2006 Tenute Dettori Renosu Rosso

The WINEFRONT

• By Mike Bennie
  8/25/2011, (See more on The WINEFRONT...)

  (Tenute Dettori Renosu) Login and subscribe to see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  3/4/2011, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (RENOSU Dettori) Surprise Dear Friends, ...speaking of Sardinia... What happens when your grand cru level wine is not quite up to $150 bottle standards? You sell it for instead. No, not .... Yes, I'm serious. When it comes to a philosophical and noninterventionist mantra, Allesandro Dettori is a pioneer in the same vein as Nicholas Joly or his compatriot Frank Cornelissen. With some of the strictest BIO/organic principles in the world, he world rather lose the entire vintage than compromise his integrity (and your own) by cheating with a dab of this and a dab of that. No chemicals, means NO CHEMICALS, not only when it’s convenient. At Dettori, it is indeed about the wine, not about profit and EBITDA, two concepts that are inherently and metaphysically at odds with the wine and food you consume. So, when the finest vintage Dettori had ever seen (as in 1982 Bordeaux or Barolo good) was ravaged at the last moment by powdery mildew – the only thing left to do was take a deep breath and let the remaining gorgeous grapes fall pry to a hungry band of microscopic vultures (and birds). He cried for a while, sat in the vineyard, looked out over the landscape and then decided on the next best course of action...get picking. For the next 12 hours, he managed to hand-pick and crush a decent amount of the grapes (one by one) that were destined for the Dettori Rosso (from vines just above the vines overtaken by the mildew). What makes this effort so remarkable is that he did almost all of this by himself as he couldn't wait for pickers to arrive – the term “hand-made” was never so resolute (I'm sure all of the winemakers/winery owners on our Email List just grimaced with the thought of this). From Alessandro Dettori “The grapes for Dettori 2006 were the finest we have ever seen at Badde Nigolosu. With a sigh, in addition to watching dispiritedly the grapes disappearing from the vines under the attack of powdery mildew, I observed, tired as I was, the fervor of billions of yeast cells, re-awakened, ravenous, and greedy for the good life. I felt bad for myself, I sulked - but a popular uprising, an insurrection returned to my consciousness and I had to start moving. I picked what I could of the remaining healthy grapes and put them into small cement vats with the awareness that time was my enemy. I never worked so fast in my life. All the while, the thought that my ancestors wine was food, and necessary for their survival. My ancestor’s wine was ready just two months after the harvest, and a supply was carefully maintained until the next harvest, so that they would not run out, nor was it certainly ever aged for three years and more. In nature, nothing is ever destroyed; all is transformed and Dettori Rosso 2006 transformed itself into Dettori Renosu 2006. Renosu means “sandy,” and in the sandy soils of the Romangia area, down in the valley, the wines emerge less refined and elegant than those in the hills. Renosu 2006, precisely.” The question is “Why would he do this?” - wouldn't it be easier to put the wine on the market, take your windfall as “Rosso” and move on – in Dettori’s eyes that never even crossed his mind. To answer this question, the collector only has to look at previous vintages such as 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2007 when he chose to declassify entire vineyards because they weren’t quite right – at this address, the name on the label and the man in the mirror actually stand for something. For reference on Dettori’s style, here are two (long) reviews from Antonio Galloni – the first is the 2005 Dettori Rosso (what this wine was supposed to be in 2006) and the other is the 2006 Tenores the wine just below the Rosso level – the 2006 is from a different segment of the property that was unaffected by the mildew – according to Dettori, our “declassified” wine lies somewhere between the two but it is ready to drink now and over the next 3-4 years due to its short elevage... If you are interested in the most eccentric and introspective examples of indigenous wine, today’s offer is not only a show of support for Dettori (the person) but it is a show of support for his honesty and commitment to the people that drink his wine. Even at its current declassified level, this wine could have easily commanded $30-40+, at it gives all of us a chance to peek inside the window of psychiatry and natural agriculture that Dettori calls home. While today’s wine is not commercially available (see Galloni’s quote above about the 2006 Rosso not being released) you have access to it due to your previous support. For Dettori, this is about his trust in you – you are his partner, his critic, his supporter and confidant and you deserve a golden nugget every once in a while simply as a thank you. WARNING: like many of Dettori’s offspring, this wine is a natural and living substance – it is full of bizarre and eccentric notes of skins, pip, stems, stalks, varnish, VA, brett and any other “flaw” imaginable (all are desirable in his world and add to the wine’s intrigue). If you only enjoy “clean” wine, stay very far away from this as it will overwhelm your senses. If you are willing to experiment, your eyes may be opened to something that is not only unique but deeply pitched beyond the realm of what we associate with red wine... FIRST COME FIRST SERVED up to 24/person until we run out: 2006 Dettori (Rosso/Renosu) Sardinia - (if bottled as Dettori Rosso, compare at $100+) To order: niki@garagistewine.com This parcel is directly from Dettori’s cellar - it is set to depart from Sardinia and will arrive in April (please check OARS for local pick up after May 1st). It will ship during the Spring shipping season (weather permitting) or we will hold it for the fall. Out of state orders will be held for free under ideal storage conditions (56 degrees/70%humidity) until shipping is possible. Locals may pick up at their leisure. For current local pick up and arrival/ship information, please see your OARS link below (at the bottom of this offer) - don’t know how to access your OARS? Simply click the link and see your account. You can also paste the link into your browser. If you are having trouble with your link or your account, please contact: support@garagistewine.com NO SALES TO RETAILERS OR WHOLESALERS Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy3487 Click here to view the status of your orders in O.A.R.S.