July
12, 2007
July's Cult Wine Arrivals
In This Issue
A Note from Sergio
There is an endless amount of adjectives that I could
use to describe different
wines. They're like people in that way, in their variety:
Some are quirky,
some are easygoing, some are complex, and some
are angry; there are elegant
wines and crude wines, visionary wines and simple
wines, witty wines, powerful
wines, ambitious wines, lazy wines, wines that make
you laugh, wines that make
you melancholy, wines that make you feel a little
unsettled, and wines that
teach you something new. And in a year, many of us
try a wide range of these
characters. But out of the multitudes, there are only a
handful that make you
sit back and ask with wonder, What is
that? It's a mystery
quality, the thing that pulls you back to the glass to
smell the liquid, again
and again, always finding something fresh and
inexplicable.
I just spent a week in Toscana, and I gathered
vintages from four Tuscan producers
who, working with the Sangiovese grape, have
managed to imbue their wines
with that indefinable attribute. There's the prolific
expression of Vino
Nobile di Montepulciano—the debut 2003
offering is awesome in its fruit
package and concentration, while the leaner takes
from 1999 and 2001 offer
unrivalled structure and longevity. I'm also offering
the exciting Poggio
di Sotto and the reliable Tenuta Carpazo, as well as
two wines made
by extraordinary cult producers in Abruzzo and
Friuli.
These wines are a departure from the laid-back
summer bottles I've offered
in the last month. They're all difficult-to-obtain,
limited-production, high-demand
wines, well-suited for the cellar or for special guests
who can appreciate
their depth. Drink them in good health, with friends
who are willing to explore
their intricacies, who are willing to go back to the
glass again and again.
My best,
Sergio Esposito
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Vino Nobile's Best
Il Macchione
[il mahk-kyo-neh]
Being in the company of the almost famous can
deliver many privileges, particularly
if you’re drinking Vino Nobile di
Montepulciano. Though Montalcino serves
as Sangiovese’s mainstage, with Vino Nobile
dwelling in the wings, Il
Macchione’s performance puts
Nobile’s tremendous value in the spotlight,
delivering a landmark expression of Montepulciano.
As Sergio indicated, the
2003 Il Macchione is drinking brilliantly at this very
moment, offering concentrated
fruit that makes for a very engaging character. It is
one of IWM’s premier
values at present, rivaled only by its ’01
counterpart, which delivers
a slightly more restrained, though impeccably
balanced character. The '99 Riserva
is only in the early stages of its maturation,
possessing a structure that
equals or rivals that of most Brunellos. Il Macchione
will have you straying
from Montalcino into Montepulciano, thinking only
Nobile thoughts.
Il Macchione is one of a few small estates that have
been realizing Montepulciano’s
inherent potential through its native Prugnolo
clone. It enjoys foremost
positioning among this contingent, with founder
Robert Kengelbacher producing
textbook expressions representing a mere four
hectares of vineyards in the
subzone of Le Caggiole. The high altitude
(400 meters) in this area works in concert with a
mildly argillous soil to
produce wines of elegance. The 2001 bottling is of
particular note in this
respect, as it exhibits impeccable balance and class,
possessing an impressive structure
that signifies the wine’s ability to age. Its
modest price point renders
it one of IWM’s premier values at present,
rivaled in this respect only by its '03 expression, which
is drinking brilliantly at this very moment, staging a
most impressive performance. Both deliver awesome
expressions of their region and producer. The '99
Riserva
is only in the early stages of its maturation, with a
concentration that lends it the consummate
approachability of its
normale relations.
Il Macchione 2003
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano $35.75
Il Macchione 2001 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
$44.69
Il Macchione 1999
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva $49.50
"Thinking" Whites
La Castellada
[lah kahs-tehl-lah-dah]
The wines
of the eminent Josko Gravner—one of Friuli
and the world's
most iconoclastic producers—have presented
several challenges in their
complexity of expression and the nature of their
production. For producers
like the Bensa brothers, Giorgio and Nicolò,
however, they have served
as inspiration—the driving catalyst behind
their portfolio that presents
its own challenges to our concept of familiar wines
and delivers rare interpretations
of the esoteric. These wines of both tradition and
innovation will have you
returning to the glass again and again and repeating
the question, What is that?
The Bensas entered the cult ranks with the release of
Bianco della Castellada,
a blend of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon
Blanc (Tocai Friulano may
also be a constituent) that became one of the defining
wines of Friuli’s
Super-Whites category (comprising complex, full-
bodied blends of both indigenous
and international varietals that may be treated
exclusively in stainless steel
or fermented and aged in wood). As students of the
"middle period" of
the neighboring Josko Gravner, the Bensas privilege
generous oak treatment, preceded
by an extended maceration averaging between 20 and
25 days. However, it is important
to note that varietal character is honored across the
estate’s portfolio,
with the oak providing an incisive supporting role. All
wines are held back from
release until each reaches the viability stage for
drinking.
La
Castellada 2002 Bianco $52.97
La Castellada 2001 Bianco $129.77 (1.5L)
While they still produce their highly lauded Sauvignon
and Chardonnay, like
the neighboring Gravner, they intend to reserve
monovarietal production exclusively
for Ribolla Gialla—the favored varietal of
Friuli’s iconoclasts—in future vintages,
as they believe that a blend offers
the prospect for greater
creative latitude than a single varietal bottling.
Nevertheless, their efforts
in the latter category are still highly sought after on
the collector’s
market. The Sauvignon is of particular note, as it
declines to take a contemporary
and familiar reference point (i.e., New Zealand,
Sancerre, or California),
offering a lush, full-bodied interpretation with a mild
tropical character
and savory dimension.
La Castellada
2001 Chardonnay $52.97
La Castellada 2001 Chardonnay $119.97 (1.5L)
La Castellada 2000 Chardonnay $129.77 (1.5L)
La Castellada
2002 Ribolla Gialla $52.97
La Castellada 2001 Ribolla Gialla $52.97
La Castellada 2001 Ribolla Gialla $119.97 (1.5L)
La Castellada 2002 Sauvignon $52.97
Valued 2001 Brunello
Tenuta Caparzo
[teh-noo-tah kah(l)r-pah-dzo]
Single vineyard: it’s a revered concept and one
that accounts for many
of the most sought-after bottlings in regions such as
Barolo and Burgundy.
Several names come to mind where the latter are
concerned, but in Montalcino,
there are only a few, with Caparzo’s La Casa
ranking at the top, along
with Altesino’s Montsoli cru.
Caparzo’s flagship effort,
the renowned La Casa, represents a classically
structured wine that possesses
the potential to age for two decades effortlessly. In
the case of the stellar ’01
vintage, however, this period will extend to three with
ease. La Casa is the
tangible evocation of the cru ideal—a
stunning translation of
terroir that delivers unsurpassed value in its
’01 performance.
Established in the late 1960s, Tenuta Caparzo is
recognized as one of Montalcino’s
eminent pioneering producers, and its distinguished
career has been marked
by the acquisition of quality-driven sites representing
distinctive terroirs.
Foremost among these nuanced expressions are
Caparzo’s holdings in the
northeastern area of Montosoli, the source of its
single-vineyard La Casa bottling.
This cru rendering not only constitutes the estate
flagship, but serves as
one of the region’s most historic productions.
Sourced from merely five
hectares of land (comprised predominantly of schist,
sandstone, and loose deposits
of shale), La Casa’s tannic structure provides
for an extensive aging
period—one that will exceed three decades
effortlessly and may, given
vintage conditions, realize a prodigious evolution of
50 years. La Casa’s
current aging regimen (instituted in 1995) comprises
12 months in French barriques and
18 months in French oak barrels.
As with its younger Montalcino counterparts featured
today, La
Casa maintains a very
low profile in the States, with only 100 cases of the
2000 vintage having been imported. The 2001
represents one of the best values from the
vintage—a year that has already been deemed
of
historic significance.
Tenuta Caparzo 2001 Brunello ‘La Casa’ $69.95*
*Indicates prearrival sale.
"The Lord of the Vines"
Edoardo Valentini
[eh-do-ah(l)r-do vah-lehn-tee-nee]
The late Edoardo Valentini is often described as the
quintessential cult wine producer who gave reason to
look at the wines of Abruzzo. His
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
bottling is one of the most difficult to obtain in the
wine realm and is unrivaled
in the artisanal realm. The other two wines inhabiting
this rarified sphere—the
Trebbiano and Cerasuolo—enjoy a similar
status. This is a particularly
compelling feat with respect to the former, given the
Trebbiano grape’s
rather undistinguished character. Under this Lord
of the Vines’ regal
care—a treatment based on closely guarded
artisanal methods and a strict
process of selection—it realizes compelling
form. Our offering represents the final productions of
this distinguished genius,
who passed away in April of 2006.
Valentini’s Trebbiano is something of an
anomalous character, therefore,
delivering a complex profile that takes years to fully
emerge and bears virtually
no relation to its vinous source. Valentini, however,
believed that Trebbiano
actually proffered the most profound elucidation of
Abruzzo’s terroir
and character. Few, however, experience this
“story of a place,” as a limited amount of
the production reaches the US. IWM is one of very few
retailers to receive allocations of these rare wines.
Edoardo Valentini 2002 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo $79.95
Valentini also raised
Montepulciano—Abruzzo’s sole
red—to
sublime heights. The closest you might come to his
legendary efforts with Montepulciano
(one of the most difficult bottlings to attain), however,
may be through his
Cerasuolo, a rosé version of
Abruzzo’s Montepulciano.
A rosé by any other name just wouldn’t
belong in this offering
of limited productions. To begin with,
Abruzzo’s Cerasuolo (meaning cherry
red) is a rosé of a different color. So even
if you say that pink
isn’t your color in wine, Cerasuolo will have
you seeing things in a
different shade. Although the wine is only in brief
contact with the skins,
the concentrated pigment of the source
grape—Montepulciano—produces
an uncommonly deep shade of pink. Moreover, its
flavors are far more demonstrative
than those of most rosés. The Valentini
bottling, of course, takes this
cherry red into another spectrum altogether….
Edoardo Valentini 2005 Cerasuolo Rosato $79.95
Ltd. Production Brunello
Poggio di Sotto
[pohj-jo dee sot-to]
Some producers you just keep coming back to, and
Poggio di Sotto’s sell-out
record places it at the top of IWM clientele’s
most wanted list. The ’99
Brunello is currently on its third installment and
we’ve just begun our
second round with the remarkable ’03
Rosso—an as-good-as-it-gets
molto version of Montalcino’s in-the-
meantime wine. At IWM events, this
label always emerges as a favorite—no
matter what it happens to be up
against in the tasting lineup.
Poggio di Sotto’s founder, Piero Palumucci,
thinks about numbers in
a different way…. Indeed, the production from
his 12 hectares (planted to vines) is extremely limited
(with the
’99 Riserva totaling
a mere 150 cases), as Palumucci rejects over half
the fruit cultivated, maximizing
his intense and demanding viticultural practices
(entailing a highly studied
approach to clonal selection, planting systems, and
vine density) through rigorous
pruning and an intense grape selection process.
Though ably assisted by renowned
consultant Giulio Gambelli (the eminent name
behind the most desired of Montalcino's majestic
stars—Soldera), Palumucci’s
perfectionist streak keeps him
at the helm of the cellar, a strikingly modern setting
that delivers a well-bred
Brunello of traditional character, achieved through
extended maceration in
wooden oak and aging in Slavonian oak barrels.
This is a modern classic that doesn’t redefine
Brunello, but rather,
endeavors to capture its historic spirit through
passionate artisanal labor
rather than branded formulas of success.
Poggio di Sotto
2000 Brunello di Montalcino $87.50
Poggio di Sotto 1999 Brunello di Montalcino $94.95
Poggio di Sotto's 2003 Rosso di Montalcino may very
well be Toscana's best value of the
moment—quite a claim to make, to be sure,
although the rate at which
our first offering of this Rosso sold out provides some
pretty convincing stats. While most producers are
releasing their 2004 Rossos, the muscle, fruit, and
tannins of this particular '03 make for a character that
surpasses not only nearly all of the 2004 Rossos, but
some of the 2001 Brunellos as well.
Poggio di Sotto
2003 Rosso di Montalcino $43.32
Poggio di Sotto 2002 Rosso di Montalcino $39.96
New Restaurant Announcements
B&B Ristorante & Piazza San
Marco: Las
Vegas
Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich have extended their award-winning
New York City–based Italian restaurant empire to the
other city that never sleeps—Las Vegas. B&B Ristorante
features the duo’s acclaimed blend of exquisite
Italian food and a casual elegance that “captures the
soul of an Italian grandmother dancing the tango with pop
rock hipsters.”
Mario’s signature dishes appeal to all
personalities—from the
classic to the adventurous. Specialties
include Mint
Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage and
Whole Grilled Branzino with Fennel, Gaeta
Olives,
& Lemon Oregano Jam.
B&B’s comprehensive wine list is
replete
with Bastianich signature
wines and selections representing every
region in
Italy, with
many of them available
by the quartino to promote rewarding
experimentation by both
the serious connoiseur and the novice. Many
of these
selections may be revisited through
Italian Wine Merchants.
In B&B’s
dining room, classical
old world charm meets the stylish appeal of
the Las
Vegas strip. Features include
Italian marble, dark maple wood, and lush
leather
banquets. B&B’s
luxurious ambiance is enhanced by music sourced
directly from Mario’s
personal collection, creating a signature
setting that blends Italian
culture and the festive celebrations for
which Las
Vegas is known.
Located just steps away from the world famous
Piazza
San Marco in the Venetian
Hotel is the duo’s second Vegas
venture—Enoteca San Marco. This
informal eatery is open throughout the day,
serving
casual Italian
fare such as homemade
salami, artisanal handmade gelato, panini, and
Batali's signature Italian specialties.
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