Untitled - Donnafugata

Wines Of
Brunello Di Montalcino
Chianti Classico represents 17
different wine estates from the Chianti
region, Italy which represents 95 per
cent of the Chianti Classico DOCG
wines.
The evening tasting session of Brunello di Montaldno
wines was
conducted by Michele Shah, the well known journalist and wine writer and
author, a specialist in Italian wines. Happy to see the level of awareness,
she said, "Brunello is not an easy wine to taste so, I was impressed with the
awareness level of the people during the tasting session."
Speaking of the wines from cloned sangiovese grapes, she said that
Brunello wines are from cloned sangiovese grapes too which the producer
selects from its own vineyard. Cloned sangiovese represents few of the finest
wines of Italy. It is worth mentioning that there is a lot of research work going
on regarding the cloning of sangiovese grapes in Italy at the moment.
Some of the wines tasted during the session were:
1) Poggione 2003- Produced by Franceschi Leopolde e Livia - In south
of Montalcino, the winery is of 19th century. The producer uses new clones
of sangiovese and there is new vinification cellars used for this wine. The
producer is keen to maintain and retain a traditional style of wine making. The
winery is spread over 100 hectares of land. The wine is stored in large oak
barrels for 36 months. The wine is soft at the palate with long tannins. It is a
well balanced wine.
2) La Poderina 2003- Produced by Saiagricola S.p.a - The wine comes
from the south western part of Montalcino. It's a medium sized estate with the
vineyard situated at 350 metres ab<?vesea level. The winery is built on a less
traditional model.
La Poderina is a ruby red with a good concentration, nice hint of cherry
berry, fairly tannic but young. The wine fruity on nose but has a solid structure
underneath. This wine goes well with food.
3) Ciacd Piccolomini d'Aragona 2003- Produced by Bianchini Societa
Agricola S.s- The winery is situated in the South Eastern part ofMontalcino.
The winery is spread over 200 hectares. The wine has a sweet aroma and a
balanced taste.
4) Banft 2003-BanfiS.r.l.- Establishedin 1960,the wineryis owned
by Mariani Family. The winery is spread across 800 hectares. Banft is one
of the largest wineries in Montalcino region. The vineyard produces Rosso
-7,20,000 out of 100 hectares and Brunello -7,00,000. The winery uses 50
different clones of Sangiovese grape. Banft2003 is a nice and fruity wine with
an aroma of cherry and silky tannins, great acidity. It has a round and fullness
on the palate.
5) CoL d' Grcia Riserva 1999- Tenuta Col d' Grcia S.p.a. - The winery
produces 4,30,000 bottles of wine in total. The wine has a dense ruby
red colour and it offers a lot of complexity. The first batch of Riserva was
produced in 18th century. The winery produces nice and elegant wines most
of it stored for 4 years in oak barrel. This winery belongs to Franchesco- the
president of the Consorzio ofBrunello di Montaldno. The winery is based at
450 metres above sea level and the vineyard faces direct south. The climate
and the soil are just perfect for Brunello.
Silvia is looking at two possibilities
to promote Chianti Classico wines.
First through an efficient importer and
distributor and secondly through hotels
and restaurants.
However, "We are here to invest first
on communication. A lot of educational
and trade trips to Italy are in pipeline",
she added.
Alessandro Bindocci from Tenuta
IL Poggi one said, "We have never sold
our wines in India but we are here to
create awareness about our brand. We
will be introducing two Montalcino
wines, Brunello di Montalcino and
Rossa di Montalcino very soon." The
company produces Yz million bottles of
wine every year out of which it produces
about 200,000 of Brunello and around
1,50,000 bottles of Rossa di Montaldno.
We export around 60 to 70 percent of
our production. We will be increasing
our production to 30,000-50,000 bottles
by the next 5 years."
It was exhilarating to see one of the
best Italian white wines produced by
Jermann wines at the event. Speaking
ofthe specialty of Jermann whites,
Angelo Jermann said, "The region
Fiuli, situated close to Venice has a
perfect climate and soil to produce
white wines. These factors make Fiuli
the best place to produce white wines.
Around 90 per cent of our production
is of white wines." The portfolio of
Jermann wines has varieties including
Jermann Chardonnay, which is the king
of international white wines portraying
elegance and a good body. Other
important wines from Jermann portfolio
are Jermann Sauvignon and Pinot
Grigio. Angelo added, "But our most
important white wines are blends, from
different grapes planted in the same
vineyard. We pick them altogether-
14 I AMBROSIA.February08