i vini di Piedmonte: il resto della storia

So I was sitting in my car outside of a locally owned wine shop where I was going to meet a few of my contemporaries and taste through wines from Northern Italy.. We were going to all bring in wines in brown paper bags and taste them and talk about their attributes while throwing the appropriate adjectives around, not including freshly quarried alabaster (that was for you Pete). Tasting them blind is a good way to assess the wine with out having a preconceived notion about what the perceived quality level is.

So it is 9:30 and then 9:45. Hhhmmm, no one is here and I have a bottle of Enzo Boglietti Barbera d'Alba that I really wanted to taste and this tasting will give me all sorts of fodder for my next blog!!! And then my phone rings; the tasting had been canceled, and will be rescheduled for a later date.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving where we crack it open, which I might add, made a perfect addition to the meal, and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of body and balance it had. This wine has a vibrant red hue with a delightful nose, with polished oak overlaid with black cherries and other black fruits.

The driving force behind this estate is Enzo Boglietti, a new producer on the Barolo scene, only establishing a presence in the early 1990s and he is not afraid to embrace new techniques, including the use of high-toast small barrique.

I then went to find some of his other wines. There is also a wonderful
Dolcetto d'Alba “Tiglineri” with dense cherry and raspberry fruit, as well as a touch of liquorice. This wine, produced from 60-year-old vines, is a serious, classy example of Dolcetto.

Another producer I have always loved is La Spinetta. The Monferrato Rosso ‘Pin’ has a gorgeous nose; black cherry and blueberry jam, with black peppercorns. La Spinetta's most significant wine is Pin, a blend of 50% Nebbiolo with 25% each of Barbera and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is produced under the Monferrato Rosso DOC, a catch-all classification designed to bring the many blends made by the local producers under one umbrella.

Aldo Conterno makes a lovely Langhe Dolcetto “Masante” It is a lovely vibrant red, with a purple tinge, dense black cherry fruit on the nose and some meaty, gamy notes. There is also the wonderful Barbera d’Alba “Conca Tre Pile” whose main vines are grown on a hilly area in Bussia Soprana’s, that some of the Conterno famed Barolo’s are from.

There are of course other significant red wines. There is the light crisp Grignolino. I have been advised that there is one to be found at the Sam’s in Highland Park from a producer called Luca Ferraris along with a Ruché that generally makes a light ruby colored wine with an aromatic twist. Both are recommended.

Marenco’s Brachetto d’Acqui "Pineto" has red bold fruit that explodes with flavor: raspberry, grapes, sweet and sour cherries, and a hint of strawberry and has wonderful richness and layers of flavor, with an off-dry finish. It is a wonderful frizzante (semi-sparkling) or fully sparkling wine made from grapes of the same name.

Whites are also well represented in Piedmont:

Pio Cesare’s Gavi is fresh, with lime fruit and stony minerals on the nose with crisp acidity. Pio Cesare is among the top producers in Piedmont.

Broglia Gavi di Gavi “La Meirana” is a pale yellow with green highlights with some hints of anise and flowers. It is elegant with a great finish. Gavi di Gavi is wine that is made from the Cortese grape in the commune of Gavi.

Alasia Il Cascinone Arneis Roero“Sorilaria” is a wine I think is wonderful. The Arneis, the name of the grape, comes from the Sorilaria Vineyard in the commune of Monticello d'Alba. This wine shows a combination of fine mineral characters with floral notes and rich white peach and pear fruit.

The DOCG for Arneis is Arneis di Roero, but it can be grown anywhere in Piedmont under the DOC of Langhe.

Marenco’s Moscato d’Asti "Scrapona" is a slightly sparkling wine that is straw and gold in color, with an aromatic and fragrant nose. Marenco Moscato d'Asti is sweet and peachy that lends an exotic edge to the fruit.

One of the most significant things about enjoying these wines is that they can mostly be purchased for under $20.00. While you may not find them readily, ask in any specialty wine store and they can be ordered for you. There are plenty of other reds and whites in Piedmont, but since Wisconsin is on the lower part of the global allocation totem pole, there are so many we don’t see, but all of the wines I have discussed are available in this market.

This bread I break was once the oat,

This wine upon a foreign tree

Plunged in its fruit;

Man in the day or wind at night

Laid the crops low, broke the grape's joy.

Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

A Saluté il mio Padre

i vini di Italia

Umanità. . . Possiede due benedizioni supreme. Primo di questi è il Demeter di dea, o la Terra qualunque nome che lei sceglie chiamarla da. Era lei che ha dato all'uomo il suo nutrimento di grano. Ma dopo che è venuta lí il figlio di Semele, che ha uguagliato il suo presente inventando il vino liquido come il suo regalo all'uomo. Per ha riempito di quel regalo buono, soffrendo l'umanità dimentica il suo dolore; da esso viene il sonno; con esso l'oblio delle difficoltà del giorno. C'è nessuno altro medicina per la miseria.

L'Euripides c. 485 - 406 A.C.

The history of Italy is filled with mythical gods, wars, volcanoes, emperors, popes, and ruling families (that contributed to many of those popes) that spans thousands of years. The lore of the Roman, Grecian and Etruscans gods can be found in carvings and paintings in much of the artifacts found from all over the country. Some of the most powerful gods were the gods that governed sunlight, medicine, war, hunting, love and of course wine.

There are archeological digs that have discovered artifacts that include amorphas and goblets with carvings of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. There is evidence in those paintings and carvings and in writings of a cult called the Bacchanalia. The cult was banned in 186 BC by the State because it’s nature-worshipping themes were not in tune with the Roman Republic. Julius Caesar lifted it, some 100 years later, in response to popular pressure as Bacchus became a favorite among the rich and powerful most notably Mark Antony who saw himself as a new Dionysus. The common denominator in this cult was the worship of the creation of wine and included lots of wild dancing and dressing up as mythical creatures, or possibly undressing, probably while consuming…. well…wine.

I certainly would love to have been there, but something I find very interesting is in some of the archeological digs that we (I) were talking about before we (I) got side tracked, there have been grape pips or seeds that can be carbon dated to 4000 – 6000 BC. Archeological scientists can also tell if a seed is cultivated or not cultivated and these are seeds that have been cultivated meaning they have been manipulated by man to produce a superior result.

Science proves that the production of wine precedes all of the mythology and lore of the gods of Greece, Rome and the Etruscans (whose god of wine was called Fufluns) and was possibly made by future family of the Tautavel man. And since Tautavel is in the heart of the Cote de Roussillon Villages in the south of France, I would think that would make sense.

That also means that wine has been made on the boot shaped peninsula for that amount of time also, and the wine produced today is evidence of that. One of my favorite places in Italy to discuss is Piedmont. Some of the best wines in the world come from there. Most notably, the mighty Barolo and Barbaresco made from Nebbiolo. Grapes for Barolo are grown in the vineyards in and around the hill top town of Alba, and the neighboring communes of Castiglione-Falleto, Monforte d'Alba, Serralunga d'Alba, Barolo, and La Morra.

Generally speaking, the Barolo sourced from vineyards near the first three communes are the biggest wines made, while the Barolo from the latter two communes are more refined and a bit more graceful. The Nebbiolo for Barbaresco is grown in and around the villages of Barbaresco, Neive, and Treiso, which are adjacent, to the North East of Alba.

There are differing schools of thought in the production of Barolo and Barbaresco. Wines produced in a traditional style will use extended maceration, not attempting to smooth out the grape tannins in any way and produce a wine that probably needs upwards of 10 years in bottle.

Traditionalists include: Bartolo Mascarello, G. Conterno,
G. Mascarello, Pio Cesare, Bruno Giacosa, Produttori del Barbaresco and perhaps, to some extent, Aldo Conterno.

Barolo and Barbaresco produced in a newer style uses new oak in the form of smaller barriques. Vanilla, spices and creaminess may all be evident in this style of winemaking. Tannins are managed better and the producers tend to strive for an approachable style of wine that is more fruit forward.

Non-traditionalists include : Domenico Clerico, Aldo Conterno, Prunotto, Marchesi di Gresy, Ceretto, Gancia, Conterno-Fantino and Angelo Gaja.

There was also a movement in the mid nineties where several prominent producers introduced legislation requesting the they be allowed the add no more than 10% of another grape, most likely Dolcetto or Cabernet to make their wines more accessible in great vintages or fuller bodied in weaker vintages. The opponents to this cited heritage and tradition. The decision was made by the consortium to stick to tradition and allow only Nebbiolo. Many wine makers now use the Langhe DOC on their wines forsaking the DOCG Barolo or Barbaresco to make the style of wine they prefer.

No matter what the style, the wines produced here are fabulous and can be found in all priced ranges. There are also plenty of other wonderful wines from Piedmont. Other reds like Barbera and Dolcetto that are made for more immediate consumption. Softly sparkling wine made from Moscato from the village of Asti. Crisp interesting whites made from the Cortese grape in the village of Gavi and Arneis from Roero. And of course Angelo Gaja makes a world class Chardonnay from vineyards named after his daughter Gaia and his grandmother, Clotilde Rey appropriately called Gaia & Rey.

And of those are materials for many rambling to come.

Mankind . . . possesses two supreme blessings. First of these is the goddess Demeter, or Earth whichever name you choose to call her by. It was she who gave to man his nourishment of grain. But after her there came the son of Semele, who matched her present by inventing liquid wine as his gift to man. For filled with that good gift, suffering mankind forgets its grief; from it comes sleep; with it oblivion of the troubles of the day. There is no other medicine for misery.

Euripides c. 485 - 406 B.C.

Santé

Brunello, not Brunello - Author: Ben Christiansen - owner - Waterford Wines Milwaukee Wisconsin

These Brunello's were drunk together in this order: flight one, 2001 Conti Costanti Riserva, 2003 Casanova di Neri, 2003 Siro Pacenti; flight two, 2003 Poggio Antico, 2001 Poggio Antico Altero, 2005 Poggio Antico Madre; flight three, 2001 Fuligni Riserva, 2002 Caparzo, 2001 Uccelliera, 2002 Argiano, 2003 Lisini. Served in Riedel’s Restaurant Series Sangiovese / Riesling I opened them at 2:30 and slowly drank them down. The bulk of the imbibing happened between 7 and 9 pm.

Conti Costanti seemed to be an excellent example of powerfully aromatic cherry, chocolate-y palate with dusty dry tannins. “Classic” Brunello. Or, to paraphrase Victor Hazan, “few can challenge Biondi-Santi in prestige but foremost among them is Costanti.” And hell, he’s married to Marcela.

Costanti yearns to be more classical than it is. Can an inanimate liquid long for the days of being dried to parching? Can it pine for the yesteryears of grouchy-old-farm-wife acidity? This is what Costanti seemed destined to be; but is falling short. Nicolas Belfrage comments that “[Costanti] has shed what toughness it once had.” Maybe old farm wives just can’t hawk their biscuits anymore. Also, whence Riserva? After having had several other Costanti’s I would rather have the normale than the Riserva simply based on price ($77 and $124 respectively). Call me Scrooge.

Once we drank the 2003 Casanova di Neri my worries about Costanti became irrelevant. Casanova is currently the greatest exemplar of anygrape-anywhere-98point wine. Is it Syrah? Cabernet? Sangiovese? Or maybe some funky Pecornio / Abruzzo blend (oh yeah, how do you know it isn’t?) At $70 it hits the habitual 98 point nail hard. If you taste in points you should go looking for this bargain of a wine but I hate to think what your sex life is like. Furthermore, Casanova does what it does so much better than the shameful Siro Pacenti ($24 more than Casanova and frankly tastes like $30 Grenache). After drinking these two I yearned for my Costanti back. By the way, Costanti was at its best 6-1/2 hours open while Casanova was jumpy right from the get go.
Poggio Antico was quite a mess, but a distinctive mess. The Brunello was corked (alas). The Altero was ferociously oaked on the nose but still distinctively Brunello. Six hours in it started resolving into something dramatic. Rest this for a couple of years and try again. Madre is the best example I have had of its type but that doesn’t mean it’s worth the same price as Tignello. On the other hand Tignello is so restricted these days I can’t seem to get it. Next we began fooling around. The back half ran through Montalcino’s as yet undrawn crus as suggested by Franco Biondi Santi in the Decanter article Brunello on the Brink (August 2008 issue, page 52).

Fuligni took the cake with its densely layered, dramatically expressive aromatics. The big man says that wines from Fuligni’s region, Montalcino, are complex and balanced with beautifully rich bouquets. Read into this that they don’t have the palate weight of others in the zone. One disgruntled taster who hates Italian wine in general commented with a veiled undertone “Fuligni disguised the blending well.” This argument is a little bit like saying 30% of the population is gay and in the closet. Half of all Brunello producers are under indictment for blending in illegal wine, we just haven’t developed our Grosso-radar enough to be able to spot them (or them us!). Times do change, in this world and that. To get back to the point, was there a greater joy to go back and forth between the Costanti and the Fuligni? You can tell which ones were my favorites. My only regret is that I have not tried a non-reserve Fuligni and so cannot speak to the Reserva’s price.

Caparzo, the little green label that could, fell a touch flat being from 2002. Showing its mineral dexterity (is this what Montosoli is all about?) it was a good wine, and worth its bargain Brunello price of $43. Drink up.
Now big fun. Uccelliera, from Castelnuovo dell’Abate (which is fun to say fast after drinking 11 Brunellos) was simply a smash. Here is what this novice Brunello drinker believed to be a prime glance at Montalcino terrior. Powerful, muscular, expressive and fully and utterly worth its $74 asking price. Did I say Muscle? To lay down. More needs to be drunk from this region.
Tosca wept for Argiano’s 2002. The grand giant of Solengo fame is truly making blended shit. Not even the comment that Sant’ Angelo in Colle is all about rich, robust fruity Brunellos can save Argiano from its own hypocrisy. Drinking this wine leaves you in no doubt as to why they voluntarily declassified their entire 2003 vintage.

But let’s not paint the whole Sant' Angelo in shame. Like Castelnuovo, Montalcino in Sant’ Angelo seemed to be giving up a lesson in terrior to us. Opulent, lush, rich, and well worth the $83 asking price. In fact, given the flailing failing strength of the dollar this and the Uccey are probably under-priced (Poggio Antico was more recently imported hence $10 to $20 more).

Lessons learned: blending distorts Brunello; understanding Montalcino’s terrior enhanced pleasure.

Wisconsin's first Master Sommelier Candidate

Since August of 2004, I have had a bug. That is when I took the introductory course for the Court of Master Sommeliers and passed it. And I passed it only missing two of the 80ish questions. OMG did I know about wine or what! I thought I knew it all. I only missed two questions!!!

Subsequently, I have applied to take the advanced certification three times. There now exists a certification level that is a requirement to pass and then wait a year before you can even apply for the advanced certification, but I took the first before that was implemented.

The first time I applied for the advanced I was turned down because I hadn’t waited the pre-requisite year, but even knowing that I was crushed. I only missed TWO of the questions! Didn’t they know that?

The second time I applied, I was accepted and I promptly set up shop to study, study, study. And to my credit I really did study. I wrote note cards, filled notebooks with my illegible handwriting with all of the things I though were necessary to study to pass THIS test, only missing two questions. I got to San Francisco in October of 2006 and after the first day of lectures and tastings, I knew I was in big trouble.

First of all to pass this you have to pass theory... this is where you hear the DUH DUH DUH DUH music that indicates that this is by far the hardest part of it. Then there is the service test. This test involves going to three different stations to perform some aspect of service while being grilled about vintages and food pairing and such. There is a decanting station where you get grilled about Bordeaux or Burgundy vintages. A champagne opening station where you get asked about up coming champagne vintages and answer questions about aperitifs. And then a station where you perform banquet style putting down of glasses (correct ones that is) while you get grilled about food pairings. Whew!

You also have to blind taste six wines in front of three Master Sommeliers and deductively (yea sure) guess exactly what they are and where they are from to the pinpointed appellation.

I knew I was sunk. But I valiantly carried on trying to memorize in the few hours between the end of the lecture and the next day, all of the things I barley touched on in all of my studying thinking my knowledge (remember I only missed TWO questions) would be enough. WRONG!

“But now I see our lances are but straws; our strength as weak, our weakness pass compare...that seeming to be most, which we indeed least are....” as the beautiful Kate tells her maidens in the final soliloquy of The Taming of the Shrew. She was of course talking about men and sex but I heard those words loud and clear when I sat down to take the theory, looked at the questions and realized I would probably be leaving allot of questions blank. My lance was so a straw!

OK so the times comes to the individual evaluations after all three sections and then the giving out of the big green pins to those who did indeed study all of the right things. I was told I passed blind tasting and service but obviously I did not study the right things and so subsequently I did not get the big green pin.

The reality is the Court of Master Sommeliers is their club and if you want to be a member you have to follow their rules, and their rules are you must know EVERYTHING, they certainly do. Some of the Masters that taught the classes I found out tried five or six times to pass the Masters level. One of them jokingly said that if you pass the Masters on your first try, you get a special designation called the Krug cup. She said that after the six times she tried to pass, her designation was called the Schlitz cup. But now she is one so who am I to be bitter.

Fast forward to August 6^th - 10^th of 2007. I took it again in Chicago, and passed. This time I knew what I had to know, I had some confidence in the blind tasting because I had passed it before and service, well I am all about service! If I strive to move on, even getting the Schlitz cup will be great with me.

“Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot, and place you hands below you husbands foot. In token of which duty, if he please, my hand is ready, may it do him ease” Then Petruchio spouts “Why there’s a wench - Come on and kiss me Kate!” Ah Shakespeare, she definitely got the cutest guy by doing what she had to do despite her pride. And me, well I got the big green pin becoming the first person in Wisconsin to take and pass the advanced certification with the Court of Master Sommeliers and possibly be the first Master Sommelier in this state.

Santé!