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ITALY: Central & Southern Italia
SPORTOLETTI
 The Sportoletti
Winery, as it's called in "Italian," is a leading property coming from Umbria near the town of
Assisi. This region is hardly well-known for its wines, but Ernesto
and Remo are working to change that notion.
Sportoletti sports some 20 hectares of vineyards, cultivating the Umbrian white grape
called Grechetto, along with Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, Merlot, Cabernet
Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Their vineyards are organically
farmed, by the way.
I had visited this area some years ago with a friend who cultivates some vineyards near
Lake Trasimeno and we found the sort of "standard" quality wines you find all
over Europe. These were nicely made but a bit anonymous in terms of character.
My, how things have changed!!!
Villa Fidelia is a much-visited tourist attraction near the winery.
Sportoletti features two wines bearing the Villa Fidelia name, a Chardonnay
& Grechetto blend along with the astonishingly good red.
Villa Fidelia. This is not owned by the Sportoletti brothers.
The new cellar is filled with French oak barriques.
The Villa Fidelia red wine has achieved great critical acclaim on both sides of the ocean
from those fortunate enough to have tasted it. The "recipe"
calls for 70% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet
Franc. If I understood the vinification, curiously the Merlot and
Cabernets are fermented together. After the primary fermentation, the
wine is matured in French oak, Sportoletti and consultant Riccardo Cotarella
preferring Tronçais, Alliers and Nevers barrels. Some 80% of the
cooperage for the Villa Fidelia red wine is brand new. The resulting
wine displays lots of red and black fruit aromas. Having been in new
wood, of course, one expects a cedary, woodsy note from the wine.
You'll find a lavish amount of wood, as you'll find on many of the top wines
from Bordeaux or Napa. I suspect the oak will become better integrated
with the fruit if given sufficient time in the cellar. On the other
hand, wines this showy often are opened and enjoyed in their youth.
And this one is mighty hard to resist!
If you're a fan of Napa Cabernets such as Joseph Phelps' Insignia, treat
yourself to this. The 2003 is particularly showy.
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Assisi Rosso from 2006 is a delicious wine and the little brother of their
Villa Fidelia wine. It's 50% Sangiovese with 30% Merlot and 20%
Cabernet. Over the past several vintages we have seen a rise
in the quality of this wine. Don't miss it when you're looking for
something that's "modern Italian." It used to show a
bit of oak.
I think the current vintage has not been wood-aged, though.
- Currently in stock: 2003 Villa Fidelia Rosso $59.99
2006 Sportoletti Assisi Rosso $18.99
PHOTOS OF THE
SPORTOLETTI PROPERTY
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TENUTA SAN ROCCO I have been
impressed by the wines of this Umbrian estate, but looking at their web
site, you would hardly know they had vineyards.
The place is near the town of Todi, rather close to Montefalco, home of the
big Sagrantino wines. It's a 15 to 20 minute ride from Montefalco
to the frazione "Due Santi." Once you're there, good
luck...though the place has been operating as an agriturismo and winery
since 1995, there was no sign on the columns and gate out front. (Owner
Giovanni Perni says they just got approval to post a sign and he recently
ordered one, but "these things take time in Italy.")-
- The Tenuta San Rocco has got a long history, though the family owning it dates back only to
1934. It was then purchased by Nello Morghetti and his heirs take care
of San Rocco. Giovanni Perni and his son run the place, a nice little
outpost about 10 minutes' drive from the "big city" of Todi.
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- It's a sizeable property, but only 12 hectares are in vines.
Sangiovese is of special interest here and we're particularly fond of a wine
they call "Palombaccio." This carries the appellation or denominazione,
if you prefer, of Colli Martani. It's certainly not
well-known outside of Umbria and even there, few people know it!
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- Yet here's a wine worthy of comparison to good Chianti Classico or Vino
Nobile. The wine is about 85% Sangiovese and 15% Merlot. It's a medium-full
bodied red wine showing nice oak and some dark berry fruit
notes.
The Perni family, owners of the place, were especially proud of the fact
that they've "matured" a portion of the wine in egg-shaped
concrete tanks. I had seen these in France not too long ago and don't
quite understand what attracts vintners to this sort of tank other than it
gives them something to talk about. The part that's not aged in
concrete sees 500 liter barrels and these contribute a lovely cedar note to
the wine.
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- The 2005 Palombaccio is drinkable now with red meats or something
substantial, since the wine does have a bit of tannin. It will
probably cellar nicely for 3-8 more years.
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Currently in stock: 2005 PALOMBACCIO $21.99
There's a tidy little vinification cellar close to
their agriturismo apartments.
A small barrique cellar is located, actually, below one of the agriturismo
rental units.
We tasted Sangiovese and Merlot wines.
CLICK
HERE TO SEE THEIR WEB SITE
I noticed some pages are not posted
presently...
The Agriturismo has a nice little dining room...not
terribly formal, but with some good vittles.
They had some nice fish to grill the night I visited San
Rocco.
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FALESCO
 The
Falesco winery was founded in 1979 and is owned by the famous winemaker (and consultant)
Riccardo Cotarella along with his brother Renzo. The region is Lazio (or
"Latium"), a region whose most famous wines have been
"Est!Est!!Est!!!" and "Frascati." The region has a major
city you've probably heard of, Rome (duh!). And it actually shares a part of the
denominazione of "Orvieto" with neighboring Umbria.
Cotarella, who is from Orvieto, is associated with wineries throughout Italy. He was hired by some
Piemontese to oversee production of the most expensive Barbera being produced in Italy.
He ventures to Sicilia to stick his finger in a barrel and advise clients as to
which strada to take with their winemaking. And he's
associated with a bunch of Umbrian estates.
The wines in which he has a hand show a definite "fingerprint." They're
uniformly balanced, with a pretty fruit element and, frequently, a mild bit of wood.
Cotarella wines seem to have a certain "charm" to them.
His own Falesco winery is most famed for "Montiano," a wine made exclusively of
Merlot. We've tasted several vintages and find it to be a perfectly pleasant and not
inexpensive red wine. The wine is from volcanic soils in Lazio and the
wine spends about a year in Nevers and Tronçais oak barrels.
The Cotarellas & crew are not resting on their laurels, having some 30
different varieties planted on some 200 hectares in Umbria. Though
they concentrate on the typical local grapes, new plantings of Nero d'Avola,
Syrah, Malbec, Aglianico and several clones of Cabernet are currently being
cultivated.
The gem of their line-up is a bargain called "Vitiano." This is 34%
Sangiovese, 33% Cabernet and 33% Merlot. Each variety is vinified separately
and the blend is assembled a month, or so, later. The wine spends a brief period of time
maturing in Nevers oak. You'll find the aromas to be reminiscent of red fruits (berries) with a
hint of vanillin from the wood. The tannins are mild, so it's probably best to drink
immediately, rather than hold for cellaring. This wine puts to shame California's
Central Valley-grown wines which are in a similar (or slightly higher) price range.
Currently available: 2005 Falesco "Vitiano"
$9.99 (case discounts)-
ARNALDO CAPRAI
  Umbria
is a treasure trove of interesting discoveries. The grand
"old" name in the region was Lungarotti and they make
"pleasant" wines these days.
There's another producer, however, making an
international impact on the market and that would be the "Val di Maggio di Arnaldo
Caprai." This fellow made money in the textile biz and turned those threads
into vineyard land in the Montefalco sub-zone of Torre.
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 The
firm started in 1971 with some ten hectares of vines in Montefalco.
Today they have about 90 hectares and then some. Caprai's facility
is modern, clean and efficiently constructed. The work, however,
begins in the vineyard. Caprai collaborates with the Universita di
Milano in clonal research regarding Sagrantino. As a result, the
famous vine nursery company Rauscedo now offers several "Caprai
Clones" of Sagrantino. However, there are more than 50
clones, according to young Marco Caprai, who runs the winery.
Caprai, aware of the arrival in the neighborhood of a wave of
"foreign" producers, has planted "new" varieties such
as Spain's Tempranillo and the Rhône Valley's Syrah. They are also
experimenting with densely-planted vineyards, seeing if fewer grapes per
vine enhances wine quality.
The reason many are flocking to this region seems to have more to do with
Sagrantino than anything else. That being said, it is not clear to
me that there is anything extraordinary about the terroir in the
Montefalco zone. This, I suppose, is more testimony to the fine work
being done by a handful of producers, led by Caprai, than anything
else.
 Sagrantino is a grape with the highest polyphenols
concentration of any grape variety, meaning the wine's natural tendency is
towards a high level of tannin. It can be more powerful than
Cabernet Sauvignon, for example. Caprai leaves the skins in contact
with the juice for about 30 days, longer than most California
Cabernets.
We had often found wines made from the Sagrantino grape to be a real
challenge because the tannin and astringency levels have been so
high. Caprai, with the help of famous winemaker Attillio Pagli,
seems to have come up with a protocol for taming some of the harsh tannins
and offering a wine of greater balance and even a bit of
finesse.
Now, if you really want to push the envelope, then splurge for a bottle of
Caprai's "25th Anni." Here's Sagrantino with the pedal
pushed all the way to the metal. Virtually anyone who professes to be
an aficionado of Italian wine who has tasted this has given it a rating of
"Wow!" This wine is big, lavishly-oaked and yet exuberant
and intense. It compares to top Napa Cabernets, major Ribera del Duero
and Rioja wines as well as top Aussie reds (more structure here,
though). Unfortunately it has continued its upward spiral in
terms of price. Quality continues to be very fine.
 Also worth
putting on the table, for tastings or dinners, is their "Rosso di
Montefalco," a 2003 which strikes us as being comparable to a good,
solid Tuscan Chianti. This is predominantly
Sangiovese with a bit of Sagrantino and Merlot. There's a nice bit of oak adding
complexity to this medium-bodied red.
The 2001 Sagrantino "Collepiano" is the "normal"
bottling of this variety. Collepiano refers to the rolling hills of
the Montefalco area. The wine spends nearly two years in French oak
barriques so there's a nice touch of wood (cedar and vanillin) in this
wine. It's a most impressive Italian red, overshadowed only by the
"25 Anni" bottling.
- Currently in stock: 2001 Sagrantino di Montefalco $49.99
2001 Sagrantino "25 Anni" (A super Reserve designation) $99.99
2003 Rosso di Montefalco (list $25) SALE
$19.99
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COLPETRONE
 This
winery is brand new and it's the property of Saiagricola, a subsidiary
of the SAI insurance firm. It's impressive that such a large
firm would have investments in such a risky business as agriculture!
The firm owns estates in Montepulciano and Montalcino, along
with an agriturismo estate where they happen to produce sunflower seed
and olive oils. There's also a rice farm in Piemonte!
Colpetrone is a modern-styled Sagrantino wine. I first
tasted this on an Umbrian excursion in 2002. It was a 1998
Colpetrone and the wine was most impressive. They seem to have a good idea
of quality, as even the somewhat challenging 2002 vintage yielded a deep, rich
wine.
The first vintage was 1996 and the property had a mere 5
hectares of vineyards. Today there are some 63 hectares under vine and
with the 2002 vintage they produced 58,000 bottles. This jumps to about
200,000 bottles with the harvest of 2003.
The winery, a bit off the beaten path in the outskirts of Gualdo Cattaneo, is
open for visitors.
Monday through "Fry-day".
The morning of my April 2006 visit they were racking the wines in the cellar and
cleaning the barrels.
Barrels in this facility have a 3 year cycle. They
typically are replacing about 33% of their barrels annually. We went back
to their tasting room to have a first-palate "look" at the wines.
The 2004 Sagrantino strikes me as perhaps a bit more
"Umbrian" and slightly less of an internationally-styled wine than
many of the previous vintages. We've enjoyed the overtly oaky character of
earlier versions, but the 2004 seems less cedary and vanillin and somewhat more
like a big, brooding Sagrantino. There's a mildly earthy quality and some
woodsy, brushy notes on the nose. The wine is fairly robust on the palate
and almost hinting at Barolo to a small degree (though darker in color and
bigger)...It will be interesting to see how this wine evolves. We like it
now with roasted or grilled red meats. It will probably develop nicely
over the next 3-6 years and may even soften a bit.
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Currently in stock: 2004 COLPETRONE
"Sagrantino di Montefalco" (List $60) SALE
$49.99
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SCACCIADIAVOLI
 If
you're in need of some wine for your upcoming exorcism, you really should
consider the wines of this Umbrian estate!
Owned by the Pambuffetti family, this winery has about 130 hectares of
various crops, including sunflowers, sugar beets, olives and grains.
They currently cultivate about 30 hectares of vineyards. Pambuffetti
is a name that is synonymous with the town of Montefalco. There's a
Villa Pambuffetti which features a hotel, restaurant and cooking school.
Back in the 17th century, there was, apparently, some sort of
exorcism carried out here. The legend is that some young woman was
possessed by the devil and the exorcist had her drink some of the local
wine. Problem solved, apparently. The place then took the name
"Scaccia Diavoli" and the legend continues.
In the 19th century, Prince Ugo Boncompagni built a large winemaking
facility. My tour guide at Scacciadiavoli made a big deal of pointing out
Ugo's initials being still emblazoned all over the facility.
UB - Ugo Boncompagni.
They have a nice facility for fermenting their wines.
This was "state of the art" in 1909!
Quite a contrast between today's winemaking and that of a hundred years ago.
We have tasted a few good wines of this estate.
They make "Montefalco Rosso," a sort of "Umbrian
Chianti," if you will. It's about two-thirds Sangiovese and the rest
is Merlot with a bit of Sagrantino. It ends up being a nice bottle of
wine, if different from classic Chianti or Tuscan Sangiovese. There's a
cherryish aspect to the 2005 and it has a bit of spice, too. Oak is not
noticeable here for my taste. It's a medium+ bodied red which is drinkable
now and ought to remain good for another few years.
More profound, as one would expect, is their Sagrantino. The 2003 is deep,
dark and will stain whatever you spill it on. The wine is teeming with
sweet berry fruit and vanillin notes from the oak. It's nicely balanced,
being round and not as aggressive or earthy as many Sagrantino wines. It's
quite a rich and powerful wine. You can drink the 2003 now and, I suspect,
over the next decade. If you like that pronounced oak, better to open it
sooner rather than later. I should also say they did a marvelous
job, especially considering the hot vintage.
We also have a bottle or two of their exceptional Passito. This is a sweet
wine...Sagrantino made sweet was, at one point in time (and not so long ago),
"the" prominent expression of this grape. I suspect this was
because winemakers had difficulty making a red wine of balance back in the 'dark
ages.' Anyway, a number of winemakers still make sweet examples of
Sagrantino and Scacciadiavoli's is quite good. It's served in place of
Port or Banyuls, so pairing it with a blue-veined cheese or chocolate dessert is
ideal.
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Currently in stock: 2005 SCACCIADIAVOLI
"Montefalco Rosso" $19.99
2003 SCACCIADIAVOLI "Sagrantino" $44.99
2003 SCACCIADIAVOLI "Passito" $47.99 (375ml bottle)
 Anna Barbolini and
Mauro Buffagni make this amazingly fizzy, lively Lambrusco near Modena in
Emilia Romagna. Modena, of course, is world famous for its Aceto
Balsamico, a carefully-produced, well-aged vinegar. There is Balsamico
and there is real, shockingly expensive Balsamico doled out by the
eye-dropper! Barbolini, by the way, has a small production of
Balsamico aging in his "acetaia" above the winery.
There is also Lambrusco and real Lambrusco. A number of humungous
firms make a simple, light, fruity little beverage that was quite
fashionable a decade or two ago here in the Bay Area.
The Barbolini wine is made of Lambrusco Grasparossa, differentiating itself
from the Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce and the Lambrusco di
Sorbara.
Here's a wine with a touch of tannin, accentuated a bit by the effervescence
of the wine. The fragrance is somewhat reminiscent of violets and
berries.
This is a great "little" wine (no wine writer would dare give 90
points to such a humble and honest vino rosso!) that's perfect with a spicy
pasta, home-made pizza or messy grilled ribs. As this is quite bubbly,
be sure to thoroughly chill your bottle of Barbolini. Serve it in
clear tumblers or wine glasses. You can, however, be subject to
arrest if you drink this through a straw!
Currently in stock: Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro (list $15) SALE
$12.99
 A
view of the winery office from the Acetaia.
 The
signs on the door of Barbolini's office.
 Lab
samples.
 Lambrusco
awaiting shipment.
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- The population which abandons the earth is
- destined to decline.
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Barbolini's
Balsamico production in the "Acetaia."
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TORRE FORNELLO
 A bit
south of Milano and situated between Alessandria and Piacenza you'll find
the town of Ziano where Torre Fornello is located.
You'd be in Emilia-Romagna were you at this estate.
Owned by the Sgorbati family, the property encompasses some 55 hectares of
vineyards. A modern cellar allows them to vinify with
temperature-controlled fermentation tanks and a barrel cellar provides
optimal conditions for oak aging on wines requiring a stay in wood.
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There is a tower on the manor house of the property and this
is said to be the home of a ghost. The legend is that a woman was
charged with practicing witchcraft and she was burned at the stake.
The story goes that visitors have "seen" her in the manor house,
particularly after they've tasted the entire range of Torre Fornello wines!
We've tasted a few of the wines of this estate and what stands out are
some wines made of a particular clone of Malvasia. There
are some 17 varieties of Malvasia in Italy. This one is quite
particular and it's called Malvasia di Candia Aromatica.
We have a marvelous dry Malvasia which see a brief pass in oak. The wine
takes the name "Donna Luigia" (after an owner of the property
ages ago). The juice gets nearly a day of skin contact and then one
portion goes into stainless steel to ferment, while approximately
two-thirds is barrel-fermented in French oak. It's wonderfully
fruity and aromatic, with notes of Mandarin oranges, white flowers.
It smells 'sweet', but it's dry on the palate. We like this as an
aperitif wine and it works well with seafood or white meat dishes which
have a 'sweet' element.
There's also a dynamite bottling of fizzy, dessert Malvasia.
This is made a bit in the style of a Moscato d'Asti...Charmat process
tanks ferment the juice to a low level of alcohol, while retaining some
fizz. The nose is reminiscent of ripe, tropical fruits with an
underlying floral element. You can pair this with an apple pie or a
bowl of fresh berries. It's delightful and dangerously drinkable.-
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Currently in stock: 2005 MALVASIA "Donna
Luigia" $21.99
2006 MALVASIA DOLCE $14.99
MOLINELLI Italy's
Colli Piacentini is in the hills southwest of Piacenza in the Emilia-Romagna
region.
Some have called the Emilia-Romagna region Italy's gastronomic capital, for
it does offer some delectable food items: Prosciutto and
Parmigiano-Reggiano from Parma and Balsamico (vinegar) from Modena.
Bologna, which is known as Bologna La Grassa (the fat), produces
Mortadella and Sfogline pasta. Wine production is all over the
Emilia-Romagnan map. Lambrusco accounts for a large part of the
production here.
We've taken note of an improvement in other wines from the area. The
Molinelli estate is large, with something like 2,200 hectares. Only
40, or so, are in vineyards, however.
Molinelli is a producer of an appellation that's rarely been imported called
"Gutturnio." These are a blend of Barbera with about 20%
Bonarda. The zone of production is split amongst three regions, the
best quality apparently coming from near the town of Ziano Piacentini...that's
where Molinelli is located, close to Lombardia.
Molinelli's Gutturnio is called
"Monte Po," a medium-bodied red that's dry and
smooth. It's less acidic than most Piemontese Barbera or Tuscan
Sangiovese, for example. The first vintages we had were nicely oaked
and woodsy...the current wine shows much less oak and it's less distinctive.
We can special order it for you and we have orders coming, typically,
every-other-week from the importer.
- They're about $11 a bottle.
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- Currently in stock: 2006 MOLINELLI Gutturnio "Vigna Monte
Po" Special Order Item...$132/case (this
works out to $11/bottle)
2004 MOLINELLI Malvasia Sold Out
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