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Spotlight on Sangiovese: Salvioni Brunello di Montalcino 2003

October 23, 2011 By Shea 4 Comments

Despite its remarkable beauty and immediate loveability, Italy is a daunting country for any wine lover. With over 800 grape varieties, countless DOC and DOCGs and thousands of wineries, Italy is both deeply regional and a nuanced amalgam of grape and terroir.

While I have consumed hundreds of Italian wines, I feel as though I have only a limited understanding of the country. When faced with an immeasurable chasm of learning I like to start with the fundamentals. Sangiovese is perhaps the Italian grape, with nearly twice as many plantings as the next most populous varieties. Though planted throughout Italy, Sangiovese is best known in Tuscany and Umbria, with other significant plantings in Le Marche and Emilia-Romagna.

Sangiovese is also a grape that seems unable to succeed anywhere else in the world. Despite occasional pleasurable examples from California and Australia, for the most part nowhere makes good Sangiovese except for Italy. And yet within Italy, Sangiovese is possible of many different expressions.

In this spotlight I will focus on understanding the many faces of Sangiovese: whether terroir truly speaks or whether clonal selection and viticulture and cellar practices make the most significant impact on the final product. What makes Sangiovese so uniquely Italian and which producers are staying true to the grape’s indigenous character?

Instability and Brunello

Sangiovese is notoriously genetically unstable. It mutates with ease and clonal variation proliferates. The traditional line for Brunello di Montalcino’s greatness was that its Sangiovese clone were unique. There are, however, at least 6 different clones used in Montalcino, and it is more likely that the warm climate and the sandy and limestone soils contribute at least as much to the region’s distinctiveness than the particular clones used (soils also vary considerably between the northern and southern vineyards in Brunello di Montalcino).

Sangiovese is a late-ripening variety. In Brunello, with its hotter climate as compared to other Tuscan regions, Sangiovese vinifies into powerful, tannic and dark fruited juice. The required minimum of 4 years aging exists because the juice from these grapes is so taught and undrinkable in its youth. Most Brunello di Montalcino’s also need at least 5 years bottle age after being released before it becomes truly drinkable. With age, however, Brunello di Montalcino can blossom into a many-scented, deeply elegant and yet powerful wine of great distinction.

On Salvioni

Salvioni is a new-comer in Montalcino compared to storied producers like Biondi-Santi (1888) or Fattoria dei Barbi (the next oldest at around 1950). Founded in 1985, Salvioni has quickly catapulted into the upper echelons of Brunello di Montalcino, sharing pride of place with producers like Soldera. Owning 4ha of vines planted in the original Brunello di Montalcino zone (at the high-elevation vineyards near Biondi-Santi), Salvioni heavily restricts yields through considerable pruning but ultimately vinifies the wines very traditionally, using extended macerations and blends together 5 different clones. Only about 800 cases are produced and Salvioni makes no riserva bottling.

Choosing a good producer in Montalcino is essential. Since 1975, the number of producers has increased from 25 to 500. Plantings are at an all time high and many critics believe that the region is over-planted and many sub-standard sites are being made into wine that simply does not bear the hallmark quality for which Brunello di Montalcino has become known. The battle between modernists and traditionalists continues, with modernists winning short term scores and making rich up front fruity wines, but with traditionalists making more difficult to appreciate but much longer aging wines. Salvioni is generally seen as part of the traditionalist camp.

A Traditional Brunello

2003 was a hot year across Europe. It was difficult to make good wine in this year, particularly in warmer zones like Brunello di Montalcino. Salvioni’s high altitude vineyards, however, assisted greatly in producing a more elegant and balanced wines than most of his peers.

Still pouring very dark red despite its 8 years of age, this Brunello was all classic dried cherries, leather, sandalwood and flowers on the nose. The palate offered a powerful but tight acid structure and was ultimately still too tannic and not yet fully resolved.

It is always unfortunate to open such a prized bottle when too young, and that was certainly the case here though this Brunello had started to open and show its complexity after a few hours decanting. Licorice, roots and dried cherries – right now this is good but not great for the price and I expected a lot more. I believe this still needs 5+ years in the bottle, but it is also possible that 2003 will never shed its awkwardness even as it becomes less aggressive with age. I will open another in a few years to see.

Very Good+
$180 at Kits Wine

Filed Under: $60+, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Sangiovese, Very Good

Fontodi Chianti Classico 2007

August 9, 2011 By Shea 7 Comments

Fontodi is a top producer in Chianti, a region much maligned both for its history of cheap dreck and for an overabundance of new Super Tuscan blends many of which have focused more on international rather than regional varieties.

On the other hand, Chianti, particularly Chianti Classico, has seen a bit of a resurgance lately, with top producers like Fontodi focusing on a terroir driven approach to Chianti and demonstrating that the Classico DOCG can offer stunning soil driven wines.

Fickle Grape, Rediscovered Terroir

Sangiovese, of course, is one of Italy’s greatest indigenous grapes, descendant from two other indigenous Tuscan vines called ciliegiolo and calabrese monotenuovo. Sangiovese is a vigorous grape that must be closely pruned but also that has difficulty ripening. The grape’s naturally light colour is what led to blending with both traditional varieties and the international grapes Cabernet and Merlot. Though I have to point out that while these noble French varieties have been much maligned, when done well, they can produce outstanding wine. That said, this Chianti is 100% Sangiovese (as is Fontodi’s Super Tuscan Flaccianello).

Perfectly Classic

A nose of classic medium bodied cherry becomes a fantastic full-bodied yet very well balanced wine with flavours of cherry, licorice and roots. This has amazing length and structure for basic Chianti Classico and is a superb example both of Fontodi and the outstanding 2007 vintage.

There is pretty much no Chianti out there in B.C. at this price point with this level of structure and complexity. That makes this wine an outstanding buy that you can lay down or drink now with a hearty plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

Very Good+ and Highly Recommended Value
$33 at BCLDB

P.S. The Portuguese Spotlight will continue soon – the contingencies of a busy life have created some delay.

Filed Under: $30-$40, Highly Recommended Values, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Very Good

Sean Thackrey Aquila Sangiovese 2002

April 16, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

I’ve written about Sean Thackrey before, whose wines are both iconic and atypical for California. Thackrey embraces California’s terroir and the ripeness of the grapes but his vinification techniques are unlike almost anyone else (open vat fermentation under the stars for one) and he has extremely detailed clone based blending techniques, as he believes clones are one of the most important variables in the character of a wine.

Two Rarities Conspiring for Quality

Until the recession these wines were nearly impossible to find even in California. These days they have become a little more accessible and, just recently, some of them have even made their way into our market.

One of the more exciting claims made by Thackrey is that his unique wines can age incredibly well and change dramatically over time. So it was with great relish that I picked up this 9 year old Sangiovese made from fruit from Eaglepoint Ranch, Mendocino, California. This now discontinued wine is unlike old world Sangiovese and it also shows up the oh so many unpleasant and poorly made Sangioveses that California wineries have attempted to produce over the years. These wines were so bad that most critics simply came to believe that Sangiovese does not grow well in California. While this is mostly true, Thackrey shows his talents by making something special out of the grape.

The Wine

This is big bold California wine that is also supple and smooth on the palate. The fruit is dense and ripe but also of very high quality so that it hides the nearly 16% alcohol very well. Thackrey’s wines always have a distinctive herbal and medicinal quality that was also present in this wine and may be an acquired taste for some. For me it adds a unique touch to the wine and seems at home in the melange of fruit and oak flavours that Thackrey crafted into what is probably California’s best Sangiovese. This is not a cheap wine, but it is most certainly one worth trying, particularly if you like richer wines, but have become bored with the mainstream in California wine production.

Excellent
$90 at Kits Wine Cellar

Filed Under: $60+, Californian Wine, Excellent, Sangiovese

Il Ponte Fra Due Terre 2004

January 27, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

I have written before that one of the great joys of wine is finding a smallish and lesser or unknown producer who happens to produce outstanding wine (and hoping that no one else discovers them). Well here in Berkeley there is a wine merchant who does all the work of sorting out the great stuff from the crap for you called Vintage Berkeley. Nothing at the store is over $25, nothing is from a major producer, and pretty much everything is outstanding value. I picked up this bottle from that store.

Usually new world sangiovese is pretty gross. The brilliance of this particular California Sangiovese blended from Sonoma and Napa grapes is that the winemaker used to head up Robert Mondavi’s Italian wine experiment in California. While Mondavi ultimately decided not to pursue a mass production of Italian style wine, the wine maker for this beauty of a bottle in the meantime learned where the best sources of Sangiovese were for the state. Sure he could only produce 200 cases of wine from them, but being lucky enough to try a bottle I can attest to both the outstanding quality and, honestly, phenomenal quality to price ratio this wine brings to the table.

On the nose I got a classic Chianti style cherry and plum with distinct barnyard notes. The palate had real acidity and balance to it, with real integrity to the simple but pure fruit flavours of cherry and strawberry. The 2% Petite Sirah added to the blend very likely added both depth of colour and depth of flavour and, along with the abundent sunshine, gave the wine a distinctly Californian edge, while yet not overwhelming the Italianite qualities of the wine. Essentially this is not only the best New World Sangiovese I’ve had, but it tops many more expensive examples from Italy. Wow!

Excellent
$21 at Vintage Berkeley
Filed Under: $20-$30, Californian Wine, Excellent, Sangiovese

Kestrel Estate Sangiovese 2003

October 24, 2008 By Shea 2 Comments

Having recently tried this small Washington producer’s Syrah and finding it quite exceptional, I decided to give another of their varietal offerings a try. This time I chose something not so well known in Washington – a Sangiovese from the Yakima Valley. At 13.8% alcohol, I found this surprisingly Italian in style with a barn-y, raspberry and burnt hay nose. A very lively wine, it was also stinky just like a Chianti Classico. In the end, this was perhaps too simple for the price, but it was well made and had terrific structure. Plus, I would definitely mistake this for a Tuscan wine in a blind tasting – which is pretty cool in itself.

Very Good
$36 at Everything Wine
Filed Under: $30-$40, Sangiovese, Very Good, Washington Wine

Felsina Fontalloro 2000

September 9, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

I thought I’d make Monday a little more exciting than usual by opening a bottle of this, one of Tuscany’s most respected sangiovese -based IGTs. Felsina is a classic chianti producer who knows how to turn sangiovese grapes into wine that greatly exceeds the norm in quality.

This was dark rudy brown in the glass and had a nose of black currants, cassis and cedar. The palate was tart but well balanced and very nuanced. I detected leather, spice, dried prunes, currants and sweet blackberry fruit. This also had a very long finish with very fine and integrated tannins. So, even though this oxydized fairly quickly after I opened the bottle (probably 2-3 hours), this was a beautifully structured and elegant sangiovese – one of the nicest I’ve tasted.

Excellent
$70 at BCLDB
Filed Under: $60+, Excellent, Italian Wine, Sangiovese

Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2004

May 18, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

Work has been keeping me busy, so the updates have slowed a bit. Nevertheless, the wine drinking continued. I had this a few nights ago as foray into the fantastic 2004 vintage in Tuscany. I think that Vino Nobile di Montepulciano can offer tremendous value in sangiovese – with prices between cheaper Chianti’s and more expensive Brunellos. A good middle ground.

The nose had bright berry fruit that opened into a fairly simple, but authentic palate. This was very fruity, but in a pure unmanipulated manner. Other flavours were a little savory, and were undergirded with a bit of caramel. A simple and medium length finish rounded this out well. I’d pair this with a pasta or stewed meat of some sort – but I’m not an adventurous wine-pairing afficionado.

Very Good
$40 at BCLDB
Filed Under: $40-$60, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Very Good

Carpineto Chianti Classico Riserva 2003

April 28, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

This wine approaches two hurdles quite well. The first is that this is Chianti, often a simple and boring take on Sangiovese. The second is that the vintage – 2003 – was very hot and tended to produce (at least in my experience) baked and thin wines. Carpineto was one of the first Chianti producers to take wine production more seriously, and having had both their normale bottling and this riserva, I think they still deserve recognition as a high quality producer.

This was quite an aromatic wine with hay, manure, cherry and raspberry on the nose. The palate was long and balanced, with well structured acidity. I enjoyed the finish, which I found refined and elegant for a chianti, albeit not overly complex. This is an excellent clasically styled Chianti that surpasses its vintage.

Very Good+
$45 at Kitsilano Wine Cellars
Filed Under: $40-$60, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Very Good

Castello Dei Rampolla Chianti Classico 2004

March 28, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

I write this after a day of trudging through the first half of an essay on Sustainable Development law. It seems to me that we often use that term without really understanding what it means, and that while we have trouble defining it, that it still points to something of merit. So after the complexities of a philosophical and legal discussion of development and the environment I thought something simple was in order.

Chianti is a superabundant wine, but rarely where it counts. It often suggests something simple. These days, however, Chianti is growing in complexity and density and is becoming a little more exciting. This wine hints at that potential.

This particular producer became a bit of a cult hit with its Cab based super tuscan blends, which are likely the polar opposite of this wine. The nose is burnt red fruit. It almost smells like burning hay. The palate continued this trend and coupled those flavours with a high level of acidity that demanded food. This is not a sit on the patio sipper, but a wine built for a simple stewed meat or pasta. So, while the fruit is simple, the wine is good and even has a bit of chalky tannin. The acidity is high enough, though, that this without doubt a food wine. Enjoyable, but overpriced.

$38 at BCLDB
Very Good
Filed Under: $30-$40, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Very Good

Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Oro 2003

February 13, 2008 By Shea 1 Comment

This week brings another Wine Blogging Wednesday Extravaganza brought to you by Andrew from http://www.spittoon.biz/. His clever theme involved picking any Italian wine and then giving a tasting note in 7 words. WBW’s have had an illustrious tradition of encouraging the humble wine blogger to break their regular patterns and do something creative, whether it is trying an unheard of region, a unique varietal, or in this case approaching wine in a unique fashion.

The wine I chose for this week was a special pick from my cellar – a 2003 Ruffino Chianti Classic Riserva Ducale Oro – a renowned chianti. And, without further ado here is the review:

“Fruit alive with wit, but classically tempered.”

I look forward to reading everyone else’s notes! My full tasting notes are as follows:
This is a beautiful wine – in fact one of the best I’ve ever tasted. It consists of stunning fruit, excellent balance, perfect acitidy (crisp but mellow), and moderate and well structured tannins. The fruit is very light berry flavours like rasberry and strawberry, but it is tempered by earth and stone-like sentiments and structured, as I suggested in my 7 word review, with great wit and yet with a strong classical temperament. Great wine, great theme, great night.
Excellent+
$50 at BCLDB


Filed Under: $40-$60, Excellent, Italian Wine, Sangiovese
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