Stroppolatini Pignolo 2009, 2010 and 2011 Friuli, Italy

Stroppolatini's court yard reflects Italian sense of beauty.

Stroppolatini produces 100% Pignolo

While Pignolo is the most glorious of Friulian local black grapes, it is also the toughest one to handle. It produces very low yields (only 50% of the yields of Merlot), is messy to work with due to its staining pigments, and demands extensive maturation to show its potential. It is no surprise that producers tend to be slightly apprehensive about planting Pignolo, and it is not widely produced in its home area. On top of that, drinking and selling young wines have always dominated the Friulian wine culture. Hence, Pignolo has been either drank too young, while astringent and still hiding its aromatic potential, or it has been ”cut” with other grapes to soften it, but also loosing its varietal beauty in the process.

Fortunately, there are exceptions to these rules: Stroppolatini produces 100% Pignolo. At the moment they sell out the 2010 vintage, and still, Federico Stroppolatini considers the wine to be very young - it is only starting to show its potential.  We were privileged to be able to vertically taste three consecutive vintages of Stroppolatini Pignolo, and to experience in practise the evolution of this exceptional wine.

 

Stroppolatini Pignolo 2011

This wine being still in the process of maturation, Federico kindly offers us tasting samples straight from the barrel. The intensely deep ruby red colour and the finesse of the aromatics on the nose immediately communicate how very big this wine is. The aromas are different from anything I have smelled before: there are wild forest berries, mostly red berries such as wild raspberries and cranberries, and an elegant and very feminine perfume aroma. This aroma of face powder or talcum powder is extraordinary, and in my experience completely unique to Pignolo. The red berry and powdery nuances are supported by deeper red, almost black fruit character of plums, and black pepper spice.

What about the palate then? Well, as expected, this young Pignolo wine is definitely aggressive on the palate. Drying and mouth pinching tannin combined with bold acidity promises aging potential for years and decades to come. Also the concentrated fruit and well-integrated alcohol promise a glorious future for this wine. However, drinking it now would be utter waste of a beautiful product, because its structure is only starting to develop and its flavour potential is still mostly hidden. Nevertheless, this young wine has an intense and long finish that lingers for minutes.

Stroppolatini Pignolo 2010.

Stroppolatini Pignolo 2010

Although vintage 2010 can drink now, Federico thinks it would benefit from many more years of aging to show its best qualities. I absolutely agree. Compared to the 2011 vintage, this wine shows more raspberry fruit as well as more development. Tertiary aromas of cedar and tobacco are intertwined with the delightful powdery, floral pignoloish perfume. What a bouquet! While the tannin still dominates on the palate, there is now more roundness to its quality. But make no mistake; there is still definite muscle and aggression to the structure! And the finish, oh, the finish. A complex aromatic sequence keeps opening up for ages. 

Stroppolatini Pignolo 2009.

Stroppolatini Pignolo 2009

This wine is where the potential of this grape is truly revealed. It is an outstanding wine. The intense colour is now already turning towards garnet, and the nose has more fruity, raspberry intensity, nevertheless remaining still very floral, powdery and elegantly feminine. Federico brings up the peculiar way Pignolo typically ages: while wines usually become less and less fruity with age, Pignolo appears to reveal its fruit more and more! Somehow its berry aromas are liberated while the tannin becomes softer. 

This is absolutely true. I find 2009 vintage to be even more abundant in raspberry and cranberry flavours compared to the previous wines. Notably, the palate is now showing a beautiful balance. The plentiful tannin has become integrated and remarkably rounder, only slightly pinching the tongue. I can only imagine where this wine would go in ten years of time: it would probably become powdered raspberry velvet supported by a cascade of developed aromas. Already now, the aftertaste is exceptional. I greatly enjoy the paradox this wine offers: on one hand it is feminine and elegant in its flavours, on the other hand it is shamelessly powerful and tannic. Pignolo is an iron princess!

Alberto Voerzio La Serra 2010 Barolo DOCG, Italy

Alberto Voerzio La Serra 2010.

Wine review

5 of 5 stars

An outstanding wine

In most cases, Nebbiolo’s colour shows fading relatively early. However, allowing long traditional maceration results in an abundance of colour extraction, which is here reflected by an intensely deep ruby colour. What follows is a pronounced flowery bouquet. Elegant rose and violet perfume is supported by slight vanilla and toast aromas from modernist use of new French oak. Layers of dark cherry, herbal, dried fruit and cedar aromas complete the fascinating, etherial and bold nose and invite to explore this La Serra cru Barolo further.

For a Barolo this young you would expect to be greeted by somewhat tight tannins. Although they are very abundant and mouth-filling, there is pleasantness to the tannins already. High acidity balances the high alcohol of this structured and concentrated wine. There is plenty of fruit and, already now, a complex aromatic profile. The aromas of cherries, dark berries, roses and cedar form an enjoyable perfumatic lightness that is beautifully supported by the muscularity of the acid structure. A long and nuanced cherry finish hints towards truffles and tar.

Optimally, I would give this wine plenty more years (or decades) to age as it has a wonderful aging potential due to its structure and fruit. Still, its wonders are evident already now, in case you are in a hurry to get in touch with a heavenly Nebbiolo.

Should you enjoy this superb wine at the dinner table, the optimal pairing would resemble its aromatic profile and elegant, yet powerful style. Piemontese cuisine gives you an idea: game, mushrooms, truffles and hard cheeses. Sipping to this wine by itself vino da meditazione style would be at least an equally gratifying approach.

A powerful, yet elegant and complex wine reflecting of its terroir. Highly recommended.

Info in a nutshell

Price examples:

DKK 349 (EUR 50) webshop Piemontevine.dk

(Ships worldwide, please enquiry via email first)
DKK 900 at restaurant Fiskebaren, Copenhagen, Denmark

Country and region: La Serra, La Morra, Barolo DOCG, Italy

Grape: Nebbiolo 100%

Alc vol: 14,5%

Producer: Alberto Voerzio

Background

When looking for value in Barolo, your strategy is to turn away from the names that have become brands. Instead, I suggest you approach skilled and small - often young - producers that are now becoming rising stars. Amongst them is Alberto Voerzio, a young winemaker from La Morra whose organic vineyard farming and combination of modern and traditional Barolo winemaking techniques are influenced by his famous Barolo superstar cousin Roberto Voerzio. The secrets behind Alberto’s characterful Barolos are very low yields, long traditional fermentations with tight temperature control and two year aging in 25% new French oak, the rest 75% of the barriques being used up to the third passage. Tending to the vineyards as well as the vinification process are completely organic. No commercial yeasts, enzymes or activators are added and only minimum amount of sulphur is used. The wines are bottled unfiltered.

The vintage of 2010 was exceptional for Barolo. Optimal weather conditions allowed to produce wines with fine acid structure, plenty of fruit and complexity of aromas. Alberto Voerzio’s La Serra is a brilliant example of the high potential of this particular vintage.

Bressan Merlot 2003, Venezia Giulia IGT, Italia

Bressan Merlot 2003.

Wine review

5 of 5 stars

An outstanding wine

Here we have an outstanding wine. A clear ruby colour is followed by an extraordinary bouquet. First there are raspberries, cranberries, blueberries and blackberries and floral aromas of violets. The second impression brings in developed aromas of sweet spices, cedar wood and amber. Finally, there is oriental perfume that reminds me of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night. The entirety on this pronounced nose is etherial, even mystical as the layers of aromas open one after another.

When tasting, the story of the striking bouquet continues as its aromas are repeated seamlessly on the palate. I'm astonished by the etherial mouthfeel that echoes the bouquet as the wine glides on the palate. There is feeling of fluttering silk. The medium body is well balanced with high acidity and developed, round and plentiful tannins. A very pleasant cranberry after taste lingers for a long while. 

This wine, in my opinion, ought to be meditated. I wouldn't necessarily combine it with food due to its delicate aromatic complexity that would easily be overpowered by food. However, if you want to drink this wine over dinner, I would suggest high quality roast beef with vegetable pure. Due to its high acidity, this wine could also be combined with acidic dishes without becoming flat, e.g. Italian tomato based recipes.

Complex, integrated and elegant. A truly divine wine.

Info in a nutshell

Price examples:

EUR 28,50 at Enoteca Ronchi webshop

DKK 235 (EUR 31) per bottle at Vinbar Terroiristen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Country and region: Italia, Venezia Giulia IGT, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Isonzo

Grape: Merlot 100%

Alc vol: 12,5%

Producer: Bressan

Background

Bressan Merlot is made by Fulvio Bressan, a vintner from Isonzo in Friuli, Northern Italy. Bressan family has owned this land since the 16th century, and made wine since 1726, now counting the 9th generation of wine makers. The vineyards are on the riverside of Isonzo. Their soil consists of sediments and has high minerality, including high levels of iron.

Fulvio Bressan is a character. His wine making philosophy is all about terroir. The priority for him is to be fully responsible for the land he has inherited, which means that he is brutally honest in his vineyard care and wine making techniques. Practically all work at the vineyards is done manually. No pesticides are used, no irrigation, no yeasts and no chemicals are added to the wine (not even sulphites). However, the idea is not necessarily to produce organic wines. Instead, the logic is to be as terroir driven as possible, so that the wine would convey these vines and this land in particular. Consequently, if on a given year under these circumstances the grapes don’t reach high quality, then no wine is produced. This results in Bressan producing 0 to 40000 bottles of wine a year. Nature gives, nature takes. It is as simple as that.

Fulvio and Nereo Bressan themselves consider the vintage of 2003 amongst the best for Bressan winery. The Merlot of 2003 was grown on 50 years old vines. It has high extraction levels due to long maceration. Bold tannins and ample fruit with high acidity give this wine an excellent aging potential.