WHINE # 37 – November, 2012
THE WINES OF TUSCANY: A recent week in Tuscany has caused me to
re-think my long held low opinion of Tuscan wines; in particular my
disparagement of Chianti. Perhaps I
shouldn’t be overly quick to form judgments of wine quality based solely on
what is available in Nova Scotia. After
all Italian exporters don’t necessarily put aside their very best for shipment
to this particular Oenophile’s outpost.
CHIANTI: Those
of us who have been around more than a few decades will remember those straw
basket bottles with dripping candles adorning the desks in the college dorms,
or sitting on red checkered table cloths in hole-in-the-wall restaurants. The romance of the Chianti bottle more than
overcame the dreadful nature of the cheap wine which filled the bottle prior to
the insertion of the candle.
For centuries Chianti was sold in these attractive bottles
because: (1) the glass without padding
was too thin to withstand shipping; and (2) the cheap bottles didn’t have a
flat enough bottom to stand upright on their own. By the way, Tuscan peasants were able to
weave about 300 of the bottle baskets per day.
Now those bottles have all but disappeared from wine store shelves, but
can still be found on E-Bay where they cost more than a bottle of the current
vintage.
Chianti is the best-known of all Italian wines and cheap
Chianti abounds. Chianti is made from
the Sangiovese grape and is bone dry and very acidic. This makes for a wine that is not very good
for sipping, but one that can stand up to highly acidic foods, such as
spaghetti with tomato sauce; food that will normally overpower a more subtle
wine. Perhaps this is why we old farts still
have those romantic memories of candle-light dinners where we drank very cheap
wine paired with the only pasta we knew how to cook.
While cheap Chianti reminds one of sucking on cherry pits, more
expensive Chianti’s can be very good indeed.
My suggestion is that you don’t bother with simple Chianti but go for
Chianti Classico, which is from its own DOCG region.
SUPER TUSCANS:
Italy modelled its wine laws after the French “appellation controlee”
system. This means that wine names are
protected. A DOC (Denominazione di
Origine Controllata) wine or a DOCG (add Garantita to the above phrase) wine
comes from a specific place and is made from a specific grape or blend. While this system offers a certain level of
protection to the consumer, it is very restrictive and prevents the vintner
from experimenting with different varietals and different blends.
Within the past 20 or 30 years several producers, first in
Chianti and then in all of Tuscany, rebelled against this antiquated system and
started making new blends. In particular
it was discovered that Cabernet Sauvignon blends beautifully with the
traditional Sangiovese. These wines tend
to be of small production and are quite expensive. They have no geographic designation other
than simply Tuscany.
These rebel vintners tend to blend their wines to be more
“international” in style. They are more
fruit flavoured and more highly oaked than the Tuscan DOC or DOCG wines. Thus, at a blind tasting one might be excused
for thinking that a Super Tuscan is from
the New World rather than the Old World.
While one may find a fabulous Super Tuscan, I personally do
not often purchase any of these wines because of their price, and because one
cannot tell from the label which small winery is ordinary or special. Finally, if I want a fruit- forward, heavily
oaked wine it is easier and cheaper to choose one from California or South America.
NOBILE Di MONTEPULCIANO:
Now if you were not confused
by the Super Tuscan designation, the following should really make your head
spin. Montepulciano is both the name of
a town and the name of a varietal. However,
wines from Montepulciano are not made from the Montepulciano grape and wine
made from the Montepulciano grape comes from an entirely different region of
Italy (Abruzzo). So, remember than a
DOCG labelled wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano has no relationship to a
DOCG labelled wine called Montepulciano D’Abruzzo.
The one from Tuscany (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano) is one
of the great wines of all of Italy. The
name suggests that this wine is the wine drunk by the Nobility and it certainly
will withstand the scrutiny of the most dedicated snob. It is soft and rich and is made of a blend of
several varietals, but 80% must be Sangiovese .
The wines are aged in French oak and are generally worth the high price
(more than $ 40. In Canada). When I
visited Montepulciano a few weeks ago and started to taste the wine I thought it
wasn’t going to ever get better. Then I
discovered Montalcino.
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO:
It is difficult to park and
enter the small hilltop town of Montalcino even in the off season. The town is dedicated to wine tasting, and
enoteca (wine tasting shop) after enoteca
line the crowded streets. All of these shops feature the very expensive Brunello and
the tasting is free only if you then purchase.
Brunello di Montalcino is one of two of Italy’s best wines;
the other being Barolo from farther north in Piedmont. There are 200 small producers surrounding the
town and each year’s production is quite small.
When I visited, the shops were featuring the 2006’s (a very good year)
and the 2007’s (an even better year ) The 2008’s were about to be released. Wine Enthusiast gives the 2007’s 95 points
and 2007 is perhaps the best year in a half century. I have my fingers crossed that a 2007 will
appear in my stocking on Christmas morning.
Brunello di Montalcino is a ripe, intensely flavoured wine
that requires careful aging. Supposedly
it will cellar for 50 years.
Unfortunately, I shall not get to personally test that claim.
ROSSO DI MONTEPULCIANO AND ROSSO DI MONTALCINO: These DOC wines are the lesser versions of
the great wines above. These are made from
less select grapes and the legal aging time prior to release is not as
long. They are fine, but nothing special
and I suggest that if you don’t want to put aside either a Vino Nobile di
Montecpulciano or a Brunello di Montalcino don’t bother with these lesser
wines. For everyday drinking inexpensive
New World wines are a better value.
THOSE OF YOU WHO LIVE IN NOVA SCOTIA: I shall
be forwarding you an e-mail which is promoting Christmas sales of wines
sponsored by Feed Nova Scotia. A case
purchased will get you wine not now available and will result in a
tax-receipted donation that supports Nova Scotian food banks. The wines can be purchased through Bishop’s
Cellar in Halifax.
CELLAR OFFERING 212: I must confess that I am not overly excited
by this Offering. However, if you would
like to try some Australian wines that are a little different than the spicy Shiraz’s
with which you are no doubt familiar may I suggest either 6800 (96 Points
Shiraz Viognier) or 6807 (GMH Meritage.)
Neither of these wines will break the bank and I have liked them
both. On the other hand I have not been
very pleased with either the Fat’n Skinny Series (6816 and 6817) or the red
wines from the Milyaroo Series (6798 and 6799).
Finally, if you want to spend big bucks I am sure some of the $ 40+
Shiraz’s that are featured in this Offering will be very pleasing with your
bar-b-ques in the summer of 2015.
