How can you tell what is good and what is not so good? How do I, as start up business make my selection process in an appellation as big as chianti where literally there are hundreds and hundreds of producers? How do I go about the selection process that will allow me to import the finest of quality? I will let you into a little secret! Walking through the beautiful streets of Siena I had a great idea as I was walking by a fairly selective wine shop, in Italian an ‘Enoteca’. Find a good retailer who knows his stuff, learn from those who already know, it saves time and money, and is certainly very efficient. I found one such store, ‘Enoteca Cantina Del Brunello’. I went inside and introduced myself to the owner. We started chatting and I got him to write down on the back of a business card six strong Chianti producers that he felt I should visit. I would like to balance my portfolio with wines from Italy to compliment the wines that I already have from France. Variety is the spice of life. Balance the portfolio, by that I mean different types of wine, almost certainly red, but different structure and characteristics. Most of the Bordeaux wines are blends, Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, perhaps some Cabernet Franc thrown into the mix. Chianti and Brunello are mostly single varietals such as Sangiovese. There are some wines that come from the Chianti region that carry IGT status. IGT, Indicazione Geograhica Typica. What is the meaning of this three letter acronym? Well, there are rules and legislation that have been implemented to protect the producers within the appellation and of course the appellation itself. Strict regulation is imposed when producing a wine such as Chianti Classico, for example it must have over 70% Sangiovese in the blend. Lets pretend you have a great vineyard in the heart of Chianti but the geological break down of the soils indicate the land would suit the cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon better than Sangiovese, what do you do then? You cannot make a Chianti Classico as you don’t have enough Sangiovese to make the blend. There is no law stopping you from making a wine, it just cannot be labelled Chianti Classico. You make a wine but instead of giving it the appellation it gets IGT status. Wines from Bolgheri and Castaneto-Carducci commonly known as ‘Super Tuscans’ such as Ornellaia and Sassichaia are famous IGT wines. It’s a title that is used for some great wines that allows the producer to circumnavigate some idiosyncratic bureaucracy, and continue to make great wines. The negative side is that perhaps you don’t gain as much on the commercial aspect when it comes to the sales side. As there is usually no geographical location mentioned on the label except for the very small print, the less well researched buyer and drinker may pass these wines by. I personally believe it to be a huge positive and can be very attractive to the more inquisitive mind.
Back at my hotel room later that afternoon I sat down and wrote six e-mails to the names my friend had written down on the business card, I received three replies. Italian wines can be excellent, full of flavors and very delicate in structure. The quality can be extraordinary, and if you are not buying ‘Masseto’ you can get some exceptional pricing and value for money. In order to get to Chianti, you take the road out of Florence and head due south toward Siena. The Chianti region is between Florence and Siena. Vast in ground surface area there is some weeding out to be done in terms of quality. Driving throughout the hills of the region I noticed that the ground towards the village of Panzano tends to have that exposed mineral element that I believe yields the best quality of grapes found in the better wines, this is one of my own personal quality control examinations. Indeed Panzano is the very center of the best Chianti production. I went and tasted two excellent wines that are based in these hills. ‘Fattoria di Lamole’ was one that stood out. Unfiltered, full and a great representation of what Chianti can be. Sangiovese is the grape of choice in this appellation. The wines need time to adjust, every vintage is different, unlike Napa which is very difficult to tell one year from another as the weather pattern is very similar from one vintage to the next, having said that the wines from Napa can be excellent if not a little one dimensional. Paolo Socci is the owner and winemaker at Fattoria di Lamole. He took me on a very nice walk around his plot. Lamole which is the village name comes from the latin word ‘blades’. There are blades of flat land on the terraced hills, which have walled terraces. Paolo explained that the walls retain the heat from the midday sun and aid in the process of photosynthesis. Some of the vineyards in Lamole decided to get rid of the walls and terraces because it was to difficult to farm the land and harvest the grapes. Paolo much to his credit made a massive financial investment over the last ten years and reinstalled the walls. He explained to me that the wine was different without the walls, that it had lost its personality. Why I asked ? “Well, the walls retain the heat from the sunshine, at five pm every day in June, July and August, maximum photosynthesis occurs at around twenty-five degrees Celsius” Wow, I was impressed by this man who was on point and deliberate with his scientific knowledge. The wines were big and had plenty of flavor. It’s not the same when you taste a wine that is not so commercial. There is plenty of earth on the palate and they don’t have the immediate fruitiness you have become accustomed to. I could tell these wines are meant for racking. A few years and then they will almost certainly develop in the bottle, sediment going to the bottom and leaving a rich, delicate structure full of beautiful red fruit, enjoyable for twenty odd years or more. In a way, this is what I am looking for. Real character that will develop and keep, not something that smells of ‘Bonne Maman’ fruit conserve, which I feel should be left for your toast in the morning with a nice cup of tea. You dig ?
The Vecchie Terre di Montefili, which is also near the village of Panzano was amazing. The wines from this fine vineyard are sure to be among my next shipment. They were so refined and elegant. You will notice the word elegance features a lot in my writing. Elegance is not just one characteristic in a fine wine. It is many things, the alcohol level living in harmony with the acidity. The different aromas that levitate from the glass represent the oxidation of the wine. Chemical reactions of the different alcohols mixing with oxygen yield different flavors such as blackberry, strawberry, chocolate, Tobacco and coffee. Some of these aromas come from the charring of the barrel etc, but all in all there has to be a balance and harmony: fruit to structure. The kind of wines I like are smooth in the mouth, very fine and sleek, teasing the palate with intricate flavors that inspire deep conversations around the dinner table. No rough edges. Chateau Pavie Maquin which is mostly Merlot and comes from St Emillion is a great example, 2011 was just excellent in a very average vintage. The wines at Vecchie Terre Di Montfili range from a Chianti Classico, typical Chianti Sangiovese, aged in large Slovenian oak ‘Botte,’ excellent acidity, great sour cherry and red fruit such as strawberry, but not jammy. The Anphiteatro, a wine named Anphiteatro as the vineyard has the shape of an amphitheater consists 100% Sangiovese aged in 350 liter French barriques for twelve months and is a single vineyard. Finally the ‘Bruno Di Rocca’ which is a blend of cabernet Sauvignon 60% and Sangiovese 40% both from single vineyards and is aged in 350 liter barriques from France. The sweetness of the oak is very important as there are several different types used in order to captivate the required flavors and structure of the wine. These vineyards sit high above the plains, therefore maximum drainage, so no watery like structure in the wine, mostly concentrate. The exposure to the Tuscan sun throughout the day-time in the summer is key. The wines were tasted in the cellar accompanied by tasty prosciutto ham. It was mouth watering I may add. Tommaso Paglione is the head winemaker at the property, a passionate man who gave me a thorough walk through the exquisite piece of land, pointing out nuances, talking in depth about the blend in the ‘Bruno Di Rocca’. Taking it all in, you can tell when you are talking to the winemaker and looking at the property what the wine is going to be like. In short, excellent. The presentation was first class and the wines will make me proud when I sell them as I know the buyers are in for a treat.
The next day, I got up to a beautiful Tuscan spring morning and headed east from Siena. I went toward Beradenga, a town land which is about twenty miles from Siena situated near the village of Castelnuovo. I had a meeting at ‘Castell In Villa’. I was waiting to speak with the owner Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa in the office. I opened a book which was in Italian. Translated, it read something like ‘Best of Italian Wines’. I got to the earmarked page, ‘Castell In Villa’. I said to myself, “I have no chance of importing this stuff”. The owner came in, impeccably dressed and charming, I could tell we would get along straight away. There were a few bottles sitting on the table and I tasted one, the current release of their Chianti Classico. Sumptuous. I make decisions very quickly when I feel I am right and the chemistry is good. I tried two mouthfuls, made my decision right there and then, no pfaffing around. You should never look a gift horse in the mouth. Decision made. So, driving back towards Siena, I was happy as I had returned to Chianti and made some strong contacts, secured some great names and hopefully I will be able to import upon my return to the states.
