Visiting passionate winemakers in Friuli and Tuscany

I am just back from a few days of visit to wine producers that have been among the most interesting and rewarding since I started to show an interest in the world of wine and on which I will report in a comprehensive way in a few weeks.

I have spent my "wine holidays" mostly in Friuli not only because I believe that it is a particularly well suited area for the vine in Italy, but also because I strongly believe in the great human and professional qualities of the people of that region which is duly reflected in a good number of peculiar wine producers who are among the most inspired, rigourous and "pure" that the wine world can offer.

It is difficult to transcribe how I felt the "purity" of these artisan winemakers. Some of the words that I heard most often these days have been "natural" and "simple". These were the most common words these men and women used to describe the wine process they applied from the vineyard through the vinification process to the bottle.

"Natural" meant first of all a process where the nature and its bio-diversity are respected and where the man tries simply (easier to say than to implement...) to let the nature doing its course.

Pronounced by winemakers like (following the strict chronological order of my visits) Nicola Manferrari (Borgo del Tiglio), Enzo Pontoni (Pontoni), Michele Moschioni, Serena Palazzolo (Ronco del Gnemiz) and, not from Friuli but Tuscany, Gianfranco Soldera from Case Basse, these words have a real meaning and their wines are the proof (in many different ways, like the detailed reports of the visits will show) that all these winemakers have been pursuing a personal objective of quality without compromising to the commercial taste.

I come back from these visits with more humility, knowledge and curiosity and especially with a strong commitment to support these winemarkers and build upon the ideas, comments, suggestions that I heard all along these days to continue my research in a wine world that need people like them.

Notes from Vinexpo 2009

Vinexpo 2009, the important bi-annual rendez-vous for world wine in Bordeaux, is over.

As many have noted, it has been most likely (and many hope) an year of transition. The economic crisis was clearly visible both among the stands of the producers (many, important, absences) and in the public (some mentioned 10% less compared to 2 years ago). The budgetary restrictions have reduced the room for manoeuvre and, while there are some signs of recovery at world level, this will only start to appear towards the end of 2009 and it was then almost inevitable for Vinexpo to suffer from the bad economic moment. The absence of the American market was also visible, and many in Bordeaux are suffering due to the key reference of this market for the bordelais.

I noted in particular that all those producers, mostly small producers who were organised with consortium or other local organisations, who did not prepare well in advance the fair with previous contacts and rendez-vous suffered enormously from the diminution of customers (importeres, distributors etc.). I noted this not only for foreign, for example Italian or Spanish producers, but also for French wineries. A fair like Vinexpo needs to be well prepared in advance, either by the organisations (consortium..) or by the the producers themselves. The power of attraction of the fair, notably when fewer visitors are there, is not enough to make substantial business.

A last note with regard to a missed opportunity for the Italian wine: the parallel event "Italissima" which was organised outside Vinexpo (on the other side of the lake, besides the Palais des Congres). The event had all the cards to play a key role: a palette of important Italian producers, a list of intersting tastings guided by Michel Bettane and Enzo Vizzari and the enthusiasm of the producers present there. Unfortunately, the event suffered strongly from the conflict engaged with Vinexpo, which not only refused all kind of advertising (understandable but from my view not clever, since these events are also useful for the main fair), but put many obstacles (blocking bottles, sending controls for authorisations...). It is a pity, first of all for all those producers who suffered for this, that this occasion has been partly lost (to be noted that most guided tastings were sold out). And even more because I tasted great wines from those producers that I had the oportunity to visit: Roberto Voerzio and his great Barolo's and Barbera Annunziata; Borgo del Tiglio and his complex and rich white wines; San Leonardo and the balance of his bordelais wine; Vajra and his traditional barolos ; Albino Rocca with the balsamic barbaresco; Ca' del Bosco and the class of Franciacorta.

I tasted many other good wines at Vinexpo, but I just want to mention a few of them. First of all a tasting of the production of Kracher, the Austrian winery of the late Alois. I enjoyed greatly the tasting which confirmed the general high level of the whole collection, with a preference for the Grande Cuvee Nouvelle Vague number 6, a fantastic rich and balanced Trockenbeerenauslese. The tasting with the maison Chapoutier has also been very enjoyable, notably for the magnificent quality of all their Cote-Rotie La Mordorée and Hermitage Le Meal and Sizeranne. I also enjoyed a pleasant tasting with the Italian producer Gaja, covering both the Tuscan appendix (Pieve Santa Restituta at Montalcino and Ca'Marcanda at Bolgheri) and of course the main winery at Barbaresco. I only spent a small visit to the Champagne, where I appreciated the wines of Philipponnat, starting with a good Dosage Zero and finishing with the elegant and perfumed "Clos de Goisses". A last word on some burgundies that I enjoyed during the fair, notably the Chablis Le Clos 2007 of the Maison Faiveley, the Pouilly-Fuissé "Vers Cras" 2006 of the Chateau de Beauregard and the Vosne Romanee 2002 of Kerlann.

Well, possibly a note regarding a guided tasting where some Italian "bordelais" wines met the real bordelais. There was a clear loser, a Sassicaia 1998 that well defines the not great moment that this winery has been living recently. Concerning the winners, I was happy to see that San Leonardo 2001 (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Merlot) was standing well and "different" in front of wines like Chateau Pape Clement 2001, Chateau Trotanoy 2000 (the perfection of a Pomerol, balanced and so round that I was missing some angles) and Mouton Rothschild 2005.

Casanova di Neri tasting - an overview of the winery

Giacomo Neri is the man of all success of the recent years in Montalcino.

He has been able, though investments, a modernisation of his winery and the adoption of more "international" approach to winemaking (notably the use of small barriques) with the key contribution of enologist Carlo Ferrini (who is also advising Castello di Brolio) to achieve the highest recognition, notably in the American market where Wine Spectator has elected his Brunello Tenuta Nuova 2001 (see picture where Giacomo Neri shows a magnum of this wine) best wine of the year in 2006 and has given 100 points to his Brunello Cerretalto 2001, thus recognising at the same time the extraordinary success of the 2001 vintage in Tuscany.

This has then prompted to the general attention a winery that was created by the father of Giacomo, Giovanni, in 1971 (first production of brunello in 1978) and that expanded over the years to the current 36 hectares of vineyards in various parts of the territory of Montalcino from the original location (and still current winery location) at the East of Montalcino (down the road Montalcino-San Quirico d'Orcia). Other vineyards can be found in Castelnuovo dell'Abate (Pietradonice), South-East of Montalcino (Cerretalto) and at Sant'Angelo in Colle (Cetine).

The tasting last week offered the opportunity to try both the two 2001 Brunello's that were getting so much attention and also the other key wines of Casanova di neri in the recent successful vintages of 2001 and 1999.

Apart from the basic brunello which is still aged in the traditional large Slavonian oak barrels, the other major wines of the winery, the two Brunello cru's Tenuta Nuova and Cerretalto, and the supertuscan "Pietradonice" are aged in small French barriques.

You will find detailed tasting notes by François, who was participating to the tasting, in the blog of the Grand Jury Européen, while I will give some general impressions on the wines.

In general, apart from the first two wines, that are still following a traditional winemaking process for Brunello (I found the 1999 more "rustic" but pleasant, while the 2001 is more balanced and round), the wines of Casanova di Neri follow a modern approach, with strong extraction, density, dark color and power, while at the same time presenting a well integrated tannic structure. The Tenuta Nuova cru, in particular the 2001, appears to be more powerful and riped, with the use of barriques being more evident. The Pietradonice 2003 that we tasted (supertuscan 90% Cabernet sauvignon, 10% sangiovese), reflected strongly the torrid climate of the year 2003 in Tuscany, with astringency and an unpleasant bitterness, despite the solid structure.

The Cerretalto cru clearly emerges, with more personality and finesse, mineral and balsamic notes with a strong spicey nose (I remember tasting a very good 1997 some years ago), but it seems to me very far from the level of complexity that I expect from a "perfect" wine (if any, objectively speaking). In addition, while I recognise that it is a classy wine on its own, it lacks the more polyedric and angular elements that chacterise Brunello, for example in its more traditional expressions like Biondi Santi, Poggio di Sotto, Cerbaiola or Case Basse.

Miani Tocai - Another face of Friuli

I have been waiting for two months to receive a bunch of wines that included a large number of Miani (Tocai, Chardonnay and Merlot) and yesterday, just after the arrival, I immediately opened a bottle of Tocai 1999.

Enzo Pontoni, the owner of Miani winery, is a peculiar producer from Friuli, a land famous for its white wines produced close to the Slovenian border (Collio e Colli Orientali) and increasingly also recognised for the production of red wines from Merlot (here acquiring a strong terroir expression with tangy taste with marasca cherry) and indigenuos grapes such as pignolo, schioppettino and refosco.

Miani is located in the area of Colli Orientali and produces tocai, sauvignon, chardonnay, ribolla gialla, merlot and the Calvari (a refosco from a small vineyard of 0,9 hectares that is his cult wine).

But Enzo Pontoni is largely considered to be a "cult" producer, a man with such an extreme attention and care in the vineyard that the yealds in his lands has been reduced to the limits. The man himself is considered a very reserved person, who is entertaining a very respectful relation with the terroir and his environment.

Since I have not met Enzo Pontoni (but I hope very much that I will enjoy this priviledge in the future), I prefer to tell you my sensations of the Tocai 1999 that I open after leaving it for a few hours to cool down.

First the impressions in the glass, a strong yellow and an onctuosity that leaves large tears in the glass. I literally dig my nose into the glass and try to find the aromas of the wine but it is not an easy wine, one of those that explodes his fruity/floral aromas once opened. It is a wine that needs time and curiosity, it opens step by step, and at a first glance provides only a reserved mineral flavour.

It is a wine that does not need and most likely, like its mentor, does not like an easy drinker, who is going to abandon it after the first disappointment.

But you only need to wait, and I know that wine lovers have this patience, and then it reveals growing aromas that, while keeping a strong minerality, develop a creamy taste of nuts, almond and strong, very strong and crispy white flowers. This takes some time, and I have not yet pour ed the wine. It is a 10 years old Tocai, but like a good old white Burgundy to which I can easily compare the sensations, it gives the impression to be there to stay and live for decades.

In the mouth the attack is strng, the acidity keeps the wine well together and guarantees its longevity and the sensations of power, great structure and finesse, an extreme elegance that accompanies the wine during the long time that it remains in my mouth.

It takes time before I plunge into the wine again, the structure and body of this wine does not allow to drink it like I would do for a lighter wine. I imagine this wine with an important fish, or also with a fantastic ham from San Daniele de Friuli, which has a stronger taste than the Parma ham.

I am curious to open the other bottles that I have bought, not tonight, but soon. And to visit Mr. Pontoni, whenever it will be possible.

What a stunning Greek wine: Ghi ke Uranos

Yesterday I organised a blind surprise tasting that my wife arranged for Laurine, a friend who is getting married as part of her all-day hen party. Eight friends (rigourously all women, since it was a hen party) attended the tasting, where I chose wines from some of the countries that Laurine likes the most.

I selected myself all wines, except for a Greek red wine that was gently offered by a Greek-Belgian friend who was at the tasting.

I have to admit that my knowledge of Greek wines is very limited. Despite being the place where the culture of wine developed in the ancient times, Greece has not built a strong reputation for wine in the last decades, and is known outside its borders mostly for white wine and of course for its retsina.

I then had to search for information regarding this wine in order to prepare the presentation. I started to look in the net and first I found some info on the grape, Xinomavro, considered one of the best indigenous red grape of Greece, with good acidity, tannic character and aging potential and cultivated mostly in the north of Greece.

During my research on the producer, Apostolos Thimiopoulos, I found a reference in an interesting wine blog in english on Greek wines, Elloinos. In a post the German blogger , Markus Stolz, described a dinner he had with Apostolis Thimiopoulos and my attention focused on a detail: the two of them opened during the dinner a bottle of Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto 1999. Since Bruno Giacosa is one of the best (and highly traditional) producers in Piemonte and his wines are not easily available (and quite expensive), I was surprised and of course very intrigued to discover more about this wine, his producer and also this side of Greece that for me is still unknown.

Well, and here I quote the blog Elloinos which is a very precious source of info on interesting greek wines, Apostolos Thimiopoulos is a very committed producer, who strongly believes on the potential of Xinomavro grape and the strong terroir of the area of Naoussa in the north of Greece for this grape. He has been producing only this wine, Ghi Ke Uranos (meaning "Earth and sky") starting in 2004 and during the recent years he has been very successful, notably with export to the US.

My expectations were then growing and I decided to put this wine (a 2006 vintage) towards the end of the tasting. After pouring the wine, I felt a sense of purity in the aroma, a bunch of dried flowers together with pure black fruits. An overall sense of elegance and complexity from the beginning. And then in the mouth there was an immediate match with the first sensations: complexity, structure, acidity and a very good lenght. The sensation of a real terroir wine, expression of a strong attention in the vineyard. A complex wine with a good potential for aging well.

I will be looking to find some bottles, even if the limited production and availability in Belgium will make it difficult. Most likely I will have to use my Greek network. And I start to think about paying a visit to the region to explore the world of Xinomavro grape.

Italian Pinot Noir tasting: some differences in style, a good overall quality

On April 30th the tour of Italy tasting was focusing on the world of Italian Pinot noir.

While the USA have started to build a reputation for pinot noir during the last twenty years (California - Russian River and Carneros for example - Oregon and Washington) and then virtually everybody interested in wine knows about these wines, the pinot noir of Italy has experienced a great difficulty in crossing the frontiers, despite having built a solid experience of more than a century of cultivation of the grape in Alto Adige (Alps, north of Italy).

It is true that it may be easier to compete with the most revered indigenuous grape of France from several thousand kilometers (like US or New Zealand) than from a few hundreds, but while the reference for pinot noir still remains the Burgundy of the Côte d'Or (and of course the Champagne, the largest producer of pinot noir grape), Italy is producing several pinot noir that profit from a very appropriate climate and soil in the valley of the Adige river. In addition, in Italy pinot noir is largely cultivated in Franciacorta (province of Brescia, west of Lago di garda), producing traditional wines on the basis of the "methode champenoise". But the tasting was focusing on red vinification and not on franciacorta, and then the reference was clearly the Alto Adige area.

The tasting confirmed the good quality of the pinot noir produced in Alto Adige with some excellence, notably the Barthenau Vigna s. Urbano 1997 of Hofstatter, a wine that has been appreciated by the whole panel and combines power and elegance with a perfect evolution. I have read with pleasure the impressions of Franco Ziliani on this wine in 2001 and I am impressed to see how the wine has maintained after eight years most of the elements reported there (notably sweet tannins, great structure, impressive lenght and elegance).

Another wine that has performed very well at the tasting was the Pinot Noir Sanct Valentin 1999 of San Michele Appiano. An impressive nose for this 10 years old pinot noir with still small red fruits and pleasant tertiary aromas of earth, mushroom and cedar sustained by a perfect acidity, balanced structure and good lenght.

The Pinero 2000 of Ca' del Bosco is a difficult wine to judge. In this case, some of typical elements of Pinot Noir, both with regard to the colour, aromas and taste cannot easily be found and the style appears much more extracted compared to the other wines of the fight. The colour is dense and deep, the nose is extremely spicey and penetrating, with some sweet elements of chocolate and moka. The mouth appears rather tannic, with some bitter notes and good lenght. Overall a very atypical pinot noir far from the tradition that, while not corresponding to my style of pinot noir, exhibits a strong personality.

Pinot Nero Muri gries Riserva 2005 was an appealing wine, not particularly complex but with a good aroma of red fruits and cinnamon. The taste shows a strong start with well integrated tannins and good lenght.

The Pinot Nero from Tiefenbrunner, a Lincticlarus 1997, was showing sweet red fruits at the nose, with some evolution. On the palate, the wine was not showing strong tertiary aromas but a rather sweet taste, with a not very long finish that was most likely a sign of a rather evolved wine, because the same wine tasted better in past experiences.

The first wine of the tasting was a Pinot nero 2002 from Pojer e Sandri, a producer from a lightly southern area of the Adige valley. This pinot nero had "musty" scents (I would use the term "vinoso" in Italian) with some red fruits. On the palate there is a good freshness with no great complexity (note that this wine is not a "riserva" like the other wines tasted).

I left at the end the "outsider" of the tasting, which was tasted blind like the other last four wines of the tasting. I was rather curious to see the reactions of the participants to a pinot noir that exhibits a very original personality (reflecting well the character of his producer) and a wine that I like particularly. However, today, the Burlemberg 2002 of Marcel Deiss (Alsace) was not performing very well (I had a perfect bottle one month ago and was very impressive), despite having been opened and decanted for 2-3 hours. The barnyard, animal nose that characterises this wine appeared here rather unbalanced and did not find a proper place subsequently. On the palate the wine appeared to be unstable, not very pleasant. A possibly off bottle for a wine that, while clearly not making usually the uninanimity, represents a great interpretation of pinot noir in Alsace.

Vinitaly 2009: wine notes (1)

Vinitaly, for those who never heard about it, is the biggest wine fair of Italy (and most likely one of the biggest of the world), an impressive circus that I have been regularly visiting for many years with a spirit sometimes similar to those of the children going to an enormous free playground.

It is, in fact, a much more serious business-oriented event where more than 4000 exhibitors renew their business contracts, present their wines and (for some of them) enjoy discussing about their wines and the passion for producing them.

This year Vinitaly seems to have reached new records, with more than 150.000 visitors (and not all of them wine connoisseurs...I avoid the fair on sunday due to the rough assault of the crowd to the stands) and the atmosphere did not give the impression of being in the middle of an economic crisis.

During my 3-day visit to the fair I moved across the Italian regions and, while I did not even achieve one third of my objectives (every year the same frustration, but also the joy of spending more time discussing longly with great people and tasting some excellent wines), I was still able to have a good overview at the Brunello di Montalcino 2004/Rosso 2007, visiting a good bunch of excellent producers from Friuli, spending some time in Alto Adige, moving across Tuscany, stopping at Zaccagnini a few days before the earthquake hit Abruzzo (and the wine delegation leaves Verona) and finally having a wonderful time tasting all of the wines of Roagna.

The following are the notes taken during these days and put together a couple of weeks after the fair. I have my notes in three parts, the first is focusing on the wines of the North of Italy:

I Clivi. (Friuli) I visited i Clivi on the morning of friday, at my arrival at the fair. I have actually been looking to taste the wines of Ferdinando Zanusso for some time after reading some reports of friends and bloggers. I discovered there that Ferdinando, in addition to being a very friendly and serious producer, has behind him some important experiences, notably as responsible for the World Food Programme in Mogadiscio, a place not suited for the faint of hearth. I Clivi produces two "Friulano" (ex Tocai): Brazan, with grapes of an old vineyard from Cormons and Galea, equally an old vineyard but from the area of Corno di Rosazzo.

I tasted the Brazan 2005 and Galea 2005, both showing a good nose, not explosive but elegant followed by a nice freshness on the palate and medium lenght. Ferdinando let me then try the Galea 1999 and I could appreciate the good evolution of his wines: the 1999 was showing a richer nose, while on the palate there was a higher complexity and structure with very good lenght.

I was also impressed by the quality of the Malvasia 2005, with strong and crispy aromas while showing a good body, with balsamic scents and nice lenght. Next time I will try also their Merlot that was not available at the stand.

Vosca. (Friuli) Francesco Vosca is, like many of the area, is a family run winery, which is producing most of the wines under the D.O.C. Collio and Isonzo and is located in Cormons. His wines are in general rather light in structure but pleasant to drink. I have tasted both the Friulano 2007 and 2008 and I preferred the latter,which, while maintaning a nose of citrus (agrumato) and mango, shows more lenght and body. The same happened with regard to the Malvasia, where I preferred strongly the 2008, showing a pleasant elegance and good acidity. I did not appreciate particularly the Sauvignon 2007 and 2008 that I found a bit unbalanced and green.

Colle Duga. (Friuli) The winery, which is conducted by Damian Princic, is located at Cormons along the Slovenian border. I appreciated particularly: Collio Bianco 2008 (a blend of Friulano, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Malvasia which spends a short time in barriques), which opens with elegant exotic fruits (papaya) and has good structure and lenght; Sauvignon 2008, with a good nose of kiwi and explosive in the mouth and good lenght; Merlot 2007, showing a typical earthy nose of marasca cherry with good balanced and lenght. A bit disappointing the Friulano 2008, not particularly expressive and rather short.

Franco Toros. (Friuli) I have been drinking so many times the wines of Franco Toros (including at Vinitaly), one of the best producers of Cormons, that I was rather surprised to find on this occasion that they were not at all ready for being tasted here. It is true, we all know that some of the wines coming to Vinitaly for the tastings are "forced" into the bottle a few days before the fair and this particularly true for the white wines of the harvest preceding the fair (in this case 2008), but this was particularly true for the wines of Franco Toros this year. While I could clearly recognised on the nose the perfumes and aromas that I like so much on his Pinot bianco (one of the best of Italy!), Friulano, Sauvignon and Pinot grigio, I had great difficulties in judging wines that were clearly unbalanced and with an acidic taste due to the recent bottling. I can only note that the Pinot bianco, on the nose, was showing very well with aromas of dried fruits, elegance and good crispness. The Merlot 2004 did not impress me much, not very expressive on the nose and on the palate lacking personality even if very well balanced.

Gigante. (Friuli) The vineyards of Adriano Gigante have an extension of 12 hectares in the area of Corn di Rosazzo (Colli Orientali). I have tasted three Friulano and I have found the 2007 rather "light" and not very expressive, while the 2008, more structured and expressive (notably a nice citrus nose) and in particular the "Storico", showing a very good nose, sligthly "fume".

Le Due Terre. (Friuli) I have to make a mea culpa for having spent so much time to taste the wines of Le Due Terre but I have to admit that I have been lucky to have enjoyed my first time with her. Le Due Terre is a tiny producer (only hectares around the main property) that follows natural winemaking approach which enable them to produce four excellent wines while maintaining very moderate prices.

Their Sacrisassi bianco 2006 (a blend of Friulano "Tocai" and Ribolla Gialla) offers a rich and unctuous nose followed by a strong attach and great lenght and presence. It enjoys 10 days of maceration on the skins and 20 months in used barriques (450 lt). The Pinot nero 2006 is very elegant (with no barnyard notes) with an alcoholic nose ("vinoso"). It is very pleasant on the palate with soft tannins and good lenght. The Merlot 2006 is powerful and slightly tannic, while showing a cherry aromas with the minerality that characterizes typical of the merlot from Friuli. Finally, the Sacrisassi rosso 2006 is the top of their production, very elegant but powerful aromas combined with great structure on the palate and impressive lenght. This is a wine with good aging potential.

Sutor. (Slovenia) What I like about Vinitaly is that when sitting at a stand that is shared among several producers it is often possible to make great discoveries. This is what happened with Sutori, a Slovenian producer that is creating a set of impressive wines. In particular I appreciated the Burja 2007, a blend of Ribolla, Malvasia and riesling where it is possible to identify each varietal aspect, from the aromatic elements of the Malvasia to the freshness of Ribolla and the the typical mineral and hydrocarbons nose of the Riesling. I also tasted the Sauvignon 2006, with good aromatic nose and acidity and the Pinot Nero 2007, the less impressive of the whole set, with a light bitterness.

Primosic. (Friuli) Primosic has been acquiring a certain renown for the great efforts he spent to promote the Ribolla beyond the Friuli. Most recently, he promoted with Porsche a literature prize across Italy. For a Ribolla sympathizer as I am, this effort is extremely welcomed. I like the freshness, lightness and the expression of the poor soil that one can really feel in a glass of ribolla. I tasted both the Ribolla 2008, a good expression of Ribolla, with a clean and fresh nose and good lenght and the Ribolla Riserva 2006, where one feels a slight boise/fume aspect (8 months spent in wood) that I do not associate with the ribolla character. The Klin 2006, a blend of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla and Picolit shows an expressive and elegant nose of pear and peach. The wine in the mouth is powerful and very long.

Villa Russiz. (Friuli) The performance of the wines of Villa Russiz has been more disappointg than usual. The Friulano 2008 was the best of the three wines that I tasted, showing white flowers but a rather nervous nose, while in the mouth there is a good balance. The Sauvignon 2008 and the Merlot 2007 (the "Sauvignon de la Tour" were not present) were not particularly expressive and in the mouth they were both characterised by a very light structure.

Rottensteiner. (Alto Adige) The Lagrein Riserva 2006 (which is in fact the basic lagrein) is a pleasant but rather simple wine, while the Lagrein Griser Select 2006 is a perfect example of Lagrein at its best, with deep nose of marasca cherry, and a very good taste slightly sweet and juicy with a good body and lenght. The Gewurtztraminer passito 2007 has a good nose of almond, figues and a good balanced sweetness even if not particularly powerful.

Terlano. (Alto Adige) While at the beginning I was planning to try only a bunch of wines (including the Lagrein Porphyr) here, after the as often super quality of the first wines I could not stop. Starting from the Terlaner 2008, a wonderful blend of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and sauvignon, nose exceptionally perfumed and complex and such a freshness, power and lenght in the mouth. Every year I am amazed by the quality of this wine. The good series continue with two more white wines: the Sauvignon Quarz 2008, elegant wine with very good aromas, the Gewurztraminer Lunare 2008, a perfectly balanced wine. And then I tried the Lagrein riserva Gries 2006, showing a good nose of marasca cherry with a good balance and progression in the mouth and the Lagrein Porphyr 2006, a monster of Lagrein, with an impressive, deep nose of riped marasca cherry, while in the mouth the great elegance was perfectly paired by an impressive lenght.

Cantina di Bolzano. (Alto Adige) I quickly tasted the Lagrein taber 2007, with a good nose of black fruits and wild cherry nose. However, the wine was rather short and light in the mouth.

Andriano. (Alto Adige) The Lagrein Tor di Lupo 2006 has a good nose of marasca cherry but does not impress particularly in the mouth and is not very complex.

Les Cretes (Val d'Aosta). Les Cretes is an important reality of the Val D'Aosta and a founder of the Federazione Italiani dei Vignaioli Indipendent (FIVI). The Petite Arvine 2008 has a good floral nose while in the mouth the wine is tangy and with good acidity. The Chardonnay 2008 is very fresh and crispy with a good complexity and lenght. The Cuvee Bois 2006, the most famous wine of Les Cretes, is very impressive, showing structure and lenght well sustained by a perfect acidity. The red wines are not at the level of the white: Pinot Nero 2007, with a good nose of barnyard and small fruits, but a certain bitterness in the mouth; Fumin 2007, with good intense aroma of red fruits but a rather light structure; Torrette 2007, a pleasant wine with good fruit aromas and light structure.

What is the real cost of Petrus? The Revue du Vin de France analyses the cost of wine production...and an Italian producer accepts the challenge.

In its January issue the "Revue du Vin de France" investigated on one of the best kept secrets on earth....the cost of wine production and the relation with prices, notably for famous wines.

The magazine has selected some of the most desired french bottles (Chateau Petrus, Dom Perignon and a Roumier cru) and a low-price bottle to investigate what is their cost and comparing this with the retail price.

The results are extremely interesting from several points of view: first of all it is clear that the costs of production and vinification are rather limited even for the most important wines and even (and including also other costs for the producers: administrative cost, machinery depreciation, marketing/publicity..).

For example let's take Chateau Petrus, one of the most expensive wines on the planet and a bottle that not many people can experience in life. The magazine has analysed the various elements of the cost of a bottle of Petrus and the final cost of a bottle of Petrus turns around 30 euros (of which 10 euros only for the bottle and the etiquette, a special anti-fraud etiquette). 30.000 bottles of Petrus are produced each year. The 2005 vintage was sold by Petrus at 450 euro and can be found now at 4500 euros at retailers. The wine represents then an enourmous source of profit for the Moueix family who owns Petrus, for its combination of moderate production costs, high price and a good number of bottles produced per year.

If we take Dom Perignon, the most famous cuvée of Moet Chandon, the total cost amounts at 17-22 euros (with a largest share for advertising, 5-10 euro, entirely different from Petrus, which does not spend on publicity and focus on the character of rarity and exclusivity). Due in particular of the enourmous number of bottles produced (5 millions per year) at non prohibitive final price (the bottle leaves the property at 75 euros and has a retail cost of 130 euros), Dom Perignon is a golden toy for Moet Chandon.

In both cases (but obviously in particular for Chateau Petrus and for other expensive wines), it is clear that the final retail price has no relation with the cost of the wine, and that we are in presence of a marketing operation that is simply making some wines less accessible and...much more profitable for a few producers.

But....we knew all this and this is not the key issue of the investigation of the Revue du Vin de France. What is really impportant is to have started the discussion about the cost of wine production and this will have an impact in particular for wines which are more accessible and are not managed by a speculative market but with prices decided by the producers.

What is the reaction of wine producers?

An Italian wine producer, who is running an interesting blog and is particularly involved in various aspects of wine policy, Giampaolo Paglia of Poggio Argentiera, has taken the challenge and has profited from this opportunity to ensure transparency about his costs of production and also his selling prices (a key issue in order to understand the final price of wines, where intermediaries foten take a large part). Here in his blog, Giampaolo Paglia unveils the cost of some of his wines (highly prized by most Italian wine guides), with great details for each cost item.

Giampaolo Paglia has done a great job and an immense work in favor of transparency, both for unveiling his production costs and his selling prices. In particular in a moment of crisis, where consumers do not want to pay excessive prices for wine bottles, it is important that other producers follow Giampaolo Paglia's example. There is the need to establish more trust between consumers and producers and also to put more responsibility on the shoulder of the rest of the chain, notably wholesalers, final retailers and restaurants.

With regard to the latter, Giampaolo Paglia proposed to print the selling prices on his bottle's etiquettes. This would allow even more transparency.

Provocation? Perhaps it is if we know how un-transparent is the price system and how much in particular restaurants charge wines. But it is a very good provocation indeed and would provide in particular Belgian consumers with a greater power not to accept the standard practice in belgian restaurants to multiply the price of the wine by 5-6 times (in Italy the situation is different: have a look at the wine list of Ristorante Bovio in Piedmont and you will see that you can afford a good bottle for 20-25 euros and a barolo for 50 euro, usually twice the basic price).

Prosecco reaches Obama's inauguration: but what is the future for prosecco?

That Prosecco was a growing star in America it is evident just by jumping into one of the many wine-bars in Manhattan where after work large crowds of young people in their 30's drink and chat lively with glasses of prosecco animating the evening.

But watching the new President of the United States drinking prosecco during an inauguration party represents one of the highest recnognition of the growing status of our best export wine.

During the last years the success of prosecco has become irresistible: 150 millions bottles produced each year, 29% export growth in 2008 (98% export growth to the UK, 650.000 bottles exported to China in 2007). This success is also reflected in the the cost of the lands in the area of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene that covers the DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene. Buying lands in the DOC area now is more expansive than in the area of Montalcino (>500.000 euro per hectare for Prosecco).

But Prosecco, despite the existence of a specific DOC (created in 1969 and now covering 4700 hectares and producing 50 million bottles), is suffering from a major problem: the wine is simply called with the name of the grape and then prosecco can be produced and commercialised with this name in all countries. This is a major difference in comparison with other wines belonging to the same typology (sparkling wines) such as "champagne", "cava" or, to remain in Italy, "Franciacorta". All these wines have duly protected their name and do not have references to the grapes in the "denominazione".

While prosecco is a grape which is native of the area covered by the DOC between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene (in the province of Treviso, North-East of Italy), only one third of the actual production now falls under the DOC, while the rest is produced in the rest of Veneto and Friuli (in the area between Treviso and Slovenia).

But the main problems may come from abroad. Several countries have started planting prosecco grapes, mainly in Brazil, Argentina, Australia. In Brazil about 1000 hectares are now planted with prosecco (often with Italian investments) and sold at cheap prices. Another issues is the recent experiment of Austrian and German producers to import grapes from the prosecco area and bottle them as "Rich Prosecco", a product they plan to start to sell to the USA soon (in the picture Paris Hilton advertising for Rich prosecco).

The producers of the original prosecco area may then soon lose their golden baby and suffer international competition from other countries....and Obama's publicity may then have an adverse effect.

In order to tackle the problem, the producers of prosecco in Italy have started preparing to defend their product and work towards protecting the prosecco by creating a new "denominazione" that would cover the various areas in North-east of Italy where prosecco is now produced. 2009 will be the year of their offensive, even if it is not yet clear what strategy will be used.

An option may be to refer to the small village of prosecco, which is located a few kilometers from Trieste, close to Slovenia (from which the name appears to originate, coming from "proseku", which means "deforested area"). However, this area can hardly be identified today as an area of prosecco production and is 150km away from the DOC area. Other possibilities include referring to a regional area, but this would hardly cover the entire territory where prosecco is grown today.

This would be in any case only a first step, since the "denominazione" may be initially protected only in the EU area (and with countries with which the EU has concluded specific agreements), but would hardly ensure protection in the short term in Brazil or USA.

Prosecco may become the victim of its success....maybe. In the meanwhile, the objective for the Italian producers is to reach the levels of production of champagne (in 2007: 339 million bottles): an ambitious project.

Gaja meets bloggers on the future of Brunello

Today at 10am Angelo Gaja (in the picture at his winery in Tuscany-Bolgheri), an iconic figure for Italian wine and whose wines from Piedmont have acquired cult status (and prices..), animated with a group of 20 bloggers (I was also invited but unfortunately unable to join) an open discussion at his Barbaresco winery on the future of Brunello, after the long discussions the took place last year regarding the terms of reference (Disciplinare) of Brunello and the possible violation by some producers (here you can read my views on this issue expressed last summer).

The way the discussions took place (you can read the entire live transcription here as reported thanks to the great work of Antonio Tombolini) cleared the doubts that some bloggers, including myself, had casted on the initiative, due to initial instructions that the results should not have been divulgated.

In reality, the success of this initiative in my opinion resulted from the open format that it took and the report done live by Antonio, in pure "blogger style".

First of all I would like to pay tribute to Angelo Gaja, who clearly exposed his public ideas regarding the Brunello (but that I believe he would also apply to other DOC and DOCG) and first of all decided to organise an event for "bloggers" (in the sense both of blog writers and blog followers). This recognizes the role that the world of blogs (which is now a major expression of the civil society) plays in modern society as an open arena for expression of opinions.

Italy in particular has an articulated and very engaged network of wine bloggers, very much involved not only in the aspects of evaluation of wines but also in the most intricated aspects related to regulations, policies, cultural identity. This meeting may well represent an impulse for the future for the organisation of more events in this direction (and Vinitaly next March could be a good opportunity to organise a meeting of wine bloggers in Verona...hope to see a good reaction on this).

Regarding the content of the discussion, it was a good exchange of views even if no new elements emerged. Gaja agrees that the extension of the area cultivated for brunello in Montalcino has also covered lands not suited for a 100% sangiovese brunello (as the "Disciplinare" requires). His view is that due to the high investments done there the producers should have the right to produce a brunello with the inclusion of other grapes than sangiovese but that those producing 100% sangiovese should be granted special recognition. Clearly the position of Gaja is twofold: on the one side he believes that it may be possible to produce for a very small number of wine lovers a high level wine that may or may not respond to a strict regulation (his cru "Sori Tildin"and "Sori San Lorenzo" are not under a DC/DOCG system), but on the other he believes that a producer is not profitable only on that basis but needs to target the "commercial consumers", that pay less and want an "easier wine", and for that reason he believes that adding other grapes to the sangiovese is more appealing and may allow to sell easier brunello produced in less favourable areas.

The discussion, however, did not touch two important elements: firstly the question of the culture of wine and the link of a denomination like brunello with sangiovese and its tradition (Patrizia Simonini raised this issue in a question but this was not duly followed); second the impact of the EU reform of wine names that will enter into force in August 2009 and wil simplify the system and oblige Italy to re-define its system of IGT/DOC/DOCG (for example the risk that "denominazioni" like Sant'Antimo and Rosso di Montalcino may disappear with important commercial consequences).

An important event that I regret deeply to have missed but was happy to have followed live online.

Export of Italian wines: crisis in Tuscany and success in Piedmont

It is the moment of Piedmont for Italian wines (in the picture a view of the village of Barolo).

According to the data reported in an article of "Sole 24 Ore" of 29 November 2008, there has been a redistribution of preference in the world public with regard to the Italian wines in favour of Piedmont.

After a long period of growth for the export of tuscan wines, there has been during the period January-August 2008 a decrese of 4.2% in value and 9.2% in volume compared to the same period of 2007, while at the same time, the wines of Piedmont enjoyed +17.3% increase of export during the first semester of 2008. It is true that the first semester has seen the release on the market of Barolo's 2004, a fantastic vintage that has received unanimous praise with the Italian and international wine critic.

However, the negative data regarding Tuscan wines may also have other reasons apart from the competition of barolo. First of all, as it is recognised, Tuscan wines are relatively more expensive compared to other Italian wines and this trend has been growing during the recent years. While focusing on the growing export, Tuscan winemakers have forgotten to moderate their price list and take into account the competition of other wine countries, the relative strenght of the euro (and weakness of the dollar, major export market for Tuscan wines) and the world economic crisis. In addition, the recent scandal of Brunello with the bottles of some producers temporarily kept out of the market and the non exceptional quality of 2003 Brunello released in 2008 may have influenced the decisions of wine importers, notably in the US (no official data are available yet for the export of Brunello in 2008). Since Brunellos 2004 to be released in January 2009 should reflect an outstanding vintage, one can expect (and hope) a re-launch of exports for next year.

However, the signals arriving from the Italian market are not reassuring and the current economic crisis will further reduce the consumption of the Italian consumers in the medium-high price segment.

Most likely, we will see a reduction of prices in the next months that will benefit first of all wine consumers but will make life difficult in particular for the new entrants in the wine market.

A Reportage on Douro wines (2): Quinta do Crasto - Quinta do Infantado - Niepoort

Quinta do Crasto

It's day 2 of my travel around the Douro wine region and the day started rather early, since I had to reach Quinta do Crasto on the right bank of the Douro river and I had a vague idea of how long it would take from Regua.

Actually, Quinta do Crasto is visible a few kilometres from Regua from the road running on the left bank of the river, a fantastic Quinta dominating the panorama over the Douro Valley, but this does not mean that it only takes minutes from regua, because there is no direct road on the right bank.

Finally the road proved to be much longer than expected, with a long detour that takes largely more than one hour on a winding road. However, the panorama of the hills was so beautiful that it simply looked like the perfect introduction to what would be a very stimulating day.

Quinta do Crasto is a very elegant quinta owned by the Roquette family who occasionally also lives in a beautiful historical house dominating the Douro Valley.

The Quinta started to self-marketing his wines rather recently, in 1994, but the investments of Jorge Roquette since the 1980's in the vyneyards and in the cellar produced important results. The wines that are produced with the 130 hectares of Quinta do Crasto have acquired great reputation and are largely praised.

While most of the red wines (vinhos de mesa) come from the vineyards around the quinta, the grapes for the port wines come from another property more eastern in the Douro Valley. The vineyards include both very old vines (some 90 years old) planted with a large number of grape varieties altogether (like in the rest of Douro) and an important part of vines planted in the 1980's (Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão and Touriga Francesa) where grape varieties are separated and which allow also for separated vinification.

Manuel Lobo, enologist of the Quinta for the red wines (Tomas Roquette is responsible for port wines) was my guide through the vineyards and the cellar. The main body of the cellar also includes the old granite lagares used for the maceration of the grapes for port wines and occupies a re-organised old fabric that keeps beautiful old azulejos (the typical Portuguese ceramic tilework that you find often in Portuguese old houses).

I had the opportunity to taste some of the wines of Quinta do Crasto:

• Crasto 2007. this wine comes from the newly planted vineyards and includes several grape varieties. It is a wine which shows a good freshness on the palate combined with a good tannic presence and some black fruit flavor. About 500.000 bottles produced annually.
  

• Quinta do Crasto Reserve Old Vines 2006. It is a wine produced from the oldest vineyards of the Quinta, including a large number of grape varieties (>25). After fermentation it ages for 18 months in French oak barrels of 225lt. It reveals some intense black fruit flavour combined with tobacco, while on the palate it shows already some soft and round tannins and a good structure and long persistence. About 80.000 bottles produced annually.

• Xisto 2005. This wine is the result of a joint venture between Roquette and Jean-Michel Cazes of Chateau Lynch-Bages. It has a clear dominance of Touriga Nacional with part of Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz and comes from 25 years old vines. The wine is dominated by some red fruit, but the taste appears to be rather closed at the moment.
  

• Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) 2002. I appreciated very much this LBV that has a very good elegance and persistence. A very well made port.

Quinta do Infantado

My second visit of the day was a few kilometres away from Quinta do Crasto, in the direction of Pinhao. Coming from Quinta do Crasto, one notes clearly the difference in style.

First of all I had some difficulties in finding my way to the Quinta do Infantado (quinta@quintadoinfantado.pt tel. +351-254 738 020), since no clear signs indicate it and it is not located on the main road, but finally I reached my destination through a narrow steep road.

When coming there, the order, perfect organisation and sense of grandeur of Quinta do Crasto was a striking contrast with the slight decadence of Quinta do Infantado, which gives a sense of being in the good old times of wine growing and not in the sometimes too perfect and aseptyc world of modern winemaking.

A group of "pisadores" (foot threaders) worked with continuity and relax in a room including five lagares filled with fermenting grapes. I felt reassured by such a timeless image.

After having spent some time walking around I found my way to the offices area, where an immense room overlook the valley in front. There I met Joao Roseira, and it would be a very rewarding visit also due to the personality of Joao, an open and passionate person who enjoys living in the Douro but also recognises the difficulty of wine growing there and who would share openly his views on this world.

Quinta do Infantado has been owned by the Roseira family for more than a century and is mostly focusing on port wines, with a very large of port wines of great character. They first started bottling and seling their port in the estate in 1979, mostly due to the organisation of port market until the '80s, characterised by the monopoly of the shippers of the city of Gaia that maintain the exclusive right of export until 1986. They only produce port and red wines using the grapes of their 46 hectares and based largely traditional techniques such as foot threading, long maceration and ageing in large oak barrel and "toneis" (smaller wooden barrels).

Joao stressed that a key aspect of the philosophy of the quinta is to leave the greapes for port wine to ferment longer so that there is less residual sugar and more natural alcohol, which is then leaving a less part for wine brandy added. As I experienced in the tasting of the whole range of port wines, the results are some very enjoyable port, easier to drink and with a sense of freshness that is sometimes lacking in other ports, but at the same time rich in fruits and complexity.

• White port. The quinta produces a single dry white port, coming for four grape varieties. I enjoyed very much this dryier version of white port.

• Ruby port. The first port of the brand is a very good introduction to the philosophy of the Quinta. Only 15% of brandy added during fermentation and a port that can be drunk like a red wine. Very pleasant and very far from a standard ruby.

• Reserva. This port is made from a single undeclared vintage which results in a very good, balanced and rich wine that anticipates the vintage

• Tawny 10 anos (ten years). A spectacular example of aged tawny. An amber colour introduces to expressive flavors of flowers, nuts and black fruits. The taste is dominated by an impressive elegance and a long finish.

• Vintage 2003. It is always difficult to evaluate a new vintage, because of usual strong tannic character and deep fruit expression of new vintages. The 2003 vintage of Quinta do Infantado surprised me for its readiness in the immediate while keeping the capacity for long ageing. A great achievement.

• Quinta do Infantado 2006. This is the only dry red produced by the Quinta. Most of the wine after foot threading and maceration is aged in stainless steel and part of it in toneis of second and third passage. The result is a pleasant wine with moderate complexity.
  

Niepoort

After lunch, the moment came to take the direction of Quinta de Napoles (photo taken from the Niepoort website), tha main headquarters of Niepoort property in the Douro. Quinta de Napoles is located on Rio Tedo, a tributary of Douro river, and has recently been entirely re-built in order to better suit the expansion of the production of Niepoort of red and white wines in the Douro. I was welcome at my arrival by Dirk van der Niepoort, who is unanimously considered as the major actor in the new wave of Douro wines and has largely contributed to the increasing visibility of Portuguese wines all around the world.

Dirk comes from a dinasty of one of the most famous port wine shippers, Niepoort, a family of Dutch origin that has since 1842 been producing outstanding port. However, he is the first in the family who has really started to produce wines, when he acquired in 1987 Quinta de napoles and the Quinta do Carril in the Douro Valley and started producing red and white wines.

Dirk guided me through the impressive new quinta, magnificently overlooking the Rio Tedo, organised in different floors according to the phase of production and with a sober modern concrete walls and a number of beutifully coloured rooms where the wines are resting in the barrels.

Dirk is a real pleasure to talk with, his knowledge about wines is so comprehensive that during the discussion we move from the discussion on his projects and on his view on Douro wines to a view on Italian wines and anecdotes on his meeting with Italian producers (extremely funny was when I compared him to the Italian innovative producer Josko Gravner and Dirk told me that when he first wanted to visit him Josko refused the meeting but Dirk went anyway and they enjoyed very much each other even if disagreeing on a lot of points).

What is so enjoying about this man is his permanent research and passion for experimenting. During the visit to the installations of the quinta we tasted to a large number of barrels when the wine was in the fermentation phase and we tried both the major wines of the Quinta (Batuta, Redoma..) and some experiments that Dirk is running and that most likely will not be bottled and enjoy the lucky persons coming to the quinta. I have to say that among those to-be wines I found an enormous potential coming not only from the most renown ones but also from the "experiments", some of which I hope to be able to taste in the future.

Dirk is not only a great winemaker, as I had the opportunity to discover later at night in the large dinner room of the quinta, but also an excellent cook, since he perfectly managed a large size fish that he served to a small group of friends for a celebration of the end of the harvest. Sitting besides me at dinner was a young Douro winemaker, Jorge Moreira, who is running "Poeira" (very enjoyable his Poeira red with deep black fruits, spicey and a good long finish) and is enologist at Quinta de la Rosa. The dinner was particularly pleasant as Dirk kept bringing wines in decanters and the step by step discovery stimulated a discussion on various wine areas (a non exaustive list of wines opened includes an opening Batart-Montrachet of Mounier, a great Rioja of 1966, a classic Gruaud-Larose of 1979, a Vosne-Romanee of La Romanee Conti, a Madeira of 1876).

A great ending of a very instructive day.

Wine Spectator releases a report on Tuscan wines: this is not a serious magazine!!

I always find interesting to check what the reports of various wine magazines and guides are saying on Italian wines, first of all in order to check if (not so often) I find some wine journalists with a taste that is similar to mine, and second to see which are the next overpriced and unaccessible wines (usually those getting >95 points from US guides/magazines).

But the recent reading of a report on Tuscany published by Wine Spectator on October 31, 2008 is going too far and shows how it is becoming not a matter of taste but more a question of lack of sense of ethics in part of the world of wine. Wine Spectator is trying to establish itself as a reference globally and the arrogance of its journalists is growing at a similar pace.

Since I believe it is important to bring concrete examples I would like to quote the score received by Gianfranco Soldera for his Brunello di Montalcino Case Basse Riserva 2000 in the report I just mentioned. I am sure most of the readers will not believe my words and will look for the report to see with their eyes that the brunello Riserva 2000 of Gianfranco Soldera received 68 points out of 100! Yes, the worst of all scores published in the report. The second worst was ... Brunello Case Basse Soldera Riserva 2001 with 78 points! (to be noted that other US wine sites, like Parker and IWC, both gave a 96 point score to this wine)

Since I tried the Riserva 2000 with some friends during a Superbrunello tasting last summer that you can trace here, and Soldera Riserva 2000 overshadowed largely all other brunello present (Poggio all'Oro 1990, Valdicava 1999, Cerretalto Casanova di neri 1999) I can reasonably affirm that James Suckling (the author of the tastings and of the report) has most likely expressed a judgement on Gianfranco Soldera as a man, and not on his wines, otherwise I would have no doubt saying that he is not suited to be a wine journalist but he would better look for another job. But if the judgement concerns a man and not his wines, as it clearly seems, then he is not suited to be a journalist neither, since his readers are asking him to judge wines and not to express his disagreement with a man though the pages of a magazine that does not come for free.

Either way, such a judgement is a shame for wine journalism and strongly undermines the reputation of Wine Spectator. I believe the wine public deserves much better than this.

A Reportage on Douro wines (1st part - Introduction+Quinta Vale Dona Maria)

During the last harvest I took the opportunity of a visit to the Douro region to explore the area that has been promoting during the last years a new image of Portuguese wines in the world: the valley of the Douro river.

The Douro valley is of course not new to wine, as it has been producing and exporting for centuries that magnificent example of fortified wine that is the Port wine. All grapes used for producing port come from the Douro valley, and in particular from an intricated system of terraced vineyards that is a pleasure for the view but of course a challenge for the wine growers.

But this year I was coming there not for tasting port wine, even if I actually tasted some of them that I will report here, but mainly for visiting wineries that are producing some of the most interesting "Vinhos de mesa" (literally "table wines", even if this simply serves to reflect the difference with port wines since these wines fall under the denomination "Douro").

This area has been in fact leading the renewal of interest for Portuguese wines in the world market and its wines have been largely rewarded by the main wine guides and critics notably in the US. This "new wave" of Douro wines is largely due to the capacity of a number of growers, first of all Dirk van Der Niepoort (Niepoort family has already been producing outstanding port wines for centuries), to start on the one side to invest strongly also on dry red wines and not only on port wines and to experiment winemaking techniques, and on the other side to spend more energy on the promotional side of Portuguese wine, notably abroad (I remember that I get the best overview on Portuguese wines during an excellent Wine fair organised in New York by ViniPortugal some 2 years ago).

The result of this intense work has been in fact extremely rewarding since the interest for Portuguese wines in the biggest export markets, US and UK, has been growing in such a way that the key wines of some leading Douro wineries, such as Niepoort, Quinta do Vale Meao, Quinta do Crasto, Quinta Vale Dona Maria... are now quickly sold out.

But the best way to discover this world is not in a wine fair but there, in the Douro valley, notably during the harvesting period, when the colour of the valley changes during the day with the inclination of the sun, and the rare roads of the area are filled with small trucks charged with people or grapes.

The Geography of the Douro

First of all, when coming to the Douro area, one should be aware of the peculiar geography of the place. The wine area, which starts from Regua (Peso da Regua), some 100 km from the sea coast and the key city of Oporto, is dominated by the Douro river, about 200 mt large there. The river is literally dominated by lusciurious hills entirely planted with terraced vineyards. Only part of the left bank, between Regua and Lamego, has space enough for a solitary road, while on the right side of the river the road is dominating the river and is following the up and down of the hills. The only possibility to cross the river is either at Regua or at Lamego some 20 km north. Reaching the "upper Douro" valley (Douro Superior) requires a large detour even if the panorama is splendid.

But a good way to visit the river is the train, which is following the right bank and takes you all along the river and let you discover this great scenery without being obliged to drive up and down. I would suggest to try a bit of both, but when visiting the wineries you should either have a car or arranging for a pick up at the train station.

In any case, the first element to take into consideration when coming there is understanding that the distance on paper and in reality are rather different. Better to coordinate the visits to the wineries fairly well on the basis of a detailed map.

Of course...this is not what I did...but I enjoyed my mistake.

When planning my visit I decided to visit the wineries that have been at the forefront of this "new wave", since I wanted first of all to understand how this movement was born, under which conditions, constraints and opportunities. I had to leave for a next occasion the visit to less known wineries, knowing that I want to explore also that side of the Douro world.

Quinta Vale Dona Maria

On October 8th, I was heading towards Quinta Vale Dona Maria, the first winery on my list, one of the five members of the so-called "Douro Boys", a group of some of the highly acclaimed wineries that has joined efforts in successfully promoting Douro wines. In fact, the Douro boy of this Quinta (Quinta= farm in Portuguese, but often refers to a countryside mansion) is in part a woman, Sandra Tavares da Silva, the enologist who is following the Quinta owned by Cristiano Van Zeller, helped by a newly arrived young enologist, Joana Pinhão, who has been my perfect guide during the visit.

Quinta Vale Dona Maria is located on the valley of the Douro tributary Rio Torto a few km from the Douro river, on the left bank, just after Lamego in direction north. My meeting was in the morning and I was admiring on my way from Regua the morning scenery of the Douro with the water condensation creating an even more heavenly panorama and sensation.

The steep road for the winery allowed me to admire the careful planting of the vineyards to reach even the more remote areas and profit from every single piece of land.

The Quinta is a rather recent acquisition by Cristiano van Zeller in 1996, even if belonging to his family's wife for several centuries. This is a common aspect of the Douro, where large part of the land has not changed ownership and where several families are linked with parental links to the very popular (an almost mythical) Dona Antonia, a woman who in the XIX century owned immense properties and was of key importance for saving the industry of wine in the Douro at the moment of the Phylloxera invasion.

Cristiano Van Zeller has turned the quinta in a few years into producing two of the most appreciated wines of the Douro: "Quinta do vale Dona Maria" and, more recently, "Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)". The quinta covers about 21 hectares, planted with old and new vines, with south-south-west exposure. As it is the case in all the douro, old vines are planted with dozens of different grape varieties, in a way that makes impossible separating them (Joana told me that they have counted more than 40 varieties in old vines there). Single grape wines are in fact a recent experiment for wineries, and only based on new vines.

In addition to the two wines described above, the Quinta produces also a number of Port wines (Vintage, LBV and Reserve) and under the brand "Van Zeller" (V.Z.) a white wine and a red wine that form the basic line.

I have only tried in this occasion the two wines of the basic line, and I appreciated the good acidity and freshness of the V.Z. white and the easiness and freshness of the V.Z. red.

The two upper line reds, Quinta vale Dona Maria and C.V. , after foot treading spend a few days fermentation in the lagares (the open stone or concrete tanks traditionally used for the fermentation of grapes for port wine), then are moved for further fermentation in steel tanks. They then age for 18 months in French oak barrels with light toasting. I appreciated the organisation of the winery, where all is arranged on a vertical basis partly due to space constraints but also to facilitate the different phases of the production.

The Quinta, in addition to the winery, has also developed a rural tourism area with a small swimming pool dominating the valley. A good place for relaxing and also learning about the life of wine growers.

Assemblea of Consorzio of Brunello: there will be no change for Brunello di Montalcino.

I transcribe as reported by the tenuta Il Poggione on his "Montalcino Report" the result of the Assembly of the Consorzio of Brunello di Montalcino that took place yesterday in Montalcino. The counting of the votes (based on the hectares of Brunello planted to vine) is the following:

Proposition 1: are you in favor of changing the ampelographic basis for Brunello di Montalcino?

662 NO
30 YES

Proposition 2: are you in favor of changing the ampelographic basis for Rosso di Montalcino?

540 NO
162 YES

Proposition 3: are you in favor of making other changes to the appellation rules? For example, changing the maximum yields for Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, Moscadello, and Sant'Antimo? Or allowing for the use of concentrated rectified must?

474 NO
228 YES

Proposition 4: are you in favor of grouping all the current appellations, except for Sant'Antimo, in a single Montalcino appellation?

684 NO
6 YES

Proposition 5: are you in favor of grouping all the current appellations, except for Brunello di Montalcino, in a single Montalcino appellation?

572 NO
118 YES

Even if I am, like a few others, (positively) surprised by the large majority who has voted against any change to the terms of reference of Brunello (some producers who previously expressed in favour of the change seem to have now voted against, possibly under the public pressure and visibility that the issue was acquiring) the result must be read as a sign that producers do not want to change the basic elements that form the Brunello di Montalcino. I hope that this vote will end these long months of conflicts that have strongly damaged the image of brunello di Montalcino and also of Italian wine in general.

While the Brunello Assembly discusses the sort of Brunello...Biondi Santi is the undisputed king of wine guides for 2003 brunello's

Tomorrow is taking place the Assembly of the Consortium of Brunello that should discuss (and possibly vote) about whether in the future Brunello should remain a 100%Sangiovese wine or if other grapes may concur for a small part in it.

I already had the possibility to discuss about this and expressed my view for the mantain of the current 100% Sangiovese composition that characterizes strongly this prestigious Italian wine.

I would like to stress that for this meeting 149 producers of Brunello, which should represent about 60% of votes in the assembly, have expressed support for maintaining the 100% sangiovese composition thus anticipating the today's battle. On the other side, Banfi, the large brunello producers owned by the Mariani family, has issued a statement of a different tone, asking to introduce the possibility to use up to 5% of other grapes to "correct winemaking errors in the cellar". This explanation, however, does not correspond to the arguments that have ben used to now, notably by the former Banfi manager Ezio Rivella, who has supported, notably during a debate transmitted in video-conference with journalist Franco Ziliani, that such a flexibility should be used to allow those winemakers who are located in areas not good enough to produce a brunello 100% sangiovese.

Well, tomorrow we will have a first result of this conflict round one of the most important Italian wines.

In the meantime, it is essential to underline that the wine that received the largest prize as the best brunello of 2003 (and notably the only brunello 2003 selected by the Gambero Rosso) is the Brunello Il Greppo 2003 of Biondi Santi, a pure expression of the tradition (ageing in big oak barrels and with great elegance and less extraction). A good sign for the General Assembly.

Analogy between red Burgundy and barolo..

Some two weeks ago I have been invited to dinner during a tour of the Douro region (on which I will report soon) by a great winemaker in his quinta besides the Douro river.

It was a dinner with a few friends in order to celebrate the end of the harvest, when the Douro area is still more charming with small trucks plenty of either grapes or "pisadores" (the men and women who are pressing the grapes in the traditional way).

At a certain moment of the dinner, after a long serie of charming wines (a splendid Batard-Montrachet 2001 from Morey, a typically vegetal Gruaud Larose 1979, a perfectly aged Rioja 1964...) all served blind by our guest in large decanters and rigorously in shared glasses, a dark liquid appeared in a decanter.

Since it was a guessing exercise, and I was in fact the first in the row, I approached my nose of the glass and tried to identify the mysterious living element in front of me. However, the anonymous wine was keeping his charme tightly closed to the outside and clearly needed to get used to the fresh air like a new born baby. The other friends around the table and notably another wine producer sitting besides me was of the same opinion and suspended his judgement and analysis.

Only after some 20 minutes and after the glass had circulated all around the table we started appreciating his powerful aroma combined with an extreme elegance and finesse. A clear and strong floral aroma (rose, violet) was appearing, together with a strong sensation of earthiness and black fruits. After a short moment when I was trying to figure out the roots of that wine I poured it and kept it for some seconds in the mouth. Elegant and soft tannins in a strongly structured wine, with a great concentration that confirmed the rather dark color in the glass.

The first thing that I said was that the first image was an association with a "brasato" (a beef braised in a sauce, typically a Barolo in Piedmont), and then a memory of great barolos. However, and was pretty sure of it, this was not a barolo. It reminds me very much of a barolo, both for its structure, elegance, floral aromas, but in the mouth in particular the tannic structure was rather different from a barolo, also a modern barolo (with shorter maceration and aged in barriques which acquires a less astringent character when young). It was clearly a French wine, but the association of aromas and concentration was making more difficult the final answer (yes...sure, everybody was focusing on the east France, but that was making even more difficult the guessing).

Our guest finally brought the bottle and we discovered a Romanée Conti, Vosne Romanée Cru Duvaul-Brochet 1999. It has been a very good year for Romanee Conti and that cru is actually made from a second selection of fruit picked from all 6 DRC Grand Cru vineyards. The result is a great wine that shows the great character of La Romanee Conti.

But the clear association between a great burgundy and barolo came again recently during a discussion with Elio Altare (a great winemaker from Piedmont who has been promoting the use of modern winemaking techniques in Piedmont). He is a great lover of Burgundy and strongly believe that Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo have a common root and this appears in particular with regard to the evolution of their aromas.

If we take some of the characteristics of these two grapes we find similarities, like the composition of antocyans (responsible for the coloration of wine, and giving this pale red color that tend to move into brick through aging: mainly a responsibility of the strong presence of malvidine compared to peonine), some floral aromas notably after some aging. However, the two grapes have also strong difference, notably with regard to the maturation (a much later harvest for nebbiolo, which receives his name because it is picked up during the beginning of foggy days - nebbia - in the Langhe late October) and to the tannic structure (nebbiolo grapes have a strong tannic component, both in the skin and notably in the seeds).

But apart from the technical characteristics of these two grapes I like the idea expressed by Elio Altare that they were born from the same father and that it is for that reason that these grapes may produce the most elegant and complex wines in the world.

Giro d'Italia 2008 at Licata wine (Belgium)

During the week-end 18-19 October 2008 has taken place the annual "Giro d'Italia" organised by the Belgian wine importer "Licata" in its premises, closed to Hasselt.

It is the major event for Italian wine in Belgium, due to the excellent organisation of Calogero Licata and his son Laurent, who bring to Belgium some of the best Italian wine producers for a presentation of their wines during a three-day event. The stands in the main room are organised by region so that it is very easy to move across the stands and follow a precise program.

I went there with Anne, a French friend who was also able to taste much better than I who was still suffering from a big cold. The following is a list of the impressions of the day on the basis of the producers that we visited:

• Bisol (Veneto). Prosecco di Valdobbiadene "Crede" is pleasant and fresh, while the Prosecco di Valdobbiadene "Vigneto del Fol" is more complex on the palate with some dry fruits flavour. The Riserva Brut Millesimato 2001 (pinot bianco, chardonnay and pinot noir) is very well done and of good complexity.
• Ronco Calino (Lombardia). The Franciacorta Brut Millesimato 2003 has a good structure and complexity and is a good representative of Franciacorta quality.
• Alois Lageder (Alto Adige). Moscato Giallo 2007 shows some spicey and lavanda scents and a very dry pleasant finish. Sauvignon 2007 has good flavours of dried fruits but lacking complexity on the palate. Pinot Grigio 2007 is rather disappointing with short finish and lacking structure. Pinot grigio "Benefizium Porer" 2007, instead, has an intriguing nose with strong white fruits (pear) and powerful taste with long finish. Finally, Chardonnay "Coreth" 2007 reveals good complexity and freshness.
• Pieropan (Veneto). Unfortunately this time Pieropan did not bring an old vintage of his Soave "La Rocca", a wine that improves strongly with ageing. We tasted Soave Calvarino 2006, showing intriguing strong flavours but losing power on the palate with a rather short finish, and Soave La Rocca 2006, a great wine showing great complexity both in terms of flavours and taste. This latter will only improve with 3-4 years ageing.
• Livio Felluga (Friuli venezia Giulia). An historical producer of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Livio Felluga arrived with a large range of wines. We only tried Friulano (new denomination for the Tocai) 2007, with good flavours but lacking power on the palate, and the Illivio 2006 (blend of pinot bianco, chardonnay and picolit), a powerful fruity wine spending 10 months in oak.
• Feudi san Gregorio (Campania). It was the last serie of white wines tasted, starting with Fiano di Avellino 2007, showing pleasant white fruits with very long finish, and Greco di Tufo "Cutizzi" 2007, a complex wine showing good acidity and long finish.
• San Leonardo (Trentino). A producer always keeping a great coherence during the years. We started with the Villa Gresti 2004, showing some vegetal character (green pepper) and good balance. The San Leonardo 2003 is in the classic style of the house a very well balanced wine with a very expressive nose, very good structure and finish.
• Avignonesi (Tuscany). Rosso di Montepulciano 2007 represents one of the best quality/price ratio, with good red fruits aroma and lenght. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2005 was not particularly expressive, while Grandi Annate 2004 shows an expressive cassis nose combined with a good balanced taste. Desiderio 2005 (Merlot 80% and cabernet sauvignon 20%) is one of the best merlot-based wine of Tuscany, very powerful and deep.
• Fanti (Tuscany). Sant'Antimo 2006 is an easy-to-drink pleasant wine with good aromas of red fruits. Rosso di Montalcino 2006 has additional complexity and represents a very good quality/price ratio.
• Mazzei/Castello di Fonterutoli (Tuscany). One of the historical houses of Chianti Classico, they presented here a good Chianti Classico 2006 and a very good Castello di Fonterutoli 2005 (90% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet sauvignon). Siepi 2005 (50% Sangiovese and 50% merlot) is a reference for Supertuscans with power and complexity..
• Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona (Tuscany). Brunello di Montalcino 2003, not a great year for Brunello, has a good long finish and expressive aromas but it is still rather tannic.
• Piaggia (Tuscany). Carmignano Riserva 2005 is pleasant and with long finish even if rather mono-dimensional.
• Michele Satta (Tuscany). I spent some time here because I remembered last year a long conversation with Michele Satta (who did not come here this year) on the true natures of his wines and tha passion that he is able to transmit. The two white wines, Costa di Giulia 2007 (65% Vermentino, 35% Sauvignon) is very good and Gioven Re 2007 (Viognier 100%) is even better, a very good example of an experiment with a rather difficult grape. Also very pleasant is the simple Bolgheri Rosso 2006, while in the Cavaliere 2003 we find more complexity and a slightly vegetal nose. But it is Piastraia 2004 (Sangiovese, Merlot, cabernet sauvignon and syrah) that reaches the top, with an expressive black fruits nose, very good acidity (uncommon for the wines from Bolgheri), good structure and long finish.
• Altesino (Tuscany). Its Rosso di Altesino 2006 (Sangiovese 80%, cabernet sauvignon and merlot) represents a good price/quality ratio with good aromas and freshness. The Brunello di Montalcino 2003 is a good effort for a not happy year for Montalcino, with very good aromas and balance.
• Tenuta di Ghizzano (Tuscany). The wines of Ginevra Venerosi Pesciolini have been very successful in the last years and this is confirmed here with Veneroso 2004 (70% sangiovese, 30% cabernet sauvignon) showing spicey and fruity aromas with good acidity, and Nambrot 2004 (70% merlot, 20% cabernet sauvignon, 10% petit verdot) extremely balanced and powerful with black fruit and cassis aromas.
• Tua Rita. While I was not convinced by Rosso dei Notri 2006 (vegetal nose not really corresponding to the grapes used: 60% sangiovese, 30% merlot, 10% syrah) and Perlato del Bosco Rosso 2005 (rather impersonal), Giusto di Notri, both in the vintage 2005 and 2006, is a good wine with expressive aromas of cassis and prune with good finish.
• Villa Sparina (Piedmont). The two Gavi wines presented by villa Sparina were extremely different. Gavi di Gavi 2007 has good aromas of spices and cinnamon with great acidity and lenght, while the Gavi di Gavi "Monterotondo" 2006 shows a minty nose but a not well integrated oaky element.
• Braida (Piedmont). Bricco dell'Uccellone is as usual a representative of modern winemaking. This barbera is extremely powerful, with a strong structure and balance. The Bricco della Bigotta looks slighty closer at present but on the palate has a similar power and structure.
• Elio Altare (Piedmont). Elio is in Piedmont a symbol of modern winemaking in the Barolo area. He started three decades ago to experiment with shorter skin maceration and small barrels against the traditions of Barolo with the aims to create long ageing wines that were more drinkable in the short term and did not need the strong tannic component of long maceration. It was a pleasure discussing with him about the current situation in the wine world (for example the whole discussions about the future of Brunello). His wines were all remarkable, starting with Dolcetto d'Alba 2006 showing a perfect dolcetto nose. Barbera d'Alba 2006 is an example (opposite to Briada) of traditional barbera, and one of his best examples. Vigna Larigi 2005 (Barbera) is a very complex wine, powerful and long ageing.
• Paolo Scavino (Piedmont). I only had the time to try the Barbera d'Alba 2007, an excellent barbera, showing very good fruits.
• Parusso (Piedmont). The barolo's 2004 (Barolo and Barolo Bussia) while showing a very expressive nose, with the classic floral nebbiolo scents of violets/rose, are both a bit short on the finish.

Finally it was a big marathon and I needed some rest but as usual a big applause to Licata for organising such a wonderful opportunity for tasting an impressive range of good Italian wines and discussing them with their creators.