Posts Tagged ‘Emilia-Romagna’
oenopole trade tasting (4/4): La Stoppa
Located south of Piacenza in westernmost Emilia-Romagna, the 58-hectare La Stoppa estate was acquired by the Pantaleoni family in 1973. Daughter Elena took the helm in 1997. She and winemaker Giulio Armani (who also bottles wines under his own label, e.g. the Dinavolino reported on last spring) are both committed to organic farming and the notion that wines are made in the vineyard, not the cellar. The 30-odd hectares of vines are planted to local varieties as well as Bordeaux red varieties and Pinot Noir (in contrast to Tuscany, the international varieties have been in the region since the 1800s).
Since, after the blog’s name, La Stoppa Guttunio is the search string that most often brings visitors to this site (with gutturnio La Stoppa and Gutturnio also among the top ten search strings), I should mention that, as of the 2010 vintage, La Stoppa has stopped making Gutturnio per se. (I’d meant to ask Elena why during her visit but didn’t have the opportunity to speak with her.) Apparently, both the frizzante and still versions have been replaced by an IGT Emilia dubbed “Trebbiolo” (see below).
IGT Emilia 2010, Trebbiolo Rosso, La Stoppa ($18.90, 11896501)
Barbera (60%) and Bonarda (40%) from three- to 20-year-old vines. Macerated on the skins for about 20 days. Fermented with native yeasts. Made and matured in stainless steel vats. Unfined, unfiltered. A little sulphur is added on bottling. 13% ABV
Intriguing nose: red fruit and sweet spice with earthy and savoury aromas only just beginning to unfold. Medium-bodied. Ripe fruit over an inky substrate. Structured by acidity as much as tannins. Turns a little astringent on the finish. Intense, pure, long. Great QPR. A wine to buy by the case.
Colli Piacentini 2004, La Stoppa ($43.75, oenopole, NLA)
Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Merlot (40%) and other minor Bordeaux varieties such as Petit Verdot. Macerated on the skins for 30 days. Fermented with native yeasts. Aged 14 months in neutral barrels and two years in bottle. Unfined. 14.5% ABV.
Bordeauxish nose of cassis, tobacco, mint, graphite. Intense and heady. More extracted than your average Bordeaux but retaining an Old World balance and austerity. Ripe tannins and acidity provide structure, the layered flavours depth. Long, savoury, dark-minerally finish with cherry overtones.
IGT Emilia 2008, Ageno, La Stoppa ($39.00, oenopole, NLA)
Malvasia di Candia Aromatica (60%) with Ortrugo and Trebbiano. Macerated on the skins for 30 days. Fermented with native yeasts. Aged 12 months, 50% in stainless steel vats and 50% in used French oak barrels, followed by another two years in bottle. Unfined. Lightly filtered but no added sulphur. 13% ABV.
Complex nose: flowers, white and yellow fruit, citrus zest, spice and more. Pure, fresh and equally complex in the mouth: dried apricot, straw, minerals, herbs. The lively acidity, light airframe structure and rich extract give the wine a real presence. A light tannic astringency appears on the finish. In contrast to many other orange wines, as kaleidoscopic on the palate as on the nose. A treat.
IGT Emilia Malvasia Passito 2008, Vigna del Volta, La Stoppa ($51.00/500 ml, oenopole, NLA)
Malvasia di Candia Aromatica (95%) and Moscato (5%). The grapes are partially dried on sheets and pressed in a wooden press. Aged ten months in French oak barrels and two years in bottle. 13% ABV.
Fragrant nose: raisiny and candied but fresh. Sweet but not saccharine, rich but not heavy. Honeyed fruit flavours are layered over a savoury, dry substrate. Long finish with just a hint of bitterness and astringency. Another treat.
A quartet of naturals
Among the many attractions of SAT’s Foodlab is the short, constantly changing selection of natural wines, most of them available by the glass. (Among the few downsides of SAT’s Foodlab is the stemware: heavy and small, meaning the glasses are filled nearly to the brim and allow no room for the wine’s bouquet to develop.) We ordered four to accompany this week’s excellent Russian Easter menu, the high points of which were a clear borscht, a coulibiac of halibut and salmon and the dessert, a slice of dry, cardamom-perfumed cake and a slice of a pressed cheese obelisk garnished with candied fruit and almonds.
Bourgogne Aligoté 2010, François Mikulski (c. $25, Vini-Vins)
100% Aligoté from two Meursault parcels planted in 1929 and 1948. Initially muted (possibly the fault of the glasses). The nose’s white peach, quartz and hint of lemon are joined by green fruit (gooseberry?) in the mouth. Acid-bright but not sharp; indeed, it sits softly on the palate. Finishes on a faintly lactic, ashy, leafy note. Not profound but wonderfully drinkable.
Burgenland 2009, Blauburgunder, Meinklang ($25.30, La QV)
100% biodynamically farmed Blauburgunder (aka Pinot Noir). Extroverted nose: berries, beet, cola, earth and smoke. Medium-bodied (13%) and intensely flavoured, the ripe fruit sharing the stage with spices, slate and dried wood. Fluid texture. Light, firm tannins turn astringent on the finish. A vibrant Pinot Noir, not at all Burgundian yet very true to the grape. A winner.
Cour-Cheverny 2009, La Porte Dorée, Domaine Philippe Tessier (c. $28, Vini-Vins)
100% Romorantin from 40- to 90-year-old vines; 85% is aged ten months in demi-muids and barriques. Dry but lightly honeyed. Round, supple and fluid. Acid blossoms on the deliciously sourish finish. Minerals galore and a preserved lemon aftertaste. Pure, clean, long. A beauty.
Colli Piacentini 2010, Dinavolino, Azienda Agricola Denavolo ($27.04, Primavin)
Hazy bronze to the eye. Wafting nose of honey-candied yellow fruit, spice and a whiff of musk (not knowing anything about the wine, I wrote “Malvasian,” so it’s true to type). Quite intense on the attack – fruity, grapey, semi-sweet – it downshifts radically on the mid-palate, fading and drying to rainwater and minerals with a hint of tannins. Intriguing.
Quebec agent Primavin provides the following information on the wine, which is penned by the owner-winemaker, Giulio Armani, who is also the winemaker at La Stoppa:
Located at 500 m high, the vineyard DENAVOLO, named after the mountain upper the cellar and the locality where the vineyard is planted, spreads over 3 hectares in the Colli Piacentini area.
The vines are grown on limestone soil, the climate is hot and dry, but at this altitude, the temperature fluctuations between night and day are more than 10°C, explaining that freshness and minerality in the wines.
We only use local grapes : 25% Malvasia di Aromatica Candia, 25% Ortrugo, 25% Marsanne grapes and another not identified yet.
DINAVOLO and DINAVOLINO are produced as if they were red wines, the grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and then stay several months in skin maceration to release in the wine all the aromatic and phenolic components which are in the skin. The wines present a beautiful orange colour, a mineral and lightly flowerish nose, the mouth is well-structured with tannins and a good length.
The main difference between both cuvée comes from the location of the grapes in the vineyard. To produce DINAVOLINO, I selected grapes only located in the downer part of the hill, those grapes keep more acidity and the wine produced is completely different, freshner, younger and more aromatic.
Quick tastes
Short notes (from memory) on small pours of three new arrivals.
Not every 2009 white Burgundy is heavy on tropical fruit and light on acidity. Case in point: the Bourgogne Vézelay 2009, La Piécette, Domaine de la Cadette ($22.70. 11589691). Almost shockingly brisk, tingling with minerals and finishing on a tart note. Grabs you by the palate and doesn’t let go. Was served over-chilled; it might well come across as richer, less citric and bracing if warmer. Whatever. I like.
The Rubicone IGT 2010, Alta Marea, San Valentino ($17.55, 11579994), a blend of Chardonnay (80%) and Trebbiano (20%) that’s aged in stainless steel tanks, was rounder and denser on entry, the fruit sweeter but also a little blander (I guessed it was 100% Trebbiano), the background flavours tending to straw rather than minerals, the acidity present but not electrifying. About halfway through, it did a quick dissolve into rainwater. Probably not done any favours by being tasted after the Piécette but enjoyable enough.
The nose of the Vosne-Romanée 2008, Les Champs Perdrix, Bruno Clair ($86.25, 00880534) couldn’t be more Burgundian: red berries with hints of forest floor, beet, cola and burning leaves. On the palate, the wine’s poise, purity, structure, oak treatment and length leave no doubt as to its thoroughbred status. And yet the fruit is nearly devoid of sweetness and not revealing much depth, the tannins are almost too firm, the finish is way smoky. Obviously in need of time to resolve and integrate but not quite making a believer out of me, especially at that price.
La Stoppa’s 2009 Gutturnio
Colli Piacentini 2009, Gutturnio, La Stoppa ($19.40, 12 bottles/case)
A blend of organically farmed Barbera and Bonarda. Fermented with native yeasts.
So intriguing. The nose is unlike any other: hay loft, old leather-bound books, dried beef, turned earth exposed to the sun for a while, black tea leaves and a hint of barnyard against a gossamer backdrop of red fruit stewed with spices. (If it’s not obvious, I’m grasping for descriptors.) The first sip brings a surprise: a sparkling tingle. Judging by the label, this isn’t the estate’s frizzante cuvée that bears the same name but it almost could be. Exceedingly dry yet light and fleet on the palate: acid galore, a fluid texture, light and raspy-bordering-on-rustic tannins and a long sour-fruity finish, all lifted by that spritz. Lingering dried wood (or is it lightly roasted coffee?) and faint astringency. You’d never suspect it was 13.5% ABV.
The fruit sweetens and the carbon dioxide diminishes as the wine breathes.
Cries out for salumi, though it’d also be great with spaghetti with pesto rosso, grilled sausages or just about anything in tomato sauce. A private import from oenopole, and it looks like they’ve got some left.
Brett happens 