Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Preparing for my trip to Lazio, I rustle up a few bottles from nearby stores:
Damiano Ciolli 2016 "Silene" - $24, only lightly tannic, decent acidity, intense fruit flavors (akin to blueberry but without milk chocolate or jam) balanced with a little minerality, light-medium weight, a friendly glass; Day 2: much the same but more earth and more grip
De Sanctis 2016 Frascati "496" - $15, it's white!, full and rich, kinda like Chablis can be, though with a much less prominent mineral streak; lots of smellies and a Fresca(!) palate; very gluggable, organic/indigenous yeasts/raised in steel
Andrea Occhipinti 2016 Aleatico Rosso "Alea Viva" - $22, tannic and flowery, works well at the table with a steak but I admit I am surprised: I expect a red wine to be earthy and minerally and basically a fruity form of the blood but this wine allies itself to the char on the exterior and the fragrance of fat that rises in the back of your throat; unusual but good; Day 4: much the same but a slight funky animal note is starting to show up, akin to foxiness and not pleasant
A nice profile of the Ciollis: click
- - - - - - - - - -
Excerpt from my personal travelogue:
SEPT 11
Up a little early and on the road to Cori. The trip is about half highway and half squiggly local roads. We're passing the beautiful hilltop towns of Valmontone and, ultimately, Cori.
Arrive at Cincinnato, at the agriturismo, at 11a. Giovanna meets us. She is a smart, stylish woman with definite ideas about wine and promoting the Cori region generally.
The front room is all windows and light wood, very comfortable after an hour of zigzag driving.
We visit a few nearby vines. The nero buono is about ready to harvest; the montepulciano d'abruzzo is still changing color. We taste: the nero buono is sweet and pleasant although the skin is a bit chewy while the montepulciano is definitely more tannic and bitter.
montepulciano
nero buono
Giovanna says that 2018 is the worst vintage in 50 years: a warm winter was followed by 3 hard frosts; then there was a nice summer until August came, when it rained every afternoon. They pulled leaves but did not do a green harvest as Nature did it for them.
Moving inside, we visit a few representative barriques -- they buy only medium-toast Seguin, cooperative production is 80% white wine -- but we are not at the winery so it isn't long till all discussion of elevage is cut short and we head to the table.
Note: This is a paid visit, E15 per person.
table before service
They have set us up in the restaurant... a huge table laid with six kinds of cheese, two kinds of bruschette, locally-made sottolio peperoncini and zucchini, prosciutto crudo from another nearby town, plates of toast & olive oil... and then start pouring wine:
Brut - bellone; Charmat method; full-flavor, yellow-fruit with earthy tones, doesn't make you forget about champagne but I'm happy to drink this
"Castore" - bellone; no malo; Giovanna considers bellone to be a "semi-aromatic" grape; this is also yellow (think slightly underripe peach and apricot) but lacks the pizzazz to make it really interesting
"Raverosse" - nero buono, montepulciano, and cesanese; this is the official DOC blend; modern, international, a whiff of oak, "Popular" -Giovanna, "Eh" -Jeff
"Ercole" - nero buono; beautiful, velveteen tannins, elegantly fruity, shaped but not marked by the barrels
Our one-hour appointment lasts 2.5 hours. We buy wine. I buy "Ercole".
Understandably, no one felt the need to find more lunch.
Inexplicably, however, to kill a little time between appointments, we drive to the Garden of Ninfa, which we know to be closed; Giovanna told us so. And it is closed. We drive back to Cori.
We arrive somewhat early for our 3p appointment at Marco Carpineti. Roberta rushes out to greet us but it is her lunch time so she rustles up some cold water and espresso while we wait.
And now it's time! We formally meet Roberta. She obtained her law degree but her heart is in food and wine and hospitality so she never practiced.
We visit a few nearby vines. The montepulciano and cesanese are spur-cordon trained while the nero buono and all the whites are Guyot trained. Carpineti have several vineyards at different elevations and they harvest, vinify, and blend accordingly. They pull leaves and green harvest. She also says that 2018 is a bad vintage, that they have lost a quarter of the crop, and some neighbors have lost as much as 40%.
Guyot
Cordon Spur
We briefly tour the winery floor but they are moving juice so we have to tiptoe around the workers and ultimately just get out of their way.
Note: This is a paid visit, E20 per person.
Once again, we are setup at a large table on a terrace with another (smaller) parade of local foods and their wine:
"Kius" Brut - bellone; Champenoise method; 2015 fruit, 12.5%; bright acidity, saline, I find the leesy richness distracting, long but only somewhat interesting
"Capolemole" Bianco - bellone; 2017 fruit, 13.5%; potent and fruity, with a saline note that appears long into the finish, "Pineapple" -Roberta, vivid and works well with the food
"Capolemole" Rosso - Roberta offered to taste the "Tuffalicio" which is a montepulciano/nero buono blend raised in steel (and which might show better on a hot day) but I choose this wine: 60% nero buono, 30% montepulciano, 10% cesanese, a portion of the wine raised in oak; the idea is to merge the nero buono 'cherry nose' onto the sturdy montepulciano tannins while the cesanese fills-in around the edges; and it's nicely done... a fine bouquet, medium weight, good though not great acids, could use more presence
"Ludum" Passito - arciprete, a clone of bellone that dries well; 2015 fruit; only very gently sweet, pineapple cream, very little marked by the elevage in wood, delicate and tasty
Grappa - nero buono; 42%; a remarkable spirit: mild, fragrant, sees no wood, well-mannered, taste is lemony but also some 'dish detergent fruit cup', I'm not a fan of grappa and I like this one so bravo
We chat and linger here, and buy wine. I buy "Capolemole" Bianco and the untasted "Kius" Rosato. This appointment lasted 3 hours.
---
The olive oil: At both makers, they also grow and sell their own extra-virgin olive oil. They say everyone in central Lazio grows Itrana, a species related to Gaeta which is suitable both for oil and for eating. (The difference between the two is pit size: eating olives have smaller pits.)
Cincinnato bottles based on age: younger trees produce a lighter and milder oil. Giovanna is eager to promote EVOO production -- if you spend ten euros on a bottle of wine, it's gone in one sitting, whereas if you spend 10 euros on a bottle of EVOO, it will serve you for several weeks.
---
Both makers have philosophy about who they are and what they do.
Cincinnato was founded in 1947 so Giovanna's outlook is one of cooperation across artisans and across disciplines for the common good.
Carpineti was founded much later and made their name on his forward-looking vineyard and cellar practices. Roberta recounts the changes in Carpineti's identity over the years: in the beginning, that new ideas make sense; later, that "this ain't your grandfather's bellone"; and now, that traditional and modern ways can work together (cue the Nzu cru (not inoculated, raised in amphora)).
Cincinnato feels a responsibility to recycle, to use green energy (the winery is covered in solar panels), to be sustainable. The tasting room is decorated with, and partly made from, re-purposed staves.
Carpineti is organic but believes Demeter to be capricious and inconsistent so they make no effort to become certified.
- - - - - - - - - -
Other wines on other days:
Pileum 2015 Cesanese del Piglio Superiore "Massitium" - dark, dry, not especially flowery but very grapey, fills the local slot of a Beaujolais or perhaps a lightweight merlot, crisp, good all meal long (affetatsi, cheese, verdure, cacao e pepe), E22 at a resto, yum
Spinelli 2017 IGT Passerina - this is the Val di Fara bottling, pleasant, white grape and raw almonds
Vignabaldo 2015 Montefalco Rosso - fairly lightweight, reminiscent of real sagrantino but not all that much, juicy enough to work at the table
Terre de la Custodia 2017 Grechetto Colli Martani - oily, musky, funky, doesn’t suit me; someone else says it’s chardonnay-ish
Terenzi 2016 Cesanese del Piglio - also lightweight, crisp, modestly tannic, this has a tiny but distinct note of iris, OK
La Tordera 2014 Prosecco di Treviso "Alne" Extra-Dry - fruity and vivid and just a touch sweet, a really excellent bottle for non-geeks to toast with
Poggio Le Volpi 2016 Frascati Superiore "EPOS" - malvasia di Candia, malvasia di Lazio, and a dollop of trebbiano, which is the usual recipe; this is weighty, somewhat fruity but also herbal and resinous, a bit odd but can handle oily/heavy food (think: gavi)
Tenuta Le Quinte 2013 IGT "Rasa di Marmorata" - cesanese/montepulciano/merlot blend; a red berry basket with a little dark earth, some vanilla and spices but overall mild, texture is too silky but this has the weight I want to accompany lamb and sauages off the grill
The "Rasa" was manipulated to be ready-to-drink: they toughen it with punch-downs every 3 hours, then soften it with micro-ox during the alcoholic fermentation, and finally fill it out with 5 months on the lees. Some quick post-trip Googling shows that other of these non-winery wines were also manipulated, most often with micro-ox to make them drink sooner.
Ferrocinto 2015 IGP Calabria "Magliocco" - dark, fruity, dry, that’s red wine all right, QPR is OK
Cincinnato 2016 "Arcatura" - all cesanese, simple and boring on Day 1 but acquires a bit of structure by Day 4, eh
Carpineti 2014 "Kius" Rosato - extra brut though you could hardly tell, this rose of nero buono is made by method Champenoise; vinous, packs some punch (as a blanc de noir should); no chalk, of course, but a hint of muskiness tries to stand in; shows fruiter an hour later
Damiano Ciolli 2016 "Silene" - $24, only lightly tannic, decent acidity, intense fruit flavors (akin to blueberry but without milk chocolate or jam) balanced with a little minerality, light-medium weight, a friendly glass; Day 2: much the same but more earth and more grip
De Sanctis 2016 Frascati "496" - $15, it's white!, full and rich, kinda like Chablis can be, though with a much less prominent mineral streak; lots of smellies and a Fresca(!) palate; very gluggable, organic/indigenous yeasts/raised in steel
Andrea Occhipinti 2016 Aleatico Rosso "Alea Viva" - $22, tannic and flowery, works well at the table with a steak but I admit I am surprised: I expect a red wine to be earthy and minerally and basically a fruity form of the blood but this wine allies itself to the char on the exterior and the fragrance of fat that rises in the back of your throat; unusual but good; Day 4: much the same but a slight funky animal note is starting to show up, akin to foxiness and not pleasant
A nice profile of the Ciollis: click
- - - - - - - - - -
Excerpt from my personal travelogue:
SEPT 11
Up a little early and on the road to Cori. The trip is about half highway and half squiggly local roads. We're passing the beautiful hilltop towns of Valmontone and, ultimately, Cori.
Arrive at Cincinnato, at the agriturismo, at 11a. Giovanna meets us. She is a smart, stylish woman with definite ideas about wine and promoting the Cori region generally.
The front room is all windows and light wood, very comfortable after an hour of zigzag driving.
Giovanna says that 2018 is the worst vintage in 50 years: a warm winter was followed by 3 hard frosts; then there was a nice summer until August came, when it rained every afternoon. They pulled leaves but did not do a green harvest as Nature did it for them.
Moving inside, we visit a few representative barriques -- they buy only medium-toast Seguin, cooperative production is 80% white wine -- but we are not at the winery so it isn't long till all discussion of elevage is cut short and we head to the table.
Note: This is a paid visit, E15 per person.
They have set us up in the restaurant... a huge table laid with six kinds of cheese, two kinds of bruschette, locally-made sottolio peperoncini and zucchini, prosciutto crudo from another nearby town, plates of toast & olive oil... and then start pouring wine:
Brut - bellone; Charmat method; full-flavor, yellow-fruit with earthy tones, doesn't make you forget about champagne but I'm happy to drink this
"Castore" - bellone; no malo; Giovanna considers bellone to be a "semi-aromatic" grape; this is also yellow (think slightly underripe peach and apricot) but lacks the pizzazz to make it really interesting
"Raverosse" - nero buono, montepulciano, and cesanese; this is the official DOC blend; modern, international, a whiff of oak, "Popular" -Giovanna, "Eh" -Jeff
"Ercole" - nero buono; beautiful, velveteen tannins, elegantly fruity, shaped but not marked by the barrels
Our one-hour appointment lasts 2.5 hours. We buy wine. I buy "Ercole".
Understandably, no one felt the need to find more lunch.
Inexplicably, however, to kill a little time between appointments, we drive to the Garden of Ninfa, which we know to be closed; Giovanna told us so. And it is closed. We drive back to Cori.
We arrive somewhat early for our 3p appointment at Marco Carpineti. Roberta rushes out to greet us but it is her lunch time so she rustles up some cold water and espresso while we wait.
And now it's time! We formally meet Roberta. She obtained her law degree but her heart is in food and wine and hospitality so she never practiced.
We visit a few nearby vines. The montepulciano and cesanese are spur-cordon trained while the nero buono and all the whites are Guyot trained. Carpineti have several vineyards at different elevations and they harvest, vinify, and blend accordingly. They pull leaves and green harvest. She also says that 2018 is a bad vintage, that they have lost a quarter of the crop, and some neighbors have lost as much as 40%.
We briefly tour the winery floor but they are moving juice so we have to tiptoe around the workers and ultimately just get out of their way.
Note: This is a paid visit, E20 per person.
Once again, we are setup at a large table on a terrace with another (smaller) parade of local foods and their wine:
"Kius" Brut - bellone; Champenoise method; 2015 fruit, 12.5%; bright acidity, saline, I find the leesy richness distracting, long but only somewhat interesting
"Capolemole" Bianco - bellone; 2017 fruit, 13.5%; potent and fruity, with a saline note that appears long into the finish, "Pineapple" -Roberta, vivid and works well with the food
"Capolemole" Rosso - Roberta offered to taste the "Tuffalicio" which is a montepulciano/nero buono blend raised in steel (and which might show better on a hot day) but I choose this wine: 60% nero buono, 30% montepulciano, 10% cesanese, a portion of the wine raised in oak; the idea is to merge the nero buono 'cherry nose' onto the sturdy montepulciano tannins while the cesanese fills-in around the edges; and it's nicely done... a fine bouquet, medium weight, good though not great acids, could use more presence
"Ludum" Passito - arciprete, a clone of bellone that dries well; 2015 fruit; only very gently sweet, pineapple cream, very little marked by the elevage in wood, delicate and tasty
Grappa - nero buono; 42%; a remarkable spirit: mild, fragrant, sees no wood, well-mannered, taste is lemony but also some 'dish detergent fruit cup', I'm not a fan of grappa and I like this one so bravo
We chat and linger here, and buy wine. I buy "Capolemole" Bianco and the untasted "Kius" Rosato. This appointment lasted 3 hours.
The olive oil: At both makers, they also grow and sell their own extra-virgin olive oil. They say everyone in central Lazio grows Itrana, a species related to Gaeta which is suitable both for oil and for eating. (The difference between the two is pit size: eating olives have smaller pits.)
Cincinnato bottles based on age: younger trees produce a lighter and milder oil. Giovanna is eager to promote EVOO production -- if you spend ten euros on a bottle of wine, it's gone in one sitting, whereas if you spend 10 euros on a bottle of EVOO, it will serve you for several weeks.
---
Both makers have philosophy about who they are and what they do.
Cincinnato was founded in 1947 so Giovanna's outlook is one of cooperation across artisans and across disciplines for the common good.
Carpineti was founded much later and made their name on his forward-looking vineyard and cellar practices. Roberta recounts the changes in Carpineti's identity over the years: in the beginning, that new ideas make sense; later, that "this ain't your grandfather's bellone"; and now, that traditional and modern ways can work together (cue the Nzu cru (not inoculated, raised in amphora)).
Cincinnato feels a responsibility to recycle, to use green energy (the winery is covered in solar panels), to be sustainable. The tasting room is decorated with, and partly made from, re-purposed staves.
Carpineti is organic but believes Demeter to be capricious and inconsistent so they make no effort to become certified.
Other wines on other days:
Pileum 2015 Cesanese del Piglio Superiore "Massitium" - dark, dry, not especially flowery but very grapey, fills the local slot of a Beaujolais or perhaps a lightweight merlot, crisp, good all meal long (affetatsi, cheese, verdure, cacao e pepe), E22 at a resto, yum
Spinelli 2017 IGT Passerina - this is the Val di Fara bottling, pleasant, white grape and raw almonds
Vignabaldo 2015 Montefalco Rosso - fairly lightweight, reminiscent of real sagrantino but not all that much, juicy enough to work at the table
Terre de la Custodia 2017 Grechetto Colli Martani - oily, musky, funky, doesn’t suit me; someone else says it’s chardonnay-ish
Terenzi 2016 Cesanese del Piglio - also lightweight, crisp, modestly tannic, this has a tiny but distinct note of iris, OK
La Tordera 2014 Prosecco di Treviso "Alne" Extra-Dry - fruity and vivid and just a touch sweet, a really excellent bottle for non-geeks to toast with
Poggio Le Volpi 2016 Frascati Superiore "EPOS" - malvasia di Candia, malvasia di Lazio, and a dollop of trebbiano, which is the usual recipe; this is weighty, somewhat fruity but also herbal and resinous, a bit odd but can handle oily/heavy food (think: gavi)
Tenuta Le Quinte 2013 IGT "Rasa di Marmorata" - cesanese/montepulciano/merlot blend; a red berry basket with a little dark earth, some vanilla and spices but overall mild, texture is too silky but this has the weight I want to accompany lamb and sauages off the grill
The "Rasa" was manipulated to be ready-to-drink: they toughen it with punch-downs every 3 hours, then soften it with micro-ox during the alcoholic fermentation, and finally fill it out with 5 months on the lees. Some quick post-trip Googling shows that other of these non-winery wines were also manipulated, most often with micro-ox to make them drink sooner.
Ferrocinto 2015 IGP Calabria "Magliocco" - dark, fruity, dry, that’s red wine all right, QPR is OK
Cincinnato 2016 "Arcatura" - all cesanese, simple and boring on Day 1 but acquires a bit of structure by Day 4, eh
Carpineti 2014 "Kius" Rosato - extra brut though you could hardly tell, this rose of nero buono is made by method Champenoise; vinous, packs some punch (as a blanc de noir should); no chalk, of course, but a hint of muskiness tries to stand in; shows fruiter an hour later
