Basta Parliamo di Vino Ora

With all of the politics and red tape surrounding wine these days, it's easy to lose track of a pure love for the juice itself. It has been a while since the last time I actually wrote something about WINE - real wine, not just the idea of it. So, I guess it's time to do so again.
I'd like to start by touching a few sensitive subjects; first, that winemaking is not an exact science; there are a lot of options in the wine world and most of the time one option does not exclude the other. Exemplary of this is the concept of style: specifically, modern style or traditional style. You can favor one over the other or like both for different reasons, but there are certainly great wines in both categories.
I experienced this conundrum on Monday when I met up with some friends at Il Posto Accanto and opened up a bottle of La Fiorita Brunello Riserva 2001, Domaine Dujac Vosne Romanee Les Beaumont 1997 and Diesel Farm Nero di Rosso 2003.
The Burgundy was traditional, while the Pinot Noir from Diesel Farm was more modern and the La Fiorita, somewhere in the middle. So we started decanting the Brunello, uncork the other two bottles and sipped some Cascina Morassino Barbaresco 1996 to begin.
The Barbaresco was also in a somewhat more modern style, displaying a darker color although there were no flavors of wood. It was still vibrant and powerful, the acidity was markedly high, giving the the sign of a still-long aging potential; once again, a great example of why the 1996 vintage for Nebbiolo from Piedmont was one of the greatest ever experienced. Next it was La Fiorita's turn. 2001 was an exceptional year for the Brunello, so much so for La Fiorita, in fact, that they only bottled the Brunello Riserva, which implies one additional year of maturation before being released to the market. Sangiovese, like Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo is a thin-skinned grape that is highly subject to weather and diseases, and thereby grows well only in specific conditions and altitudes. In Montalcino, those conditions are met and Sangiovese from there can reach incomparable complexity an length. La Fiorita showed us exactly how; elegant on the nose and in the palate, fresh violet and cherry scents were bursting out of our goblets; very drinkable and perfumed with just enough minerality to make us think it akin to an elegant women with little to no makeup. This was a treat - I associate most Brunello to an old grumpy farmer with coarse hands and very little will to talk, translating to wines that have big shoulders (tannins structure) where layers of flavors sit and rest, releasing their perfumes a little bit at a time. Our lady instead was polite enough to answer our questions but still maintaining a secret and mysterious aura, and the nectar was sort of a Mata Hari. From one feminine beauty to another, the third bottle we poured was the Domaine Dujac, a fabulous example of Burgundian style. Light red color with purple reflections, and a nose with firm violet and minerals, full in the palate again with violet, wild strawberries with the addition of a herbal note of thyme and green pepper, again very perfumed, elegant and feminine. The last bottle of the night was the Nero di Rosso 2003, Pinot Noir from Marostica in Veneto, bottled by Diesel Farm, owned by Renzo Rosso (also the founder of Diesel Apparel). With an intense nose (2003 was a very hot year) and dark shades of purple, it seemed to be a monster wine at first glance. Incredibly, on the palate the wine was very well-structured and maintained elegance and drinkability, thanks to the acidity the wine retained despite the hot weather. Little flavors of wood at the beginning were detectable over a strong bed of herbal spices scents; the wine changed a lot in the glass, the vanilla flavors left giving space to long violet aromas.
Another fun night was about to end, with an orgy of flavors still in my mouth - it was, as often happens with good company, wines and food, a great experience because in the end, we remember that the wine world is not based in exact science. It needs the atmosphere to be complete, creating different experiences in different contexts.
Buona Bevuta a Tutti