Italy’s Superb Reds, Plus California’s Champagne Touch: Weekly Tasting Report (May 22-28)

Italy leads the way in our latest Weekly Tasting Report with some superb reds from various appellations, including Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Barolo, Chianti Classico, Bolgheri and Toscana.

We don’t normally write about ratings in our weekly report because we keep that for our subscribers in the tasting notes below. But we had to mention the 100-point Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015. This is a big nod to a name that arguably created the genre of Amarone, and this new release may be viewed in the same light as the great Amarones of Bertani from the 1930s and 1940s. We are very excited about this unique wine. Check out the tasting note from Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli.

Meanwhile, Tuscany has some exciting new wines, such as the cabernet-based Tenuta Sette Ponti Toscana Oreno 2022 (its best ever?) and the single-vineyard Ipsus Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2020 (clearly the best ever). Plus, there are two new cabernet franc-based reds from the original creator and owner of Ornellaia and Masseto, Lodovico Antinori. The master of Bolgheri still has the juice making these small-production gems from vineyards right next to the appellation and close to some vineyards from Masseto. The estate, called Tenuta del Nicchio, makes the Lodovico and Il Nicchio wines.

“I am making a special wine from a special place for the future and for my daughter, Sophia,” Antinori told James a few weeks ago in Tuscany.

Don’t miss checking out the wine ratings and tasting notes for some of the most sought-after wines from Tuscany in this report, including Tignanello, Solaia, Argentiera, Ricasoli, Biserno, Guado al Tasso, Montevertine, Orma and others. You might even be slightly surprised that James preferred the Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio 2021 from Riscasoli instead of wines of the other single vineyards.

Another place to watch in Tuscany is the region of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. We found the VNMs from Boscarelli to be of inspiring quality. James thinks that we may finally seeing a renaissance for quality in the area after decades of very good but slightly rustic tannins from the wines. Stay tuned.

In addition, we have the scoop on the 2017 Damilano Barolo Cannubi Riserva 1752. Last year the perfect-scoring 2016 was our Italian Wine of the Year. The 2017 is close in quality and very intense and flavorful driven but didn’t quite reach the same pinnacle of perfection as the 2016. It’s surprisingly attractive now, with luscious fruit and polished tannins.

The latest vintage of Amarone della Valpolicella on the market is the 2018, which was rainy and hot. Aldo, who visited some of the top producers from the region last week, said the weakness of the vintage is that some of the wines are diluted, but that the “appassimento” drying process, which concentrates the grapes and is essential for the production of Amarone, mostly resulted in wines with good body and balance.

But, Aldo said, the trend in the region is to release wines later and later after bottling, especially the great reserve wines or selections, and some producers’ latest releases are from 2015 and 2016. Why the long waits? It’s because the drying process tends to remedy certain flaws of various vintages, as it did in 2018, but it also tends to mark the wine significantly, especially in its youth, and so some aging is necessary so that terroir ultimately prevails in the character of the wine. It is here that a crucial distinction for understanding and appreciating the region arises. Valpolicella Classico is more calcareous and hilly, and the extended Valpolicella is clayey and flatter. From the former comes elegance and tension; from the latter, power and volume. Many wineries often make blends from the two areas.

At the level of the best producers, however, the distinction emerges more as a matter of style and preference than of absolute quality, and this can be seen in the benchmark producers Bertani and Dal Forno. Bertani historically represents a classic interpretation of Amarone: light in color, not excessively alcoholic, with fresh aromas and subtle extractions. This is the elegance of Valpolicella. Dal Forno, meanwhile, is the epitome of concentration, with record extracts masked by fleshiness and balance – in essence, power with grace.

Also coming from the first, classic school are the elegant Amarones of Brigaldara, the Ravazzol wines of Ca’ la Bionda (the Ravazzol 2018 and the Ravazzol Riserva 2013), and the extraordinary interpretation of Valpolicella Classico made biodynamically by Monte dall’Ora – the Stropa 2015 (unfortunately, from 2017 it will no longer be fermented in wood). Corte Sant'Alda's Mithas 2015, meanwhile, comes from the second school. It is a detailed, complex, deep and delightfully old-fashioned version of Amarone.

Excellent attempts at mediation between the two styles can be found in the wines of Quintarelli. And among other trends to note is the revival of the corvinone grape in the blends of Amarone Classico. Corvinone is known for its pronounced herbaceous notes but also for its good ripening ability in warmer vintages, and it has prompted a return to premium Valpolicella without appassimento.

CALIFORNIA'S TERROIR-DRIVEN SPARKLINGS

California poured out 123 wines for this report, and Executive Editor Jim Gordon found among them elegant, terroir-driven sparkling wines, stalwart mountain-grown reds, and energized Burgundian varietals from the Central Coast.

Let’s start with the sparkling wines from a California outpost of Champagne house Moet & Chandon. In 1973 the company founded Chandon California, among the first French-owned wineries in the state. Winemaker Pauline Lhote has been making sparkling wine at Chandon California in Napa Valley for more than a decade, and her current lineup is increasingly specific and terroir-driven.

Of their three vineyard-designated, vintage-dated sparkling wines from 2017, the Chandon Napa Valley Yountville Terroir 2017 is the “biggest,” in wine terms. It’s tasty and broad-textured and shows the complexity that spending four years on the lees brings. Similarly high in quality are the Chandon Napa Valley Mt. Veeder Terroir 2017, a 100 percent chardonnay sourced from 43-year-old vines at an elevation of 1,600 feet (487 meters), and the lowland Chandon By the Bay Blanc de Blancs Reserve 2017, from the Carneros district.

The Etoile series tops the lineup in terms of scores, elegance and price, headed by the Chandon Carneros Étoile Tête de Cuvée 2014. This silky, memorable wine was aged eight years on the lees for a pronounced toasty, almost smoky aroma backed by vivid acidity for a fresh, linear feel. Non-vintage Etoile brut and rosé were not far behind.

However, the bulk of the California tasting notes this week cover vineyards and brands owned by the giant E. & J. Gallo Winery of Modesto. While Gallo is known as the world’s largest winery, it’s in reality a complex portfolio that has acquired an impressive lineup of great vineyards, smaller brands and sometimes winemakers that came with them.

J Vineyards & Winery in Sonoma County, under winemaker Nicole Hitchcock, is stepping higher every year in the quality and sophistication of their sparkling and still wines. Of their16 current releases, the mineral-driven J Vineyards Russian River Valley Late Disgorged 2015 took top honors. Almost as impressive is the J Vineyards Chardonnay Russian River Blanc de Blancs 2017.

Topping the still white wines, the J Vineyards Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2022 is dreamy, luscious and ethereal. But the highest rating overall went to the J Vineyards Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Annapolis Ridge Vineyard 2021, a super-concentrated and age-worthy bottling full of wild berry and spearmint energized by vivid acidity.

The other pinot noir and chardonnay specialist from Gallo is Talbott Vineyards of the Central Coast region, which pours bold, full-bodied examples of both. Senior winemaker Kamee Knutson, however, rolled out the most crisp, mineral-driven white of the week with her tiny-production Talbott Vineyards Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands South 2022. Among the reds, the Pinot Noir Fidelity 2022 shows great tension, texture and chewy cherry flavors. Both of these items are under screw caps, but don’t judge them poorly for this!

Two of the winemakers that Gallo hired along with buying their wineries are Anthony Yount of Denner in the Central Coast and Massican’s Dan Petroski of Napa. The latter’s Italian-inspired white wines are humming right along, including the Lodi-grown, light-bodied Pinot Grigio Lodi 2023, the light-bodied, Friuli-inspired Napa Valley Anna 2023, and a super-crisp, mouth-puckering white blend called Gemina that is made in the spirit of Campania. It may be a little ironic for Petroski, whose mother is Italian, but our favorite of his wines – the Massican Chardonnay Napa Valley Hyde Vineyard 2023 – is from a traditional French grape variety.

Anthony Yount’s Denner wines are predominantly Rhone varietals and blends from the Paso Robles appellation, but his most fascinating and spicy red in the tasting was a blend of mostly syrah from disparate parts of the greater region. The Denner Vineyards Central Coast Dirt Worshipper 2021 is peppery, earthy and haunting, aged in 30 percent new oak. On the white side, a Rhone-style blend of mostly roussanne, vermentino and grenache blanc called Theresa is complex, layered and generous but also fresh and inviting.

Which brings us to perhaps Gallo’s highest-profile luxury wine property, the Louis M. Martini Winery on Main Street in St. Helena, Napa Valley. Martini wines have increasingly focused on cabernet sauvignon, drawing from highly regarded single-vineyard properties the company has acquired over the past 20 years.

That focus is paying off handsomely for Martini winemaker Mark Williams and consumers who love full-bodied, generously oaked wines that still convey a sense of place. Two distinctly different examples are the Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Stagecoach 2021, with so much juicy fruit and dense but soft tannins, and the Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley Monte Rosso 2021, which is vivid in acidity, bright in red fruits and savory in mint and bay leaf nuances.

But the piece de resistance among their current releases is another mountain-grown wine, the Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Mount Veeder 2021. It offers a Pauillac-like intensity with floral aromas, vivid fruit, compact layers of fine-grained tannins and a long finish. A classic in the making, it scored higher than any previous Martini wine in our database.