Italian Wine Day, 27-11-2023, Grand Hotel, Stockholm (10-12-2023 by Nenad Jelisic)
The Italian Wine Day at the beautiful and world-famous Grand Hotel in Stockholm on the 27th of November 2023 was the last major wine tasting of the year. As usual everything was perfectly organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce. Of the 191 tasted wines (51%) of the 371 wines available, 12 wines (6%) got 3,5 NJP or more. The result is disappointing, but at the same time it must be said that never before have so many wines got 3,5 NJP of 5,0 NJP. Unfortunately, it was the same trend at this tasting as at the other trade tastings in recent years, i.e. the most well-known wine producers and their prestige wines were missing. This is both a very boring trend and a big difference to how it was a few years ago. The result could be much better if, for example, we got to taste the wines from Aldo Conterno, Capannelle, Dal Forno Romano, Gaja (not only Sito Moresco), La Spinetta, Le Macchiole, Monteverro and Tua Rita or the wines such as Masseto, Ornellaia, Sassicaia and Tignanello for to name a few. The twelve wines that stood out in terms of quality and taste were five wines from the Amarone della Valpolicella appellation in the Valpolicella wine district, which is located in the wine region Veneto, five wines from the Tuscany wine region and two wines from the Barolo appellation that belongs the Piedmont wine region.
The following wines got 3,5 NJP or more (in alphabetical order)
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Argirio, Podernuovo a Palazzone, 2018, red dry wine, Tuscany, Italy, 4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points)
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Camigliano, Brunello di Montalcino, 2017, red dry wine, Tuscany, Italy, 3,5 NJP of 5,0 NJP (85 points of 100 points)
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Castello Fonterutoli, Chianti Classico, 2018, red dry wine, Tuscany, Italy, 3,5 NJP of 5,0 NJP (85 points of 100 points)
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Cristiana Bettili, Tenuta Vignega, Amarone della Valpolicella, 2015, red dry blend wine, Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy, 4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points)
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Cristiana Bettili, Tenuta Vignega, Amarone della Valpolicella, Riserva, 2011, red dry blend wine, Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy, 4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points)
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Grattamacco, Bolgheri, Rosso, Superiore, 2020, red dry wine, Tuscany, Italy, 3,5 NJP of 5,0 NJP (85 points of 100 points)
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Negretti, Barolo, Rive, 2018, red dry wine, Piedmont, Italy, 3,5 NJP of 5,0 NJP (85 points of 100 points)
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Sotirio, Podernuovo a Palazzone, 2018, red dry wine, Tuscany, Italy, 4,5 NJP of 5,0 NJP (95 points of 100 points)
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Tommasi, Amarone della Valpolicella, Classico, 2019, red dry blend wine, Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy, 4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points)
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Tommasi, Ca' Florian, Riserva, Amarone della Valpolicella, Classico, 2013, red dry blend wine, Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy, 4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points)
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Virna Borgogno, Barolo, Noi, 2018, red dry wine, Piedmont, Italy, 4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points)
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Zenato, Amarone della Valpolicella, Classico, 2018, red dry blend wine, Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy, 4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points)
The best wine producer of the tasting
Podernuovo a Palazzone
The idea of the Podernuovo a Palazzone wine estate and vineyards was born in year 2000. In year 2007, the first vineyards were planted and in year 2009, the first harvest came. In 2012, the wine estate was completed. The goal from the beginning was that the wine estate would have as little environmental impact on the surroundings as possible, and they invested heavily in that. For example, the winery is, as much as possible, buried in the landscape and to greatly reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, it is heated and cooled by geothermal cooling and heating, and most of its electricity consumption comes from solar panels. The vineyards of Podernuovo a Palazzone (26 hectares) are located in Podernuovo in Tuscany where the soil consists of clay and limestone strips, which is a perfect environment for red grapes, and in Corbara in Umbria where the soil consists of sandy gravel and fossil shells, which is a perfect environment for white grapes. The vines are only treated with natural products such as sulphur and copper. Podernuovo a Palazzone's owner and winemaker is Giovanni Bulgari. "The respect for the nature and the love to wine guided me during the creation of this project" says Giovanni at the end of his presentation.
The best wine of the tasting in all categories
Sotirio, Podernuovo a Palazzone, 2017
That this wine was chosen as the Best Wine of approximately 400 wines that were available to taste at this tasting, that it was chosen as the Wine of the Month December 2023 and that it was chosen to be one of the 10 Best Wines 2023 says a lot about this wonderful wine. Sotirio Podernuovo a Palazzone 2017 is an austere and nuanced wine. Austere thanks to its wonderful tannic structure and nuanced thanks to its wonderful balance between its tannins, fruitiness and acidity. In the aroma, dried fruits such as dark cherries and plums, sweet spices such as bay leaves, cardamom and vanilla, cocoa and sweet tobacco emerge clearly. Ripe dark cherries, sweet spices, coffee, sweet tobacco and dark chocolate clearly emerge in the flavour. The wine has a very good tannin structure and acidity. These two in combination with good fruitiness and wonderful balance between these three give a really good aging potential of at least 15 years i.e. until at least the year 2038. The wine is really good already, but it will be even better in a few years.
A wine like this with wonderful tannic structure and acidity will go really well with grilled duck breast with port and cherry sauce and potato stoemp (roughly mashed potatoes with vegetables and cream) or with pasta carbonara or with grilled beef fillet/entrecôte with café de Paris sauce and potato gratin or with reindeer stew with buttery mashed potatoes or with grilled pork chops with grilled red peppers, red onions and tomatoes and Béarnaise sauce or with hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Svecia, Västerbottensost, Parmesan and Grana Padano. Sotirio Podernuovo a Palazzone 2017 should be served at 18 to 19°C in Bordeaux glasses, if possible, from Orrefors, Kosta Boda, Spiegelau or Riedel. Another option is to serve it at 16°C (when room temperature is above 22°C) and then enjoy it as it begins to grow in the glass. The wine benefit from one hour decanting, but it can also be drunk without decanting If the wine is so wonderful when the vines were "only" 10 years old, one can imagine what will happen in a few more years.
Sotirio Podernuovo a Palazzone 2017 consists of 100% Sangiovese. The grapes for the wine come from a four-hectare vineyard in Tuscany. The soil consists of clay with limestone strips. The grapes are picked by hand. The yield is a low 40 hectoliters per hectare. After very careful selections in both the vineyards and the winery, the grape bunches are soft pressed. Some of the grapes are kept intact to be able to carry out a partial carbonic maceration with the aim of highlighting the Sangioveses’ aroma and taste. The grape mass, which consists of crushed and uncrushed grapes, and grape juice, is macerated and fermented for 20 to 35 days in open wooden tanks with two over-pumping (remontage) per day. Then the grape mass is gently pressed, and the wine is moved to 1,000 litres oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and after the malolactic fermentation the wine is aged in the same oak barrels in which it has been malolactic fermented for between 18 and 24 months. The wines from the various oak barrels are blended in concrete barrels and then aged for another 6 months. Finally, the wine is bottled and aged for a few more weeks before being released on the market.
The best wine region of the tasting
Valpolicella
Valpolicella, an Italian wine district that belongs to the wine region of Veneto. Valpolicella wine district consists of 4 DOC-appellations (Valpolicella, Valpolicella Classico, Valpolicella Ripasso and Valpolicella Superiore) and 2 DOCG-appellations (Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella). A Valpolicella DOC-wine can consist of the following red wine grapes: Corvina (40 to 80%), Corvinone (1 to 50%; instead of an equal proportion of Corvina), Rondinella (5 to 30%), other native red wine grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (1 to 10%) and non-native red wine grapes such as Syrah (1 to 15%). A Valpolicella Classico DOC-wine consists of the same type and percentage of red wine grapes as a Valpolicella DOC-wine, but the grapes must come from the so-called Classico-area, i.e. from the five original municipalities: Fumane, Marano di Valpolicella, Negrar, San Pietro in Cariano and Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. A Valpolicella Ripasso DOC-wine consists of the same type and percentage of red wine grapes as a Valpolicella DOC wine, but a Valpolicella Ripasso DOC-wine must be fermented twice. The second time together with what has been over after that an Amarone or a Recioto-wine had been fermented and pressed. Before the second fermentation begins, it is allowed to add up to 15% Amarone-wine or dried grapes to the wine. A Valpolicella Superiore DOC-wine consists of the same type and percentage of red wine grapes as a Valpolicella DOC-wine, but a Valpolicella Superiore DOC-wine must be aged for at least 1 year before it is released on the market and must have at least 1% higher alcohol content than a Valpolicella DOC-wine. An Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG-wine consists of the same type and percentage of red wine grapes as a Valpolicella DOC-wine, but the grapes for an Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG-wine must be air dried for 100 to 120 days before the winemaking process begins. According to the 2010 rules, no more than 10% of a single native or non-native grape (do not apply to Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara) may be added to an Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG-wine. A Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG-wine consists of the same type and percentage of red wine grapes as Valpolicella DOC-wine, but the grapes for a Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG-wine must be air dried for 100 to 120 days before the winemaking process begins. The Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG-wine gets its strong sweetness because the air dried grapes may not or can, due to excessive sugar content, ferment completely.
Valpolicella the best vintages, 1947, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2009, 2016 and 2018.
Valpolicella grapes, Corvina (also known as Corvina Veronese), Rondinella and Molinara. Also grown: Cruina, Forselina, Negrara and Oseleta.
Valpolicella soils, vary widely. Calcareous soil, gravel moraine, moraine, gravel, alluvial soil, volcanic soil, clay, etc.
