2014 in the Langhe – a complicated vintage giving fresh, complex wines…

Two images stick in my mind from 2014: my car caught in a flood of water pouring off Serralunga’s vineyards at the end of July, & then in late September, smiling in disbelief at the blue skies & warm 22 degree days – as per my photo of Trediberri’s Rocche dell’Annunziata taken on 13th Sept shows! – that characterized an extra-ordinary Indian summer & dry harvest. Only Nebbiolo could weather a year like 2014 & could still come out shining!

A glance at a weather graph of the vintage in La Morra showed Feb – April to be above average in temperature, followed by a damp, relatively cool May to August, bar a warm week in June; then a miracle September & October that practically flipped the vintage on its head. It’s worth noting that Barbaresco, being sheltered from the west, enjoyed a drier 2014 with 50% less rain & no hail.

Incredibly, 2014 was one of the hottest years since records began in 1753, according to Luca Mercalli, Presidente of S.M.I (Societa Meteorologica Italiana), notable for the least number of frost days, only six! The vintage was shaped by low yields, due to a combination of nottue fimbriata (vine moth larvae) eating new buds, a difficult flowering (cool temps. & rain), hail & downy mildew, which meant the vine was well disposed to ripen the remaining bunches come the Sept. & October late ‘summer’; at this point, crucially in my view, the vine restarted to photosynthesize, sending out fresh green new shoots, so ripening the fruit & phenolics. The vine had slumbered all summer, so burst to life when the sun came out!

Nebbiolo’s predisposition to ripen its fruit & phenolics late in the season enabled it to see out the worst of the 2014 weather & to bask in the sunny, mid-Aug, September/October. Free draining sites rich in active calcium should have perfomed well due to looser bunches, smaller berries & where the Bordeaux mixture of copper & sulphate was used, then thicker skins would have offered further protection from the elements.

Daniele Ponzo, head winemaker at the Cantina Sociale Terre del Barolo, & now overseeing the exciting new ‘ArnaldoRivera’ range, refers to it a “grande annata” for several reasons: thick skins, late harvest, low yields, good extract, lower alcohols, delicate wines with freshness & balance.

A complicated vintage therefore, that asked a lot of the vignaiolo (vigneron), but that ultimately produced fresh, complex wines – compared to the richer 2015s! – & that can show a cleansing purity.

A positive note also endorsed by Maria Teresa Mascarello of Bartolo Mascarello & Nicola Oberto of Trediberri as they harvested together in (Bartolo Mascarello’s!) Rocche dell’Annunziata on 11th October 2014!

‘DBGi chats with Maria Teresa Mascarello & Nicola Oberto as they harvest 2014!’

 

As the Langhe struggles in this humid 2018 year to keep a lid on rampant peronospera (downy mildew), with even organic farmers forced to treat their vines with sulphur & copper up to 15 times already this year, exceeding the organic limit of 6kg per hectare, isn’t it time we went HYBRID?!

PIWI stands for Pilzwiderstandsfähig! Hybrid (not GMO!) grapes that have been developed in Germany at the University of Freiburg since the 18th century. Cross pollinated between a vitis Vinifera & wilder Rupestris varieties to give the grape innate resistance to diseases such as downy & powdery mildew. Hybrid PIWI varieties have enabled the Niedermayr family of Ste Michael Eppan/Santa Michele Appiano in Alto Adige to cut copper & sulphur treatments by approx. 85%, thereby reducing substantially the amount of pesticide residuals in the soils, reducing ground compaction & (tractor) CO2 emissions. Cleaner fruit also means less sulphur is required in the cantine. Cleaner wines, fewer heavy metals means less head banging, right?!

Thomas & his family are producing deliciously pure, expressive white & red wines of the Alto Adige region, both from several hybrid PIWI & one conventional grape varieties, at their small 5ha ‘Hof’ (farm) close to Ste. Michael Eppan/Santa Michele Appiano, & to Bolzano, in the high valley that leads to Kaltern/Caldaro. Here the Dolomitic bedrock is pink porphyry, overlain with calcareous sedimentary stones.

Thomas’s parents, Rudolf & Maria were both born in Appiano. Their farm, Hof Gandberg, which also grows apples, was built in the 1960s at 500-530 metres asl, below the towering peak of the Gand Berg (mountain). The first vine was planted in 1976 & it was the (non PIWI) Weissburgunder/Pinot Bianco, supplying the local cantina sociale; their first wine was made in 1993. It was Rudolf in 1994 who ventured to Germany, to Freiburg, in search of more robust, resistant grape varieties to grow to combat the high fungal pressure of the region. It was there that he came across the hyrbid PIWI (Pilzwiderstandsfähig) varieties.

Rudolf returned from his travels in Germany following the 1990s & proceeded to plant the Niedermayr’s farm Hof Gandberg with resistant PIWI varieties: ‘Sonnrain’ was planted in 1999, ‘Bronner’ (first documented in 1828) in 2004, ‘Souvignier Gris’ in 2006, ‘Cabernet Cantor’ & ‘Cortis’ in 2011, ‘Solaris’ in 2014. And since 2005 they have been creating their own PIWI varieties.

Thomas, one of five children, is a carpenter & trombone playing graduate of the Laimburg wine school in Alto Adige who took over the running of the cantina in 2012. Along with his wife Marlene (& daughter Heidi), they converted to certified organic immediately, adopted PIWI grapes to heart,  started propagating their own PIWIs, stopped vine trimming, started using wild yeasts, & neither clarify nor filter their wines!

In 2017 he built a new (wood lined!) cantina under the farm. Vinification is classical, taking place in both stainless-steel & 500 Litre & 12HL oak barrels, notably from the excellent local tonnellerie, Mittelberger. All the whites go through natural, malolactic fermentation & so complete the wines. They have been using the stelvin closure since 1994, but from 2016 Thomas chose to mobile bottle. Total SO2 levels are at between 25 – 45 mg/litro. The crisp, bright wines are fermented close to bone dry.

They are labelled as ‘Mitterberg IGT’ as PIWI grape varieties cannot qualify as DOC Alto Adige!

Isn’t it time we went HYBRID?

Leaving their family & friends behind in Nigeria, in mid 2016 twenty-six year olds Babatunde (“Tunde”) & Mojeed (“MJ”) made the trek to Libya, meeting there & becoming friends in one of the many holding camps. The boat they then subsequently took to cross the Mediterranean capsized, unsurprisingly, with Mojeed saving his friend, Tunde’s life. On finally arriving at Lampedusa, they split up: Babatunde journeying to Forli, Emilia-Romagna, while Mojeed ended up in L’Aquila, Perugia. Reunited via facebook, Babatunde was fortunate to have then met one of Nicola Oberto’s family, who suggested there might be a possibility of work in Trediberri’s vineyards. Tunde travelled over to the Langhe & was employed by Nicola’s family in January 2018, with Mojeed joining his friend last month. They now tend the Nebbiolo vines of Trediberri’s Rocche dell’Annunziata!

Babatunde now plays for a local Alba football team, in attack, while Mojeed – happy in defence, midfield or attack – is on the look out for a new squadra!

Meet Super Eagles Babatunde & Mojeed!

Piedmont has recently been given a welcome boost, not just by the arrival of Sig. Ronaldo but by the news that Giacomo Conterno has bought the Gattinara cantina of Nervi. The latter a stamp of approval that confirms the sense of revival that now pervades the Alto Piedmont region; the former gambling that Juventus could finally win The Champions League! Indeed, on Monday 10th September, Mattia Antoniotti, the latest & fifth generation of his family to produce Bramaterra, will be presenting his wines at a small dinner at The Quality Chop House…& revealing just why Conterno didn’t buy Antoniotti instead!

The vineyards of the Alto Piedmont lie to the north-east of the Langhe or ‘Basso Piemonte’, between the towns of Novara & Biella, & under the gaze of Monte Rosa & the Alps. Compared to the sedimentary, calcareous soils of the Langhe, caused by the evaporation of the once extensive Mediterranean sea c. 7 million of years ago, Alto Piedmont is based on acidic, igneous rocks & morainic soils caused by the tectonic & glacial movement some 13 million years before. Older geologically than the Langhe, the denominations of Alto Piedmont can also claim to be just as long in the tooth as their upstart ‘cugini’ of the Langhe, with the likes of Bramaterra, Gattinara, & Boca tracing their roots back to the Middles Ages, prior to being awarded the DOC in the 1960s & ‘70s.

Mattia’s family have been farming the pink porphyry, limestone & wooded slopes of Bramterra since the 18th century. His father Odilio recalls accompanying his father on the back of the cart as they made their way to sell their wine in the Biella market soon after the end of WW2; a labour that took all day. In 1960, Odilio took the revolutionary step of bottling their wine from their tiny property. Mattia has recently joined his father as they farm the Nebbiolo, Croatina, Vespolina & Uva Rara vines, while planting new single vineyards with which to take their story forward.

At this exceptional dinner Mattia will pulls the cork on Bramaterra vintages 2015 (anteprima!), 2009, 2001 & the rare 1985!

“News spread like a wind ruffling hair and rattled the Piedmontese stands at Vinitaly. It upset glasses, bottles and old certainties,” wrote the Italian journalist, Roberto Fiori in La Stampa in April. Someone had just paid more than €2 million (£1.75m) for half a hectare of a top cru in Barolo DOCG. This eye-popping sum, more than three times anyone had ever paid for a vineyard here, has certainly provoked strong feelings among local producers. It also proves just how hot this pure-bred Nebbiolo has become. The twin DOCGs of Barolo and Barbaresco in the Langhe hills of southern Piedmont are on a roll. From 1990 to 2013, production of both wines has more than doubled, to 13.9 million bottles for Barolo and 4.68m for Barbaresco. But for a painful, post-crash blip in 2009/10, selling prices have risen steadily following a string of good vintages. Grape prices have jumped from about €3/kilo a year ago to €5.50/kilo after the short harvest in 2017, according to David Berry Green, Barolo resident and head of DBG Italia. He predicts this will lead to a wholesale price of around €11 a bottle, which doesn’t bode well for the bargain basement Barolo you can still find in Aldi and Lidl for £9.99.

 
To quench the demand, Nebbiolo has spread in all directions in Barolo and Barbaresco DOCG at the expense of Barbera, Dolcetto, and some of the remaining woodland that’s home to the region’s famous white truffles. Nicola Argamante, president of the promotional body Vini del Piemonte, and owner of Podere Ruggeri Corsini in Barolo, says: “We’ve not reached the maximum, but it’s very close. It might expand by 1% a year at most.” According to Berry Green, the Consorzio has limited new Nebbiolo plantings to 20ha a year, while some of the big Barolo bottlers are lobbying to expand the DOCG. “That’s never going to happen,” says Argamante. “Well, not in my lifetime.” With around 100 hectares in Barolo, Fontanafredda is the biggest vineyard owner, and Roberto Bruno, its managing director, says: “We’re moving to specialisation like in Burgundy, and within 10 years you’ll probably find only Nebbiolo here.” Of course, everyone mentions Burgundy because of the striking similarities between the ancient homeland of Pinot Noir and that of the equally ancient Nebbiolo, both produced by small, quality-orientated family growers. The Italian grape can be as beautifully perfumed as the best Pinot Noir, perhaps more so, and of all grapes is possibly the most sensitive to its terroir, which explains why it has barely travelled beyond Piedmont. Some Nebbiolo is grown in Australia, South Africa, Washington State and even Mexico, but nothing to give a good Barolista such as Argamante sleepless nights, at least not yet.
 
The other obvious Burgundy connection is the market. With prices in the Côte d’Or drifting ever higher, there is a growing pool of disenfranchised Burgundy lovers for Barolo and Barbaresco to tap into. It’s a short hop across the Alps both figuratively and literally – indeed Berry Green claims that he has “never seen so many French number plates in the Langhe as this year”. But David Gleave MW, Liberty Wines’ managing director, wonders whether it’s really such a natural fit. “Nebbiolo is quite structured and mineral, and it doesn’t have that lovely fruitiness of Burgundy,” he says. “In style and flavour it’s savoury rather than fruity, but it is beautiful when you get it right.” Either way, “people won’t necessarily find things much cheaper in Barolo”, says Zubair Mohamed of Raeburn Fine Wines, which has been importing expressions from top producers like Giacomo Conterno for 20 years. “Having said that, there’s still plenty of very interesting wine in Piedmont offering great value, and estates that are really coming up.” Berry Green makes a plea for Barbaresco, which he likens to Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune, and describes as “still undervalued and misunderstood”. As of 2014, the UK accounted for around 14% of exports from Barolo and barely 2% from Barbaresco.
 
Meanwhile, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC has been growing by around 15% a year, and is offering consumers an accessible bridge into Barolo and Barbaresco. “It’s become very important to the economy of the region,” says Roberto Bruno, whose Fontanafredda expression has seen sales double in the past five years. “It’s easier to sell than Nebbiolo d’Alba because the Langhe is becoming a very trendy and well-known appellation.” Within Barolo and Barbaresco it helps maintain quality by playing that crucial role of a second wine, which producers can declassify into, depending on the vintage and vineyard location.
Although it’s been dubbed ‘baby Barolo’, Langhe Nebbiolo can be a very different wine. For instance, the one produced by Aurelio Settimo, a 7ha family property near La Morra within Barolo DOCG, is fresh and unoaked, and has a strong following in the US, claims its producer, Tiziana Settimo. By contrast, her Barolos are aged in botte grande (big barrels) like most these days after the so-called Barolo wars of the 1990s when modernists fought traditionalists like the late Bartolo Mascarello, with his famous ‘No barrique, no Berlusconi’ label. You will now find far fewer barriques being used used, while most of the old guard are not macerating and ageing their wines for quite so long. Today, diversity in wine styles is more about terroir and work in the vineyard than what happens in the cellar. “Most Langhe Nebbiolo comes from outside Barolo and Barbaresco, and many of its famous producers have bought land in the direction of Dogliani and Dianod’Alba,” says Argamante. Old vineyards are being replanted, “and these often cooler zones give the fresher, easydrinking style of Nebbiolo that consumers are after”, says Berry Green, who is also excited by the Roero. This region, just north of Alba, may be best known for its Roero Arneis white wine, but he feels “some of its younger, sandy soils make for smoother, fruitier, more delicate Nebbiolos”.
 
If this (Nebbiolo) grape is pushing out others in southern Piedmont, Roberto Bruno sounds unfazed, and says: “Monferrato is a great place for Barbera, and I think its future will be concentrated there, and not around Alba and the Langhe.” Unfortunately, some of the big Barbera producers here and in Asti seem to have their eyes on the Barolo grape, with their proposal for a regional Piemonte Nebbiolo DOC. While this has been rejected by the Consorzio, much to the relief of producers in the Langhe, the plan B for a Nebbiolo Monferrato DOC “looks like being approved”, says Berry Green, who fears it will “open the floodgates to any amount of Nebbiolo”. Nicolo Argamante believes such a move, if it happens, won’t really trouble producers in Barolo and Barbaresco, but it would be a big issue for those in the surrounding hills. Of much greater concern to him is the news that broke at Vinitaly about the €2m sale. “I think it’s extremely bad,” he says. “The Langhe is an area of small, family-owned wineries. I own 7.5ha and have two daughters, and for them it will be impossible to expand with prices like that. I really hope the pressure on Barolo and Barbaresco can decrease a bit, and prices become more reasonable. I can understand if we’re talking of up to €1 million per hectare, but €4 million – that’s just crazy.”
Bruno agrees: “It’s good in encouraging people to talk about Barolo and the prestige of the area because we need to improve the image and price of the wine, but I don’t think €2m reflects reality. At that price you couldn’t possibly get a return on investment.” Berry Green blames what he calls “trophy-hunting industrialists” who are paying silly prices to have land at any cost. He worries that one day the Langhe may lose its soul as the small family growers are swept away by the influx of foreign money and speculation. Ironically, it was the presence of such artisan producers that helped the region secure its UNESCO world heritage status in 2014, which in turn appears to have fuelled the real estate boom.
 
Before leaving the Langhe for Piedmont’s other key source of Nebbiolo (see Beyond the Langhe), another challenge is climate change. In the 1970’s Barolo producers were lobbying for permission to add sugar, now they are doing everything they can to avoid overripeness in hot years. The American wine writer Kerin O’Keefe predicts that producers will return to blending Barolo from different plots to achieve a natural balance, rather than rely on singlevineyard wines. “Fontanafredda has always produced this kind of Barolo,” says Bruno, who says such blends “express the harmony of the terroir”, and believes they can be just as valid as any cru wine. But Nebbiolo specialist Walter Speller predicts that “single vineyards will definitely gain in relevance” adding: “Why would you pay top dollar to then see the vineyard disappear into a generic blend?” No doubt the new owners of that €2m plot would drink to that.
 
Beyond the Langhe, a collection of tiny neighbouring DOCGs, which include Gattinara, Ghemme, Bramaterra, Lessona and Boca, are all that remain of what is claimed to be Nebbiolo’s birthplace in northern Piedmont. Alessandro Guagliardi, export manager at Trevaglini, which owns 52ha, or half of Gattinara DOCG, says: “Alto Piemonte once produced 20 times more than the Langhe. Now it’s the opposite.” It has been claimed that the region boasted 40,000ha of Nebbiolo, or Spanna, as it’s known locally, before the advent of phylloxera followed by a steady rise in abandoned vineyards as growers left the fields for the factories of Turin and Milan. With its rocky, partially volcanic soils, and cooling breeze from the Alps, just 50km away, wines such as Gattinara are slightly lighter in colour and alcohol, and perhaps more approachable in youth. “You have to see them as separate from Barolo,” says Zubair Mohamed. “It’s a different style, different terroir, different everything, even if the style of winemaking may be the same. The taste profile is much more understated, but they can be very profound wines, and they can age spectacularly.” Walter Speller agrees and says: “While UK importers begin to wake up to Alto Piemonte, they need to be aware that this is not a cheaper alternative to Barolo and Barbaresco, as that is to completely miss the point of these radically different wines.” The latest excitement is the news that one of the greats of Barolo – Giacomo Conterno – has just bought Nervi, the second biggest estate in Gattinara, with 27 hectares. Berry Green describes it as a shot in the arm for Alto Piemonte, which, he says “is now experiencing a risorgimento as the younger generation take up the trowel and begin bottling the fruit themselves.” (Tom Bruce-Gardyne, The Drinks Business, June 2018)

Mt. Etna, with its Nerello grape – the ‘Nebbiolo of Sicily!’ – is attracting great interest & investment in its ancient vineyards, or Contrade as they are known locally. The region was apparently first recognised by the poet Teocrito in the 3rd century BC, but more recently, post WWII, the volcanic slopes were home to circa 50,000 hectares, producing mostly vino di taglio (blending wine) that was then shipped all round Europe to bring a ray of sunshine to more famous French & Italian AoCs & DoCs! Now the Etna DOC region has shrunk to closer to 1,000 ha, as many of the former terraces lie abandoned – quality over quantity! Skip forward to the 2000s, when the likes of Passopisciaro, Terre Nere, Frank Cornelissen & Alberto Aiello Graci recolonized the old ‘palmenti’/wineries & revived their (Roman) alberello vineyards. Apart from the lure of juicy EU subsidies, these ‘pioneers’ identified the rich patrimony of ancient vines, many nearly a century old, whose health has been sustained by zeolite-rich lava soils that act as a naturally disinfectant & reduce the number of treatments required!

The tiny 3 ha Contrada of Tartaraci in the comune of Bronte is one such vineyard, whose promise & potential was identified by Graci & handed to his bride to be, Mirella Buscemi, in 2016 in return for her hand. Lying at close to 1000 metres above sea level (asl), this ancient single plot was famously once the proud possession of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson, to whom it was bequeathed in 1799 as part of the Duke of Bronte estate in recognition of his fleet’s action in fighting off the pesky French! The vineyard is unusual in that the Nerello Mascalese & Cappuccio vines are joined by those of (Bourbon?) Granaccia (Grenache) to bring a soft tannin & fragrance to the sinewy structure of Nerello! Similarly, for whites, the Calabrian Grecanico (or Greco-Calabro) grape was planted alongside steely Carricante to bring fruitiness to the final wine. Mirella’s two wines are made in tiny quantities alongside those of Graci’s in his Castiglione di Sicilia ‘palmento’.

Also located in the Castiglione di Sicilia is, ironically, one of Graci’s friends Rori (Parasiliti), his wife Cinzia & their daughter Sandra – otherwise known as SRC Vini – who fell in love with the wines of this extraordinarily beautiful part of Sicily having tasted the fruit of Alberto’s vines (& wine)! Originally from Catania nearby, Rori also presented his wife Cinzia with a gift of 0.5ha of the Crasà vineyard in 2013, before then proceeding to buy another 7.5ha! They also own vineyards in the neighbouring Contrada of Randazzo (home to Cornelissen), & thrive on the naturally low yields of their ancient vines. They too have followed tradition by making their Rosato from both red & white grapes; the latter from Minnella, Carricante & Catarratto, so imbuing the wine with more verve. Meanwhile their top wine ‘Alberello’ is 100% Nerelo Mascalese, pure & sinewy, & their single ‘Rivaggi’ cru, it too lying at close to 1000m asl, has some Granaccia in the blend to bring perfume & charm!

It’s every Italian’s dream to buy their own vineyard! It is I suppose the Italian equivalent of purchasing a fishing ‘beat’ on a trout river in chalky Hampshire. But for Torinese Davide Fregonese, being Piedmontese, he opted to go for the salmon one instead: a Barolo vineyard! And not just one, & nor in any old place, but Davide went for two vineyards in the noble Nebbiolo-for-Barolo village of Serralunga d’Alba, so upping the ‘beat’ to the Scottish river Tweed, downstream & in spate!

Davide had dreamt the dream for many years, not least because being Piedmontese (first) he had often visited the Langhe & in particular his friend Signor Rosso of Giovanni Rosso, whose family on both sides are rooted in the spectacular viticultural comune of Serralunga d’Alba. Determined to make the dream a reality, Davide Fregonese, held firm when two small plots came up for sale in 2014. One, a 0.6ha plot in the sought after Cerretta vineyard (alongside Giovanni Rosso & Giacomo Conterno among others) is famed for produced a fuller style of Barolo Serralunga from richer soils, while the second piece, an even smaller 0.5ha ‘allotment’ (so to speak), is in ‘primetime’ Prapò – a vineyard that’s ‘upstream’ from Cerretta, where the soil becomes whiter & ‘clearer’; ripe then for making among Serralunga’s more perfumed Barolos.

His resolve to realise the dream is echoed in the name of his Azienda Agricola: ‘Bugianen’ from the Piedmontese dialect ‘Bugia Nen’, meaning ‘Don’t Move/Budge!’, & recalls the key battle of Aisetta in Italian/Piedmontese/Savoia history when on 19th July 1747, 4,800 Austro-Piedmontese soldiers held back 400,000 French, thanks in part to the Piedmontese commander, Giovanni Battista Cacherano di Bricherasio’s order “Bugia Nen!”

Both Barolo wines are made at the new Giovanni Rosso cantina in the heart of Serralunga d’Alba, who also manages the vineyards on Davide’s behalf. Guardians of Serralunga’s noble Nebbioli wines, Giovanni Rosso has revived the ailing old vines & brought Davide’s Barolo wines to life! They also released a third wine, il terzo vino: a Langhe Rosso, 100% Nebbiolo made from declassified Cerretta fruit!

Davide Fregonese will be unveiling his three debut wines: 2016 Langhe Rosso, 2014 Barolo Cerretta, & 2014 Barolo Prapò at the DBGitalia tasting in London on 21st May 2018.

Just back from a March 2018 tour of DBGitalia’s (battered) northern Italian producers…

Lombardia’s Joska Biondelli was still feeling bruised having lost 70% of his (Franciacorta) Chardonnay crop in April 2017’s frost, only to be then battered by the subsequent breakage of 6,000 bottles of his brand new, 100% Pinot Nero 2016 Franciacorta Rosé ‘Donna Clemy’, named after his nonna/grandmother. Fortunately, Joska’s fidanzata Francesca galloped to the rescue in November, saving the day & vintage by agreeing to marry him! This will mean that later this year, unsurprisingly, the remaining 1,000 bts of his 2013 ‘Donna Clemy’ will be hit hard, not by inclement weather, but by the wedding party…so best place your order soon! In the meantime, his (2015) Brut is looking Bello & biscuity, sboccato/disgorged in Nov’17 after 18 months on the lees/sur lattes, while the (2014) Satèn is cool verbena & satiny, the product of only the first light pressing.

Further east, Venetian Zeno Zignoli at Monte dei Ragni has also been hit: this time by two difficult vintages in succession, 2013 & 2014, compelling him to make the difficult decision of not producing his prized Amarone Classico in either vintage! This had a knock-on effect on his Valpolicella Classico Superiore, that therefore lacked the ‘Ripasso’ dimension in both vintages. That said, the Valpolicella Classico Superiore effectively became ‘super-Valpolicelle’ or ‘baby-Amarone’, enhanced by the fruit that would have gone into the Amarone. Indeed in the case of 2013 vintage, Zeno actually picked & dried the fruit for Amarone but then at the last minute, chose to declassify it all to Valpolicella. Whereas in the 2104 vintage, he didn’t even bother to pick for Amarone & dry the fruit; he just harvested it all as a fresh & surprisingly good Valpolicella Classico Superiore. The exciting news is that he invested in two new 15HL Garbellotto botti grandi to house his 2015 Amarone Classico!

Among the Asolo hills, Prosecco producers Bele Casel were also ‘burnt’ by April 2017’s frost, reducing their yield by up to 20%. That’s not as bad as the 30% lost to the frost by the 600 million bottle Prosecco market, mostly to plantings on the plains! Unbowed, Bele Casel’s Ferraro family continues to focus on high quality, organic Glera, Manzoni, Bianchetta, Perera, Boschera & Rabbiosa grapes from the hilly Asolo villages of Cornuda, Maser & Monfumo (hit hard in 2017 alas). Their new Extra Brut (4 grams RS) continues the trend for drier Prosecco, even among the US market. While later this year/early next, they will be releasing two new wines: Asolo Prosecco Colfondo ‘Quindici’, a special, vintage bottling & label that celebrates the pretty cassis fruit of the successful 2015 vintage. And then there’s ‘Uve Vecchie’, a (2017) Asolo Prosecco that blends the above 6 ancient Prosecco varieties from across their 10 hectares, which has been aged for 12 mths in tank….a dry wine that sings of prati del montagne/mountain meadows!

And finally I caught up with Friulani Marco & Sandra Sara, along with their boys Pietro & Tobias, who are making scintillating wines from their 7ha of vineyards, nestled in the comune of Povoletto among the hills of Colli Orientali del Friuli close to Udine. They were spared the frosty horrors, or heat, of 2017, but alas rain spoiled play as they harvested the Ribolla Gialla; (Tocai) Friulano came in earlier so was saved. Clearly the ‘ponca/flysch’ soils (ancient sedimentary seabed shale) that underpins the Colli Orientali del Friuli helps define their Friulano, Schioppettino & Picolit grapes, giving a real energy & racy tension to the wines. This attribute manifests itself as the wines age, providing a spine of minerality & clarity. Indeed the 2013 Friulano possessed the sapidity of a Caol’Ila Islay Malt Whisky, along with riper white currant notes; while the 2013 Schioppettino showed a coiled, gleaming core of Pinot esque rosehip fruit & nervous energy! In the pipeline is a possible ‘ponca’/terroir driven blend of indigenous varieties: Verduzzo, Ribolla Gialla & of course Friulano!

Just when we thought Spring was arriving, the cold and frost set in again. It’s never too cold for rosato, though! Italian rosato’s seem to be becoming more popular. The best examples tend to offer a depth of flavour, colour, and texture that is characteristic of their indigenous grape varieties. Usually darker pink than the well-loved Provence styles, they are a true reflection of place and grape. They also have a great food-matching ability. They pair well with fish and antipasti as well as with richer dishes, due to vibrant acidity & sapid minerality that comes from ancient sedimentary soils, such as the Langhe.

We’re thrilled to unveil Trediberri’s new Langhe Rosato 2017! In previous vintages he opted for a simple Nebbiolo/Barbera blend, leaving some 3 g RS too, but in 2017 he’s cracked it, building in drinkability & complexity through a unique mix of indigenous grapes, and a drier style (closer to 1 g RS). Trediberri are best known for their extremely fine range of reds, from Barbera d’Alba, Dolcetto, and Langhe Nebbiolo, to classic Barolo La Morra, and Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata, their La Morra Cru. They started making rosato in the 2015 vintage, as they wanted to find a way of vinifying the Nebbiolo grapes that were not destined for their Barolo or Langhe Nebbiolo. With each new release the wine gets better, and the 2017 is delicious.

When we visited earlier this month, Nicola had not yet decided the exact blend for the 2017, so he conducted a ‘panel tasting’ involving a blind tasting of two possible blends. Both blends were based on 30% Barbera, 30% Dolcetto, 20% Freisa, and 20% Nebbiolo. The first had the addition of 5% Nebbiolo from the Langhe Nebbiolo 2017 added to the mix. It was dark pink and very fragrant, with aromas of bright cherry drops and raspberry. The extra Nebbiolo added texture and structure, but we unanimously agreed that the second sample, without the 5% Nebbiolo added, was the winner. This one was slightly lighter pink, with a softer perfume, notes of wild strawberry, raspberry and a hint of rose, leading to juicy little red berries on the palate, with lively acidity, and a smoother mouthfeel. It was harmonious, with just the right amount of Nebbiolo tannin adding texture and poise, and a lingering salinity on the finish.

The vinification involved 32 hours skin contact prior to fermentation in cement and stainless steel for about 12 days. There was no malolactic, and the wine was bottled on the 9th February. The Nebbiolo comes from Rocche dell’Annunziata, the Barbera is from the Trediberri vineyards in Torriglione and from Roero, the Freisa and the Dolcetto are both from Roero.

Speakers: Luca Mercalli, Presidente of S.M.I (Societa Meteorologica Italiana); Federica Gaiotti of C.R.E.A (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria); Ruggero Mazzilli of S.P.E.V.I.S (Stazione Sperimentale per la Viticoltura); Elisa Angelini, C.R.E.A

Luca Mercalli, Torino

  • Drivers of climate change are the levels of nitrogen dioxide, phosphorus, nitrous oxide (through fertilizers) & carbon dioxide
  • Since records of climate began in the province of Torino, in 1753, the level of carbon dioxide in the air is now at 410 parts-per-million (ppm), compared with an average of 280 ppm during the 1800s. Indeed it has never been above 300 ppm until the 1990s
  • There was a post World War 2 cool period, caused by a layer of carbon dust covering the earth produced by the burning of coal
  • 2003 was the hottest year since records began, followed by 2017, 2012, 2009, & (5th) 2016
  • In fact, 2014 was also one of the hottest summers on record since 1753, & it was the year that registered one of the lowest number of days of frost (6!) ever.
  • As 40 degrees Celsius becomes the new summer norm, the risk is of summer desertification & that Torino becomes as hot as Karachi within the next 50-100 years, i.e. for the next generation…

Federica Gaiotti, Conegliano (Veneto)

  • Average temperature Celsius has risen from 12.5 degrees for the period 1930 – 1989 to 13.8 degrees for 1990-2014
  • The (Glera) grape maturation period has decreased from 179 days between 1960-1990 to 165 days between 1991 – 2016. Notably there has been a shortening of the invaiatura/veraison period. And that the sugar maturation in (Glera) grapes are arriving before phenolics.
  • Strategies for combating this development: changing orientation of the rows from N-S to W-E; leaving more leaves, adopting pergola/tendone instead of VSP/Parete; using products to protect the grapes, such as yeast extract to thicken the skin (& caolino to act as a sun cream); change of grape variety, e.g. Nebbiolo instead of Pinot Nero

Ruggero Mazzilli, Toscana

  • Key (to combating climate change): soil management. Soil is the anima/soul of territorialita/terroir; it must be protected.
  • Within soil management, the key is to increase the hydric capacity of the soil: enhanced hydric capacity through inerbimento (grassing over), pacciamatura (cover crops/material) to protect the soil from the sun, loss of moisture etc.. Not to work the soil during the summer in order to conserve water resource in the soil
  • Problem to date: monoculture & the planting of vineyards in the wrong places (Rittochino = ‘Franapioggio’ in Tuscany; Terrazzamento = Mezzapioggio’)
  • Irrigation: is generally used in areas where there is no need, or where there should be no vine planted; but where it could be useful, e.g. Toscana, there is none available!
  • Fertile soil: the vines produces leaves. Poor soil: the vine is forced to develop its root structure & thereby become more resilient.  Different density of planting produces diverse root structures.
  • Combating increased insect pressure: need to adopt collective view/approach across many vineyards & between owners, as insects view a valley/escarpment as a whole & not as single plots!
  • To maximise the expression of territorialita/terroir, need to do less in the vineyard, not more! Need to encourage the development of biodiversity in the soil, not the Consorzio Agraria! Lighter mezzi agricola/vehicles; no more cutting of grass (trinciature); entering & exiting the vineyards at different points to avoid compaction of the soil; changing the approach to pruning, to avoid deep wounds
  • Cimare/cutting of the tops of the vine unnecessary in the new climate as creates only more sugar/alcohol, & only compacts the soil further.
  • Shorter maturation season risks standardisation of fruit/wine, so there’s a need to extend this period to retain the expression of territorialita/terroir.

Elisa Angelini, Conegliano

  • Hotter temperatures (& milder winters) creates more stress for the vine, so rendering it more susceptible to disease pressure. Hence why there has been a increase in: mal dell’esca, flavescenza dorata & tignole/tignolette