Please join our efforts to repurpose the Confederate Memorial of the Wind in Orange, Texas. May your fast be easy and may your new year be sweet and filled with joy and health… And I’ll also be in Montalcino, where they should be gearing up for the Brunello harvest. I’ll be in the Veneto in a few weeks and will report back then. “There are two things that give me the strength not to give up: Negroamaro grapes worth shouting about (a great vintage!) and my mother’s eggplant parmigiana.”Īll in all, Italian grape growers are hoping for a great vintage this year, despite some inclement weather that’s affecting northern and central Italy. “I’m beginning to miss my bed and the comforts of home. “My harvest exile in the cellar continues,” writes Gianni, who, like all winemakers during this period of the year, literally lives at the winery without being able to return home. In the Castelli di Jesi in central Italy, our friends and clients Alessandro Fenino and Silvia Loschi’s Verdicchio harvest is in full swing.Īnd down in Puglia, my friend and client Gianni Cantele is elated about the quality of his Negroamaro grapes.īut what he’s really got us thinking about (and craving for) today is his mother’s eggplant parmigiana. Tracie P and I are keeping our fingers crossed for them. He reports - with his usual candor - that unexpected rainfall is “cause for concern.” Since 2013 Sassicaia has its own subzone DOC, running in a band of about five kilometers (3 miles) in length, just to the south of Bolgheri town. Up in the Veneto, my friend and client Luca Ferraro began picking his Glera grapes for Prosecco on Saturday. Earlier DOC regulations prevented monovarietal wines from being produced as Bolgheri Rosso, and some examples such as Masseto are also still labeled as Toscana IGT. Yesterday in Montalcino, my friends at the Tenuta Il Poggione began picking Sangiovese for their rosé wine “despite some light rainfall.”Īnd earlier this week, my super good friend Laura at Il Palazzone (Montalcino) posted this excellent harvest update, including predictions for the vintage and comparisons, by some leading experts, to 1979. Yesterday, we were harvesting in the high part of Masseto and the grapes couldn’t be in better shape.” “Ripening is ideal thanks to a sunny but cool climate. “The harvest began on September 9 and it’s moving ahead well, with a 10-15 day delay, which originated during budding and flowering.” “The grapes you see in the photo belong the central part of the vineyeard, where the clays are abundant, giving the Merlot bunches a particular shape and quality.” And because Merlot is always picked before Sangiovese, it gives a good indication of the harvest outlook. The grapes in the photo are from the estate’s famed Masseto vineyard.Īs one of the most manicured growing sites in the world (according to WineSearcher, the average retail price for the 2009 vintage is $517 but if you look around, you can find a bottle for around $350), Masseto is a benchmark for any vintage. Price Range of 750ml bottle, Average: £601 From: £420 To: £650 ex-tax in GBP 15%Yesterday, my friend Leonardo Raspini, vineyard manager at the Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, sent me the photo above. The Estate is now owned by Marchesi de' Frescobaldi. Ownership: Established by Marchese Lodovico Antinori. There is plenty of structure underneath, suggesting the 2002 will be a very long-lived wine. Hints of rose petal and spice develop in the glass, adding further complexity. Today the 2002 remains a baby, with tons of depth in its dark fruit. Masseto 2013 is the result of an overall late and. Give it time to unwind and fully develop. close-grained tannins that leave a firm finish. Find and shop from stores and merchants near you. There is no question the wine is in that league. Find the best local price for Masseto Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy, France. I imagine in ten or twenty years it will be fascinating to taste alongside Miani's Merlot, Soldera's Brunello Riserva and Conterno's Monfortino. The 2002 Masseto will go down as one of the handful of truly great wines made that year. The year is mostly remembered for its cool, wet summer and a number of dilute, uninteresting wines. Lovely nose of mint, berry and mineral follow through to a full to medium body. This is surprisingly outstanding quality after being such a rainy vintage.
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