For this second blog on the region of the Alto Piemonte (Lessona, Bramaterra, Gattinara, Boca) I assessed 25 wines covering mostly vintages 2009 – 2004 from 12 producers: Cantine del Castello Conti (Boca), Antonio Vallana (Boca), Antoniolo (Gattinara), Antoniotti (Bramaterra), Sperino (Lessona),  Le Piane (Boca), Patriarca Franco (Gattinara), Travaglini (Gattinara), Tenuta Sella (Lessona), Nervi (Gattinara), Iaretti Paride (Gattinara), Franchino Mauro (Gattinara). And who better to help me do this than a dozen Langhe producers, a couple of whose wines were planted surreptitiously in the midst to give context (edge)!

I had been much looking forward to this tasting, having been to the region some months before (see my blog: ‘Bramaterra, Gattinara and Boca – the Côte Rotie of Piedmont?!’) There I had met a new generation coming through, mostly speaking a different language to that of their parents (Conti, Barbaglio, Antoniotti, Vallana); there were stirrings of new (foreign) investment (Le Piane, Nervi, Montalbano); I had heard how the regulations were changing rapidly to reflect a rising demand for Nebbiolo (Boca, Bramaterra); and how the (US) market was now taking a keen interest, though this time perhaps less in bulk, more in bottle. I fancied that in the face of global warming this formerly cool spot for Nebbiolo might just come into its own, and their slightly lower alcohols and extra freshness perhaps giving them an advantage over their Langhe cousins.

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Just back from my annual visit to the Loire where I assessed the vintage, caught up with Berrys’ suppliers, visited some new names to get a clearer perspective & dwelt on some of the issues influencing Loire wines, particularly those of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.

The 2011 Loire vintage was shaped, as elsewhere in Europe, by the unusually warm and dry spring that signalled an early harvest. This was compounded in the Loire by the lack of a preceding winter; Sancerrois David Sautereau remarked that there were no frost days during this period, compared with twenty-five the previous year. Consequently Sancerre’s ‘ban de vendange’ (official start date) came on 1^st Sept, after a cool and damp July/August that threatened to upset the party with outbreaks of rot. The Caslots in Bourgueil commenced on the 15^th Sept, versus 1^st Oct in 2010. For Nöel Pinguet at Gaston Huet, harvesting on the 27^th Sept. was an unprecedented early start but proved fortuitous in his (US owners) quest for drier Vouvray – something that’s he’s finding harder to come by these days. A fine, warm September facilitated fermentations to dryness, especially for those departing from the norm in using wild yeast (i.e. already present in the winery) as opposed to cultured. Acidities are generally on the low side making the pretty wines delicious in the early to medium term, without the grip or zip of the 2010s, but still fresh thanks to the cool summer. Yields are normal, certainly above the small, sun-tanned crop of the 2009 vintage.

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Located in Italy’s toe, Calabria presents a very different landscape to that of Puglia’s stilettoed heel. Different not just geologically but also in the way their society appears to be woven together. The net effect has obviously influenced the character and quality of their wines. In November last year I ventured south, in search of the (holy) Gaglioppo, an ancient grape responsible for the elegant Cirò DOC.

Cirò is the prime three thousand hectare viticultural zone lying on the east coast of Calabria, overlooking the Ionian sea to Puglia on the horizon. Compared to the fresh, damp, granitic terroir of the western, Tyrrhenian sea coastline, Cirò’s location is sheltered by mountains, dried by African sirocco winds while enjoying sedimentary calcareous clay soils. Its eucalypt-dominated landscape conjures up visions of Australia (the trees were introduced to combat malaria, absorbing excess water), while the undulating coastal range up to 250 metres above sea level reminded me of Santa Barbara (minus the fog).

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Last week I led a group of Berrys’ suppliers from across Italy to Tuscany to exchange views and experiences with five Chianti Classico counterparts, including Bibbiano, Badia a Coltibuono, and Castello di Ama. A fascinating experience viewed through the eyes of Italians, and at the same time reminding me of just why ‘Chianti-shire’ remains such a pull for the Inglese!

The phrase about Englishmen and their castles hung in the air as we wound up lengthy drives towards imposing castelli, owned often by Marquises and Counts, their hunting dogs and helps scurrying between vast, draughty halls. Such a setting, I could see, would strike a chord with homesick Brits, gazing up at these fortresses, rich in heraldry, noble pride and cobwebs; their largely not-for-profit viticultural activities propped up by EU subsidies, preserving an ancient feudal landscape… for now.

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Spurred on by an impressive display of Italian wines made from autochthonous southern grapes at the June’s event ‘Radici del Sud’, as covered in my blog, I took to the road last week to explore the vineyards of Puglia, stretched out across the ‘heel’ among the olive groves, in an attempt to find out where the opportunities lie.

What is clear is that Puglia has a great chance to make world-class easy drinking wines. I mean, just look at its terroir: ample sun, vines air-conditioned by salty breezes criss-crossing the Puglian heel between the Adriatic and Ionian seas, flat land for ease of mechanisation (and for replanting as and when), fertile red clay over limestone soils giving ripeness as well as natural minerally freshness, and a lattice of roads making vineyard access and fruit delivery a speedy operation. Estates seem to be large enough too to enjoy scale and are now better equipped. Bottled whites seem less in evidence at present; a shame as I think the sunny, salty style shown by Bombino Bianco, or more lemony Fiano could offer a refreshing alternative to new world offerings. Reds remain the meat and drink of the region, with a significant proportion of most cantina’s production sold in bulk as ‘vino di taglio’ (see below). Yet it’s their Rosato (Rosé) that catches the eye, not least on account of its pretty salmon pink colour and deliciousy juicy stone fruit accessibility.

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Fanciful thinking maybe, but there’s something compelling about this northern Piemonte hillside that reminds me of the Rhône’s most perfumed expression of Syrah: the combination of predominantly acidic, igneous soils, altitude, steep slopes, handkerchief-sized zones and pocket-book estates (!), the use of other grapes (Vespolina mainly) to give complexity…terroir interpreted this time through the Nebbiolo grape, or Spanna to give it its local name.

Set among forest-clad alpine foothills two hours drive north of the Langhe and near to Milan at between 400 and 500 metres above sea level, the three key quality zones of Bramaterra, Gattinara and Boca seem to delimit what was once the crater rim of ancient volcanoes that imploded many moons ago leaving behind Lakes Orta, Maggiore and Varese. Their soils are consequently a mix of mostly acidic, porphyritic rock, along with sand, clay and iron deposits depending on the region.

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The following blog is written by Robert Cecil, former (now retired) colleague at Berry Bros. & Rudd and fine wine aficionado (mostly Bordeaux), whom I invited out to the Langhe to show him what was happening; it was his first visit to the region and we visited Giovanni Rosso, Mario Fontana, Manuel Marinacci and Cantina Mascarello Bartolo…

I arrived home exhausted, after 3 exhilarating days in the Langhe district of Piedmont, with a sense of witnessing a revival of the former style of wines produced earlier, from the extraordinary Nebbiolo grape. A similar reversion towards the original lighter style of wines is apparently also taking place with the Sangiovese grape in the Chianti area of Tuscany. Coincidentally, I read an article this week, stating that serious consideration was being given in the Napa Valley of California to uproot existing vine stocks in order to produce a lighter style of wine. Maybe the days of dull, heavy, fat alcoholic wines are drawing to a close?

I was very impressed by my first experience of the Langhe region, its people, culture, wine and food. I had no preconceived idea of what to expect, except David’s infectious enthusiasm for the area, and when he said “come and see for yourself,” my journey began. Superb autumn colours, hills, valleys, fruit and nut trees amongst the vines, all help to define the area… The local vignerons are all undoubtedly passionate about their wines, very friendly with a distinct reserve in their character.

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Who says there isn’t a return to tradition in Italian fine wine production? Thirty years after buying the historical Barolo estate of E.Pira, Chiara has just taken delivery of the first of three 20 hl botte grande!

And as she’s keen to point out that this is not a marketing ruse concocted by a modern estate that’s just learned it’s now hip to be trad. This is no publicity stunt, and has nothing to do with the fact that apparently the American consumer has – my spies tell me – finally seen the light and fallen out of love for barrique-aged Barolo, despite what the journalists would have them believe.

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It was high time that Alain Cailbourdin made his debut at Berrys, having supplied wines to us since I first bought his 2002 vintage of Les Cornets. Here was an inaugural tasting that treated those present to a vertical of five vintages back to 2003.

But you have to go back the early 1980s for Alain’s first vintage, having bought the now 18ha domaine (120k bottles/annum) based in Malteverne. Unlike most of his neighbours Alain is a first generation vigneron; something I’ve always felt brought a fresh perspective to this most traditional of appellations; one that still forbids the grape’s name to be written on the label (Sauvignon Blanc…sshh!).

On the eve of the rugby World Cup final between France and New Zealand, Alain would need some deft moves to persuade the assembled throng that one of France’s most revered yet least known appellations still had the tutty-fruity Kiwi version pinned back in their own twenty-two…. And given the final result, maybe the tables are beginning to turn back in France’s (and Pouilly-Fumé’s) favour?!

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Did I really have to ask Filippo Pulisci, Antinori’s Export Director, to cut short his monologue on Sassicaia and return the focus of the evening in Berrys’ Pickering Cellar back to that of Guado al Tasso and Tignanello? I know he was only making the causal link between Giacomo Tachis, the once winemaker of both Antinori and Sassicaia; pointing out that Antinori once distributed Sassicaia, and recounting how the Gerardesca family’s Bolgheri estate was split between the Incisa della Rocchetta (Sassicaia) and Antinori families (Guado al Tasso and Ornellaia)…but still there was no need to go on Filippo!

Filippo spoke in faultless English, sunned with a well-worn Tuscan accent. I admired his honesty in saying that Guado al Tasso is a wine still very much in evolution having been born only in 1990 (once they stopped distributing Sassicaia?). The early years he said owed too much to the (American) market in making overly fat, gloopy wines that owed more to generous doses of American oak and syrah. In fact the 2001 he kindly brought along reflected those early days, being soft, mature and drinkable if hardly in the same league as their neighbouring cousin.

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Swapping the cellars of No.3 St. James’s Street for the Langhe vineyards proved an effortless transition for my colleague Sue Wren as she joined the team at Cantina Mascarello Bartolo for three weeks of harvesting… and cleaning bottles this September/October. Here’s how she recalls the experience…

‘David Berry Green picked me up from Turin Airport on the 18th Sept, and from there we had an hour’s drive to the pretty village of Barolo,where I stayed for 3 weeks. My day starts with a 5 minute walk to the Cantina (Mascarello Bartolo) arriving every morning just before eight. From there we would be driven to the vineyard where we would pick grapes until midday. I was then taken back to the Cantina for a delicious lunch prepared by Maria Teresa’s mother. In the afternoons my time would be spent cleaning filled bottles ready for the labeling process: in total I estimate I cleaned over 3,000 bottles!

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Barbaresco has often struggled with its own identity. Half the size of the neighbouring Barolo zone just ten minutes down the road, references about it being Barolo’s ‘sister’, the ‘queen’ to Barolo’s ‘king’, has only served to heighten its complex of inferiority. As a result many of its producers over the past twenty years have sought extra concentration to give their wines a touch of the ‘tar’; to convince the journalists principally that they’re as BIG as the Barolo boys, sporting BIG alcohols, worthy of BIG points, and so BIG prices!

Yet so many, hunkered down in their bunkers, are totally missing the point about what is so precious about Barbaresco: its pure accessibility. Stylistically the wines of Barbaresco should offer a deliciously fine-boned counterpoint to the heavier Baroli; just as those of the Côtes de Beaune complement the Côtes de Nuits in Burgundy. The refreshing  influence of the river Tanaro running along its boundary; the way its slopes are open to the cooling Alpine air currents from the west; the way in which its lighter sandy tufo soils bring on a sweet ripeness all combine to produce an immensely elegant, good value wine with immediate charm but also longevity. Just look at the way Barbaresco outclassed Barolo in the hot 2007 vintage!

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Trying to convey to Peter Turner, and his companion Christine Wild, in a couple of days what I’d learnt about buying over ten years was the task. I’d set out a programme that first addressed the context and, importantly, the culture of fine wine; on the second day one of understanding the raw material (the grapes) and then on final day that of assessing the finished product (the wine).

The Museum of Wine in Barolo was originally pencilled in but parked to one side once the option of catching up with Chiara Boschis harvesting her Cannubi vineyard was tabled. There we empathised with Chiara’s frustration at the brown sun-burnt and shrivelled character of some of her south-facing fruit.

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Following a three day training visit to Maremma/Bolgheri, Chianti Classico & Montalcino last week, below are their unedited impressions…

Adrian Lancer (aka ‘Rocky’), sales at Berrys’ Bin End shop

‘Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of the wines in the region. The prices compare favourably with wines from other areas of the Old World – it’s getting increasingly difficult to find wines from areas such as Bordeaux or Burgundy with the complexity of Rosso di Montalcino at the same price, with Brunelli for those special occasions priced at less than most classed growths from Bordeaux and Chiantis for the more everyday choice – our own Berry’s Chianti at little over a tenner truly is a bargain.’

Laura Atkinson, Sales & Service

‘Tuscany offers such variety of styles and quality levels yet successfully remains true to traditional Italian values. Tuscan wines, as with many other areas throughout Italy, seem to show a crystal clear expression of soil, vine and grape. All of the wineries we visited (some more than others) had such strong personalities and represented the home turf truthfully whilst successfully retaining that Tuscan charm. (more…)

….and 312 years later we continue the tradition of selling fine Italian delicacies with our annual tasting at One Great George Street introducing 32 producers and their fabulous wines to 250 appreciative customers.

And afterwards most of them made it to No.3…

Front row: Elisa Semino (La Colombera), Giovanna Rizzolio (Cascina delle Rose), Giuseppe Mascarello, Gianmario Cerutti, Vittore Alessandria, Teobaldo Rivella (in front), Sara Carbone. Middle row: Aldo Cifola (La Monacesca), Cristo Pollington (BB&R), Maria Teresa Mascarello (Mascarello Bartolo), Chiara Boschis (E Pira), Albert Graci, Anita (amica di Gianmario Cerutti), Pier Bovone (Cornarea). Back row: Davide Rosso, Manuel Marinacci, Manuel Marchetti (in front, Marcarini), Italo Sobrino (Cascina delle Rose), Mario Fontana, Carlo Lisini, Roberto Stucchi Prinetti (Badia a Coltibuono)

Next week I’ll be reporting on how six of Berrys’ team got on in Tuscany and a look at the first 2011 Nebbiolo fruit to come in.

I kick off this year’s coverage of Italy’s harvest with Gianmario Cerutti picking his delicious 2011 Moscato.

Under sunny skies and a welcome, if stiffening, breeze Gianmario chose to harvest this year’s crop a couple of weeks ahead of last year. The burning sun of the past three weeks had clearly left its mark on south facing bunches, forcing the harvest to be brought forward to capture the acidity.

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Indeed it’s time to say ‘hi’ to  Berrys’ new Chianti, that  in the 2010 vintage comes to us courtesy of the fine Chianti Classico estate of Badia a Coltibuono. And to celebrate the occasion it’s even sporting a fresh new look; the crisp white label reflecting the bright vibrancy of the sapid Sangiovese fruit.

Being a Chianti Classico estate, Badia a Coltibuono are not allowed to declassify fruit to ‘Chianti’. Owner Roberto Stucchi Prinetti therefore uses all his experience to source the grapes from three suppliers in the expansive Colli Senesi zone that encircles Chianti Classico. The wine is then made at their Monti in Chianti cantina without recourse to oak, so capturing the wine’s purity and maximising its bevibilità (drinkability).

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“Look how the warmth of the sun makes wine” Dante Alighieri in his acclaimed 14^th century  poem, The Divine Comedy, reminds us of nature’s ability to transform and elevate the humble grape into a work of art; turning water into wine. Far from being a ‘classicist’ – although I sense I have a taste for ‘classic’ wines – Italy’s rich culture is a constant source and reminder of these very words, producing stunning wines from the most modest of origins.

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I’m back from a long weekend’s break staying on the south eastern corner of Sardegna, close to Cagliari. And of course I couldn’t resist following up a couple of (wine) leads: one a large producer, the other not so large…

Sealed with the Treaty of London, Sardegna’s annexation to the Duchy of Savoia back in 1760 makes the island a natural enough destination for ‘we’ Piedmontesi, although I’m not sure quite what they ‘brought to the table’… There was no sign of any ‘agnolotti’, carne cruda or even Nebbiolo (it’s rumoured that the Cantina Sociale di Gallura may have some).

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One reason I find my job compelling is the way one gets to learn from history, geology, and from the local people in building a context, like colours on a canvas, against which to identify a truly fine wine that offers customers authenticity, high quality and good value.

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