Liguria da Bere / Liguria to Drink

Every year at the end of June La Spezia hosts the Liguria da Bere, 'Liguria to Drink', event on it's streets.  This year the Wine Anarchist participated once again, as he happened to be on a brief stay at home during his travels (home being 20km from La Spezia).  At this event Liguria showcases the wines it has to offer, as well as some producers who muscled their way in from neighbouring regions of Lunigiana in Northern Tuscany as well as some intruders from other nearby places.

Liguria is the banana-shaped coastal region of Italy in the north-west of the country bordering France.  It's long and narrow and dominated by coastal mountains.  The region is roughly divided in two, with the port city of Genoa separating the two parts.  In wine terms Vermentino is the unifying factor, with this white grape grown on both sides of the divide.  To the west though, another grape variety, related to Vermentino makes interesting whites called Pigato.  Red wines are also made here from local varieties Ormeasco and Rossese.  The eastern part on the other hand is influenced by nearby Tuscany and makes pre-dominantly whites from Vermentino, often blended with Albarola and Bosco as well as some Sangiovese based reds.  The most famous DOC of eastern Liguria is the Cinque Terre, which is also a popular tourist destination.

We started our tasting with one of the much under-represented western Ligurians with the wines of the Azienda Gualtieri.  Unfortunately they didn't have a card with their details on them, nor do they seem to have an internet presence.  However their wines were very pleasant indeed, especially their reds from Ormeasco.  Here are the notes:

• Pigato 2012: medium straw colour; nice sweet herbal aromas , floral and fresh; the palate had a pleasant tingling sensation with typical notes of white pepper; a little short on the finish perhaps.
• Vermentino 2012: pale straw, aromas of yeast and fresh bread; softer on the palate with minerally, elegant, racy notes, which seemed almost Riesling-like.  Very good indeed.
• Ormeasco di Pornassio 'Sciac-Tra' 2012: a rosé made like a white wine from free-run juice; the colour was an almost obscene pink; the nose was not overly aromatic, but showed some dark cherry fruit; the palate was dry with a marked acidity, nicely understated but with a long quite full finish.  This is definitely more of a food wine than a sipping rosé.
• Ormeasco di Pornassio 2011: Medium purple in colour, paling at the rim; the nose displayed plums, farmyard and leather notes; the palate was warm, spicy and rich with a good tannic backbone, finishing long.  Very good
• Ormeasco di Pornassio Superiore 2011: Deep ruby colour with a pale rim; The nose showed intense aromas of eukalyptus, farmyard, dark chocolate, liquorice and mulberry; the palate was warm and rich with plenty of spice and almost espresso coffee-like characters.  The finish was huge.  This wine is still young, but its complexity is promising a serious wine years to come

For the eastern part the Wine Anarchist started with a Cinque Terre winery he hadn't previously come across the Societá Semplice Agricola Begasti based in the Cinque Terre village of Monterosso.  The DOC of Cinque Terre only allows for white wines made from Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino, which can be either fermented dry or made from semi-dried grapes to produce a sweet Sciaccetrá.  As the latter is rather expensive and produced in very small quantities, it is not normally freely available to taste, however the Wine Anarchist got to taste the dry white as well as a red, which can only be classed as a Vino da Tavola though.

• Cinque Terre DOC 2012: This white displayed earthy characters combined with delicate honey notes and some minerally notes; the palate had a touch of spice with warm fruit flavours of peach and almond and a warm, long, mouth-filling finish.
• Rosso Vino da Tavola: This is made from 50% Merlot, 30% Syrah and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The colour is medium ruby with a pale rim; the nose displays an open fruit reminiscent of elderberries and cherries as well as hints of vanilla; the palate was soft and spicy, with some pleasant and elegant fruit flavours.  

 Inland from the Cinque Terre in the Val di Vara is the village of Sesta Godano which is home to the Azienda Agricola Cornice.  This is not a traditional wine growing region, but this winery has made interesting wine since 2000, as well as olive oil and picking chestnuts and mushrooms.

 

 They use a mixture of local and international grapes to produce wines of real character:

• I Piani Liguria di Levante IGT Bianco 2012:  Made from Albarola and Sauvignon Blanc, the colour is medium straw; there are delicate aromas of gooseberry and hawthorn blossoms; on the palate there is more delicate gooseberry fruit combined with some herbal characters. The acidity is a little angular though.
• Pein 2011 Liguria di Levante IGT Rosso: A blend of 60% Merlot, 35% Syrah and 5% Ciliegiolo, the colour is a deep ruby; the nose displays dark cherries cobined with forest-like damp leave characters; the palate is rich and spicy with some lovely spice and a touch of spice and herbal notes on the finish.  A lovely and rich wine.
• The Imara 2011 is grown on a higher altitude near the village of Zignago at 500m asl on clay soils.  The blend consists of mostly Merlot with a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon and the local Pollerá.  The colour is deep ruby to almost opaque, the nose was big rich and spicy with underlying dense fruit; the palate was deep, rich and long with hints of chocolate.  This is not your typical soft Merlot, but a real hunk of a wine.  Great wine of real character!

 The 'home DOC' of the Wine Anarchist is the Colli di Luni, which comes in Vermentino, straight Bianco (Vermentino plus other grapes) and Rosso (Sangiovese plus other grapes).  As The WA already knows this area well and should write a separate blog post sometime, he did come across a winery he hadn't known before, the Casa del Frate.  Whilst their speciality is olive oil and renting out holiday apartments on the the pretty island of Palmaria at the entrance to the Gulf of La Spezia, they also produce a little wine at their vineyards in Masignano di Arcola, just around the corner to where the Wine Anarchist himself owns some land.  Their big and full Vermentino Frascoforte 2012 (14% ABV!) displayed a pale greeny gold colour; the nose was big, rich and spicy with notes of gooseberry, whilst the palate was warm and rich, with plenty of acidity to balance the alcohol, finishing very long.  A big wine that could stand up to some serious food.

From the same village the winery of Mésuéto (Via Masignano, 61, 19021 Arcola, tel: 0187 987418) also produced a Vermentino Colli di Luni 2012.  This offering was pale gold in colour; the nose was rich and honeyed with a touch of clove-like spice; the palate carried on in the same vein with some nice apricot fruit and a soft finish.

Of course the Wine Anarchist said hello to his friends at Federici as well, but on this occasion only stopped for a quick glass and chat, as he already knew the wines well and there was so much more to taste.

There were quite a few representative of wineries from the Tuscan side of the Lunigiana, and as they always surprise with their characterful wines made from local varieties.  One of the Wine Anarchist's all-time favourite wineries of that region is the Fattoria Ruschi Noceti (Piazza della Republica, 1 54027 Pontremoli, tel: 0187 830153, e-mail: fr.ruschinoceti@gmail.com).  Here they produce seriously traditional wines from some weird and wonderful grape varieties of the region such as Pollerá, Duralla and Luagda.  Their approach is stubbornly anti-modern, making wines in old barrels designed for ageing and to be paired with the rustic local dishes.

• Marchesa Caterina Rosé IGT Val di Magra 2012: this deep salmon coloured rosé is made from 70% Pollerá plus a hotchpotch of other local varieties, which may or may not have names.  The nose is of water paints and strawberry and cream; the palate displays more of the same with some interesting herbal notes, a great balancing acidity and some good length.
• Otto Ottobre Bianco IGT Val di Magra 2011: This blend of the local Durella and Luadga grapes is so named, because it traditionally gets picked around the 8th of October, as both are very late ripening varieties.  The alcohol level usually ends up at around 15% and for a white it is capable to age really well.  The colour of ths offering was medium gold, whilst the palate was rich and honeyed with notes of spice and ripe autumn apples, balanced by some lively acidity; on the palate some residual sugar was evident, but all in all it was very well balanced displaying more of the characteristics of the aromas.  The finish was long.  A beautiful wine, that in the experience of the Wine Anarchist will age gracefully.  In fact he could not resist buying a magnum of the 2007, which he may open for a special occasion.  Watch this space! :)
• Pollera 2009 IGT Val di Magra: Made from 100% of what is arguably the most exciting grape variety of the region.  The colour was medium ruby, showing some garnet tinge on the edge; the nose and palate consistently are rich in warm herbal characters with notes of liquorice and elderberries; the palate has a big backbone and finishes rich and long.  A great wine, which does not easily fit into any category, but works really well with some wild boar for instance.
• Bigoncio 2011 IGT Val di Magra.  This is exactly the same wine as the Otto Ottobre, except the fermentation was finished early by fine filtration to result in a medium sweet wine with only 11.5% alcohol (with a further potential alcohol level of 3.5%).  This wine shows far more honeyed characters and some rich marzipan in addition to the flavour profile of the dry version..

Their neighbours in the town of Pontremoli, the Cantine Belmesseri (Via C.S. , Vignola di Pontremoli, tel: 335 7752116), have a more modern approach with a combination of local and international grape varieties on their just 1.6ha of vineyard.  They produce 3 different wines, all very nice.

• Caras Delicias Bianco IGT Toscana 2012:  This is a blend of 40% Vermentino, 20% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Durella and 20% Albirola, the colour is medium straw; the nose revealed fresh gooseberry notes as well as herbs such as nrosemary; the palate was fresh, yet rich with some nice yellow plum fruit with a long spicy finish.  A nice quite full wine, which do nicely with a creamy sauce.
• Belmesseri Rosso Toscana IGT 2010: A blend of 40% Merlot, 30% a mixture of unnamed local varieties, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, this offering had a deep ruby colour; on the nose there was some rich redcurrant fruit, a touch of spice and hints of milk chocolate; The rich fruit carried through on the palate, also incorporating some herbal notes.  A very attractive, lively, modern wine.
• Tafuri Rosso Toscana IGT 2010:  This blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Merlot, and 10% Pollerá has been aged for 8 months in French barrique.   This is a serious wine deeply coloured; the nose reveals intense herb and spice notes combined with liquorice and elderberry fruit; the palate is dominated by a big tannic backbone, supported by more of the rich fruit and a long chocolatey finish.  Great wine, but still needs a few years in bottle to come around and soften out a bit.

 From the town of Licciana Nardi in the Lunigiana hails Azienda Agricola La Vigna di Manolo Luchini (Loc. La Vigna, Licciana Nardi, tel: 0187 471187, e-mail: manololuchini@libero.it), a small organic producer.  The Wine Anarchist came across them a few years back, but they have gone up a step since then, even if the names of their wines are a little over-elaborate:

• Amore e Psyche Val di Magra IGT 2012: A blend of 40% Merlot, 60% local grape varieties, including Pollerá, the name does not need translating...  The colour was deep purple; the nose displayed some lovely ripe blackcurrant fruit; the palate was very clean and well defined with some more of that nice fruit balanced by some spice.  A well balanced, long and attractive wine.
• Diversamente dal Solito IGT Val di Magra 2012.  This translates as 'different from the usual', it is a blend of Syrah, Merlot and local grape varieties (the exact percentages were either not known, or the Wine Anarchist was too drunk, this being the last stand he stopped at).  Unfortunately it seems he was even too drunk to make notes either, but the wine is worth the inclusion for its name alone ;)

 The next edition of Liguria da Bere should be at the end of next June in the centre of La Spezia, if you happen to find yourself in the area and are curious about what Liguria has to offer.

Critical Wine Montaretto 2013

The Wine Anarchist has been to many wine events, fairs, tastings and such like during his long and illustrious career, but this particular event ranks amongst his favourites.  Each year over the Easter weekend the sleepy hillside village of Montaretto, above the seaside resort of Bonassola in the Province of La Spezia in Liguria livens up to the sound of music and the boisterous crowd attending the Critical Wine Fair.

The organisers, 'Terra e Liberta', have set out to give a platform to small wine producers, especially those who produce organic wines.  Many of the producers are in fact so small that they can't afford to get organic certification.  Some 30 producers from all over Italy have turned up for this year's event.

What the Wine Anarchist particularly likes about this event is the informality of it.  No pin-stripe suits or shirt ties in evidence anywhere as he was accustomed to in his days when he plied his trade in London.  Nooo, you are more likely to see jeans and dreadlocks at this event!  And much jolliness on the streets as people drank out of their glasses they were supplied with at the entrance.

...or failing that, simply straight from the neck:

...and the Wine Anarchist made new friends.  Here you can see him on the left of the picture:

As you can see the weather wasn't so good this year.  Easter Sunday was great, but we opted to go on Easter Monday, where plenty of alcohol was required to keep warm.

Anyway, whilst the WA was trying to elbow his way through the crowds he tried to keep up some pretence of professionalism and attempted to write some notes on the wines so as to be able to communicate some of them to his readers.  So here are some of my personal highlights (all the producers mentioned are organic):

Vignaioli di Maremma 'Il Cerchio'

 In 1988 Corinna and Valentino and their son Beniamino from Milan bought a 9 ha estate in the Maremma in southern Tuscany.  They started producing wine initially commuting between Milan and Capalbio, but after 4 years they moved south permanently to cultivate the land full-time and organically from the outset.   The wines they produce are impressive and well worth of note:

• Ansonica Costa dell Argentario DOC 2011 -  To some readers the Ansonica grape is better known as the Inzolia of Sicilian fame, but here it makes it's northern most appearance in the southern coastal strip of Tuscany as well as on the island of Elba.  This particular offering also contains 10% of Vermentino, which is ubiquitous along the whole Riviera coast.  The wine is quite full-bodied with a marked mineralilty.  Dried apricot fruit pervades the palate and lingers on a long, soft and warm finish.  It weighs in at a hefty 14% AbV.  On the stand it was sold at €7, which counts as a bargain to the WA for this great wine.
• Valmarina Sangiovese IGT Maremma Toscana 2010 - 85% Sangiovese with 15% Alicante.  Ruby colour with a good tannic structure underpinned with some lovely ripe bitter cherry fruit and a tart long finish.
• Tinto Alicante IGT Maremma Toscana 2010 - Alicante is the local name for what is known as Cannonau in Sardinia or Garnacha in Spain or Grenache in France.  The grape came to southern Tuscany from Spain in the 16th century.  This wine has a deep ruby colour with purple reflections.  The nose displays rich fruit of the forest characters.  It is full-bodied with a meaty texture and rich spicy notes.  The lovely rich fruit is underpinned by a good tannic structure.  Hugely intense and warm.  An excellent and unusual wine recalling the wines of the Priorat in Catalunya.  €11 a bottle.

There were a number of producers from Piemonte amongst them the family concern of the Cantine del Castello Conti in Maggiora in the province of Novara. This little family run business cultivates a mere hectare of vines in the little known DOC region of Boca just south of the Italian lake region.  Father Ermanno established the company in 1963.  After his wife gave birth to a third girl he despaired.  He needed a son to take over the business, but the 3 sisters proved him wrong.  Since they have taken over they created the new brand name of 'Rosso delle Donne'.  At the show they had 2 wines on offer:

• Colline Novaresi Nebbiolo DOC 2010 - A light orangey colour, light in body, but delicate and elegant with aromas and flavours of sweet and ripe wild strawberry but with a marked acidity.  The finish is long and dry. €8
• Boca DOC 2005 - This was my first wine from this DOC, but it brings to mind the wines of the Valtellina, displaying more elegance rather than the power of Barolo or Barbaresco.  The wine is made of 75% Nebbiolo, 20% Vespolino and 5% of Uva Rara, which is also known as Bonarda Novarese.  The colour is garnet red, showing it's age.  It has intense minerally caharcters, reflecting the volcanic soils on which it is grown.  The fruit is like the basic wine of sweet wild strawberries, much more intense.  The tannins are starting to integrate nicely and the acidity is in balance making this a really enjoyable elegant wine.  However at €23 a bottle it is also on the pricey side...

Also from Piemonte hails Lo Spaventapasseri ('The Scarecrow') in Mombaruzzo in the province of Asti.

I didn't taste all their wines (there's a limit on how much the Wine Anarchist can consume in a day...), but this was a selection of their wines:

• Vino Rosato da Tavola Pinot Nero 'Rugiada' - a lovely aromatic, delicate and fresh rosato with hints of rose petals on the nose, a tingling acidity and a long finish.  Only a Vino da Tavola, because Pinot Nero is not considered traditional in the region.
• Freisa d'Asti DOC 2011 - Freisa is one of the lesser known grape varieties of Piemonte producing wines of considerable tannins and acidity, like the Nebbiolo.  This offering has marked notes of eucalyptus and a big structure which needs some time to open up and come into it's own.  It's promising a good future though with some underlying sweet fruit and a long finish.
• Cento Filari 'Piasi' Appasito - This absolutely stunning dessert wine is made from semi-dried Barbera, Freisa and Aleatico grapes.  The colour is light ruby.  The nose reveals sweet chocolate raisins, sweet overripe strawberries and stewed plums.  It only weighs in at 13% AbV.  The palate is sweet without being cloying and balanced by a great acidity.  The texture is smooth as silk and some tannins further help to keep the wine in balance.  This would do very nicely with a a light chocolate dessert.

Also from Piemonte was La Corte Solidale from Berzano in the Province of Alba.  Unfortunately they don't seem to have a website, but they can be contacted on 
cortesolidale@gmail.com, 0131 806084.  I only tasted one of their wines (I was flagging a bit...), which was very good indeed, their Barbera 'Selvatico'.  Selvatico meaning wild, i.e. no additives at all and wild yeast fermentation.  This wine had real flinty, minerally characters and some wild berry and sweet strawberry fruit.  It showed great character and length and was good value at €7.

From the Abruzzo hailed Emanuele Rasicci from the aptly named Contraguerra (against war! where else in the world do they name a place 'Against War'?) in the province of Teramo

He wasn't really bored, this is just his photogenic pose...  He showed these wines:

• Bianco Controguerra DOC - Made from 50 Tebbiano d'Abruzzo, 25% Passerina and 25% Pecorino.  This wine is delicate with some earthy characters and dry flinty notes.  There is little fruit, but marked minerality
• Rosato Montepulciano, which was pleasant delicate and fresh
• 3 vintages of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane DOCG.  The Colline Teramane sub-region is considered the best part of the Abruzzo for Montepulciano and has therefore been elevated to DOCG status (as opposed to simply DOC for the rest of Montepulciano... It's all a bit technical... I'll explain another time).  First came the the still youthful 2010, with nice red berry fruit and a good structure and backbone.  The 2009 displayed more mature plum fruit flavours and some complex herbal notes with a long finish.  The 2007 to my mind, whilst showing some nice mature bouquet of wild herbs, the fruit was drying out a little and may just be a tad over the hill.  The 2 younger vintages sold at a very reasonable €5 whilst the 2007 at €7.

 Emilia Romagna was represented by Gualdora from Ziano Piacentini in the province of Piacenza. 

This winery has only been going since 2008 but has been an absolute revelation and a real tribute to good winemaking.  The stars of this selection for me were the the Blanca 2012 and the na' de na'.

• Blanca Colli Piacentino DOC Malvasia Frizzante 2012 - The Malvasia used in this wine is Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, which has almost Moscato-like aromas.  The nose is floral, with elderflower and lemon blossom aromas.  The palate is lightly fizzy with juicy lemon fruit and a long appealing finish, yet absolutely dry.  This can just be sipped on a sunny day on the terrace or as an apperitivo.  An absolute stunner! Give another bottle of this sensuous stuff to the Wine Anarchist any day and he'll be a happy man!
• OTTO Colli Piacenti DOC Gutturnio Superiore DOC 2011 - A 60/40 blend of Barbera and Croatina (the local name for Bonarda) this has rich ripe fruit and a silky texture finishing long.
• Val Tidone Rosso IGT 2010 - 70% Barbera, 20% Bonarda (and 10% something else, unless I was to drunk to pay proper attention...) aged for 14 months in French Barrique.  This wine is rich and full with marked vanilla oak spice, dark chocolate notes and a long finish.  It'll need a couple of years to come together in my view.
• na' de na' 2011 Vino Rosso - na' de na' is dialect for absolutely nothing and  refers to the fact that it is completely additive free and fermented with wild yeasts.  Another example that it is perfectly possible to produce a commercial wine without the aid of additives.  If you want to be critical of this wine, it showed a slight cloudiness, but that did not take away from the aromas and flavours of this well made wine.  It's made from 80%  Bonarda and 20% Barbera, a third of which has been aged for 14 months in barrique (not new).  Dark chocolate notes and rich ripe fruit finish in a long tart finish.  Complimenti!

    NB: On re-tasting the wine at home, we found a brilliantly clear wine.  At first the wine shows a very tight structure with notes of basil thyme and eucalyptus.  It needs to be open for a couple of hours before the richer fruit flavours show themselves.  It would be interesting to see what it would be like in a couple of years time.

Lazio presented another little surprise package in the Podere Grecchi from Vittorchiano in the province of Viterbo  
This estate was set up in 1973 as a traditional nut and cereal farm by Carlo Buzzi.  In 2005 his 2 sons Massimo and Sergio, two guys after my own heart, turned it into a wine estate making excellent commercial wines from mostly international grape varieties.  If that sounds boring, i.e. who wants yet another Chardonnay or Merlot, try these wines, which might just convert you from an ABC (AnythingButChardonnay) drinker to really appreciating these wines again.

• Poggio Grecchi 2012 Lazio IGT Chardonnay - This actually contains 10% Sauvignon Blanc and it really shows.  The colour is pale golden.  The nose is highly aromatic and lively with great gooseberry, pineapple and lychee fruit.  The fruit carries through on the palate, broadening nicely;  There is a fresh acidity and a decent length.  This, in the humble opinion of the Wine Anarchist, is not far off a good white Bordeaux at a mere €5... AND organic too.  What more can you ask for?
• Poggio Ferrone Colli Etruschi Viterbesi DOC 2011 - This is made from Merlot with just a splash of Cabernet.  The colour is a deep ruby.  The aroma distinctly recalls freshly ground coffee as well as some blackberry and plum fruit.  The palate carries on with a sweet plum fruit and some nice vanilla spicyness, which I'm assured does not come from barrel ageing as the wine only sees stainless steel during its maturation.  For a Merlot it also has a firm structure and a long, juicy finish.  Really well made wine, also at a bargain €5.

Do check out the links on the different coloured text for more info on the wineries, where to visit them and how to get hold of their wines.  They all deserve your support.

And finally, as this is my first blogpost and just to give you a final impression of the atmosphere in Monateretto a little video of some drunken revelers dancing.  If you find yourself at a loss for something to do at Easter next year, come to Montaretto.  you can even pitch your tent on the local football pitch.