Recently, wine critic Robert Parker Jr, stated that too many folks are focusing on unfamiliar grape varietals and wine regions when they cannot compare to some of the top dogs in France and Italy like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piedmont, Tuscany, etc. I think it's important for those in the wine industry to continue to promote the unfamiliar wines since the average consumer may not be aware of them and the wine world is so large that everything should be shared and explored. Personally, I love experimenting with all varietals and I appreciate them in their own way based on the terroir and style of the winemakers. Not everyone can afford the top wines of the world and that's just another reason I think it's important for everyone to experiment and learn of all varietals and regions around the world.
I will be sharing some of these lesser known varietals in upcoming blogs, but wanted to focus today on my most recent explorations and blogs of the Piedmont region, in particular the wines from Barolo. The wines there have been increasing in price, in particular Barolo, due to the high quality vintages that have come out in recent years. Some of the more recent vintages that have topped the charts are the 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007. Antonio Galloni has written a great article highlighting the 2010 vintage in depth that you can view here. The 2010 vintage not only shined in Piedmont, but also in Tuscany. There is talk about this vintage being one of the greatest in Italy.
Make sure you seek out the 2010 vintage upon release and grab them while you can or attend a tasting that is showcasing them so you can experience it for yourself. I look forward to hearing from you once you taste them!
Last night I had a great tasting as usual at Gordon's Fine Wines in Waltham, MA. The star of the night was the winemaker Giuseppe Nicolis of Nicolis winery in the Valpolicella wine region in the Veneto, northeastern part of Italy. Below is the line up of wines that we tasted with Giuseppe walking us through each one.
Giuseppe Nicolis
2012 Valpolicella Classico
2010 Valpolicella Classico Ripasso "Seccal"
2007 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
2006 Amarone della Valpolicella "Ambrosan"
2004 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico
The Nicolis family has been producing wines since 1951 from their estate vineyards in San Pietro in Cariano, but it wasn't until 1978 when they had their first bottling, labeled it and started to share their wines with the world. The winery has been passed down from Giuseppe's father Angelo. Giuseppe has quite a big family with 3 other brothers and 4 sisters. The men actively run the winery with Massimo doing the accounting, Giancarlo focusing on the vineyards and Giuseppe left Masi to return to Nicolis Winery to take on the role as the enologist when his senior brother passed away. Their winery produces about 220,000 bottles a year and they own about 17.5k acres.
If you're not familiar with this region it resembles a hand with 5 hills and the valleys in between. Whites like pinot grigio and prosecco are grown here, but they are famous for their reds, in particular Valpolicella and Amarone, also known as “baby brunello”. This region has been producing high quality wines for ages now and it wasn't until 2010 when they were granted the right to label their wines D.O.C.G for those that qualify.
For Giuseppe 2007 was a great vintage, but he states that there isn't much difference in vintages because if they face undesirable conditions they won't produce, which is what they decided upon in 1999 and 2002. 2013 hasn't been a favorable vintage as well due to hailstorms that resulted in a lower yield.
You can reference one of my earlier posts about Amarone and Valpolicella wines here, but I'll touch upon the highlights of Amarone produced by the Nicolis winery. They dry their grapes single layer in plastic boxes in temperature and humidity controlled rooms where they are checked daily for molding. Some vintners play with the temperature by increasing or decreasing it, but this can affect the taste and aromas dramatically. They are then pressed in January. The yield is no greater than 40% of the other wines due to the process. About 60-70% of the juice is lost during this process to make the grapes more concentrated. The juice is aged 30 months in Slavonian oak and another 6 months in the bottle.
Nicolis wines The '12 Valpolicella Classico was a young, fresh, simple wine with mouthwatering acidity and a nice finish. It's best to be enjoyed 3 afters after bottling by itself, with pasta or an appertivo. Next, I tried the '10 Valpolicella Classico Ripasso style named “Seccal”, which is a vineyard site established long ago they believe was named this due to the dryness of the area with the word stemming from “secco”, meaning dry. This wine was harvested in October and pressed in January. It was refermented on the lees of the Amarone, which creates the structure to this wine. It was very easy drinking, smooth and had nice balance with rich fruit and a hint of green bell pepper.
Moving on to the '07 Amarone della Valpolicella D.O.C.G, which is sourced from three different vineyard sites and the '06 Amarone della Valpolicella “Ambrosan”, which is a single-vineyard wine. It was fun to compare these two wines back to back. Last month '07 Amarone received 90 points from the Wine Spectator and the '06 Ambrosan is a Tre Bicchieri winner. The Ambrosan had a higher alcohol content of about 16-16.5% compared to the '07, which was 15%, but I didn't pick up the high alcohol level, except in the '07. They were very different wines, which proves to you what a single-vineyard site can produce. I was a big fan of the Ambrosan due to the elegance of it and the vanilla profile. It was very smooth and had feminine qualities. The '07 Amarone had more complexities with tobacco notes and subtle tannins. Lastly, we finished with the '04 Recioto della Valpolicella, a dessert style wine. It had deep color with a velvety richness and with the sweetness makes it a perfect way to end a meal.
Amarone wines can be aged for up to 15+ years and these Amarones that were2006 and 2007, had been opened an hour and the 2006 single vineyard Ambrosan was drinking beautifully, but I would've either aged the 2007 or decanted it longer. They can be enjoyed with meats, game and robust cheeses.
In our day and age some folks aren't willing to wait to drink wines and that's why decanting can play a big role in opening up these wines so they can be enjoyed now. An idea is to buy a couple bottles, enjoy one now and save the other to compare years from now and experience the life of the wine as it ages through the years.
With Chianti Classico being so popular in the USA and the world you probably familiar with the DOC and DOCG status, but now they have introduced a new designation above the DOCG known as Gran Selezione, meaning “grand selection”. The territory remains in the same Chianti Classico area in Tuscany as well as requiring at least 80% sangiovese, but there are different upgraded requirements in terms of the aging and the alcohol level. The grapes must be harvested from the producer's vineyards either single vineyards or from a selection of their best grapes. Currently the laws for Chianti Classico must be aged 1 year, where the Chianti Classico Riserva has requirements of 24 months with 3 months in the bottle. The new Gran Selezione will require 30 months aging with 3 months also in the bottle. In regards to alcohol levels, the Chianti Classico requires 12%, the Chianti Classico Riserva 12.5% and the new Gran Selezione will be 13%.
According to the Consorzio, 80% of Chianti Classico is exported from Italy. The sales of Chianti Classico sales had been increased by 10% in 2012 and 2013 is showing steady results as well with an increase of 30 euro per liter. The Gran Selezione designation will make up about 8-9% of the Chianti Classico production. As Americans, we make up the lions share of the market importing 30% of Chianti Classico.
This law goes into effect immediately and was ruled in by the European Commission earlier this month. It's times like these that I wish I was still living in Firenze, “Florence”, because over the last week they celebrated this new announcement there with vintners showcasing their wines for tasting and meet and greets. Wines that are eligible for this new designation will be the 2011's that can be showcased as early as July of this year.
With this new designation Italy is raising the bar in terms of quality production and their commitment to continue to produce some of the top quality wines of Italy and the world.
