August
10, 2007
Solengo: Montalcino's Super-Tuscan
In This Issue
A Note from Sergio
The hills of Montalcino are overflowing with
Sangiovese, and it is in that
region that the most noble and delicate
grape—slow to mature, vulnerable to
humidity, extremely feminine
and elegant—best realizes its
potential,
in Brunello di Montalcino. So why, in an
area so
suited to Sangiovese, would
someone ever want to plant any other
varietal? One
answer is: To make Argiano
Solengo.
Argiano Solengo is a cuvee containing equal
parts
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
and Syrah, tended by the same winemaker
responsible for Sassicaia and Solaia
on the southern slopes that, to anyone
else, would
have seemed good only for
planting Sangiovese.
But luckily for all winelovers, the
Countess Cinzano and
her pioneering winemaker Giacomo Tachis had
other ideas. This label remains
among the fastest-selling wines I have ever
offered
at IWM. It's been
four years since I released
"Montalcino's Super
Tuscan" in a newsletter,
yet the status remains intact. It's that
rare wine that
almost everyone seems
to love—at once hedonistic and refined,
effortlessly harnessing the power
of its authoritative varietals while
maintaining its
Tuscan essence.
Today's offering is especially unique not
just because
of the instantly gratifying
2003 vintage, but because I'm presenting
the
wine in a vintage sampler that
includes three historic bottlings that until
now, I've held
back on: 1999, 2000,
and 2001. When my staff tried these wines,
everyone
had different experiences and different
favorites.
These are wines that evolve with aeration,
that win in
blind-tastings, and that get people
talking—I've
seen it happen time and again over the past few
years. They're true crowd-pleasers.
My best,
Sergio Esposito
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Sample Argiano's Majesty
When a Countess calls upon the winemaking
services of the likes
of Giacomo Tachis (Sassicaia, Tignanello,
Vigna
d'Alceo) and Sebastiano Rosa
(the nephew of Sassicaia’s Marchese
Incisa
della Rocchetta), you know something royal is
in the
works. And so it happened that in the year
1992, the
Argiano estate entered wine’s
nobility, as the revered Tachis and Rosa
collaborated
to produce wines that
satisfied the Countess Noemi Marone
Cinzano’s pleasure and desire to
command universal appeal through the Argiano
label. As the estate’s
noble lineage commenced production in the
1500s,
this storied estate certainly
possessed a pedigree rendering it worthy of
such
universal recognition that was to come.
While they began Argiano’s eminent
reign with Montalcino’s
traditional core pair (Brunello di
Montalcino and
Rosso di Montalcino), Tachis,
the eternal king of Super-Tuscans, crafted
a wine that
took Argiano into another
kingdom entirely—Solengo. Shortly
after its
1995 debut, Solengo—which,
aptly enough, means to go it
alone—became known as
“Montalcino’s Super-Tuscan.”
At present, Argiano’s wines are crafted by
Hans Vinding-Diers, who formally
succeeded Tachis in the 2004 vintage. While
Solengo initially represented a
blend of Sangiovese and Syrah, Tachis (who
crafted
Solengo from 1995 to 2003),
altered its composition with
’95’s
immediate successor, adding
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Subsequent
vintages realized further variations,
and Sangiovese lost its positioning
beginning with
the 2000 vintage.
Historic Solengo Sampler
We do not often present an e-Letter that is
dedicated
to the presentation
of one wine, much less in the context of a
special
case. Solengo, however,
with its royal background, star consultant
ties,
excellence in vintage after
vintage, and demand, merits such
distinguished attention.
This unprecedented vertical will enable
Solengo
enthusiasts to celebrate their
passion, while inciting the devotion of new
followers.
Discover why we’ve
singled Solengo out—“to go it
alone” and show its wonder
in the spotlight.
Vertical Sampler Includes:
Argiano 2003 Solengo $69.95
Argiano 2000 Solengo $89.95
Argiano 1999 Solengo $89.95
Solengo Vertical Sampler...$249.85*
*Free Delivery in Manhattan
Argiano 2003 Solengo
In the heat of this vintage, many great wines
were
pushed over
the edge of ripeness into a jammy,
alcoholic, rather
carried away state. Solengo,
however, finessed the torrid wave,
delivering its
signature concentration in
a slightly more extroverted style. It was
aided by a
sudden and dramatic drop
in temperature that occurred in early
September,
ensuring that the sugar-rich
grapes were aptly balanced by ripe tannins,
which
had initially displayed a
prohibitive austerity. While the 14%
alcohol level is
relatively high, it
is enveloped by a massive rush of intense
flavors—cassis, blackberry,
licorice, and succulent spices—and
achieving
seamless integration with
the wine’s structural components. The
extended finish allows you to remain
in this zone of heady proportions for an
overly
indulgent 45-second interval.
Each varietal component was fermented
individually
and the final blend—comprised
of equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and
Syrah—was aged for 15
months in French barrique.
Argiano 2003 Solengo $69.95
Argiano 2001 Solengo
The 2001 Solengo is the issue of a
consummate
season—a vintage that
many regard as realizing impeccable
balance
between ripe, generous fruit
and the structured profile of the
’99.
For a wine like Solengo, this
translates into a
pronounced and slightly
sweet nose of black cherry, spice, and
oak. The
palate offers commensurate
flavors in a highly concentrated
presentation, one
that will reveal its
individual layers with some cellar
time. The silky
tannins have a moderating
impact on the rigorous structure, which
attests to
the wine’s potential
for long-term aging. While drinking
superbly at
present, its profile calls for cellaring.
As is standard for the vinification regimen
of Solengo,
each grape was
macerated individually, followed by the
assemblage of the blend—Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah (33%
each). Aged in
new French oak barrique for
14 months, the ’01 Solengo was
bottled
unfined and unfiltered.
Argiano 2001 Solengo $89.95*
*This wine is currently unavailable.
Argiano 2000 Solengo
At first, this comes across as the sensual
member of
this Solengo offering—an
unabashed celebration of the wine’s
inherently decadent nature. A provocatively
ripe nose of black fruit is set off
by notes of spice, and the palate is wholly
in keeping
with the
expectations incited by
the nose, delivering copious amounts of
black cherry,
plum, cassis, and vanilla.
Yet, intriguingly, with some aeration, this
reveals
a decidedly more serious dimension—the
tannins display the first change,
becoming decidedly more prominent. The
fruit gets
somewhat darker, too, losing
its early-on lush quality and opening up a
virtual
spice box overlaying plum
and cassis. And the finish establishes its
credentials
as well—lengthening
in a satisfying manner and contributing to
the overall
impression of maturity
that patience yields. Thus, while it shares
the general
profile of the ’03,
its brief aging has enabled it to realize a
level of
complexity not yet attained
by its younger counterpart.
The 2000 is a blend of equal parts Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah (33%
each, with Petit Verdot providing the minor
remaining
contribution). It received
16 months of aging in French barrique,
followed by decanting and a brief
period of time in stainless steel prior to
bottling.
Argiano 2000 Solengo $89.95
Argiano 1999 Solengo
In a word—if pressed to capture this
profound
wonder through such limited
means—the 1999 is Killer. The nose
is distinctly “Italian,” going
so far as to suggest an affinity with
Brunello. While
undeniably Solengo in
its bravura nose of currant, cassis, red
cherry, vanilla,
wood, and spice,
its performance on the palate is decidedly
more
restrained, displaying eminent
structure in its assertive tannins and
surprisingly
lively acidity. Nevertheless,
the palate is full in body, offering a
distinctly
succulent dimension rooted
in flavors of black currant, spice, and
vanilla. The
seemingly neverending
finish extends this impeccable pleasure of
sophisticated tastes.
The ’99 is the last Solengo to include
Sangiovese—the blend comprises
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, and
Syrah—and receive partial
aging in first-passage barrique
(20%) as
opposed to wholly new. The maceration
time for each varietal reflected the
individual
grape’s character, and
aging was conducted over the course of a
15-month
period, followed by the fining
process (filtration was not conducted). The
wine
rested briefly in stainless
steel prior to bottling.
Argiano 1999 Solengo $89.95
Saturday Tasting Series
A Taste of Italy's Artisanal Producers
August 11, 1:00–3:00 pm, $50.00
Italy's artisanal producers craft
limited-production,
handcrafted expressions
that transcend familiar conceptions of
wine. They work in the realm
of individual passion, adhering to personal
ideologies that realize the most
profound and rigorously genuine expressions
of their
respective wines and varietals.
Engage your palate and mind with some of
Italy's
most legendary visionaries,
including the iconoclastic Gravner; Edoardo
Valentini,
the Lord of the Vines;
and Amarone's eternal master, Quintarelli.
A Taste of Italy's Super-Tuscans
August 18, 1:00–3:00 pm, $50.00
The term "Super-Tuscan" conjures words like
creativity, freedom, spirit and defiance.
What started as a viticultural experiment
carried out by
some of Toscana's most
prominent producers in defiance of DOC and DOCG
regulations in the early 70s
resulted in a movement that became a model for
expressing the qualitative potential
of terroir. Learn how Mario Incisa della
Rochetta and
Giacomo Tachis changed
enological history with the Super-Tuscan
movement,
creating a new IGT standard
that shaped the scope of modern winemaking
practices in Toscana.
Participants Receive:
Tasting Booklet that includes IWM’s
proprietary notes
Sampling of regional foods prepared
by IWM
chefs paired with each wine tasted
To learn more about IWM's Studio Regionale
Saturday
Tasting Series, or to
make a reservation over the phone, contact
Michann
Thompson at 212.473.2323,
x106.
Upcoming Vintage Babbo
For most of Babbo’s clients,
the fact
that the years 1996 to 2001
constituted an unprecedented series of
excellent
vintages is rather old hat.
Of these six years, three (1996, 1999, and
2001) are
considered “classics.” As
cool nights prefaced the approach of the
harvest, the
acid levels attained
aptly balanced Barolo’s firm tannins.
In the
other three vintages (1997,
1998, and 2000), warmer weather prevailed
towards
harvest—a condition
that usually causes the sugar development
of the
grapes to outpace the tannin
maturation of the grapes’ skins. This
condition results in wines with
more astringent tannins, albeit in the
context of a
richer palate.
While many in the wine media incited much
hype over
the 1997 and 2000 vintages,
we at Babbo have been blown away of
late by
the emerging quality of
the 1998s. We were particularly struck
during the last
Vintage Babbo event,
which profiled a string of vintages from
Bartolo
Mascarello. Of those tasted,
1998 is clearly the one to drink now, while
the 1997s
and 2000s resolve their
tannins and the tightly wound fruit of the
classic years
opens up.
On Monday, August 20, we invite you to join
us for a
close-up look at this
relative sleeper of a vintage through some
of the
consummate Barolo reference points, including
Giacomo Conterno Monfortino, Ceretto Bricco
Rocche,
Aldo Conterno Granbussia, Bruno Giacosa
Falletto,
Pio Cesare Ornato, Giuseppe Rinaldi
Brunate–Le Coste, and the very rare Paolo
Scavino Rocche dell’Annunziata.
The cost of the dinner is $395, inclusive of
wine,
dinner, tax, and gratuity. To book for this
event, please
email us at
babbovino@hotmail.com, or call 917.715.3599.
Osteria Mozza Opening
Osteria Mozza: Los Angeles,
California
On the heels of Mario Batali and partner Joseph
Bastianich’s restaurant
expansion west comes Osteria Mozza.
This
recently opened establishment
is situated next to Pizzeria
Mozza—the
team’s first Los
Angeles venture—at the corner of
Highland
and Melrose. In the heart of
this brand new Osteria rests Nancy
Silverton’s free standing Mozzarella
Bar—the pivot of her collaboration
with the
Batali and Bastianich team.
Silverton prepares a wide array of fresh
items from
Mozzarella, Burrata, Bocconcini,
Strachiatella and much more.
The full liquor bar is backed by a stunning
millwork
feature and spills into
ten high-top marble stands where guests can
gather
to enjoy items from the
Mozzarella Bar. The remainder of the menu
features
salumi, pasta, seafood and
meat dishes as conceived by Batali and
executive
chef Matt Molina; based on
their culinary adventures in New York and
Bologna.
The dining room features window seating
around the
perimeter and a main dining
room surrounded by a vast wine rack
display. This
room spills into an indoor/outdoor
room opening onto Melrose Avenue before
transitioning into the private dining
room that can seat up to forty.
Click for more on Osteria Mozza.
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