Montepulciano

The Fortezza di Montepulciano opened its doors in February 2011, after a long restoration, to host the new release tastings of the new vintage releases – 2008 for Nobile and 2007 for Riserva.

This small appellation of just 1,300 hectares in the east of Tuscany, 110km south of Florence, and 180km north of Rome, has been a DOCG since 1980.

DOCG production comprises a minimum 70% sangiovese, known as prugnolo gentile in this region, plus 30% of other varieties permitted in Tuscany.  In this part of Tuscany that mainly means the likes of canaiolo, colorino and mammolo on the traditional side, plus merlot and cabernet sauvignon on the international side.

Merlot seems to suit the slightly softer, gentler, more perfumed expression of sangiovese/ prugnolo gentile grown on sands and sandy clay soils with pebbles. Altitude also plays its part: vineyards are between 250m and 600m above sea level.

DOCG wines must be aged for minimum of two years (three for Riserva).

In addition to Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, another 350 ha are certified for Rosso di Montepulciano DOC. The Rosso di Montepulciano DOC has the same blending stipulations, but the yield can be 25% higher.

Scale is generally small. The total production of these wines is about 670,000 cases (12s) in the entire DOCG, plus 230,000 cases of Rosso di Montepulciano, made by about 250 producers.

Whilst new oak barriques are making their presence felt, sangiovese generally needs big barrels, often 20 to 50 hl just to soften out the edges, make it easier to drink.  Casale Daviddi’s Nobile has 28 months in 25hl oak, for example. And 60% of the Le Bèrne Nobile is made in 20-30hl casks, with 40% going to older barriques.  So whilst some new oak is being used in the appellation, there seems to be a sensitivity as to the amount of new oak that sangiovese can absorb without a deleterious effect on the wine and its freshness.

Favourites from the new releases – all tasted blind, in situ, February 2011

Fattoria della Talosa, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
Cask sample. 90% sangiovese; 10% merlot
Elegant attack, rich black fruit, brambly, all spice,, with a modern and fleshy note; silky tannins, full bodied, lush and sweet fruit, expansive enveloping fruit, all in the black berry spectrum; less of the typical teacake and savoury notes.  Supple and tasty. Good.

Az. Agr. Icario, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
80% sangiovese, 10% merlot, 5% canaiolo, 5% colorino
Teacake and tealeaf, fine grainy oak yet to polymerise, savoury, black berries, and red cherry fruit, fresh and structured, chalky refreshing tannins, nicely balanced. Long and vg.

Poderi Boscarelli, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
90% sangiovese, 5% merlot and canaiolo, 5% colorino
Typical savoury tang on the nose, gentle palate attack, with baked cherries and spice, tea cake and dried citrus fruits. Nice texture and good finish.

Az. Agr. La Bandita e Lunadoro, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
100% sangiovese
Warm and gently spicy, soft baked cherries and allspice, lush blanketing palate, seductive tannin profile, supple and sweet. Warm fruit of decent finish. Good. 

Avignonesi, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
85% sangiovese, 10% canaiolo, 5% mammolo
Medium deep, teacake and dried cherries nose, savoury/sweet combo of red and black berries, smooth palate texture, nice tannin fineness and silkiness, sweet, fully body,  plenty of supple exotic tannins. Length not massive. Good. 

Tenuta La Braccesca, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
90% sangiovese, 10% merlot
Medium deep, plenty of fresh vanilla. Chalky tannin attack, then smooth on the palate, sweet red berry fruits, palate also with velvety feel. Supple and mouth-filling texture. Long and good.

Az. Agr. Canneto, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
90% sangiovese, 5% merlot, 5% cabernet sauvignon
Cask sample. Medium pale. Dried and spiced cherry, fresh and lifted, more classic, medium body, perky structure with elegant and rich black tea and dried cherry fruit. Nice definition, balance and length. Eminently drinkable. vg. 

Az. Agr. Poliziano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
85% sangiovese, 15% colorino, canaiolo, merlot
Medium deep, lifted bitter red cherries on the nose, smooth, aromatic tarry attack, liquorice stick. Supple, integrated tannins, blanketing, rich balance. Vg. 

Bindella, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
85% sangiovese, 15% colorino, canaiolo, mammolo
Smoky-spiced cherries, warm fruit with fresh acid core, sweet fruit mid palate, medium weight, fine grained, youthfully tight tannins, very elegantly balanced, delicious. Long.

Montemercurio, ‘Messaggero’, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
100% sangiovese
Medium deep, mulled blackberries, round and rich palate, sweet black berried fruits, stewed and still with fresh core. Spiced black tea comes through mid palate. Rich and enveloping sweet fruits with ripe, lush tannins in a full body. Good.

Az. Agr. Croce di Febo, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
85% sangiovese, 15% others
Medium deep, wood smoke nose with chocolate cherry, spiced palate, not quite all the mulling spices, dry baked cherries, and fresh, ripe tannin frame, grip of youth, with fine grained velvet. Big, full bodied and muscular with proportioned frame. Good.

Az. Agr. Casale di Daviddi Aldimaro, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
85% sangiovese, 10% canaiolo, 5% mammolo
Medium deep, sweet and brambly, savoury tea leaf, lifted blossom notes comes through on the palate. Lush, sweet dark berried fruits, bits of chocolate and liquorice stick. Plenty of tannin, becoming supple on the palate; rich and lush, long and linear.  Vg.

Dei, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
90% sangiovese, 10% canaiolo
Medium deep, fresh, perfume, cherry blossom nose, lightness of attack with full intensity, fresh core, bright red fruits, supple, with five spiciness, elegant and persistent mid palate. This is rather nice in an understated way, with layered purity. Long and good.

Podere Le Bèrne, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
97% sangiovese, 3% colorino
Medium deep, brambly nose, firmly structured. Muscular in upright, well toned sort of way. Tight with chalky freshness, and some nice layering. Good.

Tenimenti Angelini, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008
90% sangiovese, 5% canaiolo, 5% cabernet sauvignon
Medium deep. Spicy cherries with sweet/dry fruit, supple tannins, rounded with black fruit, medium bodied with five spice aromas mid palate. Balanced with good intensity.  Good

Vecchia Cantina, ‘Cantina del Redi’, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008 selezione
Medium deep. Fresh, perky, bright red cherries, elegant, lifted with cherry blossom perfume. Fresh, lots primary fruit of rich intensity, precise and perfumed. Good.

Montemercurio, ‘Messaggero’, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008 selezione
Medium deep. Spicy baked red fruits. Medium body with supple, savoury black tea leaf and hint of fresh leather. Youthfully tight tannins, well balanced. Good.

Az. Agr. Casale di Daviddi Aldimaro, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2008 selezione
Deep colour. Complexing stalky blackcurrants on the nose. Fresh, upright attack, supple black berried fruits and very fine grained tannins, already mellow. Velvety texture, though still youthful and firm: iron fist, velvet glove. Very well balanced and proportioned. Vg.

La Ciarliana, ‘Vigna Scianello’, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2007 selezione
Cask sample. Very deep. Big, dark, brash black fruits, big and full bodied. Well proportioned in body builder style, and positive for that. Rich, fat, full bodied, sweet fruited. Good.

Tenimenti Angelini, ‘Simposio’, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2007 selezione
Medium deep, sweet blackberries, full body, sweet lush fruit, rounded and fleshy, fat and still fresh. Hessian textured fruits. Vg

Dei, ‘Riserva Bossona’, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2007
Deep colour. Perky, fresh, bramble, liquorice stick and dried fig. Complex, seductive velvet glove texture with density and concentration. Vg

Az. Agr. La Bandita e Lunadoro, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2007
Deep colour. Bitter chocolate and liquorice stick. Supple, expansive dark berried fruit. Warm baked earth combined with lush, sweet/dry fruits, Long. Vg

Podere Le Bèrne, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2007
Medium deep. Rich crumbly strawberry and black cherry compote. Sandalwood texture, medium body, warm and earthy, hessian textured, warm earth, warming, concentrated. Vg.

Az. Agr. Icario, ‘Riserva Vitaroccia’, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2007
Opaque. Bramble, black fruits, lush sweet fruit with firm core running through it. Fleshy and rich, supple, plentiful tannins. Big and powerful in fleshy, black fruited mould. Vg.

Az. Agr. Canneto, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2007
Medium deep. Chalky fruit cake nose, firm morello cherry, lifted, medium body, more ‘classic’ and lovely for that. Still taut with tannin, integrating, with plentiful layered fruit. Vg.

Az. Agr. Nottola, ‘Riserva Il Fattore’, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2007
Opaque. Lush, sweet bramble fruits, rounded and fleshy body, with sweet fruits and elegantly embalming tannins. Sweet, dark and fleshy. Good.

Contucci, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2007
Deep colour. Chalky and lifted baked cherries on the nose. Stringent hessian character and lifted liquorice stick and tea leaf.  Structured and linear. Vg.

Barbara Tamburini presenting, with Jane Hunt MW (l), and Paolo Ignesti of Toscana Promozione (c)

Every two years the Tuscans get together for a big wine competition. For this, the ninth Selezione dei Vini di Toscana, judged in November 2010, Jane Hunt MW and oenologist Barbara Tamburini put together ten medal-winning wines for a seminar to highlight what’s happening in Tuscany at the moment.

Sangiovese is the kingpin of Tuscany, though in the last few decades there have been some international interlopers, some of which have become rather naturalised.  In the meantime a lot of work has been done to restore sangiovese to its rightful glory. Tamburini said “many viticultural things have changed in the last 20 years.  Oenology gives more value to the wine, but it’s no longer an oenology of correction, that was 30 years ago.”  

Hunt added “thirty years ago sangiovese had two problems – high acidity and high tannins.  The solution came in the vineyards with the right clones in the right places, and much better management in the vineyards, picking when genuinely ripe [to give] wines with greater suppleness and ripe fruit.”

Tuscany is home to more than a clutch of prestigious appellations – Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti and Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and more recently Morellino di Scansano.  Tamburini started to make sense of the region’s diversity by saying “Tuscany is a warm region, but you can divide Tuscany into two, drawing a vertical line dividing the coast from inland.” Some bits are warmer than others. The coast, she said “has temperatures around 16 to 18°C, which the interior is 12 to 14°C. And rainfall at the coast is 600-800m while inland it is 800 to 1,000mm.”  

Tuscan hills

Altitude is also significant, she said “there is a fog filter around 300m.  Above 300m the sunlight shines directly on the vines without a filter.  The aromas of the grapes are synthesised into something special due to the clear atmosphere.”

The coastal area, including Suvereto and Bolgheri “is a place where the climate is about a couple of weeks ahead of the interior of Tuscany.  Harvest is usually the last week of September or the first week of October here. This is why producers can make pure cabernet sauvignon, because they get a full and complete maturation of the grapes.”

Hunt added “the now widely planted coastal region was originally a malarial area. It was mainly due to the planting of cabernet sauvignon by Sassicaia, whose first vintage was in 1968.  On the back of this success cabernet sauvignon found its place.”

Vintage comments

2005:  Tamburini: “A good year, but not as good as 2004 and 2006. There was lots of rain, and those who worked well during the vines’ vegetative period did well.”    

2006:  Tamburini:  “After 2001, 2006 is one of the best vintages, along with 2004, in Tuscany.”  There was rain in winter and spring, and no stress in summer.

2007:  Hunt: “2007 was a year which had an incredibly hot summer with a bit of welcome rain in August which gives sweet fruitiness. Harvest was 2-3 weeks earlier than it would normally be.”

2008:  Hunt:  “a vintage with some problems, a lot of rain in the early part of spring. Heat in the summer and rain nearer harvest.  A tricky year, but there were some very good wines.”

Tasting notes, London, March 2011, with Hunt and Tamburini comments

Dievole, La Vendemmia 2008, Chianti Classico DOCG
No UK agent.
80% sangiovese, 20% other local varieties. 300 to 420m asl. 13.5%. Fermentation in 80hl casks. For maturation 20% moved to French and American barriques, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd use.
Medium deep ruby colour; spicy and redcurrant, bright and crunchy, hint of fresh black tea leaves. Dry and chalky tannins, firm and upright, crunchy and fine grainy tannin, modest body, no great sweetness of fruit. A bit light and balanced for that, savoury, wood notes alongside black tea.
Hunt:  “very fruity, with spiciness, with smooth mellow finish. Not too much oak, which is very important for sangiovese.”
Tamburini: “deep colour, red fruits – cherry and raspberry”

Az. Agr. Mannucci Droandi, Foglia Tonda 2008, Toscana IGT Rosso
UK agent:  Mille Gusti   
Foglia tonda, 250m asl. 13.5%
Chocolate and blackcurrant with herbal garrigue core, perky strawberry and cherry fruit coming through later. Hint of iodine/medicinal attack, with dried black cherry fruit, and fresh core. Light and aromatic. Fresh, and good.
Tamburini: the grape dates from the “1800s. In the past it was used to high quantities of wine. By controlling production, we can make high quality.  It has similar clusters to sangiovese, and there is some suggestion that there is a family link to sangiovese.”
Hunt: Foglia tonda “means ‘round leaf’.  This is from the extreme south of Tuscany, bordering Umbria; it is warmer than the central Chianti Classico region.  There is a sweetness to the fruit, and the tannins are sturdy enough to hold the wine together, but they’re not dominant.”

Fabrizio Dionisio, Il Castagno Syrah 2008, Cortona DOC
UK agent:  Grossi Wines
Syrah. 300m asl. 14%. Matured in French oak barriques for 18 months
Medium deep ruby, with purple tints, smoky sweet and perfumed, with gentle aromas. Sweet, smooth attack, and sweet, velvety tannins. Medium bodied, sweet cherry and light plum notes. Good wine, no real sense of place.
Hunt: “cabernet sauvignon was the variety of preference for non-indigenous grape varieties. Syrah has been planted more recently, and I think with huge success. Around Cortona has been very successful with syrah.”

La Fralluca, Pitis 2008, Toscana IGT Rosso
No UK agent
Syrah. 120m asl. 14.3%. Matured in French oak barriques for 18 months
Opaque ruby with purple-blue hints. Bitter chocolate, minty, menthol, a hint of the Barossa on the nose. Big wine. Chewy, yet supple tannins, big and plentiful. Nothing subtle about this style. Nice wine, with smooth chewiness to tannins, and big muscular concentration, with overt new oak and alcohol, with youthful, dry tannins to finish.   
Tamburini:  “Suvereto is an area just in from the coast in front of Elba island. It has a special climate thanks to Elba island. In August and September storms and rains from the sea [are deflected] by Elba, so it doesn’t rain too much” in Elba’s rain shadow.  “You taste the vanilla of oak, it’s very spicy. In the mouth, it’s something we can eat rather than drink. It’s dense with many tannins.”
Hunt: “the contrast of the two syrahs is mainly due to climate. This one from coast with low rainfall and hotter than the central area.

Az. Agr. Roccapesta, Roccapesta 2007, Morellino di Scansano DOCG
UK agent:  HS Wines
Sangiovese 96%, ciliegiolo 4%. 300m asl. 14.7%
Medium light ruby colour. Hint of aromatic tar on the nose. Dry baked red berry fruits. Ripely aromatic with some layers of complexity. Sweet baked fruit attack, medium fragrant body, smooth, light, intense and layered. Savoury black tea finish with sweated berry fruit. Vg.
Tamburini:  on this wine there is a “triple selection: once in the vineyard, then a selection of the cluster, then a selection of the berries after destemming.” The wine is “fresh in the mouth, dark cherry, ripe and elegant, and not too concentrated.”
Hunt: “Morellino means ‘the little dark one’, but often it’s a little lighter in colour and texture, fruitier, and not as heavy as some of the Chianti Classico. This has a lightness and perfume to it despite its alcohol.”

Castello Vicchiomaggio, “Vigna La Prima 2007, Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva
UK agent:  Hallgarten
Sangiovese. 300m asl.  14.5%. 
Bright, dark chocolate-dipped black cherries on the nose, aromatic tarry note with black tea leaf undertones, complex and layered nose. Supple, sweet attack, with beguiling freshness of core, sweet fruit wraps freshly around the backbone of smooth, finely-textured fresh tannin. Medium weight, elegant with super concentration of fruit. Balanced and long. Vg.
Hunt: “a quintessential Chianti Classico with perfume, savoury, sweet-sour ripe cherries aromas. A near perfect Chianti Classico. This estate maintains a traditional and elegant style.”   

Gualdo del Re, Federico Primo 2007, Val di Cornia DOC Suvereto Cabernet Sauvignon
No UK agent
Cabernet sauvignon. 100m asl. 14.7%. New barrique maturation for 70% of this wine, made by Barbara Tamburini.
Dark ruby, almost opaque, with sweet vanilla nose of blackberries and cream. Palate reflects nose, smooth texture, with grainy, youthful fine-chunky plentiful tannins. Lush and sweet fruit, dark and chocolatey. Mouthfilling and open knit texture, warm and warming. Good.
Hunt: “Violet aroma, good varietal character without aggressive bell pepper aroma.”   

Col d’Orcia, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2006
UK agent Alivini
Sangiovese. 300-320m asl. 14%. Three years in large French and Slavonian casks of 25, 50 and 75hl.
Medium pale ruby. Tar, tea, roses, lifted nose, and perfumed. Savoury tea and teacake attack, with dried cherries and dark chocolate.  Elegant, perfumed, silky-floaty tannins. Savoury, with fine-grainy finish. Concentration with lightness of being. Vg.  
Tamburini:  “it has a traditional style, the nose with its evolution of tertiary notes from ageing in barrels, especially in big barrels. It will become more complex in the future. It’s a very young wine.”
Hunt: “One of the crucial factors for long lived wine is good acidity. Though this is grown in a warm area with low rainfall, the natural acidity in the grapes allows longevity.”    

Tenuta Agricola Torre a Cenaia, Torre del Vajo 2006, Toscana IGT Rosso
Sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, syrah. Near sea level. 13.6%
Medium deep ruby colour. Blackcurrant and black cherries on nose and palate. Rich and sweet aromas, vanilla ice cream, subtle and enticing. Then a fresh cherry perfume emerges. Medium weight, quite crunchy/youthful primary fruit, and fine grained tannins with a bit of grip and youthful dryness. I might say a bit foursquare/rustic, but with a sweet fruitiness.

Peteglia, Peteglia Sangiovese Riserva 2005, Montecucco DOC
Sangiovese. 300m asl. 14.9%
Deep garnet with mahogany rim. Chocolate and fruit cake, quite evolved and developed. Smouldering wood fire aroma. More for academic interest. This bottle has reached full potential, the wine is gentle, venerable, with tertiary, leather, undergrowth notes.

Luca De Ferrari Corradi

As part of the anteprima/en primeur tastings in Tuscany during February 2011, Poderi Boscarelli hosted a 20-year retrospective of their wines.   

Poderi Boscarelli has been owned by the De Ferrari-Corradi family since 1962, when it was bought by the grandfather of the current generation, brothers Luca and Nicolò. 

The estate, situated around 300m above sea level on the hill of Cervognano, has 14 hectares under vine. Sangiovese makes up 80% of the plantings; the rest is planted to local reds mammolo, canaiolo and colorino, with a bit of merlot and cabernet sauvignon.

Their first vintage was in 1965 and from the 1968 vintage they started bottling under their own label.

During the tasting Luca explained the evolution of the Boscarelli style, some of it reflecting wider trends at the time, for example, in the first two wines there were some bunches of white grapes, but by 1988 the family had stopped using white grapes.

Fermentation vessels have changed from concrete in the 70s and 80s, through stainless steel in the 90s and, from the 2001 vintage, in large, 40 hectolitre barrels.  By now the family has accumulated 10 of these big casks.

Vintage 2001 was a turning point for yeast, as well. The vintage marked a return to natural yeast after a decade of using cultured yeasts.  Luca said “we went back to natural yeast because the 2000 was very difficult to finish the fermentation. By the end of April the fermentation was yet to finish.”   They felt natural yeast was more reliable to see fermentation through.

Half the estate’s production is devoted to the ‘straight’ Nobile, and this provided the focus of the tasting, with the exception of the first wine.  The Nobile is completely classic, comprising 88% to 90% sangiovese with canaiolo, mammolo, colorino; aged for 24 months in oak. They may make 45 to 50,000 bottles of this, or they may make just 8 to 10,000 bottles, depending on the vintage.

Luca said “we had planted merlot as a curiosity because it was fashionable [in the 90s], and we wanted to make a richer wine, with more oak, and more [immediately] pleasurable.” And so some merlot used to be used in the straight Nobile, but “from 2001, we went back to a traditional Nobile, with more elegance and more acidity”.  This fits more with their philosophy of wanting to show the elegance and freshness of acidity of sangiovese. 

The '79 magnum

But, Luca explained “at the beginning of the 90s, the wine was often closed in the bouquet, and with not enough colour.  Cabernet sauvignon and merlot helped the wine to be more open. You did not have to wait half an hour for the wine to open up.  We used small oak on the cabernet sauvignon because it can stand more oak than sangiovese.”  And, he added, “this is why we have gone back to using big casks and less new oak, because oak covers the sangiovese, and with too much oxygen [through the oak], sangiovese suffers.”  The wines showed it doesn’t take much cabernet sauvignon and merlot to knock sangiovese’s profile off kilter. The 2001 is a welcome return to the purity of a traditional expression.

The riserva is a different style “more international” said Luca, “it tastes different”.  The riserva continues to absorb a little international merlot (7%) and cabernet sauvignon (3%) in its profile, with 90% being sangiovese, and it is aged for three years in oak.  Luca said “it has more power, more oak, and a little less sangiovese character, with merlot and cabernet sauvignon.”

Produced only in top vintages is Nocio dei Boscarelli, a single vineyard wine, solely from sangiovese, from the vineyard of the walnut tree.  The sandy clay soil of this vineyard gives more silky tannins in the wine.

The vineyards have seen their own changes. Replanting started in the late 1980s, with a selection of old clones from their grandfather’s old vineyards, and new clones.  Luca said “we have one third clones from our grandfather, one third from Montalcino and one third from Chianti Classico massale selection.” Density almost doubled to the current 7,000 vines per hectare, which means yield can be restricted to around 1kg/vine.

Maurizio Castelli has long been the family’s oenologist.

Tasting notes, in situ, February 2011

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 1979, from magnum
Medium colour, mahogany rim. Nose of mahogany, tertiary notes, fruitcake and dried earth. Very smooth character, warm and savoury, casserole meaty. Rich and warming, a rewarding experience to taste.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1983
Medium deep with orange rim. Still primary fruit here, bright red fruits, obviously very mellow and relaxed, with caulky tannins, medium bodied, freshly balanced still, rather delicious. Mellow but still with spine. vg.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1988
Medium deep, not too aromatic on the nose, but spicy, black and aromatic tar on the palate, with a warm baked earth sort of texture, and rich, warmly embracing structure. Sweet baked berry fruit with the patina of graceful age. Lovely, with still a bit of grip.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1991
Medium deep, bricking rim. Wood smoke and baked earth nose, Dundee cake, smooth, sweet tannins, embracing palate again, with fine grainy tannins still framing the whole. Supple core, still fresh, with a slightly fuller rounder body.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1995
Medium deep, bricking rim. Smoke and fruitcake, warm and nearly full bodied. Chocolatey and blanketing in a warm, cuddly way. Rich with warm, sweet, enveloping developed fruit.  Perhaps less fresh than the 1980s.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1997
Medium deep, hint of bricking. Five spice and aromatic tar, chocolate and smooth texture, velvet texture, rich and mouth-filling. Medium body, with framing tannins.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1999
Medium deep, overtly tarry, with supple, brambly flavours.  The least interesting for me.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2001
Fresh, hint of lifting morello cherry volatile acidity. Silky tannin texture, and lots of tannin in this medium bodied with which has big flavour and intensity and an integrity to its balance. Refreshing, very fine tannins, youthful and delicious. Vg.

Red wines from Tuscany was a recent theme. 

Grape varieties in Tuscany have expanded from the indigenous sangiovese, the most widely planted grape variety in Italy, plus canaiolo and colorino, to include all the more famous French varieties such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and syrah. The IGT category (equivalent to Vins de Pays in France) has long allowed blending of indigenous and international varieties – this is the realm of the supertuscan wines.

But more recently, Chianti and Chianti Classico have allowed minor proportions, up to 20% in the blend, of those international varieties.

So now, there are three broad categories of Tuscan red:
a)       completely traditional wines, made only from sangiovese, or with small proportions of other traditional red grapes such as canaiolo, colorino and mammolo e.g. Brunello, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano,  some Chianti and Chianti Classico, a few IGTs
b)       blends of indigenous and specified international grapes, so sangiovese with more or less cabernet sauvignon, merlot etc. e.g. some Chianti and Chianti Classico, many IGTs
c)       blends of international varieties only e.g. Bolgheri and many IGTs

Argiano, Rosso di Montalcino 2008, ~£15 (14%)                   
Sangiovese 100%
Medium pale depth of colour. Tea leaf and baked cherry nose. An initial light-bodied palate filled out in the glass to reveal a supple-fruited wine with a decent intensity of dry-baked cherries and redcurrants. Some sweet red berry fruit notes mid palate add flesh to the fresh acid frame. Appropriately modest tannins are supple and integrated. Nicely upright, firm sangiovese.  

Argiano, Brunello di Montalcino 2005, ~£30 (14%)                                         
Sangiovese 100%
Medium deep colour, dark, tarry nose, dried cinnamon, allspice and dark chocolate nose. Savoury black tea leaf attack, charcoal, tar with mocha and bitter chocolate perfumes. Sweet core seeping into the savoury surround, leather baked earth, fine-grained tannins in almost first flush of youth are beginning to blend into the wine. Big and gutsy, but not butch and powerful. Retains defining acidity and poise to structure. Young, savoury and demanding at this stage.

Fattoria dei Barbi, Brunello di Montalcino, Vigna del Fiore 2003, ~£45 (14%)
Sangiovese 100%
Medium deep colour, coffee and chocolate, leather and sandalwood perfume. Smoky, savoury attack, tar and tobacco leaf. Powerful with bitter-sweet cherries and baked pomegranate. Firm-backboned, fully dry spectrum held upright by acidity and surreptitious fruit. Plenty of fine grained chalky youthful tannins lend weight, backbone and longevity potential. Complex, concentrated. Long warm fruit defined finish. Very good

Fattoria Selvapiana, Vigneto Bucerchiale Chianti Rufina Riserva 2006, ~£20  (14.5%)                       
Sangiovese 100%
Medium deep colour, bright red cherries, primary fruit mixes with vanilla-cream hints, blackcurrant, and warm, enveloping sweet tannins. Black tea leaf, with some rose petal perfume. Richly balanced sweet cherries with ripe, savoury tannins creating a medium-full bodied feel to the palate, while the acidity runs through the core demanding posture and definition. Full and richly-dry. Good. Chalky dry finish to the youthful tannins, balanced by fruit. Needs time.

Querciabella, Chianti Classico DOCG 2006, ~£18  (13.5%)                               
95% sangiovese, 5% cabernet sauvignon
Medium deep colour. Blackberries and cream, sweet black tea, bramble and fruitcake notes linger in the background. Smooth attack of freshly-tanned leather, sweet, baked black cherries, with hint of sweetness to the characteristically dry tannin structure. A developing lush texture in the mouth suggests a modern touch, and the earthy, herbal hint on the back palate remains true to the origin. More than approachable. Nicely balanced. Obviously still youthful. Good.

Castello Vicchiomaggio, Ripa delle More 2006, IGT Toscana, ~£27 (14.5%)             
Sangiovese 60%, cabernet sauvignon 30%, merlot 10%
Deep ruby. Almost porty seductive sweet bramble compote nose, rich, enticing, overflowing with sweet primary fruit. No blousiness – characteristic defining acid core to keep the whole in proportion and balanced. Long flavour, fresh, moreish, widely appealing. Modern and lush. Tannins may be sweet and ripe, but still fine chewiness in youth on the finish. Good

Villa Cafaggio, Cortaccio  2004, IGT Toscana, ~£40 (14%)                               
Cabernet sauvignon 100%
Deep ruby. Chalky dry-baked blackberry nose, sandalwood and cedar attack on the palate quickly flooded with creamy-dry blackcurrant and blackberry fruits. Medium bodied with an elegant refinement of structure and balance. Refreshing, youthful, dry tannin core with masses of fruit volume and concentration. Not an iota of age showing on this sample. One to put by for a few more years yet. Seriously good, with some sophistication.

Tenuta Argentiera, Bolgheri Superiore 2006, ~£35 (14.5%)                 
Cabernet sauvignon 50%, merlot 40%, cabernet franc 10%
Deep ruby. Creamy coffee and baked cherry and blackberry pie nose. Ripely proportioned black fruit with soft flesh around sweet acid core. Savoury baked earth and dry-baked fruit notes on the palate with deep, concentrated flavours. Chalky note of youthful tannins balanced by dense, dark fruit concentration augurs well. Elements of sophistication here. With sweet finish that has you going back for another taste.

Antinori, Tenuta Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore 2005, ~£65 (14%)                           
Cabernet sauvignon 50%, merlot 45%, syrah 5%
Deep ruby. Bramble, tender wood smoke and violets emerge from a deep pool of aroma. Blackcurrant fruit to the fore, sweet, fine, youthful tannins wrap around the dark brooding berry fruits with a velvet-glove texture. Seductively textured, massively concentrated palate but not at the expense of deportment or elegance. Unsurprisingly, really very good. Combination of sweetness of tannin and fruit with structure of dry tannins complemented by entirely integral acid frame.

Carlo Ferrini

Last month in London, heralded consultant winemaker, the Italian Carlo Ferrini, presented some of the wines he’s influenced, and outlined his philosophy.

Ferrini works for about 30 producers, unusually all of them being in his home country of Italy. He is a Tuscan man by heritage and mien, and he made his first vintage in 1979, subsequently heading up the technical department of the Consorzio del Chianti Classico.  He was also a leading light of the Chianti Classico 2000 project, which researched sangiovese to find better quality clones.

He has stretched his consulting expertise across the thousand miles of Italy’s wine regions from Sicily in the south, to, most recently, Piedmont in the north.

This is a man who says his role as consultant is “to give each producer a proper character to the wines of the estate.” He emphasises the ‘whole property’ aspect of his consulting, saying vineyard is inseparable from winemaking. He said “I try to manage the vineyard, the foliage, the yields, and bring together two concepts of paramount importance: one, the care in the vineyard, the second one in the cellar, with open fermentation vats, longish fermentation with punching down, up to 20 days.” 

He believes punching down the cap is gentler than pumping over, and he’s keen to avoid bitterness in the tannins and fruit, which he does by avoiding stressing the grapes in the cellar.

Ferrini’s also keen to distance himself from formulaic winemaking, a critique often levelled at consultant winemakers. He said “though I’m in favour of punching down the cap rather than pumping over, I change my way of working mainly in the vineyard and much less so in the cellar, for example, I look for leaf surface in some areas, in other areas I cut down the leaf surface.” His aim is to impart elegance in all his wines. 

Another aim is to express the sense of place in the wines. He said: “if I talk about Bordeaux, when I taste Pétrus [nearly all merlot], the nose is Bordeaux; when I taste Château Latour [mostly cabernet sauvignon], the nose is Bordeaux. I try to transcend the grape variety and express the area of production. If I succeed in using different grape varieties to paint a picture of an area, it doesn’t really matter what the grape varieties are. How do I get there? Pruning, vineyard management, to fertilise or not … use grape varieties to express the area rather than to express the grape varieties.”   

Sangiovese, ready for harvest

He added “I’m much happier when consumers taste the wine and can taste whether the wine comes from high up or a coastal area, or from a dry or rainy area. When it is the grape varieties that prevail it is a mistake, it should be more about the area than the grape varieties.”  

With his heartland in Tuscany, we tasted four sangiovese-dominated wines from classic appellations, from four quite different areas. Ferrini said: “The difficulty of working with these different areas is to manage to give the grapes the balance between ripening and complexity, and to get elegance from them.” For example, he said, 5 to 6 kilometres separate the Bonelli from the Ricasoli, but the sangiovese is very different, as is the altitude.  

Of his Piedmont project Ferrini said he had a “second youth in Sicily, Apulia, Alto Adige”, but he wanted “to prove myself with Barolo. As a Tuscan winemaker I was looking for another second youth, to work somewhere such as Piedmont.”  But it was no easy feat as these regions are poles apart, and, he added “for a Piedmontese to hire a Tuscan winemaker does not happen every day.” After 30 years, he said, he found a client in Emiliana Romagna whose project it is to buy vineyards in several Italian regions.

Tasting notes, London, January 2010

Tenute Costa. Tenuta Duecorti, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC 2008, Piedmont
This is the first vintage of this wine. Ferrini said a priority was “trying to get the aromatic character of dolcetto, with the acidity and a great colour.”
Crunchy morello cherry on the nose. Very smooth attack, quickly into a chalky-dry tannin texture, with fresh dark cherry support. Warmth of alcohol is evident. Serious style of dolcetto, with fine-grained, dry tannins.  Dry finish to tannins which detracts a tad from fruit expression. Good length of black cherry fruit.

We then moved into a mini-flight of four sangiovese-based wines.  The Bonelli is on a plateau with quite deep, stony soil. The Brolio is much rockier; and the Brunello and Vino Nobile have soils with a high clay content.

Poggio Bonelli, Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva 2006, Tuscany (Castelnuovo Berardenga)
Ferrini: “Bonelli is a challenging estate to work for. There is not an owner who gives direction to the products, the owner is a bank, so there is no person to relate to, and measure yourself against.”
Leather, balsamic spice, black tea leaves and tar. Sweet attack of dark forest berries, a little rumtopf spirit note. Lush sweet mid palate and finish. Modern expression with good depth and volume of dark fruit. Decent length.

Barone Ricasoli, Castello di Brolio Chianti Classico DOCG 2006, Tuscany (Gaiole in Chianti)
Fresh leather, violet note, mulled dark berry fruit. Smooth attack hints of fresh beefsteak; very smooth, with a freshness through the core. Sweet fruit attack, with firm acidity to avoid flabbiness. Elegant and long palate length. Very good.

Castello Romitorio, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva 2004, Tuscany
The closest to the sea, possibly the warmest.
Chalky nose, papyrus-like with smoked red berry fruit, elegant palate core that belies a rich, dry tannin frame, hints of early fruitcake just beginning to appear. Long finish, tealeaf savoury core, excellent balance and concentration.

Az. Agr. Poliziano, Asinone Vino Mobile di Montepulciano DOCG 2006, Tuscany
Cooler area.
Smoky, soft berry fruit, hints of voluptuousness in the mouth, modest acid mouth-feel, with gentle, berry and red plum fruit. Supple, soft, and roundly structured, with lush and curvy texture. Tannins quite plush and velvety, very fine, providing good strength, and frame.  Sweet fruit, with hints of fruitcake savouriness. Very good.  

Tenute Mater Domini, Casili Salice Salentino DOC Riserva 2006, Apulia
Historically an area of bulk wine production. This is made from older bush vines, averaging 50 years, of negroamaro.
Smoke and tar on the nose, with smoky black fruits and aromatic spice. Smooth, lush, full bodied attack, mouth-filling volume of fruit, alcohol a hint evident at the back palate. Rich, strong, muscly, just a hint of attractive rusticity. Big volume in the mouth, still with smooth texture.

We then moved mainly onto IGT wines, where international grape varieties have more of a presence, taking over from the traditional grape varieties.
 
Fattoria La Selva, Pometti, Tarchun us 2006, Toscana IGT, Tuscany
80% cabernet sauvignon, 10% petit verdot, 10% sangiovese
Tarry with violet back notes. High-toned new oak notes with sweet red berry fruit core slowly subsuming the oak. It will meld together into a sweet-fruited whole, still with fresh acid spine holding the lush fruit aloft. Finish at the moment still a little oaked.

Az. Agr. San Fabiano Calcinaia, Cerviolo Rosso 2005,  Toscana IGT, Tuscany
40% sangiovese; 30% merlot; 30% cabernet sauvignon
Tarry spice nose, muscular, quite grippy tannic core, with sweet black fruit surround-sound. Savoury barbecued beef and venison notes beginning to simmer among the super-ripe black berries. Not massively complex or layered.

Fattoria Carpineta Fontalpino, Dofana Toscana Rosso IGT 2006, Tuscany
50% sangiovese; 50% petit verdot
Tar, with smoky black fruit and biltong. Dense black fruit, with layers of supple, plentiful tannin at the wine’s base. Mouth-filling, dense spicy fruit, lush and rounded, with voluptuous volume of fruit. Modest acid balance, and long sweet finish

Podere Sapaio, Sapaio Bolgheri DOC Superiore 2006, Tuscany
55% cabernet sauvignon, 25% cabernet franc, 10% merlot, 10% petit verdot
Perfumed, lifted violet nose, dark forest fruit berry flavours, very smooth texture, quite refined palate length in the mouth. Cassis and blackcurrant, with notes of baked berries, and an attractive complexity. Rich, long, refined warm finish. Good.

Petrolo, Galatrona Toscana IGT 2007, Tuscany
Cherry blossom and red cherry. Lifted, medium-bodied palate attack and core. Crunchy fresh fruit with sweet core and fine tannins, supple and rounded. In comparison to the others, almost a little frivolous, but this may be doing it an injustice. Long flavour.

Tenuta San Leonardo, San Leonardo Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 2001, Alto Adige
60% cabernet sauvignon, 30% cabernet franc and 10% merlot
Leafy, cassis, blackcurrant nose, with bits of developing fruitcake mid palate. Smooth, silky palate texture, very appealing. Coolness in comparison to Tuscany seems evident in ‘cooler’ blackcurrant fruit, not baked. Has silky texture to tannin, elegant, refined, with plenty of plush fruit sensuously draped over the frame. Medium bodied finesse.  Long finish, very good.

Castello del Terriccio, Lupicaia Toscana IGT 2004, Tuscany
85% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot, 10% petit verdot
Smoky, baked black fruit nose, warm feel to palate entry, tannins with warm, faintly grainy feel. Lush mid palate, with sweet black berry fruit layers, full bodied plush-ness, lushness and voluminosity. And a slight grainy finish to warm tannin structure.

Along with the continuing pinot grigio craze, the buzz around Italian varietals is extending to some rather serious reds, and it is Victoria, with its rich heritage of Italian migrants, that is leading the field on the Australo-Italian front.

Victoria is climatically and altitudinally diverse

Victoria may be smallest mainland state in Australia but it has the most different regions. Victoria is climatically and altitudinally diverse, with vineyards at almost sea level and heading up towards 1,000m above sea level.

Vineyard plantings are predictably dominated by the usual suspects: pinot noir, shiraz, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. These big five take up more than three-quarters of the Victorian vineyard, which, in fact leaves plenty of room for manoeuvre for other grape varieties.

Many of these other grape varieties were planted by the numerous Italian post-war migrants who had moved to Victoria initially to work in the tobacco industry. But as this work declined, vineyards grew up from the 1970s. And the diverse King Valley, home to many of these families, is the heart and soul of Victoria’s production of Italian varieties.

Which means some King Valley vineyards have a goodly amount of vine age, some up to 30 years old. Michael Dal Zotto, winemaker at Dal Zotto Estate said: “My father, Otto is from Veneto, my mother Elena from Trento. After meeting over here, they planted vines from their home area in 1987 – sangiovese, barbera, pinot grigio, arneis.”

Sangiovese and barbera are among the main Italian varieties worthy of note, alongside nebbiolo and pinot grigio. More esoteric varieties include arneis, brachetto, marzemino, prosecco and verduzzo.

Australia’s 2025 strategy for the promotion of the country’s wines should be good news for Victoria. The Victorian Wine Industry Association’s chief executive, Joanne Butterworth-Gray, set a priority to promote Victoria as a “regional hero” (one of the threads of the strategy), as well as the individual regions within Victoria as regional heroes. She said, “for example Beechworth has six or seven wineries with an artisan sense of self, yet Giaconda is there. Bendigo is playing on its gold history, and producing rich, ripe reds. Mornington is pinot noir”, and not forgetting pinot grigio in the Italian varietal theme.

Pinot grigio: Mornington and beyond

Though pinot gris/grigio is grown pretty much throughout Victoria, the Mornington Peninsula has a quarter of all the state’s plantings, though this sum accounts for fewer than 10% of the peninsula’s total plantings.

Mornington Peninsula

The taxonomy is currently ad hoc, with some producers labelling pinot gris and others pinot grigio, and not always according to the styles anticipated in a European context. Generally, though, whole bunch pressing, solids and oak are often used during vinification in the ‘gris’ camp. For example, the 10X pinot gris from Ten Minutes by Tractor uses eight year old oak, wild yeast “for complexity and texture” said owner Martin Spedding, and has a hint of residual sugar on the spicy back palate.

The Kooyong pinot gris is whole bunch pressed to oak for a natural fermentation. Winemaker Sandro Mosele said: “there’s no battonage, but we ferment with solids. There’s no malolactic fermentation – whites need to be driven by acidity. “

King Valley Core

It is in the King Valley though, where Brown Brothers was one of the pioneers for Italian varieties, in the 1970s, working with growers, many of whom had moved from northern Italy. Ross Brown their CEO said: “There’s been a progressive shift. People want to try something different. Italian varietals offer such a different flavour profile than cabernet sauvignon and shiraz” adding, “there’s good demand, and we’re more likely be planting Italian varieties.”

The also family-owned, but larger company, De Bortoli has made significant investment in Italian, and other, varietals. Export director Victor De Bortoli said: “my father, Deen, planted some different things. You’ve got to try these things.” Five to ten years ago the company was planting the likes of pinot noir and pinot grigio.

Given their size, the company’s portfolio is geographically segmented. Steve Webber, their manager and winemaker, said: “The common brand is De Bortoli, with sub-brands, from the Yarra Valley, from King Valley, from the Hunter Valley.  People are interested in knowing where wines come from regionally.” Their Victorian-origin Windy Peak range has for several years had a sangiovese, and a pinot grigio is a recent addition to the UK portfolio, taking advantage of the seemingly infinite phenomenon that is pinot grigio.

But it is the Sero range, launched into the UK in 2006, which comes from King Valley. Webber said: “We liked the King Valley. It has excellent potential for Italian varietals, and we made a large commitment, of 500 acres (202 hectares). We’ve developed interesting wines around it [under the Sero label], which are medium bodied, with savoury rather than sweet oak. They might even go well with pizza!”

Among mainstream wine consumers there are not thought to be too many who realise sangiovese is the backbone of Chianti, or nebbiolo of Barolo, so De Bortoli is easing Italian varietals into consumers’ consciousness, by blending with more well-known varieties: syrah/dolcetto, chardonnay/pinot grigio; merlot/sangiovese. Webber said the Sero wines are “to quaff and enjoy. Don’t think about it. Drinkability and deliciousness.”

Pizzini Family

Fred Pizzini, director of Pizzini Wines, is one of those King Valley pioneers who used to provide fruit to Brown Brothers. He said “we started with a passion for sangiovese and nebbiolo, going back about 20 years. When we planted there was only us in Victoria. We set out from day one to let the variety express itself in King Valley.

On nebbiolo, Pizzini said: “the King Valley gives the ability for nebbiolo to be left on the vine into early April, for slow maturation. We get pure conditions from the Snowy Mountains directly behind us which allow the development of those fantastic aromatics that nebbiolo has to have. 1991 was our first vintage of nebbiolo; it’s only just starting for us in Australia.”

On sangiovese, Pizzini said “the [climatic] diversity of King Valley means we’ve selected warmer sites for it within our 200 acre (81 ha) site. We learnt from growing shiraz which looks for similar conditions. Both do very well.” About half their vineyard is now planted to Italian varietals, with more going into the ground.

The Aussies seem to favour barbera with some oak, especially old oak, as Pizzini explained: “The bugger’s too acidic, it needs a bit of oak to balance out the angles.” Mosele added their “Barbera is made with old oak. We wanted the extra level of complexity and suppleness in wine to soften the effect of the acidity.”

The Italian heritage has also spurred on Sam Miranda of King Valley. The King Valley winery was already in the Miranda family, before they sold the company to Simeon McGuigan [now Australian Vintage] in 2003, with the vineyard planted in the early 1980s. Miranda said: “The vineyard has different soils, heavier clay, red soils. You can match varieties to blocks. With 20 years history now we’re beginning to match variety with site. Sangiovese is one of the original varieties in the area; I’m looking to plant some next year.”

Esoterica

There’s also a lot of experimentation with (even) less well-known Italian varieties such as arneis, cortese, verduzzo and some bubblies. Pizzini said: “there’s lots of opportunity for white varieties, they work well in Australia. Aussies are looking for new things other cabernet and chardonnay, and for more food friendly styles of wine.”

It was Pizzini who made Australia’s first bracchetto, in the traditional style. With nearly 3 hectares of the Piemontese deliciously sweet, frothy, red wine style, the Pizzinis are happy it sells well, especially once people have tasted it. And dal Zotto said “we were the first in Australia to release a prosecco, in 2004, which has proven so popular we’re increasing plantings. We try to keep it true to style with a fine perlage, and fresh, crisp apple palate, and just a short time on lees.”

Why now?

The long, slow drip of education and trial seems to be reaching a critical mass. Pizzini said: “sommeliers played a big part in making things change – getting product into peoples’ mouths. Most people didn’t know that sangiovese is the basis of Chianti. So education, getting people to understand the styles are for food rather that everyday drinking, it’s a lot of little things that make up the picture of change.”

Miranda added “there’s a definite swing to wines with finesse, cool climate wines. There’s an undercurrent of people wanting to drink a bottle of wine and still be upright. Imports from Spain and Italy are really growing now. Up to 50% of some wine lists are European wines; people are a bit bored of Aussie fruit bombs.”

Further evidence for these winds of change was provided by the big boys in South Australia, when Jacob’s Creek dipped its toe in the Italian water with the inaugural 2006 vintage of Three-Vines rosé, which contains a little sangiovese.  Similarly Yalumba have a limited release sangiovese rosé, under the ‘Y’ series. That Italian niche looks like it might just grow quite fast.

Victorian wine industry at a glance

• Wine story started n 1838 in Yarra Valley
• 2800 growers
• 21 wine regions
• Over 600 wineries (30% of Australia’s total)
• Over 200 wineries produce Italian varieties, with half of them producing more than just pinot grigio.
• 80% of wineries crush fewer than 100 tonnes (~6,000 to 7,000 cases)
• 36,579 hectares, plus 2400 planted, not yet bearing.
• Has 23% of the total Australia vineyard
• Has more than 30% of Australia’s pinot gris/grigio plantings
• 354,796 tonne crush in 2006 (-10% on 2005)
• Has 22% of total Australia crush
• Climatically and mesoclimatically diverse

Sources:  www.winetitles.com.au; www.winesofvictoria.com.au

Victoria regions making a (small) impact with Italian varietals

Barbera:  Heathcote, King Valley, Pyrenees
Nebbiolo: Goulburn Valley, King Valley, Yarra Valley
Pinot gris/grigio:  Alpine Valley, Geelong, Heathcote, Henty, King Valley, Mornington, Strathbogie, Yarra Valley
Sangiovese: Alpine Valley, Goulburn Valley, King Valley, Pyrenees, Sunbury, Yarra Valley

• Excluding the pinot grigio phenomenon, red Italian grape varieties account for 1.2% of total Victoria plantings, a more than 70% increase since 2000-2001.
• In absolute terms the number of hectares dedicated to red Italian varieties has nearly doubled in five years.

Source:  Victorian Wine Industry Association

Just to the east of Tuscany, on the Adriatic coast lies a region harbouring the secret of its rapidly improving red wines. The Marche is most renowned for verdicchio, which can indeed be one of the country’s top white wines, but these account for just 15% of Marche production. 

Harvest in Marche

It is red grape varieties, notably montepulciano and sangiovese, that are planted across two-thirds of the vineyard area.  Sangiovese is more classically appreciated in Tuscany, and montepulciano usually associated with Abruzzo, immediately to the south, so the Marche has struggled to strike its own individuality and identity for red wines.

It does have its own red speciality, lacrima, grown around Morro d’Alba in the north, but it is montepulciano that is building the region’s reputation. You’re unlikely to see the grape variety on the front label as it seems neighbouring Abruzzo has prior claim to that usage. But look for anything ‘Rosso’ from the Marche and it’s likely to have a chunk of montepulciano in it. Back label inspection will usually reveal the relevant information.

The grape varieties

Lacrima A speciality from the north-west of Ancona with its own small DOC: Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. It is not totally unlike dolcetto in that it’s light in tannins and the focus is on primary fruit.

Colonnara, Lacrima di Morro d’Alba 2005, Osiride. £6.68 Alivini 4*
Aromatic, crunchy cherry and red berry fruit, light tannins; fresh acidity and primary fruit flavours. Drink now.

Sangiovese Both Italy’s and the Marche’s most planted red grape variety. Sangiovese is a highly vigorous variety, needing strong vineyard management to bring out its best, and key elements of this are to restrict yield, and to ensure the tannins are both ripe and soft.  Despite being a slow and late ripener, it keeps its natural acidity well, and this can add a little freshness to a blend, but it is not deeply coloured due to its thin skins. With its deep colour, montepulciano is a good blending companion. Flavours include red and black cherries, trending to earthiness and a warm, herbal, tealeaf and leather character with a little maturity.

Montepulciano  This is the most widely planted red variety after sangiovese and the one showing real character and quality in the Marche. It is not to be confused with the town of Montepulciano in Tuscany or the DOCG there: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (which is made primarily from sangiovese). Montepulciano is vigorous and late ripening, it’s deeply coloured, has high alcohol and high extract and a decent level of acidity.  It can make soft, deeply coloured fruity reds and there are many made in this style. It can also make top quality serious wines where rich sweet mulberry fruit and chocolate texture come to the fore and a characteristic meaty, gamey flavour develops with time.

Mixed agriculture in Marche

Rosso Piceno DOC and Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC

These DOCs are blends of 35-70% montepulciano and 30-50% sangiovese, with up to 15% of other allowed red varieties. The patchwork vineyards are scattered in the crumpled hilly zone between the Adriatic coast and the Apennine mountains. 

Rosso Piceno is a large DOC, starting just south of Ancona, but the main areas of production are in the south around Ripatransone, Offida and Ascoli Piceno.  Rosso Piceno Superiore is a small subzone of Rosso Piceno, found in the far south-eastern corner of the Marches, on the Abruzzo border. Yields are a tad lower, alcohol a tad higher, but to date there is not much evidence of consistently superior quality coming from this sub-zone.

Az. Agr. Le Caniette, Rosso Piceno 2001, Morellone. £12.92 Passione Vino 4*
Smoky cherry nose, smooth attack, rich black and baked berry fruit palate with ripe tannins. Big wine, primary fruit with some complexity.

Poderi Capecci San Savino, Rosso Piceno Superiore 2003, Picus. £8.25 Ockse Wines 4*
Blackberry crumble nose; allspice on palate and fine-grained tannin. Powerful and muscular; balanced by sweet fruit and chalky dry finish.  

Rosso Conero DOC and Conero DOCG

In the north of the Marche region, the 572-metre peak of Mount Conero, skirmishing with the southern suburbs of Ancona, gives its name to two appellations. Both focus on montepulciano, which must be at least 85% of the blend, and it can be a pure varietal. If other grapes are used they must be sangiovese or other authorised ones.  The best wines have black cherry and herbal aromas, they’re rich in tannins, full-bodied and ageworthy.

A clear recognition of the superior quality potential of montepulciano here is the creation of the tiny Conero DOCG, which takes effect from the 2004 vintage.   So Le Terrazze’s Sassi Neri for example, has become Conero DOCG. 

Fattoria Le Terrazze, Rosso Conero 2002, Sassi Neri. £25.50 Berry Bros. 4.5*
Medium deep ruby; sweet red berry with freshness, elegance and perfumed fruit. Crunchy fruit with rich complexity, texture and long finish.

Umani Ronchi, Rosso Conero 2003, Cumaro. £16.50 SWIG. 4*
Medium deep ruby; spicy black berry nose, sweet fruit attack, full bodied with integrated alcohol. Attractive fruit, with ripe tannin structure and decent finish.

IGT Marche Rosso

IGT, like Vin de Pays, exists for those producers not wanting to work within the confines of DOC regulations.  Most normally this means wines of high montepulciano proportion that don’t have the good fortune to be within the DOC of Rosso Conero. IGT can also come from other grape varieties, so careful reading of the back label is required.

Poderi Capecci San Savino, Marche Rosso 2001, Quinta Regio. £14.50 Ockse Wines 4.5*
Montepulciano. Dense ruby; sweet black fruit with attractive spicy new oak nuances on nose. Smooth palate, hint of raisined fruit backed up with spice and ripe lush tannin. Big showy wine.

Az. Agr. Oasi degli Angeli, Marche Rosso 2003, Kurni. £39.95 Passione Vino 5*
Montepulciano. Dense with purple rim; sweet fruits of the forest, succulent texture, seductive mouthfeel with rich fruit, dense fresh and baked black berries, muscular and powerful with elegant perfume, and plentiful voluptuous tannins.  A wine apart.