Tag Archives: Tasting Notes

Pull up a chair with Angelo Gaja in Barbaresco

Gaja and Godello

On the first of December the morning light hits the tiny hamlet of Barbaresco with such dazzling clarity you have to squint to look out at any distance. Coupled with a cloudless sky, a patient and necessary visual adjustment will take in the Tanaro River and the Roero beyond. The vast Langhe expanse comes into perfect view, subtly emerging in layers of topography and incremental hue. The river runs through, Tanarus as it was known in ancient times, Tane or Tani in Piedmontese language, dividing line snaking through Langhe lands, plural form of langa, “a long, low-lying hill.” The origin is likely Celtic, combining the words bascule and tunga or lunga, “a moveable bridge, balance or seesaw” and “a narrow spit of land jutting out into the water or sea.” These moments, thoughts and considerations prepare one in advance of walking through the portal into the world of Gaja.

Related – One on one with Gaia Gaja

Barbaresco and the Langhe

The new garden

Sonia Franco, personal assistant to Angelo Gaja takes me on a trip back in time. We stand on the small terrace extending out from a northwest facing window with a view of the mountains in the background. Shifting land plates over one another in the Langhe created soils of silt and clay left behind by the ancient salty lakes. This affected the Roero and the Langhe in two very different ways. Irrigation would be pointless and potentially devastating due to erosion in the former because of the poor sandy soils. In the Langhe the limestone acts as a natural sponge, storing snow melt and spring rain to transfer to vine roots for the hotter summer months. Climate change has altered plantings and the view is no longer one of the “family’s garden” because densities have increased to encourage roots to dig deeper into the strata. Even more dramatic is the lack of rain between June 1st and September 30th, unless of course it comes by way of hailstorm and thunderstorm.

Morning in Barbaresco

Gaja works with 100 hectares split between Barolo and Barbaresco. It was Angelo’s father Giovanni who was so smitten with and sold on the latter in particular, especially around Treiso and the eponymous village. He acquired the land in the 1960s, including the three crus; Sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn and Costa Russi. The oldest part of the cellar is from the 17th century and the second from the 18th. A great year sees a total production of somewhere between 300,000 and 350,000 bottles.

The Pope of Piemonte

Angelo Gaja has been referred to as “The King of Barbaresco” and for good measure. A man of utmost sincerity and reason, promoter and traveller in tireless work ethic. Producer who has spent the better part of sixty years explaining to anyone who will listen of Barbaresco’s importance while rising to the pinnacle of the local wine producing pantheon. Mr. Gaja’s reputation for storytelling is well-known and his ability to fashion excellence from his homeland is one of the great success stories of the 20th century. No one in Italy has found such intense success at his level nor can there be any question in how he has been raising the bar and floating all surrounding boats. Simply unparalleled in the world of wine. To bestow a moniker that merely encompasses Barbaresco is parochial and short-sighted. Say what you will about titles and honours but truth be told and many of his contemporaries believe it and in fact utter the term aloud. Angelo Gaja is indeed the Pope of Piemonte.

“They are very concerned in Nuits-Saint-Georges to keep an identity of site,” begins Mr. Gaja. He’s in free-form, stream of consciousness mode, just as a one-on-one meeting with him should be imagined. He’s dead serious. “We need to recognize that it belongs to us. I believe that we have in mind a great variety like nebbiolo, but it’s only in the last 15 years that it has been recognized around the world.” While so many look to technology and clean winemaking practices, Gaja looks at climate change as a major factor in quality increases over the last 20 years. “Five of ten vintages in the 60s, 70s and 80s were poor. The two years of 1965 and 1966 were very poor. The climate we have now, the ripening process is much more condensed and so there are less possibilities of problems. Summer heat is raising sugar and alcohol. This is more problematic for Barolo. All of these things are beneficial for late ripening varieties because of more ripeness and maturity but less aggressive tannins.”

The identity of the Langhe

“There is now a perception of Barolo and Barbaresco that was unthinkable 20 years ago. Think about it. Nebbiolo is 7,000 hectares. Cabernet Sauvignon is 350,000. For this reason the scarcity gives it a much better position of identity. In old vineyards you can sense white truffle and hazelnut, connecting it to its area. Also, the protection of the Alps helps to assist in the cultivation of late ripening varieties. If we are able to protect this combination of history and experience we don’t need any tourism. We need an authentic experience.” As for the identity of Barbaresco Gaja insists that “we have to protect medium-bodied wines and keeping a kind of balance.” Still believing that the work done in the cellar is just as important as the identity created in the vineyard, Angelo wonders aloud what will happen for the next 15-20 years as a result of further climate change. When asked directly if he is concerned “of course I am,” is the response. “In the past there was thick fog, like milk. What has happened to the fog?” Also less rain and more tourists. Perhaps what has transpired in the first half of 2020 will see a return of the fog.

“The perception is less risk,” he explains with regards to producers thinking that times are better. “That’s a mistake. We are in a time of climate change. That’s a big word.” If what has happened in the last four months is any harbinger than the overall problems are bigger than ever. It was the vintages of 2002 and 2003 that opened Angelo Gaja’s eyes and forced him to open his mind. “We have to modify our habits,” is not something new for Gaja but something he has been doing for decades, often 15-20 years ahead of everyone else. In the mid to late 2000s he hired ten scientific consultants in the fields of entomology, chemistry, agronomy, meteorology, etc., etc. to conduct a two decade study on soil, climate, parasites and pests. They have found that where once these natural disturbances attacked the vines one month a season it can now be as much as six months at a time. Doubling down are dramatic weather events and now viral assaults on humans. Time to hire an epidemiologist as well.

Better wines?

“If we have made better wines from better grapes I cannot say but what we have learned can be very useful for the future. The final goal can be recuperation and resilience for the grapes. A natural defence.” Ultimately the goal is what Gaja refers to as Gramló, a fantasy name in a special language that brings together notions and in contribution from French, German, Italian and dialectical Piedmontese. It’s operatic and means “clarity” but with no real words as its source. Gramló is what we all want to achieve but we have to take risks, be ahead of the curve and never stop looking, listening and learning. Trust Angelo Gaja to lead the way and that his children Gaia, Rossana and Giovanni will take the torch and do the same.

We all have wine tasting experiences that result in a-ha moments, revelations and epiphanies. At the outset of that first week of December I had such a moment because of a conversation. A long chat with Mr. Angelo Gaja. Mr. Gaja’s foresight to look and plan 15-20 years ahead means that both problems and successes are faced even before they have come. If you want to talk about climate change, do so with Angelo Gaja. If you would like to taste autorevole nebbiolo, go straight to Sorī San Lorenzo and Sorì Tildìn. On that December 1st day in Barbaresco I tasted the following five wines with Sonia Franco and Mr. Gaja.

Gaja Alteni Di Brassica 2017, Langhe DOP, Piedmont, Italy ($199.00)

Snow melt from a proper winter meant promise but there’s no avoiding climate change. Thus warm winds from North Africa saw to the vines anticipating early bloom. But in the flash of an eye the weather crashed and sent the plants reeling. While the challenge was propagated, miraculously the hail was avoided, though not the frost. Then a 36-39 degree summer and 80 days without rain. Major stress. A tiny production that marries Serralunga d’Alba with Barbaresco. The flinty sauvignon blanc relevance here may look Bordelais but is in fact Langhe because of the specificity of the saltiness that lines the fruit. Alteni means “stone walls” and Brassica a fragrant yellow flower. Not salted but running through the veins of the wine. A resilient and philosophically mineral wine structured with concentrated fruit and grape tannin. Drink 2021-2027.  Tasted December 2019

Gaja Costa Russi 2017, Barbaresco DOP, Piedmont, Italy ($810.00)

Far ahead of harvest the reasons for 2017’s success were varied. Winter snow and its natural irrigation ignited early promise and climate change-influenced high density plantings sent roots down deeper. Warm North African winds, early bloom and a fast crash of the weather put the plants on edge. No hail though yes there was frost. Heat like no other summer and no rain for three and a half months. All added up to low yields and unprecedented stress. Costa Russi is a deeper and furthered wine which means a longer and more mature experience. Drawn from the “sharecropper’s side of the hill” in a lower to mid-slope position but with a different aspect and position (than the sorì) facing the sun. Oh how you feel the marl and the calcaire, surely exaggerated by the heat of the summer. Rich, luxe and intentionally fuller than many because you can’t go against a vintage grain. This Costa Russi follows the natural order of things. The Gaja Barbaresco that remember’s “the family’s garden.” Drink 2025-2040. Tasted December 2019

Gaja Sorì Tildìn 2016, Barbaresco DOP, Piedmont, Italy ($810.00)

Angelo Gaja sees 2016 as a perfect vintage in Barbaresco and the one from which climate change is viewed with great irony in the wink-wink guise of parenthetical thanks. That means the cosmic and astronomical alignment makes for wines that are both pleasant in their youth and also impossibly structured to age. Named for the sunny position of the slope and Mr. Gaja’s grandmother Clotilde. Now the clay and the calcaire have conspired, along with the purchased land of which Clotilde was custodian and in how she pushed her husband to make great wine. The vines are now on average 50 years-old and the composition meeting aspect bring a depth of complexity as poignant as it gets in this tiny part of nebbiolo production. All the flowers, rocks and elements are contained within the interior walls of this gently forceful Langhe red. It mimics the matriarch by the strongest power of suggestion and will not take no for an answer. Perhaps never will. Drink 2025-2045.  Tasted December 2019

Gaja Sorì San Lorenzo 2016, Barbaresco DOP, Piedmont, Italy ($810.00)

Was a perfect vintage and the one from which climate change is viewed with great thanks. That means wines are both pleasant younger and also structured to age. Sorì San Lorenzo like Tildin is the sunny spot facing south, the patron saint and protector of Alba’s Cathedral. Incidentally the church owned this vineyard and Gaja purchased the plot in the 1960s. The vineyard drops directly from the village and its vines average 55 years of age. You feel the wood at this young stage but of course you do. Sorì San Lorenzo carries a connection to the land that is deep into hubris and humus. No disrespect to Tildin but the connection here is formidable, the bond unbreakable. There is no exaggeration in saying that ’16 Sorì San Lorenzo offers up a moment of nebbiolo epiphany, that is takes control of the senses and instills a feeling of comfort, but at the same time an unexplained awe. That is due in fact to the place and no further explanation is required. Drink 2025-2045.  Tasted December 2019

Gaja Sperss 2015, Barolo DOP, Piedmont, Italy ($435.05)

The vintage of 2015 offered weather slightly warmer than 2016 and yet less blocks of structure. Not to mention moving further south by 25 kilometeres into Barolo where it really is just that much warmer. Twelve hectares purchased in 1988 are located in Serralunga d’Alba and Sperss refers to the name of the land. In Piedmontese the word is “nostalgia” and the connection is for Angelo’s father Giovanni and his childhood memories. Marenca-Rivette sub-region of Serralunga and the fruit comes out so red in nature, beautifully chalky and very influenced by the one year in smaller barrels, accentuated further by six months in grandi botti. That is why it is released a year later than the Barbaresci. The texture is silkier in a way while not as transparent but comparisons are fruitless in the end. This nebbiolo stands alone and worthy of its own regal position. Warm and complex, more than intriguing and so age worthy. Drink 2024-2035.  Tasted December 2019

Good to go!

Godello

Gaja and Godello

Twitter: @mgodello

Instagram: mgodello

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Barolo’s Sister and Brother Boschis

Giorgio and Chiara Boschis

Many have visited E. Pira & Figli’s cellars, tasted and broken bread with sister Chiara and brother Giorgio Boschis. I am certainly not the first nor the 500th but looking back at my visit with the Barolo sorella e fratello team on December 1st now seems to carry more weight than even I could have imagined. When we consider what has happened in Piemonte, up and down Italy and increasingly around the world over these past four months makes the timing all the more special.

Godello and Chiara Boschis

I did in fact have the great fortune to taste and spend more time with Giorgio in January over dinner in Alba during the days of Nebbiolo Prima 2020. There is so much to know, admire and appreciate about these two special Piedmontesi, the level of respect afforded the work they’ve put in and a level of humanity to give meaning to the spiritual endearment “Brother Giorgio and Sister Chiara.” They are part of the integral and collective soul of Piemonte, Barolo, the vineyards they steward and the wines they fashion from lands larger than life.

Godello and Giorgio Boschis in Alba, January 2020

Going back to the 1700s the Pirras were from Sardegna and the name morphed into Pirra. Then in more recent times Pira. In 1980 the legendary Gigi Pira, owner of E. Pira passed away. With no heirs to carry on a request for assistance was made to the Boschis-Borgogno family. Chiara Boschis’ father Franco purchased the cantina and vineyards and made the wines for a spell. She finished studies in Turin, cut her teeth working at Rivetti and took over Pira. This was by now long after the winery was established and present in the village of Barolo, in what Chiara refers to as the “Golden Ages” that begun in the 1850s. After Phylloxera ravaged the vineyards and did away with prosperity the youth left and the old remained, including Franco, one of the very few. Fast forward to the new golden times and Chiara Boschis becomes one of the “Barolo Boys,” a rat pack moniker bestowed on young nebbiolo toting winemakers, including Elio Altare, Giorgio Rivetti, Roberto Voerzio, Elio Grasso, Lorenzo Accomasso, Alessandro and Bruno Ceretto, Beppe and Marta Rinalidi, Beppe Caviola and Marc de Grazia. The lone woman? Chiara Boschis.

Chiara the pioneer was the scrappiest of the scrappy winemakers, carrying the Pira torch through the growth period of the late 80s and into the 90s, in a time when the collective plan involved “improving quality and the attention of the international markets.” She worked to reduce production, clean the cellars, install new wood and equipment and most important, the vinification of single crus. She started with Cannubi and Terlo, then in 2010 registered a “fantasy name” to make a cru assemblage. The new equipment refined the wines and practicing cellar hygiene led to the elimination of the dirty smells.

Giorgio Boschis

Robert Parker came to Alba in the 90s and announced the wines as too rustic. A light shone in the minds of the youngest winemakers who knew what had to be done. There were only 30 wineries in the area after the second world war, now there are more than 600. Boschis has always avoided the temptations. “We didn’t want to become the California winemaker. The pride of our roots took us to a much higher level and now it’s fancy to be traditional, even if so few are truly family anymore. The fact is we really just wanted to have clean wines.”

Chiara Boschis

Chiara has always farmed organic and was finally certified in 2010, the year Giorgio joined hands. Together they purchased more vineyard space in the areas of Monforte and Serralunga. Cannubi and Mosconi are the two crus and they also produce their assemblage Via Nuova from several significant plots like Terlo and Liste in the commune of Barolo; Gabutti and Baudana in Serralunga d’Alba; Ravera from Monforte and Mosconi in Monforte d’Alba. Total farmed is 11 hectares producing 35-40 thousand bottles. Generally speaking the barrel program is one-third each new, one year and two years old wood of half and half barriques and botti. The exception is Mosconi which sees more barriques because, “it’s so much fruit.”

These are the five wines tasted with Chiara in the cantina plus one more with Giorgio in Alba.

E. Pira & Figli Dolcetto d’Alba DOC 2018, Piedmont, Italy ($30.95)

In the words of Chiara Boschis. “For me the dolcetto is part of my background, my history, the memories of the family.” Now listen closely to this dolcetto because a challenge will bring the best out of a winemaker and her wines. “This is the dolcetto that i like, fresh, fruity, drinking well.” The fruit comes from three plots in Monforte; Le Coste, Mosconi and Ravera. Not for aging, lacking structure but certainly not lacking in elegance and pleasure. Finishes with a white peppery kick. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted December 2019

E. Pira & Figli Barbera d’Alba DOC 2017, Piedmont, Italy ($43.95)

More potential than dolcetto and here the triangular travelling from flowers, through spice and into avid acidity makes this real, honest, true and long. One year in barrel (old only) and fruit drawn out of vineyards in Mosconi, Ravera (Monforte) and the lower, south facing part of Gabutti (Serralunga). Refreshing and so perfectly aligned, plus essentially designed to handle olive oil in every incantation, especially meats cooked and fried in the fats of the area. Only 4,000-5,000 bottles produced. Drink 2021-2027.  Tasted December 2019

E. Pira & Figli Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 2017, Piedmont, Italy ($50.95)

Now into nebbiolo that is highly floral from one dedicated vineyard in Le Coste, of “bello” respect. High-level nebbiolo factor, traditional and extreme clarity. If most of the Barolo were drawn, executed and nurtured to prepare themselves to be this elegant than all would command full and utter attention. So pretty and wise, so joyous to be with. Clearly the vineyard is to thank. Might as well be Barolo? Nah, that misses the point. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted December 2019

E. Pira & Figli Barolo DOCG Via Nuova 2016, Piedmont, Italy

Via Nuova is the assemblage, the house wine, Vigna della Casa and a wine of all encompassing perfume. A mix of finesse and structure. Also textured with a charming glycerin and experiential moments in thyme. There is much pride and dreaming hope for 2016, with great aging potential. The tannins creep up, take hold and remain, secured and bonded. That’s nebbiolo grip and persistence incarnate. Drink 2023-2035.  Tasted December 2019

E. Pira & Figli Barolo DOCG Mosconi 2016, Piedmont, Italy

Why is Mosconi so special. “Why is anyone more beautiful than the other?” Nature. A connection to Domenico Clerico and when Chiara had a chance to join this plot she jumped. The flowers come at you in waves. The fruit is everywhere and all is stored inside, kept safe, comforted and comfortable. South facing below the village and again it just must be the place that brings this level of joy, elegance and structure. There are 25-30 years of life ahead for this 2016. So glad Chiara became a part of la squadra Mosconi. Drink 2020-2025.  Tasted December 2019

E. Pira & Figli Barolo DOCG Mosconi 2015, Piedmont, Italy

Mosconi is simply Mosconi, exquisite, powerful, elegant and grippy. Mosconi in the hands of Chiara Boschis in possession of so much 2015 fruit (though when is it void in such a regard) and so more barriques to less botti ratio increases the textural component. Mosconi comes at you in waves, oscillations there of and with swaths of Rothko tactility. Paints Barolo red in incremental minutia through all the advancing warmth that can be coalesced in one bottle of nebbiolo. Generosity incarnate and the one to drink whilst you wait for 10s, 11s, 12s and especially 16s. Drink 2020-2030.  Tasted December 2019

Good to go!

Godello

Giorgio and Chiara Boschis

Twitter: @mgodello

Instagram: mgodello

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Gone Vajra in Piemonte

Stained Glass Window by Padre Costantino Ruggeri and Vajra’s Inox Tanks

Head west from the village of Barolo, climb the SP3 up to 400 metres above sea level and you will arrive in Vergne, the highest village of the regal Piedmontese appellation. This is where the most forward thinking, visionary and traditionally romantic estate of G. D. Vajra is found. Vajra is the house that Aldo and Milena Vaira built, are in the continued process of building (literally) and produce wines along with their children, Francesca, Giuseppe and Isidoro. On a recent December 2019 trip to Piemonte I drove down the A33 from Asti through Alba, skirted Barolo up the SP3 to spend a few hours with Isidoro and Francesca Vaira on a soggy Sunday morning. Vajra’s wines have been trending big time, gaining ground, rising in prominence and spreading fast. I knew it was time to find out why things have gone Vajra.

Family, roots and vineyards. Having talked and tasted with Francesca and Isidoro @vajra_barolo there can be no doubt many words and feelings will follow. Their’s is a story of resilience and constant renewal.

If you engage in obsessive study or even share a casual interest in religious iconography and emblematic ordnance then the term Vajra will no doubt be recognizable. Vajra, a symbolic ritual tool or object used in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism to represent the unyielding power of spirit. Vajra, the symbol of the Vajrayāna school of Buddhism, a type of club with a ribbed spherical head, the “diamond thunderbolt.” The family may not adhere to the far eastern credo or for that matter even mention any possibility of connection, but a listen to their story and a study of their life’s work can be looked at in the emblematic light of ideals relating to indestructibility and irresistible force. An explanation is forthcoming and in due course.

Dude’s getting married next week. No wonder Isidoro Vaira is a happy man.

It’s only one week before his wedding and Isidoro generously takes the time to meet. He begins with a winter’s tale, extolling the virtues of snow cover, which incidentally arrived to the slopes in December and early January, then subsequently disappeared for the remainder of the mild 2020 winter. The Piedmontese saying goes like this. Sotto la neve, il pane, or “under the snow, the bread.” Snow is better than water because it holds more oxygen and encourages the plants to draw more nutrients from the soil. This is an example of generational knowledge because as Isidoro reminds us, when you spend time with your father and the elders “you learn the importance of nature.”

sotto la neve, il pane

under the snow, the bread

Aldo Vaira began this six decades old journey in 1970 with a 0.3 hectare plot at Bricco Viole. The first vintage was 1972, of no ripeness and fruit sold away. He thought “with this money I don’t pay for my work,” and so began to bottle for himself. By 1986 Aldo was farming seven hectares but on the 29th of May the storm of the century killed everything, save for 300 bottles worth of fruit. He was in his mid-30s, with one child already born and two more to come over the next four years. It was what we call the point of calling it quits or forging ahead with no turning back. Milena stepped up, in fortitude, conviction and an ultimatum issued to her husband. Aldo responded, made a life decision and ploughed ahead.

The Vairas began anew, hailstorms occurring five to seven times each decade be damned and dug their heels into the Vergne terra firma.  With experience as a teacher and having built a winery Aldo became affectionately known as Dutur, a dialectical Piedmontese term of endearment which could allude to the word doctor but also as a part of the Italian word for producer, or produttore. Francesca tells me that 1986 is the vintage form which “you could have (or begin) your dream, by being resilient, persistent and move forward.” She shrugs. “It had to be a priority.” And so from 1986 on the Viaras completely changed direction and course.

Thirty-three years have beget great success. Francesca explains the impetuses for how her family goes about their lives. “What we have learned from our parents is not just life and to make wine but a social motivation to have the life of the people. Imagine a life without these things; music, art, books and wine. It’s not possible.” The goal is to make connections. “We need to make wine to make people happy. Our prices are very democratic.” There are always new considerations, like the “diversification of risk” and it has become the ingrained philosophy, in terms of wines and varieties but also the idea of a two-month long picking time. Always diversity, all the time. One step inside the winery and the light shines in. The stained glass windows that adorn the fermentation room are a reflection of everything that is embodied by the Vajra oeuvre.

They hang in their stark and prolate ways as a severe yet arrant contrast to the line of steel tanks below. When Aldo and Milena went to visit the artist at Canepanova Convent in Pavia he answered the door dressed as a Franciscan Monk with a blue hat. A crazy man in a crazy beautiful studio. Padre Costantino Ruggeri was in fact a real monk, ordained a priest in 1951 by Cardinal Schuster in the Cathedral of Milan. That meeting yielded no conclusion for a commission, or so thought the Vairas, that is until the Father showed up with the first installation, in 1989. He was given no instruction or direction. The rest as they say is history and the works are nothing short of magnificent. They succeed, in Ruggeri’s words, “in that moment of light and mystery the stained glass window captures (the infinite) and introduces it naturally into the temple, as a total dimension that is divine as well as human.” The metal that holds the glass is effected a piombo, aplomb, vertical, exact. No two pieces are the same.

What congruence links a Ruggeri stained glass to other masterpieces of art? Gazing upon the padre’s windows elicits a feeling of consonance and beauty is easy to find. They are arranged exactly as they should be, that much is clear. Their power is felt because of their interaction with their cold and utilitarian surroundings. They hold our gaze and work together with us, inexplicably and without reservation. Their universal appeal transfers energy, pivots, solicits our personal and singular nature so that we share in their consonant form.

On June 24th 2007, his last sculptural work representing “Franciacorta’s Facets” was presented in Adro, his birthplace. On the following day, June 25th 2007, Costantino died at the hospital of Merate, near the convent of Sabbianello, where he had spent the last weeks of his life. The spirit of his work carries on at Vajra where 160 different fermentations are carried out because explains Francesca “harvest is the only time of year when you can really learn. If you have to ask for permission then you are not a true artist.” Just like Father Costantino who created without asking.

“Always think of the cherry. The grapes will follow,” reminds Isidoro. Organics. Methodologies. Patience. Picking decisions are made day by day, by brother Giuseppe and by Aldo. For them 2018 was a great nebbiolo vintage, of cold nights and warm days with humidity. The high risk of rainstorms at harvest made for some sleepless nights and the weather was tough on the skins of the grapes. So 100 pickers were employed, to ensure quality but Vajra’s altitude and attitude makes them one of the last to pick so the harvesters were available. They finished on October 22nd and in 2019 on the 23rd. 

On that day in December Francesca poured seven of her family’s wines, including riesling, dolcetto, freisa, barbera and nebbiolo. These are my notes.

G.D. Vajra Riesling Pétracine 2018, Langhe DOC ($55.95)

The law changed to be able to plant in 1985 and a new opportunity arose in 2018 for a vineyard with sandy soil beneath the clay. Going back the first planting came from a Geisenheim clonal selection and planted at the top of the hill above the cru Fossati. The second vineyard is from Marcel Deiss clonal selection material, just outside the Barolo production area. Here a combination of the two, and the first wine that got together was 2011. There’s weight, energy and balance to this riesling and it is so very real. Remarkable verve and youthful freshness and the impression of great aridity. It is in fact quite dry. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted December 2019

G.D. Vajra Coste & Fossati 2018, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC ($31.95)

From two old cru Barolo vineyards, Coste di Vergne and Fossati, close by to one another at the top of their shared hill. De-stemmed and crushed separately, of vines 40 years in age. If there is dolcetto that carries the structure to age you best believe this is the one. Tannic in its youth, a house with the potential to grow roses in one year and then violets in another. Modern and grounded, better with fresh eggs and delicate proteins, certainly the romantic tartufo Piemondtese. Already teasing something floral but still in a shell and cast under a spell. Wait two years or more. Drink 2021-2027.  Tasted December 2019

G.D. Vajra Barbera d’Alba DOC 2017 ($31.95)

Like the dolcetto, barbera is drawn off of two vineyards with tow soil types, from Bricco delle Viole and in Serralunga d’Alba, Bricco Bertone. An east-west expression, at once rich and luxurious and then inward, implosive and almost intolerant. Could only be barbera with its sweet fruit and dark berry compote but it’s a variety that needs time, it needs the bottle and then, the glass. Somehow bright through all the dark fruit, like the singular stained glass that allows light to shine in.  Drink 2022-2028.  Tasted December 2019

G.D. Vajra Kyè 2015, Freisa Langhe DOC ($60.95)

Like the French “C’est qui?” this dialectical freisa is actually two syllables, key-eh, and you cannot define this wine with anything or any other freisa. Darker, woolly and a bit of wild, feral and animale beauty. Like somewhere between red Sancerre and Faugères but bigger, more power and also more control. Herbaceous, iron-clad and hematic. Mimics blood-red preparations of proteins; duck breasts, rack of lamb, venison. Also Rhône-ish and laying somewhere between barbera and nebbiolo. Make your head spin with comparisons when none are correct. There is evidence of climatic cut and biodynamic preparations. Earthy, rich and poignant. Drink 2022-2029.  Tasted December 2019

G.D. Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 2018 ($34.95)

The Baroli are made from vines minimum 10 years old and the younger vines are used for this Langhe, which includes fruit from Bricco Bertone just outside the territory. Creeps up with its structure, nothing powerful or demanding but nebbiolo architecture nonetheless. Cherries, pencil lead and mountain herbs. Keeps the vineyard faith and accumulates even as it opens which tells us it is also youthfully closed. The potential is two years and thence forth. Tasted from two bottles opened a day apart, the first ready and willing, the second yes at first and then making a request for time. Drink 2022-2030.  Tasted December 2019

G.D. Vajra Barolo DOCG Coste Di Rose 2015 ($101.95)

A very sandy decomposed peculiar site and soil type rich in Arenaria (sandstone) with the presence of sandstone rocks of quite decent size. The first vintage is this 2015 and from vines 30 years old going up the hill from Bussia. Delivers very pretty fruit of sneaky structure and intent. The rose floral gift of a vineyard, part apposite and part complimentary to Bricco delle Viole. It’s a ventilated place translating to a great freshness in the wine. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted December 2019

G.D. Vajra Barolo DOCG Bricco delle Viole 2015 ($113.95)

An about face in style and character with more dimensions accessed and so many aromatics acquiesced. Vines are 40-80 years old and the handling involves a diversification of treatments; longer maceration and fermentation, up to 45-60 days. A tight, compact and fine-grained construct with so much taken from the beneficial skins and the assistance of a submerged cap (a merso) during that fermentation (in stainless steel), followed by at least 24 months in large casks, some 25hL and some 50 hL. Some tonneaux but just as an addendum. Such a tactile nebbiolo, fruit of presence and intricacy out of a Cru that is felt as much as it is nosed or tasted. It’s not just a matter of nebbiolo and Barolo but a thing of great importance, mainly tradition and family. Drink 2023-2034.  Tasted December 2019

Good to go!

godello

Stained Glass and Inox Tanks

Twitter: @mgodello

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Malivoire gets Mottiar and Mottiar

Back in January a group of Ontario-centric, local-fanatical and intrepid Toronto-based journos made the annual trek around the QEW horn and down into the Niagara Peninsula’s land of plenty. The Friday night destination was Fallsview Casino for the annual Niagara Icewine Festival, annual gala of wine and dine stars. We dressed to the occasion; John Szabo M.S., Jamie Drummond, Malcolm Jolley, Sara d’Amato and Godello. You can read up more about that essential event in Sara’s roundup over on WineAlign.

Godello, Sara d’Amato and John Szabo M.S.

Related – Buyers’ Guide to VINTAGES January 25th, 2020

On the morning after we five and the Wine Marketing Association of Ontario’s (WMAO) Magdalena Kaiser paid a visit with winemaker Shiraz Mottiar of Malivoire, a Beamsville Bench producer moving from strength to strength and purveyor of Bench wines simply getting hotter and hotter. Or, as it is said, Mottiar and Mottiar. Malivoire’s are some of Ontario’s most thoughtful varietal wines occupying all the necessary levels and tiers; estate bottlings, small lots and single-vineyards. The whites focus on chardonnay and melon de bourgogne, the reds in gamay and pinot noir. The ace in the hole concerns the province’s finest grouping of Rosé and in fact the Moira Vineyard gifts arguably the best in Ontario. That vineyard along with the winemaker’s home Mottiar block are inching upwards into Premier Cru territory.

Shiraz Mottiar is a thoughtful man of grace, empathy and conviction. He’s also an experimenting scientist with an artist’s brush touch, at the leading edge of his work through wild ferments, whole bunch fermentation, stem inclusion and carbonic styling. He pushes boundaries, slides into percentages many would fear to tread and his wines always come out clean. He has the magic touch and everyone knows it. And he makes wines everyone can afford. You could build an entire cellar by way of Malivoire’s multi-varietal work and the many tiers they fashion from drink now, through mid-term aging and those that will go long. I’ve tasted a few older Malivoires lately and have been blown away by their longevity.

Meeting the Bench man of great insight for a morning’s barrel through the @malivoire oeuvre ~ All carefully, thoughtfully and properly conceived. New marketing and labels pretty sharp too.

The group tasted through 10 examples with Shiraz and these notes reflect that gathering, along with two tasted at the Icewine Festival and one older Melon from last summer. The notes on the 2019 Pinot Noir and Gamay barrels tasted through are restricted to internal rumination and imagination but know this. When those wines hit the bottle they will re-write the varietal script for Ontario. Wait for them.

Malivoire Bisous Rosé, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($29.95)

The latest disgorgement of Bisous Rosé from Bench pinot noir still sees 24 months of lees aging but now strikes drier than expected. There’s crème fraîche and strawberry tang, more angst than before, crunchy fruit and well-propositioned delineation.  Last tasted January 2020

This ambitious dry Rosé from Malivoire is all about the kisses, not so much in a tuck you in at night sort of way, but in a greet you at the beginning of the night peck on both cheeks. It’s really quite down to earth this Bisous, taken from the rich limestone chalky and cakey soil up on the Beamsville Bench. Twenty-four months of lees aging deliver a strong message of texture but not enough to harden what is ostensibly soft and hugging, traditional method sparkling wine. Now in bottle 18 months this has settled into a comfortable and familiar ambient space, “it’s like heaven to me I must confess.” I’ll be happy to steal my kisses from you, Bisous. Drink 2017-2020.  Tasted December 2017

Malivoire Melon 2019, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($21.95)

Just about to be bottled (Tuesday January 14th). Picked late because the acids extended longer than usual and 10 per cent of the fruit comes from winemaker Shiraz Mottiar’s home vineyard. Sugary (not sugared) melons, undeniable and absolute salty and marine shell-like melon de bourgogne notations. The specificity of citrus with ever-present neutral grape spirit streak of embracing acidity. Woke melon, wake-up call to more please. Imagine the possibilities with an increased sur-lie styling. More plantings and potential yields could make this happen. Will receive one last sulphuring before bottling. Drink 2020-2024.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Melon 2013, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario

Impeccable balance and extension have come to this in what is the freshest white you could want at six years of age and almost no cost towards getting it here. Melons and lemons and plenty of unction. An argument for this grape, that beautiful Bench and the amount of time invested. Drink 2019-2021.  Tasted September 2019

Malivoire Rosé Moira 2019, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($24.95)

Production is “as much as I can get from that site,” tells Shiraz Mottiar, so maximum 800 cases. As always the aridity and the salinity continue to rise, the acids, minerality, near brininess and ultimate stoic balance so secure at the top of the game. Such a high acid vintage for everything but certainly that includes Rosé, yet still the least amount of skin-contact of the three Malivoire blush. Acids just don’t correlate to hue and flesh. Thank pH for the needle’s movement in how this translates from vintage to vintage. Drink 2020-2024.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Vivant Rosé 2019, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario (498535, $19.95)

The production can max out at 1,300 cases and yes there is more vivant life, energy and expression than the Moira. Different fruit makes for different strokes yet same folks will love what’s going on. Sharp, high acid vintage, sapid, salty and fine. Drink 2020-2023.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Chardonnay Estate Grown 2018, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (573147, $19.95)

A blend of fruit from three farms, though mostly Moira in origin. Rich and developed vintage, fruit considered and managing to climb up another rung to imagine fruit from all over, orchards everywhere. Nothing buttery about this chardonnay, just crisp, cracking, “aggression played with,” Shiraz style. More oxygen at the juice level, half fermented in old barrels, through April/May. It’s ideal at this cost and you can’t do much better in Ontario. Approximately 2,500 cases made, a VINTAGES Essential. Drink 2020-2023.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Mottiar Chardonnay 2017, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($34.95)

To be released imminently, meaning Spring at some point. A block picked early at high acid and low pH, whole cluster fermented, natural fermentation and only 10 months in barrel. For chardonnay it was a vintage for freshness, quite wet throughout but hot and ideal through harvest. The adapted vines caught up, came to speed and delivered high quality. This is a prime example of what is possible when minor miracles come about and for a Mottiar chardonnay that means stoicism, structure and length. Very balanced and poised MC. Drink 2020-2025.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Pinot Noir Moira 2018, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($34.95)

A short amount of time in barrel (only five to six months), needing a modicum of structure strengthening and keeping freshness intact. High fruit pectin from what is ostensibly a top Rosé block though not a top red made from pinot noir site. As straightforward and easily understood pinot noir as the Bench will ever give. Such a high-end entry point for varietal and place. Drink 2020-2022.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Pinot Noir Mottiar 2018, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($34.95)

The fruit is just juicier, sweeter, more mature and expressive than Moira but also equipped with a next level structure that elevates the Bench game. The one sitting on the darker savour side as opposed to the red popping one. A healthy stem inclusion raises the tension though truth be told you just can’t escape from the beauty of this vintage, the flowers that emit and the pleasure you just get from what can’t help but simply be. Pretty wine from a pretty time. Drink 2020-2023.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Small Lot Gamay 2018, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario ($21.95)

Gamay as we know and love, peppery and jolting, embracing and inclusive for all to find joy. From a Malivoire site up aboard a ridge that may not have always been the best site for planting but is increasingly rising into the golden age of gamay reality. More plantings are not merely trend follows but knowing the next 10-20 years of good sites for good wine. Juicy stuff, invigorating and affirming. Drink 2020-2023.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Analog 2018, VQA Niagara Escarpment, Ontario ($34.95)

Semi-carbonic, whole cluster fermented cabernet franc with (the same) in gamay and then some pinot noir. A blend of Wismer and Bench fruit, “tuffeau reverb” and dialled up to “11.” Less than 200 cases made of this most curious and never before connected three-pronged blend, like a Euro receptacle for power plugged in with northern North American grooves. An as is red blend with a bit of sweetness for sipping purpose while rocking out .“Why not just make 10 louder?” Drink 2020-2023.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Wismer Cabernet Franc 2017, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario ($26.95)

Quite the juicy little cabernet franc number with all the notes sung as expected, some savoury, some sweetly peppery and some just red fruit juicy. Red citrus, red current and red liquorice. Easy and nary a heady or anxious moment. Drink 2020-2021.  Tasted January 2020

Malivoire Stouck Farmstead Red 2017, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Ontario ($29.95)

The Farmstead carries forward from the red blend previously known simply as Meritage, of 60 per cent merlot and (40) cabernet sauvignon. Still so very youthful, quite reductively protected and mired behind a varnished and savoury candied shell. There’s a litany of high quality 2017 Stouck Vineyard fruit lurking behind and also stuck behind a veil of oak curtains, of French and also American in origin. Acts as if Niagara in Rioja clothing by way of Bordeaux styling. Perhaps confusing in youth that will reveal all charms and dignities, not to mention Lincoln Lakeshore nobility when some mid-range years have melted past. Drink 2022-2026.  Tasted January 2020

Good to go!

godello

Twitter: @mgodello

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They say all roads lead through Greve

In Greve’s Piazza Giacomo Matteotti there is a Chianti Classico institution of local gastronomy called Oliosteria la Terrazza. Could there be a finer location to meet up with six wine producers from the commune, listen to them pour out their hearts and their finest sangiovese? I think not.

Related – Montefioralle (more than a feeling)

La Squadra Canadese, Piazza Giacomo Matteotti, Greve

Twelve other intrepid Canadian wine travellers agreed, abided and tasted through 12 Chianti Classico whilst the benefactors explained the origins, underscored the merits and revealed their expectations for what these Riserva and Gran Selezione could become.

Piazza Giacomo Matteotti, Greve

Related – Two sides of the River Greve

Over the last two years I have capitulated about the larger notion of Greve on this site in two published occasions. To read up on the history, geography, geology and general realities of the double-banked, extensive and magnificent commune, please click on the link above, and also below.

Related – A river runs through Greve

Post Greve tasting, snacks at OliOsteria La Terrazza

As I noted two years ago, “Chianti Classico is not one of the more famous left versus right bank terroirs in Europe but in the case of Greve in Chianti a river does run through it. My recent September 2017 sangiovese exploration brought me to Greve and a retrospective concern…explains a contrast in landscape meets topography, position and soil that at the time was not fixed on my menzioni geografiche radar. What happens left or west of the river is one thing and to the right something other. Were that it were so simple I wouldn’t have to expand, but it’s not and I do.”

#tranquillo #greveinchianti #ChiantiClassico

Related – Feeling Panzano’s pull

The estates who came to the central piazza in September 2019 were Carpineto, Castello di Querceto, Querciabella, Tenuta di Nozzole, Vicchiomaggio and Vignamaggio. This is my seventh recently published exposé (and fourth for Greve) on i frazioni and i communi that are the smaller sub-zones and greater micro-territories within Chianti Classico. These are the 12 wines tasted that day in Greve.

Related – A Lamole is a Lamole is a Lamole

Carpineto Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015 ($29.95)

A 90 per cent sangiovese with (10) canaiolo. Meaty, cured, porcine. Minty, sharp, white peppery. Puts a tease intro the nose. A vintage of generosity taken over by a pressing focus. Will not likely age with some of the estate’s more recent highest of quality vintages so take advantage of what’s on offer, right here, right now. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Carpineto Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2015

Dusty and high-toned mixed with well reasoned, seasoned and developed fruit. Reminds of southern Montalcino, in a way.  Last tasted September 2019

Packed in suitcase from Greve by Antonio M. Zaccheo for this Toronto tasting. True to the Carpineto, Greve in Chianti, Classico style in that there is no real departure in stretch to the Gran Selezione, at least in terms of a thickening to syrup or shaken consistency. The cool, minty, dusty, high-toned and big red fruit personality are on headlights display, front, centre and all in. Here is the highest quality acidity that ’15 can gift and the fruit takes full advantage. Great cupboard spice and length. Really well done. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted April 2019

Castello Di Querceto Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016 (650754, $28.95)

families that have maintained their properties for more than 100 years. One of the founding members of the Consorzio in 1924. Always love the aromatic front of a Querceto. It’s a mix of place, indigenous varieties and tradition. In Riserva styling it’s also like overripe pinot noir, a.k.a. strawberry jam. In sangiovese that’s perfectly cool. Drink 2019-2023.  Tasted September 2019

Castello di Querceto’s Marco Fizialetti

Castello Di Querceto Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Il Picchio 2016 (938738, $49.00)

Querceto’s unique location in Greve is the Dudda Valley, an angular and broad swath of evergreen terroir in the northeast sector of the commune and the greater territory. Il Picchio is an old name referring to the land of the vineyard and perhaps “the woodpecker.” From only three hectares, “an aisle in the sea of the forest.” Dark red soil in iron and magnesium, dry, rich in stones. Almost a desert floor, not a woodland. Only one bottle per bunch, per vine, of Il Picchio. That says so much. Mainly (95 per cent) sangiovese with five per cent of the five local grapes. That combination of great richness and mineral streak – it cuts through the fat, enlivens and lifts. Same big extraction, concentration and in 2016 an earthy high note that speaks to hyperbole of nose, palate and tannin provided by this particular terroir. Old traditions and sense of place dies hard in these parts so expect dark fruit, a posit grab of structure, conservative styling and a tug on the sangiovese heartstrings. That and the unction meets beauty of 2016 fruit. Drink 2022-2029.  Tasted September, October and November 2019

Querciabella Chianti Classico DOCG 2016 ($48.95)

Presented by Valentina Bertoli, Sales & Marketing Assistant Manager and Winemaker Manfred Ing. Has been 100 per cent sangiovese since 2010 and it is in fact a rare occurrence of a confluence of estate managed grapes located in Greve, Radda and Gaiole. Spicier than I remembered and conversely more settled than last February. Seems to have lightened and brightened. “Every single vineyard has its own recipe of cover crops,” tells Ing, “specific to the biodynamic and climatological needs of each of the 70 plots around the Chianti Classico.”  Last tasted September 2019

On the ripest side of 2016 life, Querciabella’s Annata is all in, developed, deep and pure. The fruit already there, unencumbered by holds barred and of a picking that pushes the envelop to gratify at the highest level. There’s nothing stopping the early enjoyment and while the tannins are anything but astringent they are there, albeit sweet and fine. Drink 2020-2023. Tasted February 2019

Querciabella Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015

Greater balance is happening in the vineyard between the top, middle and lower parts. Cover crop workings are leading to equal vigour in all parts of the vineyard, no longer soaking up moisture run down at the lower sections. Clearly no compromises in the Querciabella Riserva 2015, fruit exemplary, lively and layered, lush and elastic, ripe of little compare. A right, forward and courteous example of aromatic overstatement, so perfumed and surely special. Right at the forefront of Riserva culpability at the verge of possibility to the grander appellation. Drink 2020-2028.  Tasted September 2019

Tenuta Di Nozzole Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Nozzole 2015 (324160, $24.95)

From the Folonari family, originally from Ruffino. Ambrogio Giovanni Folonari is still at the head of the family. Special bottling for the North American market, 150,000 in the US alone. A varietal sangiovese, as is the sister Riserva La Forra and are the Gran Seleziones. Sees aging time in Grandi Botti. Perfectly ripe, ubiquitous and modern classic version of Chianti Classico. Made for the markets. Approximately a $25 Canadian price. Drink 2019-2021.  Tasted September 2019

Tenuta Di Nozzole Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG La Forra 2015 (362731, $36.95)

Very specific single vineyards and selection of grapes. Ages for two to four months longer than Nozzole and in some small barrels, along with Grandi Botti that Nozzole sees alone. Quite reductive, chewy, ropey, like red and black liquorice intertwined. Approximately a $37 Canadian price. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

 

Vicchiomaggio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Le Bolle 2016

The vineyard borders on the hamlet called “La Bolle.” One of the few locales where another producer could quite possibly plant a vineyard on the same “cru” where this clay landscape is located. “This is what we call uncompromising sangiovese, Gran Selezione,” tells John Matta. This is a Selezione with an unmistakable character that is a sense of the place, even if we don’t fully yet know about the true and full capabilities of this particular place. I imagine we will come to know it through the generations of this wine.  Last tasted September 2019

Named for the small group of houses to which the vineyard abuts, a vineyard where the large gathering of stones resembles Les Galets of Châteauneuf-de-Pâpe. The total prodcution is 50 hL (6,000 bottles). Just going into bottle as we speak, there is a structural architecture to this Gran Selezione that stands apart. La Prima is the wine for everyman while Le Bolle will appeal to ye who wants edgy, artistic and deferential. The blood orange, cranberry, pomegranate and sapid-herbal attributes are all part of the extenuating mix. Terrifc single-block within a single-vineyard expression of solo sangiovese Gran Selezione. Drink 2022-2031.  Tasted February 2019

Vicchiomaggio’s John Matta

Vicchiomaggio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG La Prima 2015

Sangiovese (90) and merlot (10), on average. ”Our style is to make very elegant wines with oak in the background.” Wines that can from a picking time that is so precise. “A race of age,” meaning two or three extra days will make all the difference. Like 1/10 of a second in a car race.  Last tasted September 2019

Made with a few percentage points of merlot, this is the a small-ish production Gran Selezione, a 100 hL output so the number is approximately 15,000 bottles produced. Really high-toned aromatically for Gran Selezione and then a palate of great richness and layering. Truly a selection created sangiovese, with drinkability and steak house amenability. Suits the style and the intent so perfectly. Drink 2020-2027.  Tasted February 2019

Vignamaggio Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Gherardino 2015

Presented by Stefano Bernabei. In the Greve valley on the Right Bank, Lamole side. “Vignamaggio has a double identity because half of the vineyards are located in the Panzano area,” explains Bernabei. Double indemnity more like it. Selection of vineyards. Chewy sangiovese with 10 per cent merlot. Rich and luxe, easy to understand, not hard to see the great commercial appeal.  Last tasted September 2019

Gherardino is Greve in Chianti old school, in a way, with dried fruit, potpourri and a wealth of fennel-liquorice savour. Spice notes are very prevalent, as is the idea that in three years or so this will turn over into balsamico, porcini and tartufo. Wise and traditional Riserva. Drink 2018-2023.  Tasted February 2018

Vignamaggio’s Stefano Bernabei

Vignamaggio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Monna Lisa 2015

There is five per cent cabernet sauvignon in the 2015 vintage. “Now Vignamaggio is concentrating more and more on sangiovese,” having rid Monna Lisa of merlot. Once again the luxe swagger and chic, smooth and silken texture completely distracts and renders the other parts inconsequential. Fulsome as much as any GS, easy to get at and with little need for air, or time. Drink 2019-2023.  Tasted September 2019

Good to go!

godello

Twitter: @mgodello

Instagram: mgodello

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Montefioralle (more than a feeling)

Montefioralle #sleeper frazione

They are growing in sangiovese divinity, or should it be said, divino. L’Associazione Viticoltori di Montefioralle, producers with more than a feeling, who share common ground but also something bigger, stronger, more profound. Montefioralle Divino is a September festival that unites this tiny Greve in Chianti frazione and with a purpose all its own. Theirs is a small section of Chianti Classico and one to call their own. This band is so good they named a medieval village after it.

Castello di Verrazzano’s Luigi Cappellini and the Granfondo del Chianti Classico squadra Canadesi

Related – Two sides of the River Greve

Let’s orient you on Montefioralle’s location. Montefioralle is situated on the west bank of the Greve River and close to Castello di Montefioralle, essentially, ostensibly and mostly southwest of Greve and south of Greti. The hamlet has 79 residents and sits at an elevation of 352 meters. As for their famous harvest festival, “Montefioralle Divino è una manifestazione organizzata e promossa dall’Associazione Viticoltori di Montefioralle che saranno presenti alla manifestazione e offriranno i propri vini in degustazione sui banchi di assaggio per due giorni.”

Montefioralle, Greve in Chianti

Two days of wine tasting in Piazza Santo Stefano in the historic centre of medieval Montefioralle, presented by a group in flux, from time to time. In 2019 they were Azienda Agricola Altiero, Brogioni Maurizio, Castello di Verrazzano, Montefioralle, Podere Bucine, Podere Campriano, San Cresci, Grassi Roberto, Terre di Baccio, Terre di Melazzano, Terreno, Villa Calcinaia and Fattoria Viticcio. From year to year membership rises, wanes and changes. And so there are others who bottle within this micro-terroir of i cru di enogea; Belvedere, Le Palei, Luciano Meli, Poggio Riccioli, Schietto and Tenuta Monteficali.

Dinner at Terreno

Related – Feeling Panzano’s pull

The zonazione’s terroir is mostly calcareous clay, with sand and in some cases, outcrops of “compresso indifferenziato argille scagliose,” part schisty calcaire with less instances of Galestro or Alberese and more Macigno. Once again yet another micro-territory in Chianti Classico for Masnaghetti and the geologists to consider in the cartological advancement with an eventual conclusion in menzione geographiche aggiuntive.

Related – Chianti Classico’s big Raddese

Tasting at Calcinaia

Related – Looking out for San Donato in Poggio

The following wines were tasted with Conte Sebastiano Capponi at Villa Calcinaia, followed by a tasting with the producers of Montefioralle in the same location. The members are producers with estates and/or vineyards holdings around the Montefioralle hill. Two years earlier my group had met with eight such producers at Calcinaia. These 21 tasting notes cover the September 2019 speed dating sit-down with nine estate principals, followed by dinner at Terreno.

Wines of Montefioralle

Altiero Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Always 100 per cent sangiovese, from winemaker Paolo Baldini, from the southeast exposure off the the younger vineyard. This is the perfume of Montefioralle, inexplicable in a way, a very specific combination of flowers and herbs but there is a calm and when made this way, a purity, a clarity. A tradition from before that is forever. Slightly more unctuous and full on the palate with some wood addendum. Proper Annata. Drink 2019-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Altiero Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016

Like the Annata always 100 per cent sangiovese, this time from the older vineyard facing southwest, away on an angle from Montefioralle and looking towards Panzano, the Conca d’Oro and Le Fonti. The red fruit liqueur is quite silky, savoury in a sweet and almost amaro way, so in a word, stunning. Full and polished with some tradition fully stashed away in pocket. From Galestro and Alberese. And it shows. Drink 2019-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Castello Di Verrazzano Chianti Classico DOCG 2016 ($30.45)

Essential balance in Chianti Classico Annata, obviously with thanks to the ’16 vintage but even more of a many splendored thing. Concentration and intensity intertwined but truth be spoken this really climbs the hills and then descends, with grace, power and ease. A brilliant Annata from Luigi Cappellini. Drink 2020-2026.  Tasted September 2019

Castello Di Verrazzano Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015 ($49.60)

A sangiovese raised organic and a textural matter really defined by the quality and the length of time in contact with its skins. While not too long the extension was embraced and the certainty of a spot on result is certainly admired. Excellent skins, earthy, rich in tannin and also used to great structural advantage. This Riserva will travel long and go deep. Bank on it. Most rewarding work from il cicliste Cappellini. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted September 2019

Castello Di Verrazzano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Sassello 2015

This is the wine at Verrazzano first made in 1982 as a Vino de Tavola, then as Riserva and finally as Gran Selezione, first in 2013. The Sassello is the small bird that seeks out the best grapes, in this case at 450m from the highest vineyard on the estate. This just intuits and explains vintage, place and appellation, together in harmony. It’s a cool sangiovese of smooth savour, with great length and slow developing parts. Needs more time. Just does. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted September 2019

Lorenzi Sieni, Montefioralle

Montefioralle Chianti Classico DOCG 2017

Dry vintage, full fruit, deep red, almost out of cherry and into plum, better acidity than some of its ilk and says Lorenzo, “not greens tannins.” Agreed. Quite silky, almost glycerin and long. Well done Sieni, well done. Drink 2020-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Montefioralle Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016

Riserva is quite lush and full from 2016, no shocker to be sure and of a perfume that moves from Annata and into what grows low to the ground. Really proper appellative effort for the estate and for the frazione, richly embrued in liquified glowing embers and wet spice for days. Needs time to settle in. Very structured Riserva in which to imbibe after some time. Drink 2021-2027.  Tasted September 2019

Podere Campriano Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

A perfectly consistent follow-up to a ’15 that stole that vintage’s show, here with equal aromatic excellence in 2016. Now showing as a great floral expression (remarkably early it should be noted) in a full bouquet bursting from the glass. There is a level of roundness and fine acid tang with circulative layers as good as it gets. Succinct as sangiovese, Greve and hanging around the finest of Montefioralle. A true Galestro idea presented clear as a clear blue frazione day. Drink 2020-2026.  Tasted September 2019

Two sides of the Greve River

Podere Campriano Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Le Balze di Montefiorealle 2015

Perhaps not as balanced a vintage as the follow-up 2016 will bring to this Montefioralle Riserva but ’15 can stand on its feet, no problem at all. No sway but plenty of torque indeed. Love the fruit of 2015, as much as one needs to love fruit. The fruit goes in and then back out of your mouth in equal and opposing fashion. In balance, with acids and tannins in tow. Drink 2020-2026.  Last tasted September 2019

Exactly Campriano, distinct and luxurious in its own perfect way. it’s so very Riserva, unctuous with red fruit that seems almost completely absent of wood. It’s because of the land, a vineyard set in the forest “and still so very present.” That also means it’s in the wine. recognizable every year. Always. The vineyard is west facing above the Greve River, on old terraces, with old stones. You can drink this now even if it’s so young.  Tasted February 2019

Just put to market, the vintage will surely have so much to say and in fact already does, with a combination of perfume and spice. Still dusty, with fennel and endemic herbs, teas and brushy plants. There’s a raspberry to dried currant fruitiness that ’14 doesn’t have, also more mid-palate flesh and overall juiciness. A different sort of structure, still with long capabilities but will likely go into a drier fruit profile after the seven year mark. Elena Lapini is a very busy agriturismo and viticoltore proprietor these days and if these most recent 100 per cent sangiovese from two sides of the Greve river tracks are any indication, she’ll be busier than ever before. Drink 2019-2025.  Tasted September 2018

Terreno Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG San Pietro di Sillani 2017

A cru at the highest altitude at 480m of sangiovese and merlot (five per cent) with some time spent in new wood. Altitude meant no frost and also less heat from the arid vintage. Eighteen months in big oak casks, this time in new and while the high up frazione perfume is indeed fully emitting its rays there too is a silky smooth note that recalls the new wood. Looks really good and seems very fine though the wood is very involved. Should be very, very interesting. It’s quite refined. Way too young to call. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted September 2019

Tenuta Monteficali Chianti Classico DOCG Vigna Mezzuola 2015

The vigna-designate Annata is likewise a modern take on Chianti Classico label appearances notwithstanding but the smooth texture detail and lush glycerin flavours pale in comparison with the new barrique-aged Riserva. Here second and third passage tonneaux allow the marl and limestone of Montefioralle vineyards to speak a bit clearer and to breath a breath of 500m fresh air into this (85 per cent) sangiovese. The merlot (10) and cabernet sauvignon (5) smooth out all the wrinkles for a lush take on Annata. Drink 2019-2021.  Tasted September 2019

Tenuta Monteficali Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Guardingo Di Passignano 2015

Do not be fooled by the whimsical classicism of the label into thinking this Greve Chianti Classico from the heart of Montefioralle will be old-schooled, rustic and ancient-styled sangiovese. It is in fact a facsimile of such a notion and in point of fact the opposite is true. The salt and pepper seasoning of 10 per cent merlot and five cabernet sauvignon are more like spice and sauce to prove the first point. The small barriques aging for 18 months is the second, acceding into a textural Riserva at once silky smooth and then oozing with vanilla, balsamic and resiny syrup. A mouthful to be sure and in the style so well made. A fun fact to know is about the Guardingo Di Passignano, a medieval road and the only passage that connected the three main valleys of the Florentine countryside; Val d’Elsa, Val di Pesa and Val di Greve, Drink 2020-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Terre Di Melazzano Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Cantinato 2015

“Born in the cellar,” of sangiovese with 10 per cent merlot and five cabernet sauvignon. A true glycerin Chianti Classico for Montefioralle, with unction and spice. Sings like a blackbird. Truly Cantinato, truly. Drink 2019-2021. Tasted September 2019

Calcinaia

Villa Calcinaia Mauvais Chapon Rosato Metodo Classico 2014

A tirage of VinSanto in 2015, 37 months on lees and disgorged April 2018. In reference to a siege of Florence by the French in 494, an offer was made, not accepted and the trumpets were sounded. Piero Capponi responded with a call to arms at the gates. A matter of familial propaganda and a wine that reminds of France. Linear, sharp, citric, toasty and so very fine. Really crisp, of utter clarity and streamlined like a sail on a fast vessel. Impressive to say the least. Drink 2019-2024.  Tasted September 2019

Sebastiano Capponi

Villa Calcinaia Mammolo 2017, IGT Toscana

Varietal mammolo, fully, completely, capably in control of the wet wool character that only Sebastiano Capponi and (Monte Bernardi’s) Michael Schmelzer can effect, establish and conquer in unique red wine made in the Chianti Classico territory. This is good, righteous and proper volatility surrounding red fruit formed in a cake. Thick and unctuous from 2017 with endless character. Had been looking forward to tasting this finished wine since a first encounter out of concrete tank. Lives up to the billing and the hype. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

This limestone, that Alberese

Conti Capponi/Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG La Fornace 2016 ($74.95)

A warm and unctuous La Fornace in fine form, consistent to its loam-sand origins, planted in 1975, at 250m of elevation. Faces due south and sees oak casks, 10 hL, approximately six years old. Showing secure and prevalent texture admitting everything about itself, a single-vineyard sangiovese sight that draws the sun and uses every iota of its energy. Good showing from the furnace, Surely not a shocker from ’16.  Last tasted September 2019

Vigna Fornace, “The Furnace” is indeed the warmest of the Capponi Gran Selezione, full of gathered 2016 sunshine, ready to melt in the mouth acidity, tannins and in this case, chocolate. The acidity is very different to Bastigano, here cured, developed and dare it be said in such a young wine, assimilated. Drink this younger while ye wait for the bigger structure and high tonal Bastigano.  Drink 2019-2024. Tasted February 2019

Conti Capponi/Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Vigna Contessa Luisa 2016 ($67.95)

The magical Gran Selezione from the old lady of a vineyard, dating back to 1959. A plot marked by Colombino rock, not quite limestone and not quite sandy Alberese. There is a character in Luisa that no other Gran Selezione displays, neither from Calcinaia or elsewhere. Done up in oak cask, 10 hL, approximately six years old and showing the ease meets power of 2016. Bravissima.  Last tasted September 2019

Now for something completely different. The Contessa’s vineyard is a lifelong dream and confounding sangiovese from which to grab attention. She’s immediately elegant and charming and then so closed. She is predicated on darkening red cherry fruit but her acidity is formidable and so the connection is severe to establish. She lingers with you for so long that you don’t know what to do because she was never really accessible to begin with. Teasing Gran Selezione, an incubus for now, but eventually you will realized the dream. FYI, the oldest estate 1959 planted Contessa Luisa vineyard was dedicated to matriarch Luisa Vonwiller. Drink 2023-2033.  Tasted February 2019

Conte Capponi/Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Vigna Bastignano 2016 ($74.95)

A component of cement egg on top of the 10 hL, approximately six years-old oak casks brings new layers and light to Bastignano and separates it from the other two sangiovese. It also clay darkens and broods, hides in shadows and remains softer, fleshier, but also sneaky in structure. There’s less pinpointed Calcinaia character and more outside in the diaspora personality. If that splits hairs so be it though it needs saying that Bastignano is a man of means.  Last tasted September 2019

Capponi’s Bastignano is a Gran Selezione consistent and repetitively persistent to speak its singular truth. It is truly hematic, a sumptuous, oozing full-fruit sangiovese with above the left bank of the river Greve coursing through its blood. Very smooth, seamless, finely tannic and beautifully high in ripe acida. If all GS carried such acid then the category would float even higher. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted February 2019

Villa Calcinaia Casarsa 2014, IGT Colli Toscana Centrale ($54.95)

Capponi’s varietal merlot is from the 1967 planted vineyard not realized as merlot until many years later. Fermented in cement vats and then 24 months are spent in barriques. A beast really, young at five years in ways most sangiovese are not. So much verdancy, spice, grip, grit, power and need for space, not to mention time. Drink 2023-2030.  Tasted September 2019

Viticcio Chianti Classico DOCG Vendemmia 51 2016 ($23.95)

Only two points of merlot with the sangiovese from two picks, the first of which goes here, for increased acidity. Dark floral and fruit scents for sure and some spice. Really like the mouthfeel and the acid-fruit structure. Tannins are quite easy. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015 ($31.95)

With small amounts of merlot and syrah, it’s quite sappy and resinous. Plenty of smooth chocolate ganache, blackberry and backbone with thanks to a Galestro and Alberese soil mix filled with stone. Big Riserva. Really big. Drink 2019-2023.  Tasted September 2019

Good to go!

godello

Montefioralle #sleeper frazione

Twitter: @mgodello

Instagram: mgodello

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A Lamole is a Lamole is a Lamole

Lamole

In a previous post about Lamole I posed a question. What is I profumi di Lamole? How is it the wines produced from Lamole’s eastern Greve in Chianti hills are so particular and distinct? What gives them their singular perfume? The quick answer is location, location, location. This is the story of Lamole, frazione within Greve commune, of vineyards upwards to 700m blessed with great sun by day and cold nights. Nothing else in Chianti Classico or the world carries a perfume like these sangiovese. A Lamole is a Lamole is a Lamole. Smells like, Lamole.

The portal into #lamole and what a portale meraviglioso it is to peer into. Parfumi, tradizione, altitudine. Grazie ai viticoltori.

Related – I Fabbri’s perfume of Lamole

Lamole is perhaps Chianti Classico’s least celebrated, a hidden gem set in an amphitheatre of gliding and sliding terraces around the horseshoed ringing hills of a unique viticultural landscape. There has been no obvious reason to travel there unless you knew what it is you were looking for. So what exactly is there to find in Lamole? For one thing, the aforementioned high altitude vineyards. The hamlets of Casole and Lamole are another, accessed east of Panzano and the SR 222 Chiantigiana by way of the Località Petriolo road. Ristoro Di Lamole is reason enough to make the trip, accessed off of the Località San Leonina road that connects to Via Lamole.

Sangiovese of Lamole

Related – Feeling Panzano’s pull

The Galestro terra is filled with marl and schisty rocks but also Macigno del Chianti decomposed into sandstone soil on terraces. The magical acclimazione del sottosuolo has attracted many producers in search of the special fragrance found in the frazione‘s sangiovese, including Chianti Classico President Giovanni Manetti, producer of Fontodi’s Filetta Di Lamole off of fruit grown at his cousin’s farm. Jurji Fiore of Podere Poggio Scalette makes small lots from Lamole.

Pasta al Tartufo, Ristoro di Lamole

Related – Chianti Classico’s big Raddese

Lamole sangiovese is the collective soul of less than 10 producers; Azienda Storica Castellinuzza Proprieta Cinuzzi, Castello Di Lamole, Fattoria Di Lamole Vigna Grospoli Antico Lamole by Paolo Socci, I Fabbri, Lamole Di Lamole, Le Masse Di Lamole, Podere Castellinuzza and Castellinuzza E Piuca.

Ristoro di Lamole

Related – Looking out for San Donato in Poggio

The valley is not a common thoroughfare or often transversed en route from greater territorial points A to B, so to arrive in Lamole you climb with gradual ascendance from way down along the Greve River and up through an amphitheatre that graces the horseshoe ringing hills of its unique viticultural landscape. The origin of the Lamole perfume. Diurnal temperature fluctuations and high solar radiation are also important, resulting in wines that are lithe, crunchy and ethereal.

Paolo Socci

Every association of producers is led by a great mind, by a historian and philosopher with the knowledge and the experience to educate on behalf of the community and their land. In Lamole that would be Paolo Socci. Sit down with Paolo every chance you get. The following notes cover 18 sangiovese tasted at Lamole di Lamole in September 2019. As with many Chianti Classico there are some that had been previously tasted so those have now been updated to reflect these most recent observations. Your next visit to Chianti Classico must include Lamole because while the territory has many frazioni worth knowing, when it comes to perfume in these wines, nothing else smells like Lamole.

Azienda Storica Castellinuzza Proprieta Cinuzzi Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

There are a few Castellinuzza aziende and this from Cinuzzi is off of two hectares cultivated to old sangiovese, malvasia nera and canaiolo. The top of a well-ventilated promontory is the sunny spot on well-draining soils of clay and shale. Diurnal temperature swings most often result in an aromatic heritage that is Lamole. However, 2016 is somehow different. The juice factor here is almost uncanny; blueberry and boysenberry mostly but also Ribena. It’s just the fruit and cement and old wood. Simply rendered, structured and easy. Happy to have a quick glug and notable for its singularity, if not entirely synaptic and syncopated to I parfumi di Lamole. Drink 2019-2020.  Tasted September 2019

Azienda Storica Castellinuzza Proprieta Cinuzzi Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2013

The blueberry and musky melon is met by pomegranate and blood orange in this tangy mess of fruit, acidity and feral furtive moves. Dances with the lupi, cinghiali and cervi. Drink 2019-2020.  Tasted September 2019

Castelli Del Grevepesa Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Lamole 2013

From the larger Chianti Classico cooperative and their Lamole holdings, a ’13 of high tones, blackberry fruit and liquid chalky, wood-derived tannin. Spiced and vanilla tinged with good bones and length. Drink 2019-2023.  Tasted September 2019

Castellinuzza E Piuca Chianti Classico DOCG 2017

A classic Lamole house melds in 10 per cent canaiolo to support the local sangiovese. Dark if high toned and dusty, riper than might be expected (surely because of a hot vintage in the coolest of Chianti Classico frazioni) and if a bit demure for the place it still reeks and rages with Lamole acidity. And the perfume. That Lamole perfume. Drink 2020-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Castellinuzza E Piuca Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Vigna Piuca 2016

Not your lower elevation Gran Selezione and while the finest selection is made in the Piuca Vineyard there is no escaping the high black cherry baritone swirling through the dusty, dried and edgy volatility. A good energy, tense and nervous, really structured and full of possibility. Needs time. Drink 2022-2028.  Tasted September 2019

Castello Di Lamole Chianti Classico DOCG Le Stinche 2013

Quite fresh and youthful, reductive even. Also dried fruit and herbs, mildly mephitic and stodgy.  Last tasted September 2019

From the Lamole producer connected to one of Tuscany’s oldest castle properties, going back one thousand years and a high altitude vineyard restored 16 years ago. This is the sangiovese of the Macigno (sandstone) soil terraces of Lamole, richer than many of the frazione and deeper in textures and transitions. Raised in cement and tonneaux there are floral as well as smoky notes, almost tobacco but more like wild herbs and wood smoulder. You’ve not likely ever whiffed (or tasted) anything quite like Le Stinche, also known as “carcere delle Stinche,” the prison on Via Ghibellina in Florence. Drink 2020-2024.  Tasted February 2019

Fontodi Chianti Classico DOCG Filetta Di Lamole 2016

Filetta is fermented in concrete vats then sent to large casks fore 18 months, but no small barrels. From Macigno soils at 550-600m in Lamole. This is the third vintage and 17,000 bottles are produced, on average. What is referred to as succulenza, but also salata and volontà.  Last tasted September 2019

Once again Lamole both astonishes and confounds. It’s make-up, constitution and display are unlike any other in Chianti Classico. It’s both liquid lava flowing and petrified, salumi cured and fresh as just picked red fruit. It’s quite a scene this Fontodi from land occupied by cousins to Giovanni Manetti, sangiovese that is chewy but linear, chalky while viscous, savoury but far from herbal. It’s the umami of Chianti Classico sangiovese I suppose. It’s so singular and needs to be investigated, nosed and tasted, again and again. Drink 2022-2029.  Tasted February 2019

I Fabbri Grassie E Figlio Chianti Classico DOCG Lamole Olinto 2017 ($26.95)

The 2017 is a rich number to be sure, high on solar radiation and warmed by just a few plus percentage points of merlot. Great ’17 fruit to the point of welling and bursting with i profumi and that natural high acidity of Lamole. Crunchy for ’17 and in a way only this ancient Etruscan frazione can effect.  Last tasted September and November 2019

“A true expression of this terroir,” says Susanna Grassi, from the organic vineyards, and the tiniest (3,000) bottles of production. At altitudes as high as any in Chianti Classico and from the warmest of vintages, the fresh factor is as high as there will be. The fruit goes beyond cherry, into what careens like raspberry and the savoury aspect is almost sweet, but not. Aged in concrete and just so pleasurable meets territorial. Exactitude for Lamole. Drink 2019-2024.  Tasted February 2019

I Fabbri Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG ‘I Fabbri’ 2016

Susanna Fabbri’s highest elevation raises vines capable of producing grapes that are Lamole’s most impressive and afford her a selection to isolate the best of the best. The schisty marl in Galestro and sandy decomposition of Macigno are a soil source to reckon with. The chalky texture and simulate of structure look forward a decade or more and yet with this vintage that run is on hold because there is a pause. A Riserva of extreme youth this just is, mired for the time being in darkness and tannin. Also a tone that rings in current perpetuity to prevent the fruit from singing. No shortage of Lamole scent, stuffing and engagement though and also a locked in freshness. Possibilities once again speak of a potential for greatness. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted September 2019

Susanna Grassi @ifabbriclassico

I Fabbri Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG ‘I Fabbri’ 2015

From the highest vineyard’s vines and a selection at a point which allows for the picking of what is best. Richly rendered, liquid Galestro and Macigno chalky and structured for a 10-15 year run. There’s plenty of Lamole, stuffing and possibility. Fresh enough for the vintage and certainly capable of greatness.  Last tasted September 2019

From the first passage through the vineyard, when all the fruit is ripe and ready to go. Now Riserva gets serious, or not really at all, but the table is set anew with an entirely new look at the category. Chew on this fresh and leathery wine for awhile. Take your time, feel the heights and the aspects. The acidity is incredibly fine and the effect like a blood red sunset to the west of the Lamole valley. There may be five per cent canaiolo in here, hard to say because of the way and the timing of the picking. Sapidity and salinity are perfect streaks through the sunken, drunken, oxygenated red fruit. Length all the way up to Terrata and La Sala at 100m and back. Drink 2020-2029.  Tasted February 2019

Jurij Fiore Viticoltori Chianti Classico DOCG Punto Di Vista Lamole 2017

From Poggio Scalette’s Jurji Fiore of the Ruffoli hill in Greve and his other project off of a 645m vineyard in Lamole. This is truly something other, of 70 year-old vines planted to sangiovese and other endemic varieties. Captures the civility of heritage vines and older times albeit with optimally ripened fruit and kept Lamole acidity. It’s also from the challenge of 2017 though loss was modest in Lamole and heat less of a problem. If what you want in Chianti Classico from 2017 is big, beautiful and structured then this from Lamole is a great bet. Dark fruit, great protection and protracted ability to age gracefully for two decades. Drink 2021-2033.  Tasted September 2019

Jurji Fiore of #PoggioScalette

Jurij Fiore Viticoltori Chianti Classico DOCG Porcacciamiseria 2017

The second Lamole from Jurij Fiore is from younger vines (50 years of age) which is downright youthful as compared to the PuntadiVista field blend. There is indeed more spirit and energy, more spice and lift, more intensity and masterful Lamole spirit. I parfumi di Lamole for certain and without any equivocation. Same structure on brighter fruit. Up to you which matters more. Drink 2021-2032.  Tasted September 2019

Lamole Di Lamole Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016

Full expression of Lamole shrouded and rung up the ladder with merlot and cabernet. The use of an optical sorter at crush time finds only perfect berries of provenance, concentration and internationally delegated varietal purity. The generosity of wood compounds the deep, dark and silky perfection. All is laid out for the here and now. Drink 2019-2021.  Tasted September 2019

Lamole Di Lamole Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015

Full expression of Lamole clouded and raised up a bar with merlot and cabernet. The optical sorter finds the grapes for maximum concentration and internationally designed varietal purity. That and the very generous barrels. A bit higher toned and lighter at this point. That is all and all in all this Riserva is all in. Drink 2019-2020.  Tasted September 2019

Le Masse Di Lamole Chianti Classico DOCG 2017

From Lamole’s highest estate and sangiovese (95 per cent) at 630m. Raised in Tuscan chestnut barrels. Big and fresh, absolute classic Lamole perfume and acidity, what you expect and exaggerated to many degrees. That is because of grapes hung long into October it is suspected. Big wine for the frazione. Sings with the classic cuisine of the place. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Le Masse Di Lamole Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015

Like the ’17 Annata this ’15 Riserva continues the thread of big and bountiful but with Tuscan oak instead it climbs into spice and volatility. Quite sappy albeit lean and so much balsam in many respects. A bit of innocence lost as a result. Drink 2019-2020.  Tasted September 2019

Podere Castellinuzza Chianti Classico DOCG 2015

An all cement, 95 per cent sangiovese with colorino. Lamole specimen of salinity, sapidity and spirit. There’s great freshness, energy and life to this one of simple pleasure and from an aromatic standpoint it is pure Lamole. Classica standout in every respect. Drink 2019-2023.  Tasted September 2019

Serena Coccia

Podere Castellinuzza Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015

A 100 per cent sangiovese in Riserva clothing that comes through with lithe appellative action but is sneaky spicy and structured. Getting into a sleepy moment but just woke enough to be classed on its own.  Last tasted September 2019

Podere Castellinuzza’s Riserva is one of Lamole’s most generous (100 per cent) sangiovese though not without the very particular salty-mineral-sapid streak the hill always delivers. Only 1,500 bottles were produced of this highly traditional Greve-Lamole ’15 and it’s most certainly a perfect foil for fresh pasta with pumpkin, roast chicken, pork and rabbit. Drink 2020-2027.  Tasted February 2019

Good to go!

godello

Lamole

Twitter: @mgodello

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Feeling Panzano’s pull

During the final days of September 2019 we Canadians made our way to Toscana for a week of Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico business. While a group of road hardy cicliste e ciclisti were racing their team bikes up, down and around the Granfondo del Chianti Classico winding roads of the territory and others were taking in the sights of Firenze, I was strolling through the Sunday market, visiting with friends and pre-tasting some sangiovese di Panzano. Every time I go I find myself feeling Panzano’s pull.

Godello, Cecchini, Manetti

Panzano’s central Chianti Classico location is crucial in so many ways. Its two most famous inhabitants and native sons are the Consorzio’s incumbent President and proprietor of arguably the territory’s most well-known and respected family-run, not too large, not too small sized estate. That would be Fontodi’s Giovanni Manetti. The second is the village’s figlio nativo and world famous butcher, Antica Macelleria Cecchini’s Dario Cecchini. Panzano is also home to the Conca d’Oro and few vineyard enclaves are as prolific, scenic and fertile as this wide swath of sangiovese heaven. The frazione within Greve commune is also invisibly set upon the Greve River flood plane, positioned with stead grace and soil exceptionality.

Within Greve it occupies a centrality bordered by commune neighbours Castellina, Barberino Tavarnelle and Radda. You might actually imagine Panzano as the exact middle inside a circle drawn clockwise from Greve in Chianti (12 o’clock), to Volpaia (three o’clock), through Castellina in Chianti (six o’clock), past San Donato (nine o’clock) and back to Greve. Heart of the matter.

Panzano above the Conca d’Oro

Related – The ins and outs of Panzano in Chianti

Two years ago I wrote about Panzano and its pioneering association of producers, the Unione Viticoltori Panzano. Please click on the link above to get the full story on Panzano and its raison d’être. The original Panzano Winemakers Association was founded in 1995 to celebrate common ground and for like-minded producers to articulate the necessity and pursuit of shared interests. With the famous Conca d’Oro at its epicentre, Panzano encompasses a set of hills aboard and encircling a plateau rich in Galestro and a rather significant altitude where vineyards are planted to between 350 and 500 meters above sea level.

Breathing in the glory of the Conca d’Oro

Related – Chianti Classico’s big Raddese

Consider Panzano as a wild unknown country where nothing could go wrong, as a dividing line running through the centre of town, as a ridge slicing on a diagonal axis from Volpaia in Radda to Mercatale in San Casciano, direction Casanuove. All part of the same hill. The ridge’s particular geological composition is consistent and these atmosphera sottosuolo soils that run through Panzano are the epicentral factor in determining the type of physiology common to the sangiovese. Somewhere, somehow, that means something, to someone. It’s a savoury-sapid-saltiness equipped with acidity that makes Panzano’s a freshness not really like any other. This is especially true in Riserva and even in Gran Selezione examples. 

Panzano rocks are all in

These words about Panzano are part of a contiguous acceleration to investigate inward, to focus on the visceral isolations within Chianti Classico. This third such essay published since that September trip means there may be five or more to come in advance of the coming Anteprima and Chianti Classico Collection 2020 taking place in Firenze two weeks from today. Panzano’s story writes itself because the thread of sangiovese consistency has few if any cleaved rivals in the greater territory. Panzano’s wines stand apart with their attention to textured detail, in their ability to shine even in their youth and finally, their acumen to intuit a very straightforward and knowable set of structural values. These are sangiovese of great upbringing, etiquette and most importantly possessive of a great respect for their origins. Panzano is spoken for with great clarity by these producers and their wines.

The Cecchini experience ~ Grazie Dario, Panzano and Chianti Classico #chianticlassico #chianticlassicobootcamp

Related – Looking out for San Donato in Poggio

The following are 34 Panzano sangiovese tasted at Le Fonti, Il Molino di Grace, Fontodi and then followed by dinner at Cecchini. Many are wines I had previously tasted and some of the notes have been updated to reflect new observations. If you ever find yourself in Chianti Classico, I would imagine you’ll not be immune to feeling Panzano’s pull.

Ca’ Di Pesa Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Ca’ di Pesa is 95 per cent sangiovese, raised in second passage barriques (80 per cent) and 20 per cent grandi botti, on average. Dark and rich, black cherry ambitious and really, really modern. A high quality vintage and goes for it, no holds barred. Lots of wood. Drink 2020-2026.  Tasted September 2019

Ca’ Di Pesa Chianti Classico Riserva Barrone DOCG 2016

Riserva is 100 per cent fermented in amphora and then moved into barriques, much of it new. Again the ambition is clear. Vanilla, graphite and everything spice. Drink 2021-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Tenuta Carobbio Chianti Classico DOCG 2015 ($37.00)

Dario Faccin’s is 100 per cent sangiovese as it will always be going forward and with an amazing acidity of 6.4 (tA). Wow is this still so youthful, even just a touch reductive, from an alcoholic fermentation at a very low temperature. Very low. Oxygen is only introduced at that very low temperature, to preserve not only colour but also aromatics. So be patient because time is its and your friend. The palate is so broad and generous but this is not a barrel tasting. This is real life. Such structure should be illegal. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted September 2019

Because he’s Dario F-in Faccin, that’s why g-dammit! #carobbio #sangiovese #chianticlassico #panzano #galestro

Tenuta Carobbio Chianti Classico DOCG 2014 ($62.00)

From a vintage that was made for the intensity and manic work of Dario Faccin. You need to investigate so very deep to desalinate and to feel the layers peel away before getting to the crux of Carrobio’s Panzano Galestro and Alberese. Magnificent and large, balanced and massive ’14 oh my. Drink 2023-2032.  Tasted September 2019

Casaloste Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016

The amalgamation of ripest, richly purposed fruit and high toned meatiness brings the great divide together between levels of the appellative period. This is what you want from a well-developed and purposed Riserva, in structure, out of passion and back into reality. Most excellent and rigorous work from Gionanni Battista d’Orsi out of Panzano. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted September 2019

I Canadesi and I Produttori di Panzano at Cecchini

Casaloste Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Don Vincenzo 2016

An equal representation of selections from vineyards east and west, harvested and fermented separately and then brought together. Once again there is ambition and heft but balance is brought on by ripe acidities and everything resisting going to the breaches of edges. Such a fine liqueur for Gran Selezione and one to age for decades. A captured snapshot of 2015 with great structure as a frame to the picture. Drink 2021-2032.  Tasted September 2019

Tenuta Casenuove Chianti Classico DOCG 2015

The first vintage, 80 sangiovese with 15 merlot and 5 cabernet sauvignon. The sangiovese was raised in 25hL botti and the inernational grapes in tonneaux. Darker and deeper than the ’16 to come. Good acidity keeps it moving through the waves of vanilla and graphite. Drink 2019-2020.  Tasted September 2019

Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico President Giovanni Manetti, Fontodi

Castello Dei Rampolla Chianti Classico DOCG 2016 ($44.95)

Rampola’s vineyards grace the top of the northern hillsides of Panzano’s Conca d’Oro valley beneath the village. These are some of the most storied slopes in all of Chianti Classico and the castle that bears the name is one of its most famous landmarks. The richest, most glycerin liqueur that sangiovese is capable of reaching is found in this 2016 but not without accompanying acidity and fine-grained structure. Here from one of the territory’s classic rebel child houses is a formidable Annata from a glorious vintage and the kind of bouquet meets boneset that dreams are made of to last decades. It’s really quite something. Drink 2022-2033.  Tasted March 2019

Fattoria La Quercia Il Chellino Chianti Classico DOCG 2017

From a more northerly vineyard with later ripening and the cool savour is readily apparent. Very expressive, chalky tannic and not yet resolved. Will turn and fire into a terrific expression of Panzano albeit in a highly singular, off the noted grid sort of way. Drink 2020-2026.  Tasted September 2019

Fontodi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Vigna Del Sorbo 2016 ($97.95)

Vigna del Sorbo sits in the Conca d’Oro at the southeastern end of the vineyards in clay soils dominated by Galestro and away from the Alberese of the Flaccianello sites. It’s always a refreshing meeting meaty wine but then along comes 2016. The satiating and pleasing factor is there from the start, not wanting for wondering if indeed the possibilities are there. They are in waves with bigger bones, more flesh hanging on though teasing to fall off at the slightest touch of the hand. They will not because structure keeps the meat secure even though it is so bloody tender. With acidity nearing eight on the tA scale there is every reason to believe 2016 Vigna del Sorbo will go 25 years easy, with or without the shedding on tears. Drink 2021-2039. Tasted September 2019

Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Vigna Del Sorbo 2010

Tasted from magnum at Cecchini with fruit wholly, ostensibly intact from a warm and grip-inciting vintage when these Vigna del Sorbo vines would have been in the 35-40 year-old range. Also from a transitional period in the climate change pantheon so therefore a time when climate was more unusual and not yet the new norm. A fruit bomb this sangiovese, juicy and bursting from a blue to black fruit year. Almost Cassis in orientation, cool truth spoken and acidity in the premium value category that lifts the wine with ease. Sip it with grilled beef and the picture is complete. Drink 2019-2029.  Tasted September 2019

Standing on the shoulders of giants #flaccianello #fontodi #sangiovese

Fontodi Flaccianello Della Pieve 2016, IGT Toscana Centrale ($147.95)

“For me this is a Chianti Classico. I’m waiting for others to cross the river together,” says Giovanni Manetti. It tastes of Chianti Classico, albeit with an ulterior profile to Vigna del Sorbo. There is a variegation of Galestro in the soil, along with Alberese, Calcium Carbonate and Pietraforte. The vineyards come down from Panzano and face an opposite direction. Flaccianello is strong and structured, meaty, floral, a compound composition of elements, minerals and the flesh of animale. It’s a big boned boy with acids and structure as a full throttle experience. Drink 2022-2037.  Tasted September 2019

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Solosangiovese DOCG 2017 ($24.95)

Drawn from Botti now at 18 months and the new plan is to extend that even further so 30 months after harvest will become 33-36 when the bulk of the wine goes to bottle. If anything is going to teach the world about the aging needs and worthiness of Panzano sangiovese and Chianti Classico, well the gentle suggestion and confident persuasion starts right here. Dusty and conversely soft, then grippy and elegant too. Drink 2021-2027.  Last tasted September 2019

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Solosangiovese DOCG 2016 ($24.95)

Very little has changed in fact ’16 has moved almost nowhere in the best possible way. Sneaky structure is there, in movements of Bach tones and the usual sangiovese brilliance, especially from these multifarious soils. Galestro, Alberese, Pietraforte, calcium carbonate. All in. Last tasted September 2019

”I think it’s a very good vintage,” announces Iacopo Morganti and that is all you really need to know, though take the time to glide along and feel the in synch moving parts. This is essential and partisan to gain an understanding ingrained of deepest knowing. There is something about this house style, this estate gathering and this layering of no-proviso, 100 per cent sangiovese. It walks you down all the way to Rimocine, down to the bottom of the Grace vinyards, looking up at San Francesco and the vines all around. This transports you to a place. Isn’t that what you want? That and great fruit, acids and fine tannin. Southeast Panzano sangiovese incarnate. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted February 2019

Tasting through @ilmolinodigrace ~ The dramatic ’16s and super surprising ’17s. One breath of Gratius and see how it has separated from the pack. These are Panzano of sneaky grip and structure.

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2017 ($29.95)

Wow ’17 Riserva could handle waiting until 2021 to be released. So grippy, such acidity, so much concentration and while quality is exceptional still the vintage quantities are so low. A number in and around 40 per cent of normal. Wooly tannins, so in control and very fine. Remember there was also a frost in May that decimated the vines, followed by three months of intense heat. Vineyard management and the most pragmatic, accepting and realistic team in place made sure to do everything right. “Corretta” to the nth degree. As is this organic and biodynamic Riserva. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted September 2019

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016 ($29.95)

Incredible depth and richness in Riserva out of ’16, with layers of variegated red fruit not seen in these parts or this appellative wine in quite some time. The linger and the effect is all encompassing and timeless. There will be very little movement in the next three years and perhaps longer. This came to know the who, what and why from the genesis.  Last tasted September 2019

Welcome to the new world Il Molino di Grace order. Here along, after and in addition to the Annata that changes everything is a crunchy and chewy Riserva of pure, laser focus. An extension of Annata with deeper fruit and confidently brighter than most Riserva. The selection is not merely impressive, it’s necessary. The opening farewell is just the beginning of the end. The fruit sits way up on high, on a hill where acidity and tannin live intertwined, transparent and monumental. Sangiovese on its own in Riserva might need help, a little bit of support to elevate and celebrate a little bit of everything. Not this IMG. Solo suffices with ease. It’s already got a little bit of everything. Marks the first of more steps to come for an estate ready to climb into a highest Chianti Classico echelon where it wants, needs and deserves to be. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted February 2019

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2006

Poured from magnum at Cecchini in Panzano. It had been nearly five years since last tasted and the large format has suspended time. Still a matter of all constituent parts lifted, elevated and residing where things are haughty and high. Nigh time to drink up certainly but there is a freshness and an accumulated presence of acidity that speaks of the southeast Panzano site. If land could talk it would utter these sangiovese words. If vineyards could sing these would be the notes.  Last tasted September 2019

An ’06 Chianti Classico Riserva you say, pre-aged, delivered to the Ontario market and presented here in 2014, all in for $24? You can’t fool us. We’ve been duped too many times before. This must fall into the “too good to be true” category. The answer depends on which style of Chianti Classico you prefer. This walks all the halls, plies the trades and hits the marks of the CCR ancients. Comes from a remarkable vintage, holding on but in true advanced, oxidizing and fruit diminishing character. Mushrooms and truffles abound, as does game in the early roasting stage. A note of Brett is here too, not over the top but its presence can’t be denied. Acidity speaks, as does bitter chocolate. This is not for all but all should have a go.  Tasted November 2014

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Il Margone 2017

No change in ’17 “but of course we made less.” Only 15,000 will come of it and don’t expect to see this hit the market for at least two more years. Don’t expect to drink it for three to five beyond that. The concentration multiplied by the concentration multiplied by the barriques makes for an eight digit factor. Yes this is very different than the others and the acidity too but its a magnificent specimen. Massive tannic attack. Just massive. Wait for the elegance to emerge in 2030. Drink 2025-2038.  Tasted September 2019

Il Molino Di Grace Gratius 2017, IGT Toscana

Gratius expresses the vineyard in ways the Annata, Riserva and Gran Selezione appellative sangiovese do not. This 100 per cent sangiovese reeks of the vineyard; fennel. rosemary and gariga. From the part of the vineyard at the peak of the hill where San Francesco’s hulking sculpture towers and watches over the sangiovese. Grip, intensity, signs, wealth of fruit, knowledge and portents. So fine. Drink 2025-2038. Last tasted September 2019

Il Palagio Di Panzano Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Only sangiovese as is the plan for the entire estate. That Panzano perfume and glycerin though there is some more weight and bones than others. Reminds of the style that’s constant from Fontodi to be honest. These are some of Chianti Classico’s finest acids, sweet and refined, They compliment and support. Drink 2021-2027.  Tasted September 2019

Pomegranates of Panzano

Il Palagio Di Panzano Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015

Le Bambole is the place, the first selection of one piece of land, to have a Chianti Classico that expresses Il Palagio within the territory but more so within Panzano. Richer than some but balanced and sumptuous, big again but you wouldn’t really know it. Definite connection to Annata 2016 even if the vintage is different. And it needs time. No shocker there. Drink 2020-2027.  Tasted September 2019

Il Palagio Di Panzano Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2013

Particular, personal, vintage related, so Panzano. So consistent with the wines to come.  Last tasted September 2019

This services one of the more interesting aromatic entries thus far, not quite exotic but certainly different. It’s partly reduction, genesis and youth but also a certain soil plus some new barrel. Perhaps the most tannic wine tasted all day, this is way, way too young to gain any sense early of. The structural steel and petrified wood components are massive and untouchable, immovable and indestructible. There is great fruit lurking there and that soil, “under the soil, the soil, the soil, yes, deep in the soil.” So wait at least three years before supper’s ready.  Drink 2021-2029. Tasted February 2017

Le Cinciole Chianti Classico DOCG 2016 (207795, $19.95)

A floral, bright as a clear blue sky day sangiovese, 100 per cent as such and meaningful. There can be no better compliment that a Chianti Classico can pay then this. It tells you it is happy to see the warmth in your smile and the contentment in your face. That’s because it has charmed you and helped you through. It’s really that simple. Wonderful vintage and the best in modern times for Le Cinciole. Drink 2019-2024.  Tasted September 2019

The Conca d’Oro below the village of Panzano

Le Cinciole Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Aluigi 2014

A rich and luxurious ’14 from a vintage out of which austerity might be expected. Instead there is sapidity and structure, glycerin and silken textures. Really good work, surprising or not from Le Cinciole. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Le Fonti Di Panzano Chianti Classico DOCG 2016 ($31.95)

Officially still a tank sample but it is a finished wine, just awaiting DOCG approval. Very firm and juicy, replete with the classic Le Fonti aromatic profile, of salumi, fennel, herbs and salty savour. Fruit, acidity, structure all there in fineness and Panzano culpability. Needs a year to come together, at least, for sure. Essentially 90 per cent sangiovese give or take a point or two with merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Drink 2020-2027.  Tasted February and September 2019

The vineyards of Le Fonti

Le Fonti Di Panzano Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015 ($44.95)

Two years in the barrel (400 and 500L, one is Hungarian Kader), again approximately 90 per cent sangiovese and the new wood in ’15 was in the 20 per cent range. Here comes that Le Fonti aromatic profile again, as distinct as any sangiovese you will ever nose. Would like to think they could be picked out of a line-up anywhere. Savoury, salty, cured, elegant and pure pleasure available. The quietest 15 per cent alcohol anywhere and from the coolest part of Panzano, to the east. Drink 2021-2028. Tasted February and September 2019

The vineyard was hit hard by the frost and so only 24,000 bottles were produced, as opposed to the normal number at 55. There’s great freshness especially for ’17. That said the heat stress was not an issue because the right rootstock, the organics and the it factor gave away what was wanted and what was needed. Bright, effusive, even if 2017 offers just a bit less of the place than usual. It’s ultimately elegant and balanced. Drink 2019-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Renzo Marinai Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Of 90 per cent sangiovese with 10 per cent cabernet sauvignon. From 8.2 hectares in the Conca d’Oro. 35,000 bottles produced, maximum to 40 in the next few years. Organic since the beginning, in the 90s. Same beauty on display as noted back in February 2019.  Last tasted September 2019

One step closer to a deep, deep understanding is where Marinai has arrived with this welling, oozing and fully rendered Greve sangiovese. There’s some true depth and fullness to this fruit and this constitution, not to mention architecture. Certainly filled with warmth and spice for the lovers here. Drink 2020-2024.  Tasted February 2019

Renzo Marinai Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016

Once again the same 90 sangiovese with 10 per cent cabernet sauvignon mix, an extra six months in bottle with some barriques. More of the same, an extension from the Annata and with great consistency. Two peas in a pod. In Riserva the notation is a big wine, of big oak and with big plans that will take quite some time to unfold. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted September 2019

Tenuta Di Vignole Chianti Classico DOCG 2016 ($23.95)

Bought in 1970 and 11.5 hectares planted, jut over half of the estate. A warm, rich and heady sangioivese with 15 per cent merlot. Liquid chalky from French oak on the merlot and very textured. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Cecchini

Tenuta Di Vignole Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Campicaia 2015 ($44.95)

Sangiovese blended with cabernet sauvignon in a Cassis, resiny and sappy Riserva. Plenty of ripeness, richness and ambition. A modernity not always witnessed. Could be Napa cab and a good one at that. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Vallone Di Cecione Chianti Classico DOCG 2017

Sangiovese with 10 per cent canaiolo, eight months élevage. A slight wet wool note though just slight and blended delightfully into the glycerin fruit and high reaching acidity. Just what Annata from Panzano needs to express, light, bright and naturally curated. Drink 2019-2021.  Tasted September 2019

A completely new floral approach to Annata, of flowers and herbs specific to the place though not necessarily a stretch to imagine the aromas like Balinese or Vietnamese exoticism.  Last tasted September 2019

Vecchie Terre Di Montefili Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Talk about exotics. The aromatics are all perfume and spice; cinnamon, clove, liquorice, star anise and Szechuan pepper. It’s a veritable Pho broth in Greve in Chianti, sangiovese clothing. The barrel is an obvious influence but the fruit remains lightning quick and culpable for place. I find it a bit thin and lean for 2016 so it’s a bit of a disparate accumulation. Drink 2021-2025.  Tasted February 2019

Rock of Panzano

Vecchie Terre Di Montefili Chianti Classico Grand Selezione DOCG Vigna Vecchia 2015

A vineyard planted in 1982 and a matter of big barrel élevage. Lovely savoury and brushy perfume again, hyperbolized and extended to extenuating GS style. Lovely texture and mouthfeel. This is the way of connectivity to the land and the place. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Good to go!

godello

 

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WineAlign

Chianti Classico’s big Raddese

Radda Rocks

Modern discourse concerning the sangiovese of Chianti Classico submits to a motif of matters integral and essential in observing a common style found in the territory’s wines. While the variegate of soils in clay, limestone, schist and sandstone decomposed into the Galestro, Alberese, Macigno, Calcari, Colombino and Arenaria are the lifeblood, it is acidity that acts as the crux and the catalyst for elevating these particular sangiovese. Matters swell, flow and develop even deeper when communes, sub-zones and frazioni are taken into account. In the case of Radda there is an exacting set of acidities that come to the forefront of these wines. They are the big Raddese.

Related – Get Radda for Chianti Classico

Radda in Chianti

L’Associazione “Vignaioli di Radda”

L’associazione “Vignaioli di Radda” ha come scopo principale la diffusione della cultura vitivinicola di Radda in Chianti presentando strumenti, provvedimenti e politiche che sostengano la viticoltura, ed in particolare la produzione di vino di qualità. The association of vignoli, a group of producers with the mission to spread Radda wine culture by presenting tools, measures and policies that support viticulture, and in particular the production of quality wine.

Val delle Corti, Radda

Radda’s 24 produttori are a strong and unified unit. They are Allesandro Gallo (Castello di Albola), Alyson Morgan (Podere Capaccia), Andrea Samichelli (Cantina di Castelvecchi), Angela Fronti (Istine), Barbara Widmer (Brancaia), Bernardo Bianchi (Colle Bereto), Claudia Guercini (Terrabianca), Cristina Grilli (Podere Terreno), Daniele Ciampi (Castello di Monterinaldi), Diego Finnochi (L’Erta di Radda), Federica Mascheroni (Castello di Volpaia), Gabriele Rosi (Borgo Salcetino), Ilaria Anachini (Fattoria di Montemaggio), Martino Manetti (Montevertine), Michele Braganti (Monteraponi), Orsola Beccari (Vignavecchia), Oscar Geyer (Borgo la Stella), Paolo Cianferoni (Caparsa), Piero Lanza (Poggerino), Riccardo Lanza (Pruneto), Roberta Contrino (Podere L’ Aja), Roberto Bianchi (Val delle Corti), Stefano Peruzzi (Castello di Radda) and Valentina Stiaccini (Tenuta di Carleone).

Ladies and gentlemen may I introduce to you, Roberto Bianchi @valdellecorti

In the words of Roberto Bianchi. “Large and small we are all aware of being guardians of a very special spot of Tuscany. The differences of wine production within a territory is its greatest asset. As for the vintage, ’18 is complicated with a bit of greenish tannins. The heat and then rain, followed by two weeks of tropical humidity in late August. Higher elevations were a real plus, despite the factor of less concentration but those who hung longer and avoided mold and mildew made elegant wines.” Climate change has opened the door for this fringe commune to take centre stage.  Says Bianchi, “other communes have tremendous problems of overheating. We don’t have that problem in Radda.”

Nadia Fournier, Philippe Boisvert, Carl Villeneuve-Lepage and Krysta Oben at Casa Chianti Classico

In the words of Godello when last he waxed on about Radda. “Most likely you’ve arrived at this page because you know that the story of Radda in Chianti will make for a terrific read. If you’ve landed here and do not yet know the blood of Radda’s sangiovese or are not yet excited about the commune’s 2017 harvest then I urge you to press on. In Radda they are farming higher, further and edgier. Their time in the sun as the cool kid on the fringe of selvage sangiovese viticulture in Chianti Classico has begun. Like all wines subjected and connected to global climate change, in Chianti Classico the future of sangiovese will be inextricably tied to those from Radda. Until now it has been generally understood that above 550m (or so) of altitude it is more than difficult to ripen sangiovese in Chianti Classico. That too is changing and the 2017 vintage will offer great proof.”

Canadians at Val delle Corti, Radda in Chianti

In September 2019 a fourth visit to Casa Chianti Classico in the past three years could only yield a deeper understanding. The educational and promotional home of the Consorzio is housed in what was once the Franciscan Convento di Santa Maria al Prato in Radda in Chianti. It is here that the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico has set up its new education and events centre to promote the wines of the Gallo Nero. This time around 13 professional, intrepid and curious Canadian sommeliers and journalists attacked a comprehensive tasting of Radda’s sangiovese. John Szabo M.S., Nadia Fournier, Philippe Boisvert, Jean-Sébastien Massé, Carl Villeneuve-Lepage, Christina Hartigan, Robert Stelmachuk, J.P. Potters, Toni Weber, Krysta Oben, Faye MacLachlan, Adam Hijazi and Godello. A visit earlier in the day with association president Roberto Bianchi at his Val delle Corti property opened 26 eyes to Radda’s high, cool and fringe possibilities. Here are tasting notes on 30 such examples replete with the commune’s big Raddese acidity.

Chianti Classico Annata

Poggerino Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

You must walk these Radda vineyards to understand what’s in this glass. Regard the way the rows of vines change colour in September and give up a variability of timing. It is these stops along the way where winemaker Piero Lanza makes his picks then crushes, macerates and collectively ferments. It results in the most seamless, albeit high alcohol, glycerin and textured sangiovese. It is Chianti Classico made precisely the way it needs to be made from this very specific place. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted February and September 2019

Val Delle Corti Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

What has one year brought to Annata ’16? Not much to be honest. A roundness of Raddese acidity has come about. A result of slow and steady work in the vineyard that strays away from acidity that disturbs but instead allows for a doming effect, a cappello sommerso, a rounded cap with help from what was done inside the walls.  Last tasted September 2019

Just bottled and I mean just bottled, a sangiovese of bright red to purple fruit with a 30-40 per cent assistance by what Roberto Bianchi employs through fermentation called piemontazino, or macherazione carbonica a capello sommerso. Leaving 30-40 per cent of the fruit in stainless steel tank on skins for three to four months. Tames the Raddesse acidity for the Annata and makes it more than drinkable. In 2016 it’s crushable, back up the truck gulpable. Beauty in sangiovese “questa, è radda.” This, is Radda. Drink 2019-2023.  Tasted September 2018 and February 2019

Brancaia’a Barbara Widmer with Vancouver’s Christina Hartigan

Brancaia Chianti Classico DOCG 2017 (519173, $24.95)

Brancaia ’17 shows some breath of fresh restraint air out of a vintage not exactly simple to effect. There is some glycerin and also some warmth but there too is balance and joy. Solid ’17, the kind I’d like to meet. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Colle Bereto Chianti Classico DOCG 2017 ($31.95)

Bernardo Bianchi’s 2017 benefitted from the most stringent if mechanical sorting process to bring about a clean, transparent, effusive and spiced Annata. It’s modern and also refreshing, fully expressed and crunchy, as Radda should be. Not one for the ages but clearly high level in its class. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Volpaia Chianti Classico DOCG 2017 (953828, $28.95)

Pretty taut for Volpaia though truth be told this Radda sangiovese always requires some time. Fullness of fruit and equally supportive acidity meets the texture of altitude and the advantage of acumen. There are layers here that many ‘17s will just not have, exhibit or develop. A tour de vintage force really. Drink 2021-2028. Tasted February and September 2019

Borgo Salcetino Chianti Classico DOCG 2017

A young, tense and reductive Annata, not yet responsive, quiet and bashful. Plenty of fruit lurking and needing some air to open up. A touch of green tannin on the back end. Drink 2020-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Walking on Alberese with Angela Fronti in her @istine_raddainchianti and #cavarchione Gaiole in Chianti vineyards ~ #chianticlassico #vignaistine #vignacavarchione

Istine Chianti Classico DOCG 2017

Angela Fronti’s come together of twofold Radda plus Gaiole vineyard fruit is the future of crafting balanced and understandable Annata. In the world of changing climates you will need to balance elevations, acidities and ripenesses in order to keep Chianti Classico on point. Welcome to the microcosmic confluences of Istine, with fineness, fruit and spice. Some solid tension too. Drink 2020-2026.  Tasted September 2019

Caparsa Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Lovely glycerin and elastic sangiovese not without a generous component from barrel. A touch of greenish tannin from that wood but plenty of fruit to swallow it up, or at least will do so in time. Drink 2021-2026.  Tasted September 2019

Vignavecchia Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Tasted with Orsula Beccari in Radda in Chianti, from a just about ready barrel sample. The dusty rose and violet perfume, pretty and savoury of a particular Vignavecchi localitá nose. This is the Macigno and the Alberese speaking, of elegance woven through structure. Lovely purity. Drink 2020-2027.  Tasted September 2018 and September 2019

Castello Monterinaldi Chianti Classico DOCG Dall’Anno Mille 2016 (383604, $19.95)

A huge leap in quality for the Radda producer, clearly a sign of work put in the vineyard and steps towards making the right, correct and delicious local sangiovese. A really textural wine and of really fine acidity. Molta buona. Drink 2019-2023.  Tasted September 2019

Castello di Albola Chianti Classico DOCG 2016 (339937, $19.95)

Albola’s are some of the highest of any vineyard not only in Radda but in Chianti Classico, ranging from 350-680m of elevation. The average age of the vines is around 20 years, and since 1999, 10 hectares have been replanted per year. The Acciaiuoli family of Florence built the Castle in the 15th century and commissioned the estate to plant in the 15th century as a symbol of their high status. The estate was acquired in 1979 by the Zonin family. The Annata is aged in 3,400-liter Slavonian grandi botti for a year, followed by three months in bottle. In a changing climate the ripeness of this sangiovese and with help from an ideal vintage means the highest level of glycerin red fruit, sweet savour and silky tannins. Top shelf stuff in 2016. Drink 2020-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Podere Capaccia Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Sweet fruit, simple, red and ripe, all red berries, nothing flashy or fashionable. Straightforward and a touch into the syrup. Drink 2019.  Tasted September 2019

Podere Terreno Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

Terreno’s lights are flashing with sangiovese of bright fruit and ultra high tones. That said there is a macerated and extracted depth to this, with layered acidity and grippy tannins. It’s very youthful and not showing its best, at least not yet. Might allow the shell to be cracked in a year or more likely two. Drink 2021-2027. Tasted February and September 2019

Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG

Val Delle Corti Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016

Riserva follows the ’16 Val delle Corti line, a selection from the original 45 year-old vines and young beyond estate compare. A visceral, glycerin-collective, more perfume inclusive of what grows and yet the attack of acidity is ulterior, of another motive all together, relatively speaking as compared to the Annata. This is Riserva of truth and potential, to live longer than those wishing and crying out for immediate rich attention. This does not beg for anything. You should let it lie, allow it to breath and drink it in. Later. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted September 2019

Val Delle Corti Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015

Much, much hotter than ’16 and now with two more years of bottle age, which is so necessary. There is an emergence of floral spice, a tickling, salty that gets in the sense of smell and wakes you up. Enlivening vintage of sangiovese Riserva from Bianchi. Also comforting so it does both for you, with great generosity.  Last tasted September 2019

The 45 year old vines are responsible for this single cru, 100 per cent sangiovese that while older is yet bolder than the barrel sample tasted of 2016. Here you feel the hottest weeks of the summer, less elasticity, fluidity and fluency than that 2016. And yet it is so intuitively elastic, fluid and fluent in mineral rich, marly limestone soil. Here from the Corti Valley on the east facing slope above the river below. Richness, weight and red fruit so specific to this place meets the Radda acidity head on but can’t help but be submissive and respectful. Pure expression of estate, valley and commune. Truly. Drink 2020-2029.  Tasted September 2018 and February 2019

Caparsa Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Caparsino 2016

From Paolo Cianferoni on a 12ha Radda estate at 450m. A citrus note lines the aromatic front, almost white grapefruit but also bleeding red, of pomegranate and red currant. Lovely mid palate, pure and purely ’16, with purest Radda acidity and chaste laser focus. Great attention to detail in the vineyard is more than apparent, translating with utmost unalloyed and unsullied clarity straight down through the glass. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted September 2019

Brancaia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016 (260802, $36.95)

Perhaps the richest Brancaia Riserva to date while keeping the supporting parts bin balance, movement and support right alongside. Namely acidity, Radda acidity to be sure and the most proper and correct actions to boot. Does everything it should, it needs and what you wish for from the house and the place. Will be long-lived and accept plenty of secondary notation; balsamic, iodine, tartufo and porcini. Can’t wait. Drink 2020-2027.  Tasted September 2019

Castello Di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016 (705335, $40.00)

A perfectly brilliant Riserva from Radda’s Volpaia in ’16, not exactly shocking but nothing taken for granted. Texture is the greatest portent and harbinger for time, age worthiness and slow melt. The linger of collective parts all in synch also bodes to the future, well, good and timeless. Timely wine right here, tidy and generous. Would only be normal to imagine what the Gran Selezione Il Puro will do but then again curiosity plus knowledge leads to great anticipation. For now the present moment concentration allows the foreshadowing to speak of a 15 year run in excellence for this top echelon Riserva. Drink 2021-2030.  Tasted September 2019

Podere l’Aja Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016

A linear sangiovese in the finest sense of fruit crashing through acidity, each taking on a component of the other. Bright, lifted and effusive there is red and more red, low in savour and high in energy. Should find some good distance from this Raddese. Drink 2020-2030.  Tasted September 2019

Castello Di Albola Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2016 (315150, $23.95)

Great strides, long strides, strides in the shadows of Radda at the end of harvest. The eloquence is understated and the fullness of fruit quite impressive, though not without the work of the Radda acidity. Just a touch of tonic late indicates that mid-term aging is the product of a correct imagination. Drink 2020-2025.  Tasted September 2019

Castello Di Monterinaldi Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Dall’anno Mille 2016

Lovely vintage in Riserva form for Daniele Ciampi, of fruit sweetly developed, ripe and effusive. Full extract, tang and force all combine to grip the palate and keep it all swimming upstream. Drink 2020-2024.  Tasted September 2019

Istine Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Levigne 2015

The amazing confluence of Gaiole and Radda come about as a variegation of all possible soils and climates. It’s a lovely generational wine that bridges worlds, places and people. Fine structure makes the fruit seem plentiful, as it obviously is and allows the wine to stretch, whisper and then speak within control, but especially with emotion. Buona. Better than before. Drink 2020-2029.  Tasted September 2019

Colle Bereto Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015

No disrespect intended and in fact a great compliment is paid to winemaker Bernardo Bianchi for his ability to craft exceptional Chianti Classico in the most difficult of vintages. That his 2013 and 2014 Riservas were two of the better efforts for Radda’s terroir and the great curving amphitheatre of Colle Bereto vineyards is a testament to the ethic and the ethos. This 2015 is clearly a polished and generous sangiovese from a vintage that was almost too easy for a man of Bianchi’s modesty and talents. The wood only adds to the smooth textures and plentiful flavours and it is these barrel notes that here are more obvious if respectful in their obvious interference. Once again highest quality tannin works with the sangiovese and the specific Radda acidity. Drink this earlier than the others. Drink 2020-2027.  Tasted September 2019

Podere Capaccia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2015

Unique aromatics, part violet floral and part carbonic. Very fresh especially for Riserva, full of candied notes over stones, rocks and savour. Not overly extracted or pushed in any way, just comfortable and of a simple, lively and fun acidity. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Poggerino Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Bugialla 2016 ($45.00)

Some Chianti Classico just are; exact representations and looks of knowing, mirrored or not, of who they are. But even more so, where they are from. On the bigger and brighter side in balance of Radda, of a specific vineyard site and within clear, knowable and transparent sight. So proper and distinguished, if schooled by essential knowledge and possibility.  Last tasted September 2019

Piero Lanza’s selection is so smart, protracted and tidy within the framework of what a Poggerino Riserva just happens to be. It’s almost as you find yourself scanning the vineyards and your mind’s eye settles on a few perfect plants. You taste the berries from those vines and imagine them bound together in wine. This is the sangiovese mimic of those isolated points of a very special vineyard and also a perfectly constructed stone house in Gaiole, variegated, tightly intertwined and just beautiful to behold. Perfectly streamlined, built to last a few hundred years, but I would suggest to drink it 280 years before that. Drink 2022-2032.  Tasted February 2019

Pruneto Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2011

Savoury, liquid dusk and dusty, from a grippy vintage and showing some age. Bretty and gritty, noticeable volatility and some angst. Drink 2019.  Tasted September 2019

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Castello Di Radda Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2015

Deep toned and lifted together, fruit of many layered splendour and full throttle acidity. Big and bigger components working separately at present. Give this five years for the weight of the early ferment to aerate, re-coagulate and tie il all together. Drink 2021-2028.  Tasted September 2019

Borgo Salcetino Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG I Salci 2015

Glycerin fruit, full ripeness on the palate and a touch of verdancy in the phenols. Rich and unctuous, perfectly heady and bountiful sangiovese for the shorter splurge and be content term. Drink 2019-2022.  Tasted September 2019

Vignavecchia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Odoardo Beccari 2015

There really is nothing else in Radda that emits the aromas of a Vignavecchia sangiovese. Like sweet fennocchio but a slow-cooked, rendered and caramelized one. Also contrario of an unwashed rind sheep’s milk cheese. There’s an acidity of effusion and then a verdant note, a legume, like lentils cooked down. Plenty of gastronomy here while missing a step of structure so abundant in the ’14. Drink 2020-2026.  Tasted September 2019

Castelvecchi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG “Madonnino Della Pieve” 2012

Big-boned, roasted osetta of a sangiovese with compounded and hyperbolized mountain savour. There is so much brushy green botanical presence here, prescient and possessive of great staying power. Needs time. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted September 2019

Good to go!

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Radda Rocks

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