More Tuscan Wines

CASTELLO di FONTERUTOLI

Here's a winery with ties to Thomas Jefferson and the other founding fathers of the United States.   Owned by the Mazzei family, it seems Filippo Mazzei was invited/paid by Jefferson to come over from Italy and plant some of the first European vines in America.  These were, of course, at Jefferson's Virginia digs in Monticello.  The Mazzei family is still in charge of this estate, located near Castellina in Chianti. 


The family is a leader in Chianti Classico, being involved in the "Gallo Nero Consorzio," so it is incumbent upon them to produce top-quality wines, especially since so many top producers have dropped out of the "Black Rooster" group.  

They used to produce a wine called "Concerto," but have recently dropped that label from the portfolio.   I think this was a clever attempt at attracting buyers of the expensive wine called "Opus One."  The wine may have been noteworthy, but sales were flat.

 

The property comprises something like 79 hectares and they make about half a million bottles of wine annually.  They make a range of wines, from a small, little Sangiovese and Merlot blend called "Badiola" to a couple of bottlings of Chianti Classico and a Super Tuscan blend of Merlot and Sangiovese.

We have their "regular" bottling of Chianti Classico in the shop.  The 2003 is a very good wine, being drinkable now and with the structure to age nicely for another 3-6 years, maybe more.  This is about 90% Sangiovese, 5% Colorino and 5% Merlot.  It sees a bit of French oak and the wine is nicely elegant and balanced.

The "Castello" bottling is of higher quality.  The 2001 is available by special order...about $50 a bottle.  It's Sangiovese blended with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Siepi is the Super Tuscan blend of Merlot and Sangiovese.  The ratio varies from vintage to vintage.  The importer does not presently offer this wine.  It's usually ridiculously priced, in my view.

 

The Mazzei family owns an estate in the Maremma region of Tuscany and makes wines called Belguardo there.   They make Cabernet, a Sangiovese and a blend of Sangiovese and Alicante.

Another project is situated in Sicily and the wine is called Zisola.  This is a Nero d'Avola red...I found the first vintage we tasted to be a bit over-priced, frankly.

Currently in stock: 2003 Chianti Classico $24.99

CASTELLO dei RAMPOLLA

The "Conca d'Oro" is, for those who study Chianti, sort of a "grand cru" site. Located in Panzano in Chianti, this is a shell-shaped hillside which is bathed in sunshine.
Luca di Napoli is the proprietor, his family having owned the property for a couple of centuries.
The vineyards were planted in 1969 and the first Chianti Classico was made in 1975. Consulting with di Napoli is Giacomo Tachis, former head of winemaking operations with Antinori.
The "cult wine" made here is called "La Vigna di Alceo," a Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot blend. It costs a small fortune when you can find it.  We have been able to purchase a couple of bottles from time to time, so stop by to see if we have any.  
"Sammarco" (originally labeled "San Marco") is a Cabernet Sauvignon with about 20% Sangiovese in the style of Antinori's Tignanello or Ruffino's Cabreo.
However, for those of us who enjoy Chianti, Castello dei Rampolla's "normale" bottling is worth a look. This is, I believe, produced entirely of Sangiovese. No Cabernet. No Merlot. It spends some time in small oak, but not so much to add wood elements, but to mature and soften the wine.

Currently in stock: 2000 Chianti Classico $27.99

1999 Vigna di Alceo $169.99 (few bottles remain)

SASSICAIA  (Tenuta San Guido)

This is a legendary wine which put Italy on the world's "Wine Map" back in the 1970s.  

The property was founded by the Marchese Incisa della Rocchetta whose family acquired the estate called Tenuta San Guido back in the 1940s. 
Though vineyards existed in this coastal area of Tuscan, not much attention was paid to the wines produced there.  Italian wine aficionados were critical of the wines from the Livorno area because they often tasted of the salt sea air (blowing inland off the coast). 

So the Marchese decided to plant a hectare of Cabernet on a hill which was about  a thousand feet above sea level, thinking this would prevent the saltiness.

The first wine was made, I suppose, in the late 1940s combining the odd Tuscan tradition of the "governo" process (adding some dried grapes to the already fermenting vat of wine) and the Bordeaux fashion of small oak barrels.   Unfortunately, this "innovation" of using barrels was difficult as the barrels leaked!

Months after the first wine was vinified, a tasting was held and all in attendance decided the wine was a disaster.  Awful. 

The Marchese continued with other affairs, notably raising horses and flowers.   
A few years after this sad tasting, he decided to open a bottle of one of the now-aged bottles.  It seems the wines, from various vintages, showed elements of promise.   Cabernet, of course, makes a more tannic and astringent, rough-and-tumble red wine.   These people were accustomed to easy-drinking, youthfully exuberant Chianti wines which were drinkable just a few months after the harvest. 

The excessively herbal notes of the Cabernet, which they probably found somewhat crude and rude as the wine was first born, took years to evolve into something more balanced and interesting. 

Marchese Incisa invited some friends over for a tasting and many were said to have found the wines to offer some potential. 

Eventually the "governo" technique was eliminated and the Marchese was able to find barrels which were properly coopered and did not leak. 

Now the Marchese purchased a site at a lower elevation called Sassicaia and he planted more Cabernet (both Sauvignon and Franc, apparently).  The wine continued to be good and enough was made to keep the Marchese and his cronies in good supply.
A nephew of the Marchese was getting his feet wet in the wine business, the family having been engaged in that trade for hundred of years...his name is Piero Antinori.  He tasted his uncle's wine and suggested the wine be made available commercially.  The first vintage to hit the market was the 1968. 
I recall being aware of Sassicaia starting with the 1973 vintage.  The wine was, for me, mind-boggling! 

(I should point out that the Italian wines which first gave me -personally- a clue to Italy's potential were a 1967 Bruno Giacosa Barolo, a 1961 Gaja Barbaresco and a Sassicaia from 1975.  "Oh, you mean Italy makes something other than Chianti in a straw-covered bottle?!?!")

There was a small importer named Jerold Jacoby who had some curious French and Italian wines and Sassicaia was amongst his various offerings.  He had a legendary salesman named Bill Cooke working for him. 
Bill was an enthusiastic fellow, to say the least, and a major "character" in the Bay Area wine business.

On my first foray to Italy we had an appointment with the Antinori winery.  The English-speaking woman who showed us around that day (I think she was American) took us to Antinori's main winery.  We inquired about Sassicaia (since Antinori would bottle the wine for his Uncle).  She explained that no Americans were allowed on the estate since the visit of some guy from San Francisco who was speaking an odd combination of Sp-Italian or Ital-ish.  (Bill hails from Argentina, so his Italian is laced with Spanish!)  We were disappointed, of course.  Knowing Bill Cooke, though, well, anything is/was possible. 

Over the years Sassicaia has gained in fame and prestige (and price!).  It carries "cult" status (long before Araujo, Bryant Family and Screaming Eagle from California's Napa Valley). 
On a visit one year to Milano, the lovely and most attractive Barbara Ferri wanted to treat me (and the rest of Le Crazy Milanese) to a bottle of Sassicaia.  She scoured Milano and finally begged a restaurateur for a bottle.   "Only because you and your business associates dine here frequently will I consider parting with a bottle!" he offered.

The wine is still much sought-after, though its lofty price now keeps the "riff-raff" from being interested in buying some.  Italy's great, fancy restaurants all have Sassicaia on their wine lists.  It's a badge of honor and an indication to patrons that the sommelier knows what he (or, perhaps she) knows wine.
A fair bit of Sassicaia reaches the export market.  The American market has long been important.  

We receive some bottles nearly every vintage.   Sadly, though, in prime vintages those who buy wine only when The Critics proclaim success, get involved and Sassicaia achieves amazing prices.  The 1997 vintage is an example.  Arriving here through its normal channels, the wine costs $150 a bottle.  However, we receive offers from gray market importers who have prices twice that!!!

Yet there are few vintages of Sassicaia which do not merit the adjective "excellent." 

The wine has become so hard to get that others outside of the Marchese Incisa della Rocchetta family have started to "make" Sassicaia!   The Italian "fraud squad" recently seized something like 16,000 bottles of fake Sassicaia in Naples.  The counterfeiters had sold the wine in various locales in Italy, claiming the attractive price was because an overseas importer did not take its allocation of Sassicaia!  While news reports claim none of the bogus wine was exported, this cannot be guaranteed! 

Today Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta runs the property.  He now has many neighbors!

I visited the region of Bolgheri a few times.  The region is amazingly similar to the coastline from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz!  Bolgheri seems to be a prosperous little village, though aside from a restaurant or two and a gelateria, I'm uncertain of what commerce goes on. 

Numerous new estates have been 'planted' in the neighborhood.  Piemonte's Angelo Gaja has a wonderful winery near Sassicaia.  The Tenuta Ornellaia is down the road, too.  Antinori makes a wonderful wine from grapes in the same neighborhood and their wine is, in my view, worthy of comparison (and sometimes better!).
So, Sassicaia is, no longer, the only game in town, but it still is the "leader" in terms of the price it sells for to consumers.  ((I understand, actually, that it leaves the winery for a modest and sensible price, but that middlemen jack up the price, knowing it's a luxury product.))

The wine is typically 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc.  Yields in the vineyard are restricted to intensify the character of the fruit.  Two years aging in French oak contributes a bit of wood to the fruit of Sassicaia.  While, at one time, Sassicaia was an extraordinary wine from Italy, I can only say recent vintages have been less exciting than the wines I recall tasting some years ago.  

A new wine called Guidalberto is being introduced.  I bought a bottle in Italy and tasted it with some friends.  I was not especially thrilled, frankly.  I recently had a taste over here and my initial impression was confirmed.  I overheard someone from the estate telling an associate at a trade tasting (in Italian) "Don't tell people this is a 'second' wine.  It's not a 'second' wine!"  
Though I understood what he was saying, I could only think "He's right...it's a third or fourth level of quality."  

I recently tasted the 2002 reds from the estate.  The Guidalberto is a solid, standard quality Tuscan red.  If I did not know it was from such a prestigious place, I'd expect it to retail for $15.  But it cost consumers closer to $50.

The 2002 Sassicaia is from a difficult vintage.  The wine is well-made and of decent quality, but expecting people to fork over a premium price for the wine is simply wrong.  I did not find it to be a great wine.  It probably should have been declassified entirely, since the wine they bottled is not the stuff legends are made of...it will, I suspect, please only those who are drinking more the label and not the wine.  I was shocked to see the Gambero Rosso guide is giving the 2002 its annual Tre Bicchiere award...
It pains me to have to write that.  The Gambero Rosso guide's review of the 2002 reads more like an apology for the wine than an enthusiastic accolade, by the way.  

The 2003, a rather hot vintage, seemed to me to be a rather normal quality bottle of wine.  I tasted this in Italy in the early Spring of 2006.   A winery representative told us the this vintage was being likened to the legendary 1985 Sassicaia.  I wondered who was making such a comparison, as I did not find the wine to be especially grand.  I will have another "look" at the wine at some point to see if my initial assessment was too harsh.

Currently in stock:  1998 Sassicaia $349.99 (magnum)
1999 Sassicaia $219.99 (750ml)
2001 Sassicaia  $219.99 (750ml)

AVIGNONESI

For a few years, many experts had Avignonesi at the top of the list for Vino Nobile wines in the town of Montepulciano.  They did make some extraordinary wines in the 1980s and, since then, have a few high-priced bottlings which may rob the basic wine from being consistently good.  

Many vintners get side-tracked into making special bottlings of rare and costly wines and to do this, sometimes they use fruit which was perhaps the 'foundation' of the normal bottling.  I don't know if this is the case here, but we've found the regular bottling of Vino Nobile to, in general, be less interesting than it was 20 years ago.    ((We do like the 2004 regular bottling, however!!))

When we first got to know the wines, a young fellow named Marco de Grazia was representing the property.  He's not been affiliated for many years and he's now going by the name "Marc."  My how things change! 

Owned by the Falvo family, there are about 101 hectares of vineyards scattered amongst some four different parcels.  They're open to experimentation and make a number of curious wines, though Vino Nobile and Vin Santo are the flagships.

 

These little barrels contain the precious Vin Santo.




One wine that's caught our attention a few times is an amazingly concentrated Vino Nobile from the 1999 vintage.  It's called "Grandi Annate," "great vintages."  They don't make this very often: 1990, 1993, 1997 and the new wine from 1999.  The 2003 is nice, but I am not certain it's truly a "grand" vintage.  I bought a bottle and we found the wine perfectly fine, but not as compelling as its predecessor.  I can special order it for you.

We have not had Avignonesi's regular bottling of Vino Nobile in the shop, except for half bottles...We are delighted to report the 2004 is very good and we have it in both full and half bottles.  We tasted it alongside our other usual favorites and it was the best choice in terms of quality and value.  

Currently in stock: 2003 Grandi Annate --Special order...about $50
1994 Vin Santo $139.99 (375ml)  Two half bottles available presently
2004 Vino Nobile $22.99 (750ml)
2004 Vino Nobile $13.99 (375ml)

 

BRANCAIA

The Brancaia estate is located in Poppi, a small village near Radda in Chianti.  It's owned by a Swiss couple, Brigette and Bruno Widmer.  They bought the place in the early 1980s and the first wines were made by their friends at Castello di Fonterutoli.  Now they have their own winemaking facility and since the 1998 vintage, the wines are made under their own roof.  Their daughter Barbara holds the title of winemaker, assisted by consultant Carlo Ferrini.  


Signor Ferrini has a bunch of famous wineries in his stable, including Brolio, Riecine, La Massa, Fonterutoli, Tenuta di Terriccio, Poliziano and Casanova di Neri, so it's not surprising his fingerprints are visible on the Brancaia wine.  

There are about 20 hectares comprising the estate, 10 in Castellina and 10 in Radda.  Chianti Classico and the IGT wine "Brancaia" are the wines produced at this estate, though I understand the Widmers have purchased some land on the Tuscan coast near the famous estates that produce Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Sassigaja (that's my name for Angelo Gaja's Bolgheri project).  

Brancaia is predominantly Sangiovese, with about 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet.  The wine spends about 18 months in French oak, two-thirds of the barrels being new.  
We had a great bottle of the 1998 vintage courtesy of Carlo Perini of Crazy Milanese fame.  The wine has the lovely sweet, cedary notes of other Ferrini wines.  It is beautifully balanced and drinkable now, though several years of bottle aging are not out of the question.  

Too bad they don't make more of this!  Something like 40,000 bottles are produced annually.  As a result, world-wide demand makes this somewhat of a scarce commodity.  

Their Chianti 2000 was exceptional.  The wine has the same sort of cedary oak as their "blue label" Brancaia wine.  Very fine, having nice cherryish fruit and a really polished oak treatment.  While some have noted that 2000 is a challenging vintage, obviously the Brancaia folks were "up" for the challenge.  It's entirely Sangiovese, by the way.

The winery is well off the beaten path, being in the Località Poppi, not too far from Radda in Chianti.  They do accept visitors, but apparently ask guests to pay something like ten Euros for a tour and tasting.  It seems Napa has arrived in Tuscany!  We visited a few years ago, having tried to arrange an appointment.  I suppose since we had not "signed up" for an official tour & tasting, we were shown the facility, but not offered a taste of Brancaia's wines!  ((My two Italian friends were shocked by this.  Me, being accustomed to curious California vintner's behavior, was amused and saddened.))

The local distributor apparently has sufficient customers for Brancaia wines, thanks to a favorable critical review in a journal or two.  Further, the firm, a "fine wine" wholesaler, does not permit its representatives to show wines costing more than $20 or $25 to stores and restaurants.  (This eliminates about 75% of their California portfolio and about 50% of the imported wines in the catalogue from being 'shown' to potential customers.)

Currently in stock: 1999 Brancaia (Blue Label) $59.99
2000 Chianti Classico Sold Out

 

LE PUPILLE

My friend Gianpaolo arranged some winery visits for me, including one at Le Puppile, a leading estate in the Tuscan region of Grosseto.  I drove for several hours from the heart of the Chianti zone to "Magliano in Toscana."  That's what they call the place.  The reason it's not simply "Magliano," but "Magliano In Toscana" is because after such a long drive, one might think they were getting pretty close to Africa.  So, someone, apparently, wisely chose the name to remind some of us that we are STILL IN TOSCANA and not Sicilia!

Many people who taste the range of wines made by Elisabetta Geppetti and her crew often rave about the impressive Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend called "Saffredi."  This is a lovely wine, ambitiously price (and then some) and not going to make many forget a good vintage of Château Latour or any of a number of top Napa Valley Cabernets.  

On the other hand, you'll have trouble finding a better "Morellino di Scansano" wine than the "Poggio Valente" bottling.  The wine is entirely Sangiovese, matured in French oak.  Yes, the wine has a fair bit of oak, but it is a thoroughbred in terms of being Tuscan Sangiovese.  We find the current vintage to be outstanding right now.  I imagine it will soften and develop with additional time in bottle.  Hard to resist drinking it now, though.

Currently in stock:  2001 Poggio Valente "Morellino di Scansano" $45.99

 

BADIA di MORRONA

In America, we think of some building or place as being "old" when it's 50 to 100 years of age.

This abbey was built, we understand, back in 1089.  Historical documents indicate the place was operated by monastic orders of various types...Benedictine monks, at one point and  Camaldolites at another.  I suppose the former drank a French liqueur and the latter smoked some sort of cigarettes made by R.J. Reynolds wrapped in the sleeves of their monastic robes.

 

Today the property is owned by the Gaslini family and it's a short drive from the shadows of the tower in Pisa.  We've had various wines from the property off-and-on over the years.  The property encompasses something like 500 hectares, with 80 of them being devoted to vineyards.  It's not a huge winery, but it's not a tiny cellar, either.

 

We've been fans of their basic, simple Chianti wine.  Since the vineyards are located in the Pisa region, it's outside the "Classico" zone and takes simple the name Chianti.  This is good news, for the word "classico" adds a few bucks to the pricing of any Chianti wine, whether the quality justifies the premium or not.

Savvy buyers know to explore off the "beaten path" and so wines such as this estate's can be good values.  

 

The 2005 vintage Chianti is one of our best buys.  It's called "I Sodi del Paretaio" since calling this merely "Chianti" takes all the mystery out of life.   It's about 90% Sangiovese with the balance being split between Cabernet and Merlot.  Despite the presence of the Bordeaux varieties, the Sangiovese really sings in this wine.  

It's a cherryish, medium-light bodied red wine.  This is a totally dry wine and it's a far cry from internationally-styled, oaky reds which litter the enological landscape these days.  When you taste this wine, you'll understand they were trying to appeal to someone seated in a restaurant with a savory pasta dish before them, not some wine critic locked in a tasting room who's evaluating a flight of 50 or a hundred wines.

California does not make this sort of wine.  First, ten bucks is not enough to cover the tour and tasting fee at many wineries.  Secondly, the average consumer of California wines is not looking for a wine with 'snap' or tangy acidity;  the sort of balance that acts as a palate cleanser when paired with food.  

 

Anyway, we're fans.  You might be too if you've got a big bowl of steaming hot pasta with a slowly-simmered tomato sauce.

 

The winery also makes some other offerings.

N'Antia is a "Super Tuscan" blend, featuring Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon in equal proportions with 20% Merlot.  We have a few bottles remaining of the 2001.  The wine spends about 18 months in French oak before bottling.  It's a nice, woodsy, cedary Tuscan red.  You can pair it with a rib-eye steak drizzled with a good, spicy olive oil after it comes off the grill.  Drinkable now-2010, or so.

We can order Badia di Morrona's other wines for you.  They have a special bottling of Sangiovese called "VignAalta," as well as a mid-level Cabernet/Sangiovese/Merlot blend called Taneto.  Vin Santo here is quite good, too.

The estate also has a number of "agriturismo" apartments.  It looks like a nice place to stay.
Badia di Morrona Agriturismo info:
Tel. +39 0587 656013 - 658505
Fax +39 0587 655162
email: agriturismo@badiadimorrona.it

Currently in stock:  2005 BADIA DI MORRONA CHIANTI "I Sodi di Paretaio"  SALE $9.99
2001 BADIA DI MORRONA "N'ANTIA" SALE $29.99

 

CAMPOGIOVANNI

The Chianti estate of San Felice owns various 'other' properties around Tuscany.  You'll find them cultivating grapes out near the coast in the Maremma area as well as having a 'small' property in Montalcino.

There are about 12 hectares of Sangiovese planted in the "Campogiovanni" estate.  We've often found the wine to be quite a nice rendition of Brunello, though it's not the most flashy wine.  You won't find lots of French oak, nor will you find the wine to be reminiscent of a Cabernet (these are elements highly-prized by many tasters).

We currently have the 2001 vintage in stock.  With mature vineyards (planted in the mid 1970s to late 1980s), the wine has nice cherryish Sangiovese fruit.  There's a woodsy tone to the fragrance and flavor, with mild tannins.  It's a nice accompaniment to grilled meats, so if you're firing up the barbecue for a Bistecca Fiorentina, this would be a nice choice.  It's drinkable now, especially with an hour or two of aeration.  We suspect it will age well through 2015, or so.

Currently in stock:  2001 CAMPOGIOVANNI Brunello di Montalcino $49.99






UCCELLIERA

Andrea Cortonesi's estate encompasses about 6 hectares of vineyards in the Castelnuovo dell'Abate area of Montalcino (close to the Sant'Antimo church well south of the town of Montalcino).

The name Uccelliera refers to a bird cage.  

Cortonesi is a native of Montalcino, unlike many of the vintners in that pocket of Toscana.  He worked for others in the wine business there before taking the plunge and buying a tiny parcel from the Ciacci Piccolomini estate.  Since this purchase in 1986, he's augmented the property and leases a vineyard, producing about 30,000 bottles of wine annually.

We first encountered a nice little proprietary wine from Uccelliera called "Rapace" (Bird of prey).  This is a Sangiovese-based red with a bit of Merlot and Cabernet.

Currently in the shop we've got a lovely little Brunello from the very difficult 2002 vintage.  I've tasted a bunch of Tuscan wines of 2002 and most of them are best kept in Italy and sold for small money.  We visited an estate in Montalcino and I was surprised when I saw one tank of 2002 Brunello...I'd have expected them to declassify the wine.  The winemaker invited me to taste the wine and I was shocked, frankly, that it was actually quite good.

This is another lesson in why one uses a vintage chart to light candles or for kindling for the fire place.  A good winemaker makes good wines and does the best work possible given the vintage conditions.  

While Cortonesi's 2002 is not a hall of fame candidate, the wine is remarkably good and it's offered at about half the price of a normal vintage of Brunello di Montalcino.  If you can open the bottle an hour or two before dinner and let is air in a decanter, you'll probably be delighted.  The wine has hints of cherryish fruit and a touch of a woodsy note.  It's medium-bodied and less intense than a grand vintage, of course...still, it's quite good.

 

Currently in stock:  2002 UCCELLIERA Brunello di Montalcino  Sale $29.99

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Last modified: May 13, 2008