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

Wine at a meeting

The board of The Vintage Port Club does not have meetings that often. But when we meet, we are always having a glass or two, and not just port, but table wine as well. Often the meeting include a dinner, and we try to match the wines too the food.

Normally everyone brings a bottle or two and often the wines are served blind. Yesterday’s list of wine was quite impressive – not just in numbers but in quality as well. I did not make notes, but here is the list:

Blancs de Blancs Valdiviesio

Champagne Valois extra dry

Dr. Loosen 2007 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling

Alsace 2006 Riesling gr. Cru

Dr. Nägler Rheingau 1996 Riesling Spätlese

Dr. Heinrich Nägler Rheingau 1976 Riesling Auslese

Select Blocks Sauvignon Blancs 2011 Marlborough New Zealand

Hartley Ostini – Hitching Post Highliner 2008 Pinot Noir Santa Barbara

Dominus, Napa Valley 2002

Sauternes: Ch. Lafaurie Peyraguey 1994

Andresen Vintage 2009

Graham Vintage1983

Taylor Vintage1970

Cockburns Vintage1970

Fonseca Vintage1970

Feist Vintage1977

Among the peaks of the evening were the Rheingau Spätlese 1996, Dominus 2002, Cockburn 1970 and Fonseca 1970.

A duel between Single Quinta Vintage and LBV

Single Quinta Vintage (S.Q.V.P.) is a category of port that I find very interesting and challenging. Interesting because it the most pure product. As a principle it is based on grapes from the same harvest and the same quinta which gives more variation due to the differences in soil, locality and microclimate. Just think of the differences of rain and heat in the Baixo Corgo and the Douro Superior… This explains why you can find excellent Single Quinta Vintages in years where the harvest in general was not that good. In other words it is among the S.Q.V.P.´s that you will find the terroir of the Douro expressed more clearly that in “real” Vintage, which is a made of a blend of the best grapes from different quintas and places in the region.  

On the other hand there is some confusion connected to the category. It is not a formal category described in the “Regulamento das categorias especiais do vinho do Porto”, but on the website of Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) I have found this definition:

These Vintages are unique in that they are not only the product of a single harvest but also of a single quinta, or wine estate, which makes them truly exceptional.

The Portuguese version does not talk about quinta, but “uma única vinha”, where vinha means either wine estate or vineyard.

Traditional S.Q.V.P is produced when a company does not declare “real” vintage and if – of course – the harvest on the specific quinta is good enough for the purpose. But the same goes for other types of blended vintages which also are sorts of Second Wines like Fonseca Guimaraens, Noval Silval and Graham´s Malvedos – the latter a topic that has been discussed many times. Before Malvedos was more a brand, but lately the quinta has given its name to real Single Quinta Vintage.

After the new law from 1986 which allowed independent producers to export port direct from the Douro, more S.Q.V.P.s has been added to the marked. Instead of selling their grapes to the big companies, growers wanted to produce port themselves under their own name and brand – and some of them are declaring S.Q.V.P. nearly every year. That is another reason why the category is a challenge. New brands of different quality are popping up every year. There is always a new player on the marked ready to be tasted and tested.

Another sort of Second Wine to Vintage is of course Late Bottled Vintage – “The Other Vintage Port” as Roy Hersh once called it in an article. Today LBV is produced nearly every year, but opposite vintage it is stored between 4 and 6 years in large barrels. There are different types of LBV, but in general they can be divided into filtered and non filtered – where the former is ready to drink when bottled and the latter will gain from maturing in the cellar.

Both S.Q.V.P. and LBV can be excellent, and often you will find very good value for the money. But what if you compare those two categories? Which one are the best? Can you taste the difference when they are young? Those were the questions, when The Vintage Port Club recently invited to a duel between S.Q.V.P. and LBV both from the year 2005.

The wines were Quinta do Bomfim and Dow´s LBV, Fonseca Guimaraens and Fonseca LBV, Graham´s Malvedos and LBV, Quinta do Passadouro and LBV, Noval Silval and Noval LBV, Quinta de Ervamoira and Ramos Pintos LBV and finally Quinta de Vargellas and Taylor´s LBV.

And before that we had a little warm-up with Delaforce Quinta da Corte 1980 and Graham´s Malvedos 1968, 2008 and 2009.  

Of the first four the Malvedos 1968 was the peak. Red brown with white rim and with a good balance between acid and fruit. Still fresh and nice. The two younger brothers had a lot of fresh fruit, tannins and acid and a very good potential for developing. I don’t remember that I have tried Quinta da Corte before, and unfortunately this bottle was not a pleasure. It was sticky in the nose, unbalanced and lacked fruit and power.

After that followed all the bottles from 2005. Most of them were not mature yet, had strong tannins and resulted in purple tongues. To make it more difficult they were all served blind and in random order. That’s means that besides finding out which ones were single quintas and which ones were LBVs, we should try to figure out the names of the companies as well.

Honestly it was not easy at all! I identified the LBV´s from Dow´s, Graham´s, Fonseca and Ramos Pintos, but the latter I thought was a vintage. The same with the LBV from Noval – and then for other wines it was the opposite: I degraded some of the vintages to LBVs. For educationally reasons it might have been better to taste them two by two, giving us a chance to compare the LBV with the S.Q.V.P. from the same brand. 

After the tasting, but before the names were unveiled, we voted for the best wines of the evening:

1. Fonseca Guimaraens with 48 votes. My own favourite this evening, fine balance and a long lovely tail.
2. Graham´s Malvedos with 31 votes. I agreed here as well and had it on my second place. A lot for dark berries.
3. Quinta do Passadouro with 14 votes. Here I disagreed and in a matter of fact I though it was a LBV
4. Ramos Pinto Quinta do Ervamoira with 12 votes. I had it in my top 5 as well
5. Ramos Pinto LBV with 10 votes. The only LBV that made it to the top.

After that followed Dow´s Bomfim, Taylor´s Vargellas, Graham´s LBV, Passadouros LBV and Noval Silval. All in all 80 % of the votes were given to the Single Quinta Vintages.

Therefore my conclusion will be, that it is possible to taste a difference between S.Q.V.P. and LBV – and in generally the former perform better that the latter. But you can make mistakes as well and a good LBV – like the one from Ramos Pinto – can compete and often they will be good value for the money.

Master Class with Rui Falcão

Last week ViniPortugal – an organization that is promoting Portuguese wine – invited to a Master Class with Rui Falcão at Restaurant Årstiderna in Malmö. Unfortunately it seems like ViniPortugal has stopped their efforts to convince Danes about the quality of their products, so I have to go to Sweden instead. And so I did.

Rui Falacão is among the most respected wine journalists in Portugal. He writes for the daily newspaper Público and the magazine Wine – Essência do Vinho. Besides that he has published several books about wine, one of which is the annual Guia dos Vinhos. Because of this involvement he tastes more than 4000 different wine per year and is often giving lectures about Portuguese wine.   

The aim with the Master Class and the tasting was to show the variety of Portuguese wine production. The variety has more than one cause, Rui Falcão explained. First of all it is a fact that more than 300 of the known grape varieties in the world are represented in Portugal, and some of them only grow there. Of course you can find Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but not as often as in other European countries and in the New World. The identification and registration is not finished. It is hard work because it is common in Portugal to have mixed varieties in the same vineyard. The reason for that is historical. Portugal has many small growers, and they did not want to risk that the whole harvest was spoiled due to weather etc. If they mixed the grapes, some of them might fail, but the rest would be ok. Today about 20 % of the vineyards are still mixed varietes.    

Because of this single grape wine is not that common, even than more producers has started to make some. Recently I tried both Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz from Quinta do Crasto e.g. But normally the wines are a blend of different varieties blended either in the field or after fermentation.

Another reason for the variety is the climate or more accurate the microclimate. Portugal is situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Spain and has hills and mountains which cause big differences. An example is in the North where there is a huge difference between Minho at the coast where it is cool and wet – and the Douro Superior close to Spain where it is hot and dry. That gives more freshness and acid in the grapes for Vinho Verde, and more fruit and ripeness for the grapes for red and port.

On top on that the soil is very unlike as well (granite, schist, clay etc.) which gives different terroir. A variety as Touriga Nacional e.g. is not the same grown in the Douro as in the Alentejo, where you can find lemon in the taste, Rui Falcão explained.

After the lecture we tasted eight wines – two white, five red and one fortified – to illustrate the differences and the high quality of course. 

We started with a Vinho Verde made of Alvarinho – in my opinion one the best of the white grape varieties. Quinta de Soalheiro Primeras Vinhas 2011 was light and golden, with exotic fruit like pineapple and peach in the nose. Fresh and full bodied with a long, great aftertaste.    

The second white was a Bairrada, FP 2010 from Filipa Pato, made of a blend of Bical and Arinto. Lighter in the colour and the nose – a bit like a Riesling. Some apple, lemon and pinenotes. Full bodied, fresh and with a nice and balanced acidity. Some notes of cask, but not too much.  

The first red was a Quinta do Saes Reserva Estágio Prolongado 08 from Alváro Castro in Dão. Dark with a white rim. Powerful with dark berries and a bit liquorice in the nose. Soft tannins and a long tail with good acid. The wine was a proof that Dão today is apple to make more elegant and not just harsh wines. It was a blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Jaen og Aragonez.

Next stop was Alentejo with two different wines. Herdade dos Grous 23 Barricas 2008 represented the more international style, which the region has a lot of success with. A mix of Touriga Nacional and Syrah gave a slightly spicy nose with some pepper, but a hint of lemons as well. Very straight, a lot of fruit but a bit grandiose. I preferred the Quinta do Mouro 2007, which was more classical in its style. A deeply red, powerful and very potential wine made of a blend of Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional and a bit Cabernet Sauvignon.

From the Douro we had two different wines as well. Duorum Vinhoas Velhas 2009 from Douro Superior is made of grapes from old vineyards, a blended field mixed with 45 % of Touriga Nacional. It was deep red with purple hues, but surprisingly soft and straight. A typical character of Touriga Nacional and nice tannins. Quinta do Vale Meão 2010 from the hands of Fransisco Olozabal was made of a blend of the grapes known from port. Still too young and closed, but with more fruit and a nice tempting smell of blackberry. A long complex aftertaste with a lot of acid and fruit and a very good potential for developing into a great wine.

Finally Rui Falcão served a Moscatel Roxo Bacalhöa 2002, a red variation of the well known fortified wine from the area around Setúbal. Beautiful orange red with peach and some mint. Very sweet and delicious and with enough acid to make it well balanced. As a wine served to desserts it is a fine alternative to Port and Madeira, I – as a port lover – has to admit.

The variation of grapes and wines in Portugal is huge and deserves more attention in Denmark as in the rest of the world. Hopefully Rui Falcão Master Classes and the efforts of ViniPortugals will succeed. And hopefully they will include Denmark in their program again soon.

http://ruifalcao.com/

http://viniportugal.se/

Croft and Quinta da Roêda

The Douro is slowly passing by Croft´s Quinta da Roêda just outside Pinhão. But it has not always been like that. Until the river was dammed the water was lower and caused rapids where it makes a bend. The sound or the noise from the river, the arrueda, gave name to the Quinta.

The Quinta was founded in 1811 and was owned by Taylor in many years. But when John Fladgate´s daughter married one of the representatives from Croft, the Quinta changed hands. When Fladgate Partnership bought Croft and Delaforce in 2001 Roêda returned to the old owners.

Recently The Vintage Port Club in Denmark hosted a Croft tasting of most of the declarations since 1955 – including two Single Quinta Vintages from Roêda. Normally at a vertical tasting like this we divide it into two sections (as far as I remember it was Dominic Symington who introduced us to this method) – first the oldest half of the wines beginning with the youngest, and secondly the youngest half beginning with the oldest. Tasting the wines in this order means that we don’t start with the oldest vintages, but we will taste them before the youngest wines, that are full of fresh fruit and tannins and can ruin the ability to taste the full pallet of the old and more fragile ones.

The first wine was the 1985, a year that has brought some very good wines, but unfortunately more disappointments. This evening Croft was among the latter. Already somewhere between red and mahogany with a light brim. A weak aroma with a bit cherries and alcohol, low acid and just a bit fruit left. The 1977 was slightly better without making any impression. Brown, a hidden aroma of strawberry and nuts, very light and some pepper in the tail. None of them seems to have a long life in front of them.

This was sort of expected. Croft did not have the best reputation in the 70ths and 80ths, where it seems like they focused more on quantity than quality. From now on the wines could only improve and they did!

The next flight was two great Vintages, the 1970 and the 1966, followed by another two, the 1963 and the 1955. These wines were the peaks of the evening. 1970 was red brown, but still with fruit and acid for developing further. The nose was full of cherries and bit cinnamon and eucalyptus, fruit and well balanced with a nice tail. 1966 was the weakest of the four. Very light and tawny-like in the stile, some strawberries, raisins and a bit coffee. A lack of acid and a very short finish. Often 1966 has performed nearly as well as 1963, but not this evening. What the 1966 was short of was present in the 1963. A lot of power and fruit, mahogany and a good aroma of fruit and cherries. Still alive and kicking, elegant and well balanced and a long, pleasant tail. 1955 was a bit darker, but not as pleasant and comfortable in the nose. Cherries and a bit sharp at first, but a lot better after a while. It just needed some time.         

The second section of the tasting started with Quinta da Roêda 1987 and 1995. 1987 was red brown with marmalade and pine needles in the nose. Nice and drinkable right now, but without depths and a broad pallet. 1995 was dark red and had a lot of fruit and tannins left. I think it will approve.   

After that we ended with Croft 1991, 1994, 2000, 2003 and finally 2007. Now there was a lot of dark colour and fruit in the glasses, the last ones inky.The more light and perhaps more elegant style with cherries gave room for more powerful and muscular wines with darker berries, plums some coffee and tobacco and perhaps a bit pine needle. In generally they were a bit sweeter, deeper and with a burning tail. 1991 did not have that much depth and power, but a lot of fruit. 1994 was a bit closed right now. Unfortunately the 2003 I tasted was corked, but the report from the other end of the table was, that it was very good and promising. 2007 showed a lot of potential too.    

My conclusion is that Croft in older vintages is very good, and that the quality is rising again, but in a bit more sweet and concentrated style. The head winemaker now is Taylor and Fonsecas David Guimaraens, who wisely has chosen to give the brand its own style. One of the first things the new owners did was to reinstall the old lagares at Quinta da Roêda – a fine symbol of the intentions to produce port of high quality.

After the tasting the participants voted for the best wines of the evening. A couple of corked and odd bottles disturbed a bit, but there was no doubt about the first place: 

1. Croft 1963 with 58 points
2. Croft 1970 with 35 points
3. Croft 1955 with 13 point
4. Croft 1994 and Croft 2003 with 12 point.

Basic Niepoort and an unknown Don Joaquim

Recently a friend invited me to a small tasting of basic Niepoort. First the entry level with Ruby and the Tawny, then Ruby Dum and Tawny Dee and finally LBV 2007, Colheita 2001 and 10 years Tawny.

A tasting like that gives you the chance to compare the style in different levels of quality. And through I am used to drink older vintage, I do enjoy a good glass of reserve port now and then.

I was surprised how smooth the Rubies were. Easy going with dark berries and nice fruit, and even the LBV did not have strong tannins. The Two Twins from NiePOoRTland are referring to the twins from Alice in Wonderland, Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The first still youthful with red cherries and some plums – the latter aged 3½ years in oak and with notes of dried figs and a long finish with pepper and spirit. They both had a little sign attached around the neck saying Drink Me! And that is what they are made for. Easy to drink – perhaps for a new audience – but without the depth, power and concentration of their older sisters and brothers. Of course the LBV had more to offer, more fruit and a brother pallet, but I was not that impressed. Normally it performs better.

The best wines of the evening were the two Tawnies with age. The 10 years had figs and nuts but also some notes of lemon and orange, followed by a long, comfortable tail. For me the port of the evening was the Colheita 2001. Medium red to light brown. Dried fruits with some orange and apricot in the nose. Still young, but with power, good fruit and intensity. Balanced and nice to drink.    

Besides the wines from Niepoort, we had a Don Joaquim Vintage 1989 – a label that I have never tasted before and to be honest know nothing about. It was ready to drink and close to be gone. A brown and bright colour, a bit milky in the nose, smooth but without depths and a very short finish. Not a great port, but as an introduction to aged vintages it served its duty that evening. The only notes I have been able to find are on the Swedish site vintageport.se. If anyone knows more, you are welcome to send me information…

A nice evening, but I am looking forward to taste Niepoort Vintages and older Colheitas in the future.

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