Castello Brolio, Barone Ricasoli

For me this was the visit of the holiday. It was a fantastic visit for many reasons, but particularly because we got to meet the agronomist who showed us around the vineyard and explained all the various experiments they were doing with clonal selection and pruning. For anyone planning a trip to Brolio, this is part of the "Experimental vineyard tour" and is well worth doing. On their website it says that they will only do this for groups of 9 or more. There were only 7 of us in our group but we managed to convince them to let us onto the tour anyway. It may well have been harder to convince them to do this if we were visiting in the height of the tourist season though, but I'd seriously recommend you try.


There is some seriously high-tech equipment in the vineyard. As well as the usual sensors, rain gauges etc, there is what we nick-named 'robovine'.

This was a vine in the middle of the vineyard with sensors all over it. These sensors communicate with some central database by wifi, recording all aspects of the microclimate from precisely where the grapes are.

Another reason the visit was fantastic is the immense history associated with the estate. The castle was built in the middle ages and is a genuine castle, rather than a cool-sounding name. Also, Barone Ricasoli was the a bit of a polymath and, as well as being Prime Minister of Italy (twice), he was responsible for the creation of the first Chianti Wine "recipe". Finally, the grounds of the castle as the view you can see are fantastically beautiful (although this seems to be a bit of a theme for Tuscan wineries).



The Tasting
1. Torricella IGT, 2007
100% Chardonnay
Medium bodied, Quite high acid. Alcohol not noticeable on palate. Some oak influence. Medium intensity aromas and palate of green apples and melons. Medium length. Very good

2. Castello di Brolio, 2005
Chianti Classico DOCG
Dark fruits, oak and violets on the nose. Medium-high acid and tannin. Full bodied. Long, with a smooth, fruity finish. Excellent. Can drink now with food, but will clearly age.

As I understand it, this wine is more of a premium wine than the Brolio, but is not made as a Chianti Classico Riserva. Or at least it is not referred to as a Riserva.


3. Casalferro IGT, 2004
30% Merlot, 70% Sangiovese
Opaque ruby colour. Medium-high intensity aromas of black fruit, smoke, tobacco and black plums. Full bodied with high acid and high tannin. In balance, but still pretty aggressive right now. Intense black fruit on palate - almost like fruit sauce reduction. Needs time, but will be fantastic.

4. Granello IGT, 2007
Sauvignon Blanc late harvest. (plus a little gewurtz - I think)
Pale yellow. Grape and grapefruit on the nose. Sweet, full bodied and acidic. More floral on the palate than on the nose. Concentrated, long and with a crisp refreshing finish. Very good.



Barone Ricasoli
Cantine del Castello di Brolio
53013 Gaiole in Chianti (Siena)
+39 0577 7301
barone@ricasoli.it
www.ricasoli.it

Guicciardini Strozzi

Our superb visit to Castello Brolio overran somewhat. This, combined with getting stuck behind every tractor, cement mixer and caravan on the road meant that we were seriously late for our visit to Guicciardini Strozzi. Not a winery I knew much about before we visited - this one was organised by Adam (and I think it was another one which was recommended in the Monty Waldin book). Fortunately, we were still able to have a tour of the grounds and a tasting of the wines despite our severe tardiness.

This is a winery with immense history. The first documentary evidence for the estate is from 994, which makes the Mazzei family (Castello di Fonterutoli) look like absolute newcomers! We were met at the estate by the Principessa who took us on a tour of the winery before taking us to the tasting room. It's not every day you meet someone who is related to both the Mona Lisa and Winston Churchill. The tasting room was filled with pictures of the Principessa meeting famous people from around the world
(including an excellent photo of Berlusconi clearly saying something very rude to her judging by her expression in the picture!) so we were clearly in good company.

I was very impressed with the wines - particularly since my expectations were low because of the other Vernaccia di San Gimignano I had drunk before. The normal Vernaccia was the best example we found during our Tuscan holiday and the Cusone "1933" was the most interesting white wine of the holiday.

The tasting
This was the final visit of the holiday. Despite the heavy wine-drinking of the preceding few days our tired palates still found plenty to excite us

1. Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2008
An excellent example of how the classic style of Vernaccia should be done. Bitter almonds, herbs and medicinal notes on the nose. Dry, with high acid, bitter and mineralic. Long with an interesting and mineralic finish. Very good.

2. Cusona "1933" 2007
This one is Vernaccia made in an unusual way: some oaked grapes, some unoaked grapes and some partially dried grapes. Medium intensity tropical fruit and oak. Honey, melon, banana. Smooth mouthfeel. Dry, but tastes a little sweet from the dried grapes. Intense tropical fruit on the palate with some mineralic notes. This is full bodied
for a white. Outstanding.

3. Sodole 2005
100% Sangiovese IGT
Deep ruby. Medium-high aroma intensity - meaty, blackberries, violets, leather, vanilla. Medium-high acid and high tannin. Full bodied. Plenty of liquorice. Long, but with a grippy finish. Needs time. Very good, particularly after a little time in the glass.

4. Vigna Re 2005, Bolgheri
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot blend
Medium ruby with a pale rim. Blackcurrant, vanilla. Very high tannin, high acid. Full bodied. Finish a little harsh. Good, should improve with age

Castello di Fonterutoli

We got totally lost on the way to Castello di Fonterutoli since we were looking for a castle whereas the estate is actually a collection of medieval buildings and a super-modern winery. This would have been useful information since we spent a long time driving round very close to the winery (and past the enoteca which is where we were actually supposed to go) until we had to admit defeat and call for directions. Don't make the same mistake if you are going.


We had an excellent guide for our tour who not only showed us around the estate, barrel hall and (very modern) winery, but also explained to us the legend behind the Chianti black rooster. The story goes that in the middle ages the Sienese and Florentines decided that the best way to decide the position of the frontier between Siena and Florence would be to have a race. One horseman would set out from each city as the rooster first crowed in the morning. The place where the horsemen met would be the frontier between the two. The Sienese chose a pampered, white rooster who crowed at the usual time. The clever/devious (delete depending on one's allegiance to either city) Florentines chose a thin, hungry black rooster which they had starved for a couple of days and kept in the dark. Shortly after midnight they brought the rooster out of the dark and he promptly crowed. The Florentine horseman set of hours earlier than his Sienese counterpart. The result of this was that the boundary between the towns was set only a short distance from Siena. So, whilst highly implausible, this story does at least explain the iconography.


The Tasting
1. Rose Belguardo IGT
(Sangiovese, Syrah)
5 hours of skin contact for the syrah, 20 hours for the sangiovese.
Salmon rose. Medium-high intensity aromas of red fruit. Dry, medium acid, very low tannin. Good length, with red fruit and crisp acidity. A little hot on the finish (not sure what the actual alcohol is). Good (for a rose). Drink it in the sun and forget about it otherwise.

2. Zisola, Sicilia IGT
Nero d'Avola bush vines.
Deep ruby. Pronounced black fruit and some rustic aromas such as leather. Medium acid, tannin and body. Alcohol noticeable on palate. Medium all round really. Solid quality, but not amazing.

3. Bronzone, Morellino di Scansano
100% Sangiovese
Deep ruby, pronounced red fruit, berries and spice. Medium-high acid, high tannin. Intense red fruit on the palate. Also some bitter chocolate and spice. Quite complex - more so on the palate than on the nose. Very good

4. Fonterutoli, Chianti Classico 2007
Medium intensity red fruit, floral notes. High acid (a little too prevalent). Should balance out in time. Good, needs time or food

5. Castello di Fonterutoli, Chianti Classico 2006
Deep and brooding. Concentrated black fruits, cinnamon, white pepper and liquorice. High tannin and acid. Full bodied. This is very good and will be better with time

6. Siepe, IGT 2006
(50% Sangiovese, 50% Merlot)
Medium-high intensity aromas of liquorice and black fruit. Very high tannin and high acid. Intense and concentrated palate. Depth of flavour. Long. This one is outstanding, but needs time.

7. Castello di Fonterutoli, 2005
Medium-high intensity nose. Green pepper making an appearance over the black fruit. This one is showing much better than the 2006. Smooth, with some vegetal notes coming through over the fruit. The acid and tannin are in balance now, but both very high. Excellent stuff

Enoteca di Fonterutoli
+39 0577 741 385
enoteca@fonterutoli.it
www.mazzei.it

Villa Cafaggio

An interesting visit. This is a relatively large producer with high-tech production methods. Based in the Golden Conch around Panzano it has excellent vineyard location, beautiful views and great wine.


Tasting
1. Chianti Classico DOCG 2006
This is made in quite low yields - 8 bunches of grapes per vine. Ripe black fruit, sweet spice, liquorice and fresh leaves. Long, with a good balance between acid and tannin. Medium body. Very good. Drink now, but will not be hurt by age

2. Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2005
This is made with even lower yields - 6 bunches of grapes per vine. Black fruit, floral some vanilla. Very ripe fruit on the palate. Concentrated palate. High acid and tannin. Not really balanced yet but will be great in a bit of time.

3. San Martino 2000 IGT (100% Sangiovese)
At nine years old this is still very young. Pronounced black fruit, but slightly cooked fruit. Developing some green pepper notes too. High acid and very high tannin. Full bodied and very long. Still needs time. This is excellent - particularly once it has had a little time to open up in the glass.

4. Cortaccio 2003 IGT (100% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Medium intensity black fruit. A little tobacco and cedar. Smooth mouthfeel. Much more approachable in its youth than wine #3. Full body, high tannin and med-high acid. Round, pleasant and well balanced. Long and complex finish. Outstanding.


Buying Old Vintages
At the estate you can buy all the old vintages they still have stock for at the same price as the current vintage. So we got the oldest bottles we could find (ll early 90s - sadly I didn't make tasting notes) of the Classico, Riserva and San Martino and tried them. The old San Martino was fantastic, the riserva held up quite well and the classico was past its best.

Caiarossa

Since the British legal system had unreasonably requested that Tamsin perform jury duty she was late coming out to Tuscany. So on the Wednesday in the middle of our week's wine tasting we drove from Chianti back to Pisa to collect her. To make the most of this journey we were looking for a winery to visit in the coastal region.

As a result of a tip from the excellent Monty Waldin book we visited a producer called Caiarossa. This was a fantastic place to visit. The winery is owned by the owners of Chateau Giscours and Chateau du Tertre from Margaux and is a much smaller production vineyard than either of those two.


During the tour it became clear that the winemaker is very into biodynamic winemaking (something I find truly bizarre). However, if someone is going to pay that amount of attention to how they make their wines that they are prepared to follow the implausible rules of biodynamic winemaking then they are also going to be paying close attention to the important stuff. As a result, the wines are often fantastic, as these proved to be.

Another reason why the visit was so awesome was that, since the estate has only been producing wines for a small number of years, they have not become "touristed out". We received a very gracious and hospitable welcome, with our guide even staying late so she could take us into the barrel hall and show us some barrel samples of Petit Verdot (something I'd never had as a single-varietal before). Anyway, excellent wines, gracious host and beautiful scenery... what more could you want? Try to arrange a visit if you happen to be in the coastal area.




1. Pergolaia 2005 IGT (95% Sangiovese)
Medium-high aroma intensity: dark berries, wood and wild herbs. Fairly high acid and tannin but in balance. Medium-high body. Medium intensity red fruit. Also something slightly sour. Medium length. A good wine, but needs food.

2. Caiarossa 2004 IGT (Blend of multiple varieties)
Pronounced aroma of black fruit and tomato. Evident oak influence, but not obtrusive. High acid, high (but fine) tannin. Intense black fruit. Well balanced, long and with a fresh, fruity finish. This was outstanding and will age well.

Incidentally, we put this in a blind tasting on the final night of the holiday. The other wines were Castello di Fonterutoli, Fontodi's Syrah and Biondi Santi. This wine was the clear winner against some stiff competition.

3. Caiarossa 2005 IGT
Dark and brooding. Plenty of liquorice, cedar, tobacco and black fruit. Medium-high acid and high tannin. Long, but very tannic finish. A baby - give it time and it will be outstanding. For now, just very good.

4. Caiarossa Bianco 2007 IGT
This is a fairly unusual blend of 55-45 Chardonnay and Viognier. Very high alcohol as well and from a hot climate so I wasn't expecting a great wine. Surprisingly it worked very nicely. Aromatic peach notes, as well as a noticeable grape smell (which is surprisingly rare in wine) and some dairy aromas. Full bodied with high alcohol. Plenty of acid. There has been lots of lees contact which gives it a nice texture. Amazingly concentrated. This wine was served after two huge reds and really held its own. Usually my preferred style for white wine is not anything like this, but I could happily drink this wine at any time.

5. Oro di Caiarossa 2006 (late harvest. I think grape variety is petit
manseng)
This wine had a noticeably sesame seed aroma. Also nuts and dried apricots. Sweet, with high acid and excellent length. Again, an excellent wine and it made an interesting change in style from all the Vin Santo we drank that week.

Poggio Antico

Poggio Antico
Brunello di Montalcino

This was an excellent visit and I highly recommend it to anyone planning to visit wineries in Tuscany. I had arranged for our group to have a tour and tasting in the morning and then we stayed for lunch afterwards. The grounds of the estate are so fantastically beautiful that it's an amazing location to sit and have an Italian-style lunch over several hours and the food was excellent. So excellent we were too late for our afternoon's appointment. Be warned - you will probably spend longer here gawping at the scenery than you originally planned to!


Rather amazingly Alasdair's harebrained travel plans worked out perfectly with his flight arriving early(?!), which enabled him to arrive in time for lunch.


Tasting:
1. Rosso di Montalcino 2007
This is aged for 10 months in tonneau before being bottled. Lots of black fruit, long and well balanced. Very good, much better than rosso usually is.

2. Brunello di Montalcino 2003
This is made in a traditional style with 3-years in Slavonian oak. The nose has confected black fruits and a somewhat gamey character. High tannins and high acid. Well balanced and long. This was excellent but needs a bit of time - the palate is still quite aggressively tannic and has plenty of fruit, acid and tannin so no worries about aging potential.

3. Altero Brunello di Montalcino 2003
This is made in a modern style with new french oak aging. There is noticeable wood on the nose but not so much on the palate. Plenty of black fruit, but also leather, smoke and spice. Very high tannins. Again, this has plenty of acid to balance the tannin. Still quite aggressive but more approachable now than the traditional style (#2). However, this one will also benefit from age.

4. Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2003
So far this century Poggio Antico have only made a riserva in 2001 and 2003.
This has pronounced intensity on the nose - jumping out of the glass. Concentrated fruit aromas, some red but mostly black. Lots of smoke, tobacco and leather. Brooding. Very high tannin and acid, still very grippy. Intense black fruit, this is still very fresh and young tasting. A baby - needs a fair amount of time. Or a huge steak. This one was outstanding.

5. Madre 2006 (IGT)
This is their 50% Cabernet and 50% Sangiovese supertuscan. Plenty of cassis on the nose as well as some gamey and earthy notes. The tasting note given by the woman at the estate was "morbido" a rather worrying sounding Italian word that, as far as I can tell, means that it tastes smooth rather than it tastes of death! This wine had plenty of tannin and acid and is quite long, but nothing like as long as the riserva. Very good, more approachable in its youth than the others.

Poggio Antico
53024 Montalcino
+39 0577 848 044
mail@poggioantico.com

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Tasting

Champagne
Blanc de Blanc vs Blanc de Noir (both tasted blind)

1. Waitrose Blanc de Blanc NV
Medium intensity bready, yeasty aromas. Also plenty of lemon and apple. High acid and a fine mousse. Very appley for want of a better word.

I preferred this wine. The consensus preference was for number 2

2. Mailly Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs NV
Slightly darker in colour than number 1 (which may have been due to extra bottle age). Green fruit on the nose, but riper smelling than #1 and with noticeably more bready, yeasty character. On the palate the mousse was less fine but there was more body and some red fruit notes (strawberry and raspberry).

Pretty much everybody managed to successfully work out which was which, in sharp contrast to the inaugural BV blind champagne tasting. Perhaps the Blanc de Noir was a more typical example this time, or perhaps we simply confused the flavours coming from the extra age as being flavours coming from the black grapes.

The next pairing was supposed to be a non-blind comparison of a typical unoaked chardonnay (Montana, NZ) vs a typical oaked chardonnay (Catena, Argentina). However, the Catena was corked which meant that I had to steal one of the white burgundies (which was to have been tasted blind) to use as the oaked chardonnay example.

Oaked vs Unoaked Chardonnay (not tasted blind)
3. Montana Unoaked Chardonnay, Wairau Valley, NZ

4. Domaine Jean-Jacques Girard "Les Belles Filles", Pernand-Vergelesses, (Cote de Beaune) 2007

Neither wine 3 nor wine 4 were particularly impressive, but they were solid examples of the type of wine we were trying to highlight.

Next we blind-tasted 3 white burgundies:

White burgundy (tasted blind)
5. Waitrose Chablis, Caves des Vignerons de Chablis 2007

6. William Fevre, Vaudesir Grand Cru Chablis, 2005

7. Joseph Drouhin, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Folatieres, (Cote de Beaune) 2006

Of these the Drouhin was showing best by some significant margin with plenty of fruit, acid and oak, but all in balance and great length. This will clearly age well for years. Many people didn't appreciate the Fevre since it was quite restrained. However, I thought it was excellent. The Waitrose chablis showed more on the palate than on the nose (quite surprising). However, it paled in comparison to the other two. This was quite a good introductory blind tasting exercise since the number of variables was massively curtailed and the differences in style (oaked vs unoaked) and quality (normal vs grand/premier cru) were quite stark.

Pinot Noir (tasted blind)
9. Escarpment Pinot Noir, Martinborough, NZ 2007

10. Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir, Walker Bay, SA 2006

11. Domaine Hudelot-Baillet, Chambolle-Musigny, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy

It was quite clear which wine was the Chambolle-Musigny. However, I was caught out by the South African pinot which was significantly more elegant and cool-climate tasting than the NZ. In retrospect, this is not the first time I've been surprised by the elegance of a South African pinot noir. I seem to have it stuck in my head that SA reds are big, bruising monsters yet they can clearly make excellent pinot noirs. I must remember this in the future.

Old Burgundy (not tasted blind)
12 Pierre Ponnelle Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy 1970
This one was not included in the blind tasted above because there was simply no way anyone could get this one confused for anything else tasted on this evening. If nothing else, the colour would have given it away - the wine was garnet with a tawny rim. Relatively intense aromas of cherries, nuts, leather, mushrooms. A very complex wine with pronounced intensity of flavour on the palate and phenomenal length (we're talking several minutes here).Tannin and acid were both quite low so this would not carry on much further, but it's superb now.