Wine Region Review Archives - Page 7 of 7 - Uncorked and CultivatedUncorked and Cultivated

My recent visit to northern Italy revealed the DOCG of Soave running at two speeds; one is low speed stuff which is decidedly mediocre and the high speed wine is exemplified by Roberto Anselmi.

By their own virtual admission Soave growers say that their prime grape garganega is a rather neutral entity. Therefore it takes some significant rethinking to ignite the palates of international drinkers now bombarded with wines from everywhere; mostly varietally described.

So the Soave DOCG has a challenge ahead in the next decade.

The garganega grape is sparingly planted in Australia, be it in a climate cooler than Soave (the King Valley), and the wine is passable.

Another winemaker and observer just returned from Verona remarked, “I don’t think this Italian variety will take on very much here – Australian drinkers expect more flavour than what this grape offers”. Increasingly Australian winemakers are falling in love with many new Italian varieties, with quite outstanding results.

Well Roberto Anselmi has taken up the challenge and is demonstrating handsomely that if you get garganega completely ripe then the results are quite outstanding. The way to tell quickly, other than tasting, is the bottle alcohol. A figure of 13 or above is a sure sign of ripe grapes.

I found Roberto, and his daughter Lisa, thoroughly engaging family producers who made their wine with a passion. Near their winery in Monteforte d’Alpone is a hectare and a half of experimental cabernet sauvignon just to keep their world view of grape growing (Realda) alive.

The Anselmis practice “green” harvesting where a portion of the garganega crop is dropped on the ground to make way for better and riper development of the remaining grapes. Growth is from the guyot training system and with shoots formed from spurs.

I saw the traditional Soave pergola system practised in some other vineyards; and shuddered at such regressive viticulture. That training method is a cess-pit for the development of grape moulds, difficult to harvest and no doubt cropping higher than what the Anselmis choose.

Grapes would find it difficult to ripen fully with the leaf cover so I can see why many of my past Soave drinks have been such steely, flavourless wines.

The Anselmi whites do not take a DOCG title; they are named after the three vineyards – San Vincenzo (54 hectares), Capitel Foscarino (10 hectares) and Capitel Croce (five hectares), with the latter two being single vineyard wines. The vineyard names are taken from ancient shrines (Veronese dialect) which populated the areas when the vineyards were re-planted since the ’70s.

I was very impressed with Roberto’s whites: they had flavour, intensity, a sort of persistence which I found quite interesting to follow through via the Anselmi winemaking.

A big part of the texture comes with the practice of cold macerating whites on skins, this bumps up the flavour and usually provides additional wine colour. No doubt this is a sensible process on that journey to make the grape more drinkable and garanega responds well.

In Australia we tend to move away from skin contact as this highlights flavour tannins which will over-colour young whites. This effect is seen in part with Anselmi whites yet the process to making the final wine has been positive. Bravo.

Anselmi San Vincenzo 2009 Veneto IGT (89), 13%, (USD 10), is pale green with the most wonderful passionfruit aroma, the supreme fruity example, then great texture, filling, rounded, dry, rich yet slatey with some of the tell-tale acidity of this grape.

The blend is 80% garganega, 15% chardonnay and 5% trebbiano di Soave (a ubiquitous Italian grape which has been flogged mercilessly by overcropping, but when controlled gives the palate a zippy citrus note). The additional texture comes with low temperature aging in stainless on natural yeast for six months.

Anselmi Capitel Foscarino 2009 Veneto IGT (90)13%,(USD 25 ), is straw and green, fuller colour than San Vincenzo, hints of yeast passionfruit but more serious in nose, candy, fresh as a daisy, intriguing the smeller to drink some.

And the wine is first class; lots of aromatic fruit, weighty and juicy texture, crisp, tingly acidity and a pleasant unoaked finish. Is 90% garganega and 10% chardonnay-a very modern blend which has international relevance, likewise wild yeast and stainless yeast lees aging for six months.

Anselmi Capitel Croce 2008 Veneto IGT (95) 13%, (USD 38) is another step up again; it is one serious wine and rides on the back of the platform of winemaking of the two previous wines. Though smelling fresh and juicy, it strikes with a more aged colour then texture and weight, controlled fruit development as a monster wine.

Here the yeast lees aging is extended to allier barriques for eight months which shows up as a creaminess palate shape and a more drying palate.

Anselmi produce 600,000 bottles annually from their 70 hectares of plantings; www.anselmi.eu

The October morning air was still very crisp as I pulled up in front of the ancient walls of the Chateau de Soave, and somewhere inside were the winemakers Pieropan (Societa Agricola-Agricultural Company).

You see the GPS had taken me around in circles three times and failed to find via Camuzzoni number three which must have been inside the city pre-1890 when Pierpoan was established as a producer.

So I chose to take local directions by hoofing it across the street to the local bar where 10am coffee drinking and large tumblers of white wine were being taken with gusto – a sort of Soave tradition by the male locals.

I mustered my limited Italian to order “caffe lungo” and ask directions to cantina Pierpoan inside.

That done, and with the enthusiastic advice of a friend of the winery, I struck out up the cobblestone street looking closely at the numbers.

You see it is un-Italian to be too flashy; you have to search these places out with micro-itinerary planning or run the risk of feeling quite lost.

In an understated entrance I came across the Pieropan plaque. This opened to a small piazza: one side the office and home, other side accepting grapes to be crushed and gurgling juice pumped inside to awaiting fermenters.

Soave occupies 1000 hectares of geographically defined ground (DOCG) in a region between Verona and Vincenza, most north of the highway between these two important industrial and agricultural towns.

And as I was about to discover, described ridiculously on its labels when the cultures of conservative regional bureaucracy and innovative internationally-focussed wine minds clash.

In this case Pieropan versus the Soave DOCG (supposedly says guaranteed quality yet is meaningless to a consumer, and confusing). Winemaking and packaging determine quality, not old-fashioned wine organisations.

The vinescape is mainly emerging south-facing chalky hills almost totally planted to vines on terraces due to steepness, at elevations and slopes of 250-300 metres, then there is a gentle drop to the plains below, and 100km further on the extraordinary sea-city of Venezia (Venice).

I met Doctor Andrea Pieropan who manages the company’s vineyards and grape supply. He has wine skills from studies at a college in Trento in the Adige followed by doctoral work at Padova (Padua) Agricultural School focussing on viticulture (seen below in front of garganega harvested that day).

With his younger brother Dario who manages winemaking, they constitute the fourth generation of the business.

“Our main grape is garganega; it’s a late ripener, and before global warming we found often we would be harvesting late into October, but not so since the late ’90s. Now every year differs; we have to be very active managing the direct effects of the sun,” says Andreas.

“Around June we consider leaf removal: in 2003 though we needed protection so no removal occurred but in 2005 we took off north-facing leaves to allow the vine humidity to drop.” Management is no longer prescriptive as the elements of DOCG expect.

Pieropan own 40 hectares of vines; separated into 24 different terroirs and plots. Two, Calvarino and La Rocca, are sufficiently different to be bottled separately as individual vineyards (tested each year for elevated quality before bottling one). La Rocca achieves sufficient alcohol and flavour weight to be aged longer in barrel before bottling.

Harvesting commenced on September 6-7 this year with Trebbiano di Soave; this grape being allowed as a 30% blend in basic Soave, giving it the nervousness due to higher malic acid (racy acidity).

As I visited in mid-October, a significant quantity of grapes were yet to be harvested. By comparison there were few vineyards around with grapes hanging: it sort of supports the Pieropan suggestion that too much Soave is harvested under-ripe.

Pieropan are noted for high quality Soave. That is because Andreas is pushing the envelope (as in Aussie thinking) by taking the garganega grapes to full ripeness when fruit flavour starts to appear; around mid, late 11s Baume (over 12% alcohol finished wine) and more.

“Basically gargenega is a neutral grape and the wine light bodied with excising acidity; so the nose from early harvesting (typical DOCG expectations) is also neutral, and the wines consequently lack aroma, ripeness and flavour extension. As ripeness rises, the aroma appears, the grapes are not rich, but the pink/apricot colours appear (see picture below) and full flavour has resulted,“ says Andreas.

I cannot but reflect on a grape called semillon grown in Australia with some similar characteristics, and one which besets its owners with similar marketing dilemmas.

Pieropan Soave range 12-13%, with the single vineyard wines highest as you would expect as flavour intensity rises.

Pieropan Soave Classic 2009, 12%, (88), USD 14, has colour purity in the straw-pale green direction, enticing nose of fresh flowers following into an austere, lean, lime but lengthy acidity, and nuttiness from both fruit ripeness and yeast lees aging. Andreas suggests that optimal flavour/acid balance will come in 4-5 months, which is when the 2010 version should start to trickle into the market after February next year.

Pieropan Soave Classico Calvarino 2008, 12.5% (89) USD 19.50, shows a tough more straw and fuller colour, has nice honey on the nose from ripeness and time in bottle, then a fuller palate than the standard bottling, more richness and a lovely

fine tail of acidity which cements the style of the wine. From a vineyard purchased in 1900 though first made in 1971, it’s a boomer which likes slight bottle age-Andreas suggests 2-3 year plus is the optimum spread.

Pieropan Soave Classico La Rocca 2008, 13% (91) USD 30, (label designates single vineyard at a US request), has generous straw colours, again honeyed for this vintage, it’s the super-ripeness showing, much fatter in texture from oak aging and maturation, quite a rich, substantial wine. Wine is extended aged in older 500-2000 litre casks with lees to develop the enticing nose and textural palate effects.

This bottling bears the 30th anniversary badge of this wine first made in 1978. At lunch the 2006 smelt and tasted remarkably similar, emphatic with the honey but still very steely in palate acidity. A good thing.

The company ships wine to 34 countries and now eight receive their white wines under screw cap. Of course our famous DOCG friends outlaw such a closure; so the more enlightened markets are not being dealt a poor hand from the outdated choice.

Unfortunately these exciting Pieropan wines will not always present so well under cork in the traditional markets and for the rope followers in Asia. The real sting is that all 375 ml bottlings of all styles come in screw cap! There is some inside knowledge to exploit. www.pieropan.it