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| [07/31/2008, 13:26] | Pegasos (Soldera) vola alto sopra le miserie di Montalcino e del suo Brunello |  | Facciano pure quello che vogliano a Montalcino - dove amici (pochi e veri me ne sono rimasti, gli altri evidentemente non lo erano…) mi segnalano che sono apparsi comici manifesti di ?militanti leghisti? ilcinesi recanti questa scritta ?Brunello: crisi risolta. Grazie Lega. Grazie ministro Zaia? ? sequestrino vini, li dissequestrino, facciano i pesci in barile, continuino a presentare chi crede nel vero Brunello (forse più di loro) come un ?nemico?. Oppure non trovino il modo, e mi riferisco ai ?puristi del Brunello?, la rete di piccole e medie aziende (quante siano non si sa bene) che hanno rispettato le leggi e vorrebbero un Brunello adamantino e incontaminato, di fare gruppo, di comunicare insieme, di farsi sentire, di reagire a questa situazione a metà tra Kafka e il vaudeville ed il tran tran da piccola provincia toscana, dove tutti sanno tutto di tutti e un’immaginario (ma non troppo) Grande Fratello politico-sindacale-economico-finanziario-bancario controlla ogni movimento e unifica il pensiero… Da questa sporca vicenda usciranno a testa alta solo le persone per bene, le aziende dotate di un marchio forte, di una credibilità incrollabile agli occhi dei consumatori e degli appassionati di tutto il mondo. Tra queste, dalla più seria e prestigiosa, per esiti qualitativi non solo al di sopra di ogni possibile sospetto, ma ben al di sopra della qualità media raggiunta dagli altri, arriva un?iniziativa chiara e forte che farà discutere. Gianfranco Soldera, alias Case Basse, alias IL Brunello di Montalcino, con una lettera indirizzata agli amici comunica ?un?importante novità?, la prossima uscita in commercio, con consegna a partire dal primo settembre 2008, di un?IGT Toscana rosso 2005, denominato Pegasos. Oddio, cosa è successo a Soldera, gli ha dato di volta il cervello da indurlo, anche lui, a proporre, dalle sacre vigne ilcinesi, l?ennesimo Super Tuscan dove l?uva canonica du pays, il Sangiovese, viene imbastardita dai soliti banalissimi Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah? Niente paura! Con altri questi ?sbandamenti?, magari dovuti al caldo o a incertezze più commerciali che ?filosofiche?, sarebbero possibili o da non escludere a priori. Con Gianfranco assolutamente no, perché per lui, ?custode del Sangiovese? in quel di Montalcino, cultore della sua possibilità di grandezza (che altri non capiscono o fanno finta di non capire?), il Sangiovese continua ad essere l?alfa e l?omega, il paradigma saldissimo di ogni possible operare vinicolo in quel territorio magico. Ecco perché la sua decisione, le cui motivazioni affido direttamente alle sue parole, al testo della comunicazione giunta agli amici (quorum ego), non fa una grinza ed é perfettamente coerente e dotata di una precisa logica. ?Caro amico, della vendemmia 2005, caratterizzata da un particolare andamento climatico estivo, ho selezionato parte delle uve 100% Sangiovese dell?Azienda che hanno fermentato naturalmente in un grande tino grazie a lieviti autoctoni. Questo vino, ottenuto mantenendo le basse rese produttive che ci contraddistinguono, senza pressature né filtrazioni, ha raggiunto la piena maturazione dopo 32 mesi di affinamento in una grande botte di Rovere di Slavonia. L?ambiente particolarmente vocato, l?eccellente ecosistema, la coltivazione naturale di uva Sangiovese sana e matura prodotta in quantità contenuta, la vinificazione naturale e le grandi botti di rovere di Slavonia, gli studi e i controlli delle Università, sono il patrimonio distintivo del marchio Soldera che oggi presenta Pegasos 100% Sangiovese. Siamo lieti di unire qui la nuova etichetta, disegnata ancora da Pietro Leddi, che riprende la figura mitologica del cavallo alato Pegaso, che già ci ha contraddistinto nel passato. Data la limitata produzione di 10.000 bottiglie, Vi invitiamo ad inviarci quanto prima il Vs. cortese ordine. Vi informiamo che la consegna sarà a partire dall?1 settembre p.v. e che, come tutti i vini Soldera, anche questa Igt Toscana Rosso è certificata 100% Sangiovese?. Questa la presentazione del Pegasos da parte di Gianfranco: per chi volesse saperne di più non resta che visitare il sito Internet aziendale o inviare una mail a questo indirizzo di posta elettronica. Il prezzo del vino è di 390 euro + Iva per sei bottiglie, ovvero un totale di 468 euro per un costo unitario a bottiglia di 78 euro. Un prezzo ?solderiano? anche per questa Igt che, ne sono certo, sarà all?altezza del blasone di Case Basse e decisamente più brunellesca, anche senza riportare il nome Brunello in etichetta, di tanti ?Brunello di Montalcino? o presunti tali. Mi piace sottolineare la scelta, sicuramente simbolica, del nome, quello del più celebre dei cavalli alati, che dopo essere stato utilizzato da Zeus per trasportare le folgori sino all?Olimpo e una volta terminate le proprie imprese, ?prende il volo verso la parte più alta del cielo e si trasforma in una nube di stelle scintillanti che hanno formato una costellazione?. Forza Pegasos, vola alto sopra le miserie di Montalcino e la sua ordinaria, provinciale, mesta e grigia quotidianità! | | TrackBack> |  |  |  |
| [07/16/2008, 08:08] | Shelf Deception |  | With everything in play the way it has been for the last 50 or so years, is anyone surprised that we now find ourselves in prime-time navel gazing mode regarding our future? In the early 1970?s we were not so gently warned to get our oil-addiction in check. And now, everyone is acting surprised that gas is $4 a gallon, like it?s the end of the world? Hello, that was the price of gas in Italy, in 1984.
Now we are starting to reluctantly see the introduction of the new pony cars, like the new Dodge Challenger or the new Chevy Camaro, which were designed way back when the price of oil was $40 a barrel and now it is $140. No wonder there isn?t too much excitement about those cars, except in places like the Chinese Billionaire Club or the Dubai Gazillionaire?s Guild.
Is it any surprise that now, not many fellows want to shell out the bucks for a pony car that will cost them $50 a day to run? The world that these cars were designed for no longer exists.
Likewise, in the Italian wine world, we also have these pony car wines that were dreamt up for a world that isn?t there waiting for them. The shelves are not begging for it, I have this on good counsel from the streets.
I know some of my importer friends and colleagues don?t like to hear it, but the world has presently turned away from something thought up to be uber and special, a luxury item created for an emerging market that can barely keep its head above water.
 "It's not easy being green" What is the typical wine of which I talk about? It is often from Tuscany but not limited to that area. The Maremma figures in here, seeing as there was a lot of investment and planting some years ago, in anticipation of the growth of the phantom category. It can be a blend of Sangiovese with Bordeaux varietals. Syrah can also be a component. It can also be found in the Veneto, in Piedmont, in Sicily, Sardegna, the Marche, almost anywhere. But Tuscany seems to be the poster child for these mis-planned opportunities that never materialized.
And I?m not meaning to throw down hate on my Tuscan brethren, but folks, I really don?t see how it will fly in these times. If anyone can find the rubes, please send some of them to me.
OK, so we get an email, or a meeting whereby we get this plea, more often in the form of a requisite for continued good relations. Time out.
Let?s say I am a salesman coming to your place, to sell you, let?s see, brushes. And I knock on your door, because you have been a good customer, have bought a lot of brushes from me in the past. Even tooth brushes and brushes to clean out the spokes in your car wheels. So you are a loyal client and you pay me always on time. Good times.
And I come to you and tell you I have built this brush factory and have invested heavily. And those brushes I have been selling to you for $5-6, I still want to sell them to you. But I need you to also buy a bunch of brushes for your house and they cost $12-15 and they only are good for the second floor. You can?t use them in the garage and they are useless in the dining room. They are only for the study on the 2nd floor or the guest bedroom. And not the bathrooms. And I need you to buy a dozen of them.
And you look at me and tell me you don?t need them, let alone a dozen of them. And I respectfully answer back that I hear you but I still need you to step up to the plate and honor the commitment that our relationship requires.
Can you feel the force of the door as it just got slammed in my face?
Now, I?m not saying that it would go that far. But just like Detroit has invested in something that is really not appropriate for the current market, so in other endeavors, there are products developed that just aren?t the greatest ideas for the world we find ourselves in.
What the world needs now - is it really another highfaluting Maremma wannabe that sells for $60, $80, $100? I don?t see it, anymore than I see myself getting behind the wheel of a 9mpg Viagra-mobile.
What does excite me is to press on with the refinement of those wines that appear to be Italian concept wines, but closer to entry level prices. Look at the Asian car market, or better, look at the European car market. Within 2 years VW is going to have a car for sale that will get 235 mpg. How about an Italian wine that doesn?t suck all the spare change out of the glove compartment, something we can drive around our dining rooms and still be able to put pasta and salad on the table as well?
 Something for the wine-concept gurus to think about, when they?re staring at themselves in the mirror, while they put on their sunscreen, before they head out to the seaside, during the month of August.

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| [07/14/2008, 06:36] | Under the Tuscan Stun |  | We?re deep into July now, the skin bakes well at 99° F. I might as well tell my sister not to print this one out for our mother, as she will just think I have lost my mind. And yes, I will digress.
Over the last week many wines were opened and tasted, in the course of duty and pleasure. Right now, I am tired of alcohol, but I am sure that will pass. Occupational hazard.
The coming week will be as equally challenging, with travel, tastings, a master class in Italian wine (in Austin), prepping the young pups for Texsom in August.
This whole wine thing, right now, has become such an obsession; it creeps into your life, your work, your closets, the fridge, under the table, another closet, a shelf with 20 years worth of Italian wine magazines. It really wraps itself around the saddle of your life and takes you on quite the ride.
Before you get to thinking this post is leaning towards the visually risqué, let me explain. The images shown have been created by the artistic duo known as Dormice. Dormice are Heinrich Nicolaus, born in Munich and Sawan Yawnghwe, born in Burma. Dormice live and work in Tuscany. I find their work compelling and I am fascinated with the way they pool their creative inspiration. They have a wonderful way with the use of color and form, and that is the simple reason why their work frames this post.
As the world turns, this time towards oblivion and that way towards exhilaration, I find this to be the stuff of summer and July. This month goes too fast for me; I could use two months of July. It sears my inspiration and keeps within me an overload of energy that fuels me deep into the late autumn- early winter time.
Tuscany, Tuscany, Tuscany. What on earth are they doing to you now? Earlier in the week I was sharing a bottle of a simple Chianti Classico from Melini, Il Granaio 2003, with three sommeliers. One, a Master-somm, who was in a great mood, replied something to the effect that this wine in it?s simplicity, how did she say it, something like it was so nice to just enjoy Sangiovese and Chianti like it is meant to be. I had to agree, not because I was trying to sell it to her and everyone else we had tasted that day. But it really was an epiphany to me, because here was this quiet little Chianti that had sat in the warehouse for many months, and it had blossomed into this pretty little wine. It wasn?t a stunner, but the experience was. Because, once again, you never know when the little wine god will creep up into a bottle and reveal itself, if you are quiet and fortunate and have others around you to help row the boat in the right direction. And those kinds of things are everywhere in this wine business.
Some time ago a salesman from a huge wine company called me up and asked me to please help him spread the word on their 2001 SuperTuscan. The wine was Alleanza, from Gabbiano. Usually that wine is not on the high priority list. There?s too little of it in any event. But when I took that wine home and tasted it during an evening, just by myself, again the midnight bloom arose from the bottle and beguiled me with its dance of seduction.
Over the years, another Chianti Classico, from Querciavalle and the Losi family, has been the reason for pause and reflection. This one comes with many visits and memories, something the over-inputted salesperson doesn?t have time for. Today as I was stretched upon the float in the pool, for one brief moment I was under anther sun, this time on the road near their winery going to the spot where their oak tree was struck down many moons ago. From that stunning moment, the raison d'être of the winery was forged.
Last week, another day, Gabrizia Cellai was in town to speak of her wines from Caparzo, La Doga and Borgo Scopeto. There was a moment when we were tasting Caparzo?s simple red, their Sangiovese. No Syrah, Merlot or Colorino, just straight Sangiovese. Again, here I was, at the altar, with something so simple and straightforward, just a blissfully uncomplicated come-across.
How is it a bee sting can be more significant than running into a wall? It might be because the bee pinpoints their focus on exactly one point. Running into a wall can be hard to spot, years down the road. Tonight I ran into a wall. At a friend house someone suggested I try the Silverado Reserve Merlot 1997. So I did. Just as I have tried many other wines lately from my home state. Somewhere I had a Russian River Chardonnay, and again I quizzed myself inside, wondering what it was I had missed. Oh please, California, look to the simple pleasures of wine and life. Less is more, really. Just as Italian food is characterized not by how much you can load into the dish, but rather how well you can work with three of four ingredients, isn?t time we looked to wines like that and celebrated them for their pure simplicity and the pleasure that it brings to us?
I walked away from the table after that ?97 Merlot. It was not something I would ask for with my last meal.
The other day of couple of older guys (older than me) came into a fine wine store where we were tasting the Chianti and they were asking for ?big and bold Syrahs.? I really thought, at first, that they were liquor board guys; they had the ?look.? I was disappointed when I heard them requesting the big Syrah like it was some kind of vinous Viagra.
So we have these characters looking to blow $60 on a big red lap dance and on the other end of the scale we have these jokers who come up and say something like this: ?Anyone can find a great wine for a $100. It takes a real snoop to suss out the great ones for under $10. Yeah, that would have been a pretty fair way to go about it, back when the price of oil was around $14 a barrel. But now that snoop has fallen behind the reality of the times. Just like the restaurant that cuts back on the quality of the ingredients in their food, so there are measures that can be taken like that with wine. But why would someone continue on with such self deception? Younger generations don?t do that, in fact they see wines at $15-20 as a baseline. And yes, I have gotten off track.
What I am saying is that here we were with this little Chianti from Melini that has five years of age on it, sells for about $20, has some maturity to it, is balance, is simple, is correct. What else do you want? That?s the end of the rainbow. The lightning bolt. The Golden Fleece .

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