Tour of Sicily 12-Cottanera

Masters of Wine Tasting-Cottanera

What a pleasant day to visit the Cambria family, makers of Cottanera, on a sunny spring morning.

Etna was behaving itself though there was a thin cloud of steam emitting as one looked across the nerello mascalese vines towards the south.

This visit was hailed as a property taking the international approach-the philosophy focussed on international varietals and a more international style of winemaking.

Cottanera today is reversing its trend and philosophy, and I was there to investigate. We were in Castiglione di Sicilia.

This brand is current in Australia and is becoming well known.

The welcoming party was extensive-principal Vincenzo explained the wines, assisted by Enzo, Emanuele, Francesco and Mariangela.

I took to the Etnabianco immediately because the grape used is really going to be the white face of Etna in future-carricante. It just loves growing at this elevation and produces great results.

Etnabianco 2011 (88) 13%; DOC Etna is pale, not an aromatic or tropical wine, its making in stainless steel actually preserves its terroir; its all about the taste, the minerally, stony notes, long and lean, mouth salivating and delicacy to boot.

The international winemaking here is all about the cool ferment-it preserves fruit and the delicate notes which the grape possesses.Curiously there is is ten percent catarratto included (the western Sicily white used in Marsala) which must be an experiment to see how it performs on Etna. Good so far.

The more international style white is Barbazzale Bianco 2011 (88) 12.5%; IGT which blends a terrific local white-inzolia with Rhone-origin viognier, and gives it a big slap of skin components.

The word barbazzale means golden beard for those curious about the naming.

This looks like work in progress as both varieties have a tendency to taste chewy. This is a step up in body over the loveable, racy, carricante.

Classic Etna Red

The Barbazzale Rosso 2011 (89) 13% DOC Etna is back to traditional Etna red grapes-nerello mascalese and nerello capuccio housed in some new French oak which was evident; these grapes have a lovely texture and softness, even at entry level wines.

The internationalisation of Etna’s prima red grape, nerello mascalese goes one stage further when blended with merlot and shiraz at 15 percent.

That makes Fatagione 2009 (93) 13.5% IGT; a hybrid of flavours which captures the silkiness of nerello with the bigger and fleshier merlot and shiraz; it works well in a new French oak barrel for a year.

The key to this style appears to not being heavy handed with the international pair-keep them in small proportions so the long fleshiness of nerello is not interrupted. Other vintages 2008 (90) and 2010 (92).

Cottonera make a big monster chewy Merlot called Grammonte 2008 (87) 14.5% IGT; other vintages 2007 (90) and 2009 (88). And a curio variety, a savoury Mondeuse called L’Ardenza 2007 (90) 13.5% IGT.

Finally I had to deal with how cabernet sauvignon grows on this mountainside. Cabernet is a very important grape, and the better ones around the world become the domain of collectors. It’s a variety with a great capacity to age and also excite.

This was my first Sicilian cabernet. It did not come across as a cool climate style (Yarra Valley) so I had to make warmer regions-McLaren Vale comparisons.

Nume 2007 (90) 14.5% IGT is a big chunky style of rich and ripe cabernet, has fifteen percent franc, ample layers of ripe cassis and minty fruit, powdery tannins and plenty to satisfy hearty drinkers. Other vintages 2006 (90) and 2008 (91).

The verdict: international versus indigeneous varieties; both types are well-made wines, people chasing honest and original wine will ask for carricante and nerello; new drinkers will just buy international if they are allowed to do so.

A true test of the winemaking is in the straddle of international varieties with local so that the wines produced become the unique personality of the property, local terroir and therefore the lasting and distinctive part of branding.

Owner Vincenzo Cambria (right) | Etna smokes

Etna has special values-it’s a great destination.

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uncorked No Comments November 9th, 2011 Italy Tour Visit Post, Wine Region Review, Wine Review

Nebbiolo (CN): You can join the club

Australia’s Uncorked and Cultivated Italy Wine and Food Tour recently visited Piedmont (province of Cuneo CN).

This is a piece of nebbiolo heaven. As this black, blushed, hard-skinned, slightly elliptical grape makes wines which assail the palate, yet when you “get it”, open a new range of flavours and textural sensations to wine drinkers.

This is the experience of my wine tour group. The enlightenment comes around the lunch or dining table as small drops of nebbiolo fall into large glasses as a procession of typical Piedmontese foods enters the spheres of food tourists’ minds.

Not all tastings were conducted over lunch/dinner and I made the exception when visiting the mountain at Barbaresco, the home of Angelo and Gaia Gaja.

We were also there to connect the dots between slinky Barbaresco and the more solid Barolo regional wines. Hmmm.

The morning was warm and hazy, Alba fogs and the morning collection of mist dusted the hillslopes.

The pre-lunch shimmer of this thin blue cloud over the patchwork of nebbiolo, barbera and dolcetto vineyards is a usual site. After then it vaporises.

Both Europe and this Langhe region remained in an unusual stretch of warm weather in early October.

It was 24 oC as we filed into the courtyard at Gaja at 10:30.

Gaja entry-understated

The greens of mid-summer have gone and the vine leaves morph to duller colours, the early harvest 2011 vendemmia is in, vines rest, the sandy-white clay is turning to dust with the low humidity and drying conditions.

At Gaja all the harvest is in before October 4, winery floor freshly-washed and no longer smelling of grape juice, fermentations are ceasing, and grape skins are sitting in contact with their newly-formed wines to undergo the slowly cooling maceration process (just sit in contact with skin and seed for 20-30 days before separation at the press).

This is modern nebbiolo with more tender tannins but equivalent ageability to the great 1958 wines and the two decades afterwards.

The tank farms are quiet and one would hardly know that each shiny vessel is filled to capacity.

Sonia Franco leads our tour. She fixes on the original family subterranean barrel rooms (with progressive additions) which hold both large Slovenian (2-5000 litres) and barriques (225) of French allier style. At tastings though this oak is barely detectable.

Our visitors also share in Gaja’s contemporary celebration of Spanish ancestry amongst the life and events which led to the 150th year of business two years ago.

The posters say so much about this family who aimed for greatness in their winelands along the river Tanaro.

Never take the display down Angelo!

And connected with the relationship between great older bottles of Gaja and the British fine wine auctioneer Sothebys.

Auction Times

In the glassy Castello tasting room Gaia Gaja presented four nebbiolo: two Barbaresco, two Barolo. A tasting with balance and thought to focus Australian palates.

Gaia Gaja-the writer

The Gaja Barbarescos DOCG 2008 (14.5%) and 2001 (14%): polarising tastes as 2008 is a ripe year with exuberant flavour, tastes of ripe tobacco which are easy to connect over, mouthfeel which rolls the savoury earth fruits with the ample acidity; 2001 is a vintage slowly unwinding, always showing backbone when I tasted in the past, never generous, taut, herbs, black fruits so not under-ripe; just a contrasting wine.

Gaia says ”2008 is our drinkable young Barbaresco. The summer was particularly dry and the flavour came easily. A beautiful vintage. It has perfume for aroma, the palate has layers, even soil character. The 2001 has transparent colour now, a colder year, mature but with a long tail of fruit, it is delicate”.

Gaja Barbaresco 2008 DOCG

Gaja Barbaresco 2001 DOCG

Gaia is gently expressing the soul of Barbaresco nebbiolo, its understated character, silkiness and therefore contrast with the same grape grown in Barolo when the texture becomes more emphatic. A discovery point for the touring tasters, particularly without food.

The Gaja Barolo-origin Conteisa 2007 (14.5%) and Sperss 1999(14%) are firstly fabulous single vineyard wines-from sites which speak of the character of nebbiolo, but the more sizeable wines, opposite to Barbaresco. Conteisa is being carried along by the product of global warming, so the fruit is expressed in every direction, roses, this brings about a lot more roundness on the palate, immediate acceptance. Sperss stands out like a beacon, power but maturing aromas bring out nebbiolo character, tar, tea, earth, drying chewy tannin mixed up with high complementary acidity.

Gaia says “Conteisa 2007 is a year for density of fruit, the expression is very apparent, then the palate gives softness. Firm wine but rounded from ripeness. For Sperss we like to think maturity comes 10-15 years from bottle date, so this wine is now just entering its maturing plateau, so it is now approachable”.

Gaja Conteisa 2007 Langhe Nebbiolo DOC

Gaja Sperss 1999 Langhe Nebbiolo DOC

Piedmontese nebbiolo looks to be on a golden run: after declared vintages in 1961, 1964, 1967, then 1970, 1971, 1974, 1978, 1979, followed by late 80s magic, 1988, 1989, 1990, again late 90s, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, then the big stretch, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, now 2011.

All that remains is how to conquer this high acid, high tannin, moderately light bodied, textural, savoury grape style that leaves enlightenment until the end of a visit to Gaja in Barbaresco.

Peter Scudamore-Smith is a Brisbane-based Master of Wine, winemaker, educator, tour leader www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au

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uncorked No Comments October 22nd, 2011 Italy Tour Visit Post, Wine Region Review, Wine Review

New Sicily: Etna in ancient diversity

Touring Sicily on wine and food exploration turned into an adventure – as I expected.

There were grapes to discover. They were relatively new to an enduring Aussie palate but oh so ancient to the Sicilians in the know.

And the number of vineyard investments, many non-Sicilian, are growing steadily as time passes is a sign of more prosperity to come.

A quick look at the vineyard landscape would not suggest an inviting environment for cultivating its natural red inhabitants, mainly nerello mascalese and its lesser cousin nerello capuccio.

Over eons the volcano Etna above has showered the countryside with both eruptive lava, and sometimes daily doses of ash powder.

The vine environment looks more lunar than viticultural – uninviting, cactus-strewn, rugged, craggy laval monuments sited between, amongst and encircling some vineyard sites. Lava rock is the fence of choice.

This has not denied Etnan development in the least; the lava weathers well, the soils are limiting but presumably sufficiently fertile. The local water is certainly mineralised!

Viticulture is not new here, but is undergoing rejuvenation of the same varieties which have existed for over a century, or more, and probably since antiquity, given the past Roman and Greek influences.

The best influence is the modern thinking: forget the crazy DOC/DOCG system founded by traditionalists and therefore held to be inflexible, and labelling as IGT (Sicilia IGT) indicates contemporary, real-world Sicilian wine (the variety is revealed).

So the process of recognising “crus” or the Sicilian equivalent as “contrade” around the Etna DOC is accelerating nicely, with a greater recognition also according to elevation, starting at 600 m, extending to 1000 m.

Obviously there is greater viticultural risk ripening nerellos at 1000 m, protracted harvest dates, slow times to physiological ripeness, while the few examples I tasted demonstrate greater aromatic character than their equivalents grown at lower heights.

Contrade (crus) of Castiglione di Sicilia

Passopisciaro’s tasting host Letizia Patane presented three 2010 nerello mascalese from differing contrade (there are four):

Rampante of 2 ha (1000 m), Sciaranouva, meaning new lava flow site, these vines are 50 years going older, (800 m) and Porcaria, meaning ugly thing.

To find Passopisciaro-go up the hill!

These wines are sold as single vineyard contrade.

Ramparte showed a lot of flowers, roses, small floral notes, attractive cool-grown influence, sweet in the mouth (the only one to do so), long in fruitiness, distinctive acid and tannin-acid balance; Sciaranouva showed funk (natural yeast effect), some oak aromas, volumes of nose, then black fruits palate, fine and long; Porcaria showed red fruits on nose, black fruits on palate, warming alcohol, yet retains its elegance.

Ramparte contrade-single vineyard nerello

What is the taste anatomy of nerello mascalese. Not a heavily coloured varietal wine, in sync with pinot nero or nebbiolo there. The nose aromatics range from red cherry, black cherry, wild yeast effects, tobacco, earth, spearmint and a range of herbal nuances.

Palate: never full bodied, closer to light-bodied, more textured with a length of flavour which needs to be supported by drying tannin and rising acidity (nebbiolo similarities), oak is subliminal and hardly detectable; minerality on finish is a given. Savouriness.

Sensations in this varietal rise when tasted while eating; in drinking solo the flavours are present but the tannins will often appear unbalanced.

So here is a process for enjoying Etna IGT varietals.

Peter Scudamore-Smith is a Brisbane-based Master of Wine, winemaker and educator www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au

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uncorked No Comments October 5th, 2011 Italy Tour Visit Post, Wine Region Review

Top Tuscan IGT: Where in 2011?

Top Italian reds: are the Tuscans prevailing or is the pre-eminence of Piedmontese nebbiolo be set to prevail?

The Gambero Rosso may have its ideas with three glasses and the like, anointing wines from many regions.

Italian standards continue to rise and much of it is better winemaking. Hopefully there is more attention towards eliminating brett.

In one Florentine wine bar I had to leave wine; after ordering three glasses, older Chianti (1998), current vintage (2009) and an expensive (8 euros glass) pinot nero, I just gave up. Too bretty to drink and no varietal flavour left to enjoy.

At the top end of Tuscany there is a big challenge between IGT and traditional DOCG (Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino).

Tradition has producers strapped in as top sangiovese wines ought to stay as just that. Not a bad outcome really.

It was simply stupidity that the Montalcino producers chose to covet the idea that dilution of Rosso di Montalcino with international varieties become a right. Their vote last month failed thankfully and does not need revisitation.

Just because Chianti Classico contains some.

It would be better if this were revoked and all Chianti styles revert to being 100% sangiovese or native red varieties (colorino and canaiolo nero) to strip out the influence of international varieties. Those extra wines can carry the IGT status with impunity.

Many IGT reds impressed, and here is a revisit this month during my Italy Wine & Food Tour of some leading styles – in order of preference.

Ornellaia 2008; 14.5% (USD 250-trattoria price-Rignana); ++++1/2; deep colour, impressive, cedar, leaf, ripe, spicy fruit, a total nose package, palate layered with oak and fruit, the backbone is cabernet, the subtleties rise up as it evolves, many flavours though few protrude and the finish closes off with authority.

Ornellaia 2007; 14.5% (USD 250-trattoria price-Rignana); ++++1/2; deep colour though losing its purples, cedar box oak gives nose sweetness; cabernet expressed as mint/catmint, lots of drying cabernet tannin, juicy drinks, very homogeneous and full-bodied, a powerful drink to enjoy. Memorable.

Solaia 2006; 13.5% (USD 280-Florentine restaurant price); ++++1/2; good deep colour though losing its purples, nose heavily aromatic from very sexy oak use, on the top of that is spicy-ripe cabernet fruit, ethereal and heavenly aromas showing an enjoyable vintage and barrel age residence time, youthful on the palate, powdery, drying tannin, palate still tight, acidity still stoic, long aging wine yet to soften.

Mormento 2008; 14.% (USD); ++++; great colour, what an emphatic wine, lot of oak aging character for 14 months, nose power, spiciness of correct ripeness, fruit has aromatics too, enticing, palate very powerful, nice dryness yet heaps of tannin for longer aging, yet to be complex but not a consideration for this fresh long liver. Bravo.

Sassacaia 2004; 14% (USD 345-Florentine restaurant price); +++1/2; aged colour, some browns, nose mature, earthy, spearmint, leafy, bonox, palate lifts, complexity, body and prune flavour of mature grapes is very emphatic, earthy aged tones, soft all round with oak recessive, no signs of drying out but mature.

Guado al Tasso 2001; 13.5% (USD); +++1/2; aged colour, browns, some russet shows mature colour, could be brighter, nose earthy, damp soil, fungal, mature leafy fruit has gone into its bottle-complex phase, palate similarly mature, tertiary prune and bonox flavours, drying but not dried out.

Peter Scudamore-Smith is a Brisbane-based Master of Wine, winemaker and educator www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au

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