Wine with an edge

The headline is a translation of the name in Danish of a small importer of wine, VinMedKant. The purpose of the firm is to find wines from mostly small producers that have a personal touch, perhaps a bit different from the majorities in the wine region, they represent. Recently VinMedKant invited me to a tasting of Italian wine with several producers present. Some of the wines surprised me in a positive way, while others were a bit disappointing. Here I will mention some of the first.

The tasting did not only present wine but an independent beer brewery too, Birra Amiata from Tuscany. I tried their fresh ale, ComunAle and then Comtessa, a so called Italian Pale Ale with nice fresh hop and floral flavours. Later I had Bastarda Doppia and Bastardia Nera – both brewed on chestnuts. The last was a very powerful and tasteful Imperial Stout with a roasted character and a bit flavours from the chestnuts. The whole range was impressive and proved that a lot has happened when it comes to microbreweries in Italia.

The first wine producer I met was a very pleasant surprise too. Società Agricola Bulichella is a family owned estate from Suvereto in the northern Maremma in Tuscany – a hilly place with a lot of sun and a salty wind from the coast. Bulichella are producing very nice, certified organic wines with a clear line:

• Tuscanio Bianco 2013: Based on 100 % Vermentino. A very fresh nose, with some tropical fruit notes like pineapple and a hint of mint. Dry full-bodied, but perhaps a little low on acid.
• Rubino 2011: Rosso Toscano based on 50 % Sangiovese, 25 % Merlot and 25 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Ruby and a very present nose, dark berries and some minerals and spices from the cask.
• Tuscanio Rosso 2010: 100 % Sangiovese. Typical nose of cherries and darker berries. Great acidity and some floral notes and vanilla from the cask.
• Hide Syrah 2010: Ruby red. Full-bodied and deep with lots of fruit, red berries and acidity. Velvet tannins and a nice tail.
• Coldipietrerosse 2010. Not an easy name to pronounce or spell, but worth to remember! A blend of Bordeaux varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and some Petit Verdot). Blackberries and cassis, some tobacco and spicy as well. Tannins for a longer life and a nice finish.

Bulichella is succeeding in creating a clear line of inviting fruitiness combined with minerals and a balanced use of oak.

From Camperchi in inland Tuscany, Arezzo east of Sienna, I tried:

• Sasso Lupaio 2013: A nice, straightforward red blend (50 % Merlot, 30 % Sangiovese and others), with strawberry and other red fruits. A fresh and well balanced entry level.
• Anno O 2008: A blend from old vineyards with more than 70 % Sangiovese. Still with red fresh berries, but more spicy and with soft tannins. A good and very drinkable glass.
• Sangiovese 2007: Dark cherries and with discrete notes from the cask, spices and a bit tobacco. Deeper and with a very good structure.
• Merlot 2007: Dark berries like blackcurrant, balsamic, spices and a bit jammy. A good wine, but I sure prefered the Sangiovese.

The third estate in Tuscay was Poggio Mandorlo in Montecucco DOC area, who presented three wines:

• Il Guardiano 2010: Made of 85 % Sangiovese and 15 % Merlot from young vineyards. A medium bodied wine with a lot of fresh fruit and some floral notes. An easy going and straight forward wine. 
• La Querce 2009: The same blend, but more depths and more, but soft tannin. Read berries and some spices from the time in cask.  
• Poggio Mandorlo 2008: The top win made of a Super Tuscan blend of 70 % Merlot and 30 % Cabernet Franc aged 18 months in new French barriques. A different nose with dark berries and cassis and more roasted flavours from the time in barriques. More powerful tannins, but still fresh and elegant. A great glass that last in the mouth.

Finally I will mention a producer from Valpociella, Vini Dindo situated near Fumane in Valpociella Classico. Therefore it was no surprise that they presented the tree common red wines from that area. The only one missing was the sweet Recioto:

• Valpolicella 2013: A typically blend from the region, but with a more fruity character. Light, with red berries and cherries. Low on tannins.
• Ripasso 2012: 70 % Corvina and then Rondinella and a bit Corvione. Deeper ruby with dried cherries and fruit, low on tannins, but with nice acidity. Aged in steel tanks, which gives more a fruity flavour.
• Amarone 2010: Darker in the nose, cherries and some raspberry. Some notes like vanilla from the barrique as well. A deeper wine with the typically Amarone character, but different a fresher as well.

Vini Dindo is making more fruity wines that normally from Valpociella. At first I found it a little odd, but giving it a second try, it was quit tasty. But I must admit that I personally prefer the more heavy style from other producers.

All four producers mentioned had a clear line in their wines and some of them were different from the typically style of their region. If that is what the importer seeks with his mission, he had made some good choices when selecting producers. Some of the other producers I tried did not have the same approach in my humble opinion.   

You can visit VinMedKant here

Umbria – close but not Tuscany

Last week I went to a kind of Giro d´Italia of wine. It was the independent Danish importer, Vinotek A Fynnis, who invited to a tasting through the Italian wine regions: Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto, Abruzzi etc. and a region that is less known, Umbria.

When we talk about Umbria we normally refer to white wine from Orvieto. But the region produces a growing amount of red wine as well with better and better result.   

Umbria was represented by export manager Gian-Andrea Dutler from Castello Monte Vibiano, who served five different wines and one of them in different years. The castle is placed on a hill close to Perugia in the district called Colli Perugini.

Gian-Andrea Dutler told me, that there has been a change in the region during the last 10 years. Before most of the wine was produced by bigger cooperatives and they mostly made white wine. But today small and independent producers are having focus on red grape varieties as well – both local grapes like Sangiovese and Sagrantino and international ones like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The area gets less rain and has a hotter summer than Tuscany. The result is wine a bit like those from Tuscany, and Gian-Andrea compares his best wine, L`Andrea with a Super Tuscan.

All in all Castello Monte Vibiano produce around 220.000 bottles a year of which 180.000 is red. More than 90 % of the production is for export.

I tasted these wines from Castello Monte Vibiano:

Maria Camilla, Umbria Bianco: White wine based on a blend of Trebbiano (52 %), Grechetto and Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh and crisp with lemon and a bit pineapple. Nice acidity but perhaps a bit one-dimensional.

Villa Monte Vibiano, Rosso dell`Ubria: Made mostly of Sangiovese. Some red berries in the nose, a bit light in the colour and the style and a bit sharp too. Typically Sangiovese-taste, but will do better with food.

Mon Vì, Colli Perugini Rosso: Made of 70 % Sangiovese, 15 % Merlot and 15 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Darker in colour and fuller bodied. Fruity with soft tannins and very drinkable, but not that deep and broad on the palette. A more international style and a bit of a pleaser due to the blend.

L´Andrea, Colli Perugini Rosso: Made of a selection of the best grapes, 50 % Sangiovese, 15 % Sagrantino and then some Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Stored in barriques for 15 months. I tried 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, and notices how the style has change to the better. In general it was a great wine, with red berries and typically notes of vanilla from the barriques. Less smooth than the second wine, darker and more powerful and with stronger tannins. 2003 had softer tannins now, but it seems like the cask was a bit too much burned. From 2006 that changed and gave room for elegance and fresh cherries. A great wine with beautiful tannins. 2007 had more fruit and more power. It still has a long life. 2008 was still young but promising too, but not as good as the two previous years. 

After Castello Monte Vibiano I tried wine from other regions too. Among others I tasted a fresh white wine from Piedmont, Roero Arneis Camestri 2012 from Marco Porello, a Soave 2012 and Soave Classico 2011 from Monte Tondo in Veneto. Among the reds I had Chianti Classico 2010, Chianti Classico Riserva 2008 and Poggiassai 2010, all from Poggio Bonelli. In my opinion the Riversa was much better structured than the Super Tuscan, Poggiassai, which truly disappointed me a bit. And finally I will mention a nice red from Sardinia, Cerasio Cannonau di Sardegna 2009 from Cantina Pedres. Sorry, just for namedropping and not adding notes…

http://vinotekafynnis.dk/

http://www.montevibiano.it/en/

Antinori – tradition in Tuscany

As a winelover, you got to have some respect for a wine producer that can trace its history back as long as 1385. Back then Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member of the winemaker’s guild in Florence, “Arte Fiorentina”, and today, 26 generations later, the firm is run by Marchese Piero Antinori and his three daughters.

Antinori is one of the most important and biggest wine producers in Italy. Besides a palace in Florence the family owns a long row of estates and vineyards, mostly in Tuscany but elsewhere in Italy and in California and Chile as well. Together with families like Frescobaldi they represent tradition, which has managed to survive during the centuries.  

Among the many wines produced by Antinori, I tasted a few recently, when the wine importer and shop, Vinens Verden (http://www.godevine.dk/) offered a chance to become co importer. In generally Antinori is known for producing fruity wines of good quality that don’t need to age for a long time but are ready to drink. And that goes for the cheaper wines as well as the more expensive.

We started with a white and a rosé. Tuscany doesn’t have a long tradition for producing white wine, due to the fact that the white grapes often were blended into the red Chianti wines. But that has been forbidden since 2005 when the regulation for Chianti Classico was changed. Villa Antinori Bianco 2011 (IGT) is made of 70 % Trebbiano and Malvasia – the traditionally varieties in Tuscany – and then 30 % blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio. The result is a light coloured fresh wine, with flowers and some grapefruit in the nose. Well balanced and medium bodied.

The Scalabrone Rosato 2012 from Guado al Tasso in Bolgheri at the coast south of Livorno was very light pink in the colour, fresh with a lot of strawberry notes. It is made of a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.

The reds started with Villa Antinori Rosso 2009, which has been produced since 1924 and with inspiration form Bordeaux. The grapes are 55 % Sangiovese, 25 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 % Merlot and 5 % Syrah. Therefore it is classified as Toscana IGT and not DOC. The later category demands a minimum of 80 % Sangiovese. It has stored 12-14 months on French oak and then about a year in the bottle. The result is a very fruity wine with dark berries and soft tannins. Very pleasant to drink with an international approach, but still with a Tuscan style.

After that followed three Chianti Classicos: Pèppoli 2009 from the estate with the same name, Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2008 and Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva 2007. The Pèppoli had some raspberry and a bit stable in the nose, a bit tannins but still soft and a short tail. It has performed better before. Marchese Antinori was darker and very powerful and seducing in the nose. Black berries and a bit oak due to the 14 month in small French barriques. A pleasant and powerful wine. The same goes for the Badia a Passignane mads of 100 % Sangiovese. Concentrated with a lot of fruit and a very long and beautiful tail.

After these three Chianti Classicos the next wine had a hard time. Il Brucato from Bolgheri was lighter and more anonymous in the style. It is made of 60 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot and 10 % Syrah. Drinkable and easy going.

Finally we tried Tignanello 2009, one of the so called Super Tuscans that appeared in the 70s and 80s, when the winemakers started to experiment with other grape varieties. It is made of 80 % Sangiovese, 15 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 % Cabernet Franc. Powerful, expressive and elegant in the nose, notes of raspberries and a lot of fruit, well balanced with some acid and tannins and a long aftertaste. It is a wine with and understandably good reputation, but of course more expensive too.

All together Antinori was not a disappointment and in generally gives good value for the money.      

Read more: http://www.antinori.it/en

My new Italian wine dealer

Most Wine Shops are offering small tastings every month or occasionally. Living in the centre of the Town with several good Wine Shops around me, I am attending some of them. Normally it is possible to taste five or six wines – enough to get an impression of a region or the wines on sale. And something you can do on your way home after work.

One of the places is a small importer of Italian Wine, called Vinotek A Fynnis, which I recently started to visit. The name is a sort of mixture between Danish and Italian and means something like the Enoteca on Funen, the name of the region. The place opened back in 2000 as the result of the owner’s passion for good Italian wine – the same story which is behind many other small Wine Shops and importers.     

Last Month Vinotek A Fynnis focused on wines from Piemonte including a very tasty Aperture Pinot Nero from Colombo, well balanced and comparable with wines from Burgundy. Some days ago they presented five wines from Tuscany, mainly based on Sangiovese of course.

The first wine was a plain Chianti Classico 2008 from the young estate Castelo di Radda. Cherries hidden in the nose and a dry tail with tannins. It was followed by a more powerful Chianti Colli Fiorentini 2009 called “La Torretta” from La Qeurce, a small estate just south of Florence. More expressive, ripe cherries and a lot of fruit, soft notes from 14 months in barriques and very well balanced. A wine, that gives value for money.

Another great wine was the Poliziano, a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2007, which had a hint of oak in the nose and acid to balance the plummy fruit. A really nice glass - powerful, but elegant and with a broader palet. Looking forward to try it with a good meal.

The last two wines were both from 2009 and both based on 100 % Sangiovese. First a Montecucco Sangiovese form Salustri and then Morelliono di Scansano 2009 from Colle Spinello. Both with harder tannins.

www.vinotekafynnis.dk