Grandi Vini: An Opinionated Tour of Italy's 89 Finest Wines

EMILIA ROMAGNA

A Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Avi Riserva San Patrignano

MARCHE

B Kurni Oasi degli Angeli

C Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Villa Bucci Riserva Bucci

D Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Podium Gioacchino Garofoli

TOSCANA

E Alceo Castello dei Rampolla

F Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco Rosso Podere Grattamacco

G Brunello di Montalcino La Cerbaiola

G Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto Casanova di Neri

G Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Il Greppo Riserva Biondi Santi

G Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio di Sotto

H Camartina Querciabella

I Cepparello Isole e Olena

J Chianti Classico Riserva Castello di Fonterutoli Castello di Fonterutoli

K Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia Fèlsina

L Chianti Classico Vigneto Bellavista Castello di Ama

M Flaccianello della Pieve Tenuta Fontodi

N Masseto Tenuta dell’Ornellaia

O Nobile di Montepulciano Nocio dei Boscarelli Boscarelli

L Percarlo Fattoria San Giusto a Rentennano

P Le Pergole Torte Montevertine

Q Redigaffi Tua Rita

N Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido

R Tenuta di Valgiano Tenuta di Valgiano

S Tignanello Marchesi Antinori

O Vin Santo Occhio di Pernice Avignonesi

UMBRIA

T Montefalco Sagrantino 25 Anni Arnaldo Caprai

U Cervaro della Sala Castello della Sala

EMILIA

~ ROMAGNA ~

Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Avi Riserva—SAN PATRIGNANO

ONE OF ITALY’S most fascinating and forward-thinking wines comes from the most unlikely of places. Yet it couldn’t have been any other way, because the beauty and intrigue in every bottle of Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Avi Riserva is inextricably linked to the people and terroir of this winery.

San Patrignano is the largest drug rehabilitation center in Europe. Founded in 1978 by a famous philanthropist from Rimini, Vincenzo Muccioli, San Patrignano now hosts around two hundred young men and women seeking to get their lives back on track. In addition to the classic forms of therapy, San Patrignano requires its residents to work upon arrival, giving them the opportunity to find new self-worth and distracting them from the otherwise uncomfortable position they find themselves in.

Located in the hilly countryside not far from the coast and the region’s most famous seaside city, Rimini, San Patrignano is a working farm and home to an avant-garde horse-breeding facility. In fact, some of the horses from the San Patrignano stables have competed in and won the world’s most prominent equestrian events. The farm is also the producer of high-quality wine. Thanks not only to the technical staff, which includes some of the top names in Italian winemaking, such as superstar enologist Riccardo Cotarella, but also to the young members of the San Patrignano community, winemaking at San Patrignano has become an exercise in excellence.

Producing wine here came as a challenge, because of certain prejudices against Emilia Romagna wines. In terms of volume, the region comes in fourth in Italy, trailing behind Veneto, Puglia, and Sicilia, producing 600 million liters annually. The majority of the wine is produced in the central part of the region, or Emilia, home to one of the most famous, or perhaps I should say infamous, wines in the world: Lambrusco. Made from the lambrusco grape, this sparkling wine has conquered international markets because of the ease with which it can be drunk and paired with food. Produced for the most part by large companies in Parma, Modena, and Reggio Emilia, Lambrusco has long dominated the local wine industry, adding to the list of regional stereotypes: The people of Emilia are known to love good food (Parmigiano-Reggiano and prosciutto di Parma are made here); classical music (Luciano Pavarotti was from Modena); and fast cars (the Ferrari headquarters are located in Maranello, just outside of Modena).

Romagna residents, however, historical rivals of their Emilian neighbors, are particularly proud of their roots. Sangiovese, the grape of Toscana and a large part of central Italy, dominates the vineyards in Romagna (though the more forward-thinking wineries, like San Patrignano, have planted other cultivars as well). Generally speaking, the sangiovese grown in the subregion is used to make Sangiovese di Romagna, a wine that differs from its Tuscan cousin not only because of the differences in terroir, but also because of the clonal variety used. Generally, Romangnan Sangiovese is more tannic and, if made well, can withstand long aging periods.

Sangiovese di Romagna Avi is one of the most emblematic red wines produced at San Patrignano. (The Avi stands for a Vincenzo [for Vicenzo], the charismatic founder of the community, who passed away fifteen years ago.) The wine is labeled both Superiore, owing to the fact that it has more (far more) than 12 percent alcohol content, and Riserva, because it is not released to the market for at least two years from harvest. Only the best grapes from the 120 acres planted with sangiovese at San Patrignano are used to make this wine. The vineyards are all located within the walls of the community and formed the original nucleus of the center, which has since been enlarged. The members of San Patrignano are responsible for every phase of production, from the vineyard to the cellar. Harvest typically takes place between the end of September and the beginning of October, and the yield of each plant is around 2 pounds of grapes. The vinification process is very traditional, beginning with the use of large (2,800-liter) barrels that bring out the true characteristics of the grape variety.

The wine itself is ruby red with hints of granite. It has a rich and complex nose, with notes of violet, spices, and black fruit. In the mouth, it is elegant and powerful and has a round structure, with a vein of tannins. It finishes with notes of forest fruits and sweet spices.

~ MARCHE ~

Kurni—OASI DEGLI ANGELI

IF YOU WERE to search the Internet for the word Kurni, you would be surprised to see just how many websites, blogs, fan clubs, and forums are dedicated to this fairly new wine. I have always loved wines that rise to the top on a wave of mass popularity. For the first time in Italy, the success of a wine can be directly linked to a democratic republic of fans who, in addition to influencing the critics and the ratings of wine guides, gave this wine status by simply spreading the word. Kurni may be the first example of a wine whose popularity was directly propelled by new social media.

In the last decade, Kurni has become an underground favorite able to excite—but also divide—wine lovers like no other. Strangely, this wine is not the product of a celebrated wine area like the Langa, Chianti, or Valpolicella. It is produced in Marche, in a part of the region that until recently had been abandoned because of the poor quality of its agricultural products. But with the arrival of Marco Casolanetti, a young, talented, and motivated winemaker, the area of Marche near Abruzzo, called Piceno, experienced a rebirth. Slowly but surely, Piceno regained the dignity it had lost. Before getting into the details of this wine, it is worth mentioning that, together with his exuberant wife, Eleonora Rossi, Marco expanded their Oasi degli Angeli winery by opening a small hotel and restaurant that allow them to welcome visitors to their paradise. The couple started to grow vegetables, olives, and fruit on their property, serving them to their friends and guests and proving that it was possible to create a new model for agriculture, tourism, and a local economy.

Oasi degli Angeli, however, is even better known for its wine. Or rather, for a specific grape variety. Together with nearby Abruzzo, Marche has the fortune to be home to the great indigenous varietal montepulciano. Traditionally, montepulciano was planted across the region, but farmers were not able to produce wines up to the massive potential of the grape. The Montepulcianos of the past were too austere, lacked focus, and were fairly uninteresting. Marco Casolanetti reignited the local winemaking culture, beginning with an in-depth study of the land and of the reaction of the vines to improvements in the vineyards. He continued by adopting a decidedly modern winemaking style that focused on longevity and extraction.

When the first bottles of Kurni were released, people thought a miracle had occurred. The wine had a dark, deep color; it had an intense nose and an explosive, powerful, almost chewable structure. It certainly could not be a Montepulciano! But it was. In fact, it was a pure Montepulciano, made from grapes carefully tended to, without chemicals, and planted in an extremly dense manner. The wine had also been made to evolve and age like other top Italian reds. And it spoke for itself. Kurni—the only wine produced by the estate until a few years ago—immediately attracted both fans and critics. The wine media praised the wine at the beginning, but in recent years they have paid it less attention because of a renewed interest in less extreme, more accessible wines.

There are two indisputable facts about this wine, one technical, the other geographical. The first has to do with the concept of limits: Before Casolanetti, no one had been able to capture the potential of Montepulciano. Beginning with the vines, he was able to bring out the essence of the grape, of the land, and of its history. The second fact has to do with Marco’s influence on the men of Marche: Oasi degli Angeli gave a renewed sense of faith to many young winemakers who had been frustruated to the point of changing careers. Their new faith in the land resulted in the creation of a group of winemakers, called Piceni Invisibili, who work to promote the region of Piceno with their wines. All of this required a pioneer wine, which came in the form of Kurni.

The montepulciano grape is grown in both the Marche and the Abruzzo regions of Italy, but it appears to have found a happier home in the former. Recently, wine producers in Marche have been very active, creating new styles of wine. Some of the best examples of these dynamic winemakers and wines can be found in Piceno, a wonderful, fairly unknown area of the region. Piceno is located along a thin, hilly strip of land, not far from the Adriatic Sea. The position of the area is excellent for growing grapes, and its beauty is worth a detour from the coastal highway. From the water, the land rises quickly to the hills, where you can find many little towns with incredible views. This is a land of history and art. Recanati, for example, was home to the great romantic poet Giacomo Leopardi, and Castelfidardo is the world’s accordion center. Amid the olive trees, wheat fields, and fruit trees are vineyards upon vineyards, all touched by the salty sea breezes and protected by the soft hills that recall those of Toscana. The soil is primarily composed of clay—possibly the only defect of an otherwise perfect winemaking zone. The clay gives bold structure to wines made from montepulciano grapes and can often overpower elegance in the glass. This was more of a risk in the past, when winemakers had neither the experience they have today nor the tools to make well-balanced, sophisticated Montepulcianos. Now everything has changed, and elegance reigns in the cellars of Piceno.

The Kurni phenomenon started at least forty years ago, forty being the average age of the grapes in Marco Casolanetti and Eleonora Rossi’s vineyard. Their vines cover 25 acres of land, all of which are planted with montepulciano grapes destined to become Kurni. With determination and courage, Marco invested everything he owned in his vineyard. He densely planted his land with a record number of 6,073 plants per acre, using an old training system called gobelet (a type of alberello, or small-tree style of vine pruning), and lowered his yields to half a pound per plant. The 6,000 bottles of Kurni produced from 25 acres are truly the expression of all of Marco’s decisions in the vineyard. The wine is very sensitive to variations in vintages. In addition, Oasi degli Angeli is a biodynamic operation and therefore the grapes that arrive in the cellar are the product of nature and her moods. Once in the cellar, the wine undergoes long fermentation, resting in barriques for fourteen to sixteen months. The wine is then bottled without being filtered.

The results speak for themselves. Even if a bottle of Kurni has been open for days, it retains incredible freshness. Once you move beyond the impenetrable purple color of the wine, you arrive at an explosion of its perfumes: The wine is like a freight train loaded with fruit. When tasted blind, Kurni is sometimes mistaken for an Amarone, or even a Grange Hermitage. Rarely does one shout out Kurni! In the mouth, the wine is full and captivating in an almost velvety way. It is elegant and balanced beyond any expectation. Kurni is a wine to drink and enjoy, because beyond its aroma and flavor, it is an expression of a revolutionary territory. Kurni is an anthem of change—of joy, life, and the possibility of new beginnings.

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Villa Bucci Riserva—BUCCI

AMPELIO BUCCI IS a master of terroir. A professor of communications at the IULM University in Milan and consultant to famous Italian fashion houses, Ampelio, at first sight, might appear to be a urban and affluent Milanese who decided to dabble in winemaking. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Bucci family has ancient roots. Since the 1700s, they have owned property in the town of Montecarotto, one of the Castelli di Jesi, located in the Marche region. Ampelio’s father died when he was only thirteen years old, leaving him 988 acres of farmland, tended to by braccianti (farmhands) and mezzandri (sharecroppers), whose livelihood depended on the productivity of the farm. Having inherited tremendous responsibility at a very young age, Ampelio took over the farm and, thanks to his determination, was able to make it profitable. This was sixty years ago, and since then, the fabric of Italian agriculture has changed dramatically.

During the 1950s, in central Italy and Marche, the mezzandria system (the equal division of crops between the landowner and the people who worked the land) was in decline, and by the 1960s, it was replaced with an entrepreneurial system, which obviously came with great risk. By the mid-1970s, the globalization of the food chain led to the devaluation of many Italian crops. Silk, tobacco, and animal husbandry were gradually abandoned altogether. Although Ampelio Bucci led his farm through the transition with success, the changes in the economic climate led him to study economics. He wanted to understand the possible exit strategies for a relatively closed and politically protected agricultural system. He eventually applied his studies of agricultural economy to other fields, including fashion and design, in which he is considered to be one of the brightest minds in Italy.

In the early 1980s, he decided to plant vineyards and olives, at a time when Verdicchio certainly didn’t have much appeal. This was true especially in the United States, where the only Verdicchio out there was Fazi Battaglia, which graced the shelves of mom-and-pop pizzerias and which made an appearance on the film Serpico, starring Al Pacino. In a few short years, Bucci was able to create a cult around his Riserva, which he did with the help of Giorgio Grai, a celebrated enologist from Alto Adige. Grai was a master of production and blending and is credited with the creation of Italy’s first great white wine in those years.

Today, Ampelio is way over seventy, but he carries his years with energy and elegance: a sharply dressed world traveler who loves to visit the global wine and fashion capitals to promote his wine. To those who criticize him for being a fashionista and urbanite, he responds: I didn’t live my life plowing fields, but instead of having blisters on my hands, I have them on my brain from the excruciating mental power needed to come up with new ways to sell my Verdicchio.

Montecarotto is a small village in the hills of Marche, a few miles from the Adriatic Sea. A splendid medieval castle dominates the summit of the town and the surrounding landscape dotted with vineyards cultivated primarily with the native verdicchio grape variety. The area is 1,200 feet above sea level, saddled between the hills that divide the Esino and Misa valleys. The Bucci winery is located between the backbone of the Italian Apennine Mountains and the nearby Adriatic. It is an ideal position for cultivating grapes: The marine winds mitigate the cold winter climate, while the nearby mountains are responsible for the considerable differences in day- and nighttime temperatures, enriching the aroma of the wines produced in this particular terroir. Ampelio cultivates his vineyard the way only a great craftsman knows how. In terms of productivity, Bucci has gone against the grain: His vineyards yield half of what is set out in the Verdicchio guidelines, or 15,400 to 17,600 pounds per acre versus the 30,800 pounds permitted by law, which Ampelio considers too lax. His vines are more than forty years old, meaning that they are deeply rooted in the earth and able to fully express the characteristics of the local soil.

Ampelio Bucci has created a wine that is a self-portrait. It is an aristocratic, intelligent, nervous white wine, thanks to its salty acidity. And like Ampelio, it never shows its age. Verdicchio Villa Bucci is, in fact, characterized primarily by its incredible propensity for aging. It is a white that can be aged because of the natural production methods employed and the limited human intervention in the winemaking process. The wine matures for about eighteen months in large oak casks of 4,500 or 7,500 liters that are used for decades and kept in working condition with periodical cleaning and renovation. After carefully tasting all the wines in the cellar, Giorgio Grai and Ampelio Bucci jointly decide which are worthy of being bottled as Villa Bucci Riserva.

Another identifying characteristic of this atypical white wine is that it acts more like a great red, rather than like a classic white. On the nose, it is not overly fruity. Its underlying notes of hazelnut accompany flavors of citrus, chamomile, and lime blossom. In the mouth, it is decisive and powerful, with profound flavor. The finish is salty, minerally long, and rich in juice. One should open a bottle of Riserva Villa Bucci at least a half hour before drinking to enjoy it to the fullest. Surprisingly, the wine is incredibly good a day after uncorking. Even its ideal serving temperature is more similar to that of red wines—never below 57 or 59 degrees Fahrenheit—especially with older bottles.

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Podium—GIOACCHINO GAROFOLI

THE HISTORY OF Verdicchio can be divided into two distinct phases. The first spans the large part of the last century, up until the 1970s or ’80s, and is characterized by a wine that is easy to drink, fairly inexpensive, and of little quality. I have always been a fan of the wine and an advocate of the verdicchio grape, considering it alongside friulano as one of Italy’s most noble indigenous white varietals. Yet it seemed that Verdicchio was destined to remain unappreciated until a handful of winemakers decided that the grape and the terroir had much more to give. One such believer was Gioacchino Garofoli, the father of modern Verdicchio. The Garofoli family started making wine in 1871, but it is thanks to Gioacchino’s sons—Franco, Carlo, and Gianfranco—that this wine has become one of the most important examples of Verdicchio in recent years.

The winery is located in Marche, a region of central Italy on the Adriatic coast, where the microclimate is perfect for grape growing. The region has a long winemaking history, centered on the city of Jesi, where verdicchio is king. The verdicchio grape has been grown in Marche for centuries, but its origin is unclear: It is believed to be a variation of trebbiano from Soave and Lugana, a lesser grape from northern Italy. For a long time, Verdicchio was known as an easy drinking wine, appealing to a large audience that recognized the wine by its amphora-shaped bottle rather than the wine itself. Since my youth in the 1970s, the green fish-shaped Verdicchio bottle has been carved into my memory as the emblem of Italian white wine. At a certain point during the 1980s, Verdicchio sales were down, and the wine seemed to be nearing its death. Paradoxically, the downturn allowed for wineries like Garofoli to focus on quality, giving the wine a new image. Winemakers studied the territory and verdicchio clones and introduced modern technology to their cellars, such as stainless steel vats and temperature-controlled fermentation. It was difficult to know the true potential of the the grape, yet the results spoke for themselves.

Gioacchino Garofoli produces today about 2 million bottles, of which almost half are Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi. Garofoli’s Verdicchio has defined a new style for this wine: It has notable acidity and strong aromas, uncommon to Italian white wine. The wine also develops interestingly over time: When the wine is young, it is fresh and easy to drink, not unlike the Verchicchios of the past. After the wine has been aged, it has remarkable power and structure and continues to evolve rather than devolve. A Verdicchio like Podium di Garofoli should be drunk after a couple of years, when the mineral notes reach their full potential.

Marche is a placid land of about 3,900 square miles situated along the Adriatic Sea, about halfway down the Italian boot. Its landscape is quite varied and can go from sandy beaches to low hills and mountains in a matter of miles. The main towns in Marche are located along the coast, while the inland hamlets are rich in history and natural wonders. Castelli di Jesi is one of the most interesting territories, situated not far from Ancona. The Garofoli winery is found in Castelfidardo, the world’s accordion capital. (I fondly recall accordion-buying expeditions with my father, a player and collector during the 1970s.) Castelfidardo is located near the sea, giving the area its dry and ventilated climate. The Verdicchio production area is quite large and spans two different provinces, Ancona and Macerata, but Verdicchio Classico can be produced only in Castelli di Jesi. Podium, a sort of grand cru of the denomination, comes from vineyards located in Montecarotto.

After years of being the clear reference point for the entire denomination, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Podium is a rare example of steadfast quality. Thanks to the microclimate of the region and its consistency from year to year, this wine proves excellent across vintages. The vineyard yields in Montecarotto are considerably less than the denomination guidelines call for, making for grapes that are concentrated and rich in pulp. The land where the Podium vines are planted is composed of clay of density. The grapes are harvested once they’ve reached a proper level of ripeness. They are softly pressed in the cellar, the must is cold-cleaned, and fermentation occurs at a low, controlled temperature. Although the law allows for Verdicchio Classico to contain 15 percent of other white grapes, Podium is made exclusively from verdicchio. The wine ages for fifteen months in stainless steel tanks at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and matures in the bottle for four months in temperature-controlled rooms.

Podium never sees wood, avoiding the sometimes heavy, inappropriate aromas of barrique-aged whites. The wine is golden yellow in color with green tones. It has intense minerally aromas combined with notes of citrus, honey, herbs, and must. It has a seductive flavor and is both robust and full bodied yet acidic and fragrant with a long finish. Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Superiore Podium is a wine you can drink immediately or truly enjoy after six, eight, or even ten years of aging.

~ TOSCANA ~

Alceo—CASTELLO DEI RAMPOLLA

ALCEO DI NAPOLI was a true prince, not unlike the princes of children’s fairy tales, as the story of the Di Napoli Rampolla family is that of an ancient dynasty. In fact, the family has owned their landed estate, Castello dei Rampolla, in Panzano, since 1739, predating the French Revolution. A princely countryman, a great lover of the earth and wine, Alceo would often voluntarily go down into the fields and work, without worrying about dirtying his legendary velvet pants that he loved so dearly. He was open to change and confrontation, even if conservative and traditionalist in spirit. His visceral passion for grapes and wine led him often to visit his French cousins, whom he deeply admired and respected. Visiting the greatest châteaux in Bordeaux and drinking their strong and aristocratic wines, he dreamt of making a miraculous wine in Toscana, on this little estate in Panzano, in the heart of Chianti Classico.

In 1964, Alceo started his winemaking activity and began planting sangiovese grapes, the most important varietal of the area. Later, in pursuit of his dream of making French-style wine, he planted cabernet sauvignon. At the beginning, his best grapes were purchased by Marchese Antinori, who, because of the superior nature of the cabernet grapes, was able to evolve and complete Antinori’s flagship wine: Tignanello. This close relationship between the two noble families of Toscana started because they both sought out the consultation of Giacomo Tachis, the most important Italian winemaker of the time. Consequently, at the beginning, Alceo’s top grapes ended up in other wines, and to taste the first bottle labeled Castello dei Rampolla, Alceo had to wait until 1975—an incredible vintage in Toscana. But it wasn’t until the 1980s that the winery really took off, thanks to a Super Tuscan the prince named Sammarco, a blend of sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon. The blend was created by both Alceo and Giacomo Tachis, who continued to work as a consultant for the Rampolla house.

Despite the incredible success of Sammarco with the critics and in the market, the prince was still not satisfied and held a dream in his heart: to pit himself against his French counterparts by making a Tuscan wine entirely