Poli grappas are not just for after dinner; Austria plus Blaufränkisch, a delicious duo; Jane Ferrari talks Yalumba; Alvaro Ruiz (Alvear) on Andalusia, Alberto Zenato pours Amarone, plus: Federica Mascheroni Stianti from Tuscany’s Volpaia.
by Mary Bailey
Dario Carlentini visited with a selection of beautiful Poli grappas, including something for Christmas morning—Poli Moka, made with Poli’s Bassano grappa, coffee, fresh cream and a bit of sugar. Its clean coffee and cream taste will readily replace that other cream liqueur in your coffee cup come the holidays. The Eliser Camomilla is made by a three-month infusion of golden chamomile flowers. Soft, bright, relaxing, think chamomile tea with a bit extra. The single vintage Amorosa di Dicembre is made from dried Vespaiola grapes. Rich, soft and deeply flavoured, with notes of tropical and dried golden fruits. A gentle grappa. The Cleopatra Moscato Oro is a spectacular drink named after the Egyptian alchemist who first created distillation. (Poli makes the Cleopatra in their space age Crysopea vacuum pot still.) The scents and flavours are from Muscat grown in the Euganei hills in the Veneto. “The Marconi 46 Gin recreates the feeling you have when you walk through the woods,” says Dario. Clean and fresh with balanced aromas and flavours of juniper berries, muscat, pine, mint, cardamom and coriander. It’s the gin in Bar Bricco’s singular Negroni.
We can thank Salivate Consulting’s Christina Masciangelo for bringing these terrific Blaufränkisch wines to Alberta, igniting an interest in wines from Austria in general and in these delicious reds in particular. Blaufränkisch, native to Austria, makes deeply-coloured, juicy, fruity wines that develop into elegant and supple wines as they age. The 2017 Krutzler Eisenberg is a good introduction to the grape, with its flavours of plums and cherries, firm tannin, brightness and balanced acidity. The 2015 Krutzler Reserve Eisenberg is from older vines with lower yields. The wine is smokier with more obvious wood influence, a bit backward now, needs time. The 2015 Prieler Blaufränkisch Ried Johanneshöhe (single vineyard) is fresh and fruity, reminding of Gamay, delicious on a Wednesday night. More on the outstanding 2015 Prieler Blaufränkisch Ried Goldberg (single vineyard) on page 9 (rich Christina). Don’t miss Prieler’s delicious 2017 Rosé vom Stein, dry yet fruity, ideal for winter rosé drinking.
“We are vegan by default,” says Jane Ferrari, the ebullient and knowledgeable voice of Yalumba. “No isinglass, no casein, egg whites. We don’t move the wine as much, so don’t need clarification agents very often. When we do, we use bentonite clay,” she says. Over lunch and a tasting of Yalumba wines at Lyon, the talk is about what wine drinkers are looking for. “Vegan is huge in Australia and also business ethics,” she says. “The biggest concern is water. We are acutely aware of water too, or the lack of it, in south Australia. We now use only 3/4 litre to make every litre of wine.” The 2018 Y Series Viognier is peachy, a bit tropical with some citrusy lime notes, with a bright and long finish. All the whites ferment naturally with wild (ambient) yeasts. The 2018 Barossa Bush Vine Grenache has a new label honouring the founder Samuel Smith and Yalumba’s 170th birthday. It’s a handy bottle to have around due to its congeniality. The 2015 Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon (cassis, clove and briar) is the little brother to the 2014 Menzies (dark fruit, shitake, Chinese five spice, aniseed, spice, and something Jane calls vanilla fudge from the oak influence) both showing the influence of the Terra Rossa soil on limestone of the vineyard in Coonawarra. The 2015 Octavius (Coonawarra Cab Sauv and Barossa Shiraz) is rich and mellow with sweet red fruit and white pepper. The 2014 Signature, Cab Sauvignon and Shiraz from Barossa, has firmer tannins and is more austere with a slightly chewy finish, best to cellar. The 2013 Caley Cab Sauvignon and Shiraz, the icon of the winery, is muscular, with a dense texture and a lengthy finish. It’s quite closed right now, nowhere ready. Only 5000 bottles were made in 2013.
Alvaro Ruiz was in town recently for a tasting at Wilfred’s of the exceptional Alvear wines. He encouraged us to think of both sherry and Montilla as Andalusian (southern Spain) wines and open our palates to the flavours of Pedro Ximénez (PX) the dominant grape of Montilla. “It’s an accident of history that we end up classifying wines as sherry, after the port from which they were shipped (Jerez) and thinking Montilla-Moriles wines are in a separate category,” he says.
No problem there, the Fino Capataz is an outstanding dry white wine to drink before dinner with almonds and a slice of jamón Ibérico. Unlike the Palomino grape of sherry, PX does not need further fortification, so the wines can be a little lower in alcohol. The Criadera Amontillado is essentially a 15-year-old fino. Exceptionally fragrant, dry, a real treat and rare, it’s not made every year. There was also a dry white from a single vineyard, the 2018 Marques de la Sierra, which was a delightful surprise. Absolutely delicious, it brought to mind Loire Valley Chenin Blanc with its freshness and depth of flavour. Delish and well-priced.
“I run the business with my mother Carla and my sister Nadia,” says Alberto Zenato, in town for a wine lunch at Vivo. “My father died 11 years ago. Even when I was kid, I knew this was what I wanted to do. I would follow him around the vineyard all day.” The Zenato family has vineyards in Valpolicella and in Lugana near Lake Garda. “We have spent decades improving the vineyards in Lugana. They were not iconic when we bought them back in the ’80s,” he says.
Zenato Amarone are well known and highly regarded. The surprise of the tasting was everything else. A delicious white, the 2016 Lugana Reserva, is fragrant, dry, texturey, with a long finish. Two thirds are fermented and aged in wood, the rest in stainless steel. It has beautiful minerality from the clay, limestone and sand of the area. The microclimate around the lake offers cooling breezes from the Alps at night to keeps the exotic fruit aromas and flavours bright. The 2017 Evaluna is dynamic, with herbaceous red and black fruit from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, finishing on a fresh note. The 2017 Cresasso Corvina Veronese is unusual in that rarely do you find Corvina all on its own. Bright fruit fresh, tasting of grape skin. Let’s end with the Recioto, a half bottle of total luscious decadence, to have with dark chocolate, or cheese or all by itself.
Your holiday martinis will be golden. Eau Claire’s 2019 Christmas Gin is made with juniper, coriander, Frankincense, Myrrh, and, flakes of 24 karat gold. The Frankincense (the milky sap of the Boswellia tree) has a balsamic lemony aroma, while the Myrrh tree resin contributes the long floral finish. Eau Claire’s labels are always a treat. The Christmas Gin label replaces their signature social animals with the three wise men looking at the north star in a Canadian mountain forest. Now in 750 ml.
At a wine dinner at Sorrentino’s West, Federica Mascheroni Stianti tells a story about her mother’s wedding present from her father—a hamlet with vineyards in Radda in Chianti. Obviously, her mother wasn’t meant to be a Milanese housewife. Now, it’s the exceptional Volpaia Estate with some of the highest, and best, vineyards in the area. The 2016 Chianti Classico should be in everyone’s cellar. It’s extremely versatile, have with pasta or meat dishes, drinking beautifully now. The 2016 Coltasalla Gran Selezione (single vineyard, and Gran Selezione refers to the top level of Chianti Classico, above Reserva). It’s a beautiful wine, keep for five-seven years to show its incredible balance and longevity. The 2015 Balifico, Volpaia’s super Tuscan (Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon) is elegant, ageable and delicious.
