Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is, unquestionably, one of the leading red wine regions of Italy -- and the world -- but defining a typical Brunello is a challenge. According to Monty Waldin (Brunello: The many crus of Montalcino, Decanter, 3/19/15), 30 - 35% of Brunello is sourced from the cooler grounds north of the town (yielding paler Brunellos) with the remainder from the warmer south (darker colored, more overtly fruity, savory wines). Of course, producers can blend grapes from the two areas to ameliorate stylistic differences.
In an effort to gain an even finer definition of the wines, a sub-zoning proposal (spearheaded by wine writer and educator Kerin O'Keefe) -- with the nomenclature and relative characteristics indicated in the chart below -- has been advanced.
But all hands are not on board with this proposal. According to Waldin, "Vineyards zoned in less highly regarded spots may be penalized by the media and then by the marketplace." In a blog post , Stefano Cinelli Colombini, owner and winemaker at Fattori dei Barbi, states that sub-zoning only works on paper, given the diversity in Montalcino vineyards. In a response to one of the comments on his post he notes that, in mapped areas, soil and geography stays constant but weather and things associated with humans are changeable. "You cannot make a reliable map of quality areas," he says. Stefano foresees journalists creating a ranking between zones and it being very difficult to change these down the road "because important economic interests will be involved."
Waldin proposed a different path forward for those seeking to comprehend Montalcino's rich vinous diversity: "... break the region down into its constituent parts by familiarizing oneself with Brunellos from single vineyards or single terroirs." And he has provided the roadmap summarized in the table below.
Il Palazzone
Il Palazzone, according to Laura Grey, translates to the Big Palace and is often used to describe any big house. In the picture below, the structure to the far right is the Il Palazzone of relevance to us. "This is the oldest building on the property and gave its name to the estate." Though overlooking the property, the house is not owned by the estate.
As it relates to wine, Il Palazzone is a boutique Brunello di Montalcino producer located high-up on Montalcino hill and sourcing fruit from the vineyards surrounding the property (Due Porte), as well as two additional vineyards in the Castelnuovo dell'Abate sub-region of Montalcino.
Il Palazzone was originally an olive grove. It was bought by one Mario Bollag in the 1980s. The olive trees suffered dramatically in the freeze of 1984 (In a contemporary LA Times article, a grower named Franco Cencioni said "of the 1300 olive trees in his nearby grove in Montalcino, 80% show no sign of life.") so Bollag took them down and began planting vines instead. Bollag sold Il Palazzone to Richard Parsons, former CEO of Time Warner, in 2000. At that time the estate owned the 1.5 ha La Due Porte vineyard. In 2004 the estate added another 2.5 ha of vineyards with the purchase of two plots in the Castelnuovo dell' Abate subzone. The difference in terroir between the upper and lower elevation vineyards are demonstrated annually by a two-week-earlier blossoming and veraison of the latter over the former. The characteristics of the various Il Palazzone vineyards are shown in the figure below.
Montalcino as an excellent environment for grape-growing: (i) there is a cooling seabreeze in the afternoon and (ii) the diurnal temperature variation aids in acid retention and flavor development.
 |
| Looking out over the Due Porte Vineyard |
The estate is, by and large, organic but is not certified as such. Farming practices are guided by a set of principles that the estate refers to as Responsible Agriculture. The elements and characteristics of the system are shown in the table below.
Table 1. Il Palazzone Responsible Agriculture System (Source: Il Palazzone)
| Element | Characteristics |
| Pesticides |
|
| Cultivate biodiversity |
|
| Fertilization | Organic fertilizers in the vineyard
|
| Support posts | Locally grown chestnut for support posts - Do not need to be treated with preservatives |
The vine training system employed is cordone speronato, along with some experiments with Guyot. Vine density ranges between 5000 and 6000 vines/ha. The vineyards are dry-farmed. Yield and fruit quality are managed via (i) a green harvest and (ii) leaf pulling two to three weeks prior to harvest. Yields are less than 5000 kg/ha.
In response to my query regarding the Il Palazzone winemaking philosophy, Laura stated thusly:
We hope to have wines that show an authentic expression of vintage; that incredibly complex set of moving natural variables intersecting with luck and human decisions. My expectation is that each wine should embody weather in the glass. I also consider the quality of our wines entirely dependent on our work during the year in the vineyard ... That said, of course our wines will have a common thread -- as easily identified as siblings to their parents.Optimal harvest time is determined by a combination of factors to include weather, sugar and acid levels, taste, and color. Viticultural and enological decisions are within the purview of Maurizio Castelli, the estate's consultant winemaker.
Following a manual harvest, the grapes are brought into the reception area where they are sorted and destemmed. They are then fermented/macerated in large Slavonian oak vats for 18 to 20 days with frequent pumpovers and delestage. Each plot is vinified separately using indigenous yeasts.
Malolactic fermentation and aging are also conducted in Slavonian oak. The wines are racked depending on the vintage and development. "There are no hard and fast rules since we try to interpret each vintage as it presents itself." The wines are never fined but are filtered in the years where the vintage dictates such.
The estate ages its regular Brunello for 4 years. A Riserva is produced in the years when there is a perception that "the vintage will be considerably improved by a further wood aging." To date Riservas have been declared in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006, and 2010. The Brunello spends 4 months in bottle as a Consorzio requirement but the estate is always happy with more time.
The Brunello is a blend of the three terroirs. Blending is effected just prior to bottling and is generally done in one of the vats if the volume is below 50 HL (the size of their largest vat). The contribution of each vineyard to the blend is vintage-dependent but, in general: Capa contributes fruit, sugars, and puissance; Vecchia gives minerality; and Due Porte gives aromatic complexity and elegance.
Le Due Porte Vineyard
Laura describes the vineyard thusly on her blog:
The Le Due Porte vineyards are the ones that surround the cellar, north-west of Montalcino, less than 1km from the town itself. The vineyards are sloping and the exposition is East/West. The soil type is pietraforte arenaria, a type of local,sandstone also known as Alberese. There is also clay and sand-loam and a significant presence of rock fragments (scheletro). The vineyards were re-planted in 2004 and vineyard density is circa 4,500 vines per hectare.
Le Due Porte is 540 meters above sea level. Historically high-altitude vineyards in Montalcino were considered with a mix of scorn and pity. Climate change has reversed this and the position of Le Due Porte has become a privileged one. Budbreak is later here, often avoiding issues with late frosts and snow. Ripening is slow and constant. The soil profile preserves humidity; important when making a wine such as Brunello that does not contemplate irrigation. Alberese has high levels of calcium carbonate which favors acidity, aided and abetted by the slower ripening and later harvest due to the exposition and altitude. We generally pick Le Due Porte as much as two weeks after our vineyards in Castelnuovo dell'Abate and are often amongst the last in Montalcino to harvest. The grapes develop organoleptic complexity from that extra hang-time and from the pronounced difference between day and night temperatures. In fact the altitude guarantees extreme thermal excursion even in hotter years which is wonderful for aromatic development.
Le Due Porte is 540 meters above sea level. Historically high-altitude vineyards in Montalcino were considered with a mix of scorn and pity. Climate change has reversed this and the position of Le Due Porte has become a privileged one. Budbreak is later here, often avoiding issues with late frosts and snow. Ripening is slow and constant. The soil profile preserves humidity; important when making a wine such as Brunello that does not contemplate irrigation. Alberese has high levels of calcium carbonate which favors acidity, aided and abetted by the slower ripening and later harvest due to the exposition and altitude. We generally pick Le Due Porte as much as two weeks after our vineyards in Castelnuovo dell'Abate and are often amongst the last in Montalcino to harvest. The grapes develop organoleptic complexity from that extra hang-time and from the pronounced difference between day and night temperatures. In fact the altitude guarantees extreme thermal excursion even in hotter years which is wonderful for aromatic development.
The Wine
This wine is a winner; the best of the Il Palazzone products that I have tasted to date.
Elegant on the nose. Red fruit, baking spices, beeswax, creme brûlée, and wet tobacco.
Elegant and restrained on the palate. Focused, with red fruit, tar, tobacco, beeswax, burnt orange, and green herbs on the palate. Minerality evident. Late-arriving, palate-coating tannins. As the coating recedes, a tamarind character comes into focus. Long, fine finish.
*********************************************************************
It has come to my attention that Il Palazzone has purchased to plot above Le Due Porte. On the basis of the performance of this Cru offering, I would not be surprised to see an additional one in the future.
©Wine -- Mise en abyme
No comments:
Post a Comment