and the color suggests that even next to the youth of the 2009.
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2005 Saracco Moscato d'Asti
Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Moscato d'Asti
(6/16/2012)
From MAGNUM along side a 2011 MAGNUM.
2005: has moved beyond primary, but really enjoyable. Mint and herb aromas. 'chervil'. Feeling like aged gruner. Very much an herb presence on the palate. Not quite the pine forest, but...No signs of oxidation.
2011: peach fruit aromas. On the palate, pear fruits and along side the herb of the 2005, some sort of Gruner clonal pair on the table tonight.
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