I love vertical tastings -- they can really give you a sense of the development and progress of an estate -- so I was thrilled to accept an invitation from the Marchesi de Ferrari Corradi, the owners of Boscarelli, to taste 20 years of their Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. We went from old to young to illustrate how their methods have evolved over two and a bit decades. This is a 14-hectare (35-acre) estate in the heart of Montepulciano, with a selection of new and old clones for sangiovese, planted at a density of 7,000 vines per hectare (2.5 acres).

1979 Riserva: Included some white grapes, as was traditional in Vino Nobile and Chianti at the time. Vino Nobile did not become a DOCG until the 1980 vintage. The color was quite developed with an orange rim; there were some herbal hints on the nose and the palate was long and mature and cedary, drying a little on the finish, but by no means dying. The wine was made in concrete tanks, as were the following three wines.

1983: The first vintage that Maurizio Castelli, one of Tuscany's pioneering oenologists, worked for Boscarelli. That too included a few white grapes. The color was quite deep, with some firm mature fruit on the nose, and the palate was beautifully elegant, with cedary fruit. Mature sangiovese for me can resemble the cedarwood notes of mature cabernet sauvignon, even if they are quite different when young. The year 1983 was a good vintage in Tuscany, as this wine illustrates. The oak aging has been similar for all but the 1979 vintage, which was aged in large Slavonic oak barrels. From 1983, they used smaller Slavonic oak barrels, from 5 hectolitres (500 liters) to 20 hectolitres (2,000 liters) in size.

1988: No white grapes here, just the traditional prugnolo, as sangiovese is called in Montepulciano. Medium color, with rounded fruit and a hint of cherries on the nose. Ripe and rounded, structured with velvety tannins, with a long, elegant finish.

1991: Medium color; quite firm cherry fruit and on the palate youthful cherry fruit. Sour but ripe cherries are the classic flavors of sangiovese. Medium weight, with a freshness and some tannins and good fruit. This was a vintage that turned out better than first expected. Natural yeasts were used up to 1991, and then they used cultured yeast until 2001, when they returned to indigenous yeast.

1995: This included some merlot, which they first planted out of curiosity, with the idea of producing a richer wine with more color and some oak aging. In 2001 they reverted back to Tuscan grape varieties alone for the basic Vino Nobile, while including 7 percent merlot and 2 percent cabernet sauvignon in their Black Label Riserva Vino Nobile with the aim of making a richer, more powerful wine. The year 1995 was a cool vintage, with a late harvest. The color is deep and young, with some firm fruit and a tannic edge to the palate. The wine was fermented in stainless steel vats, as it was also in 1997 and 1999.

1997: Again there was some merlot here, and also some cabernet sauvignon. It was a warm vintage and not an easy one. Medium color, with some sour cherry fruit on the nose. Medium weight, quite tannic with firm fruit and some cassis as well as sour cherries.

1999: Again merlot and cabernet sauvignon as well as sangiovese. Young color; medium depth. Quite a firm dry nose, a touch earthy. Quite a sturdy palate, with a hint of sweet cassis. This lacked the charm of the other wines.

2001: A good vintage, and a return to traditional grape varieties, with 2 percent to 3 percent canaiolo and 5 percent to 7 percent colorino, with the prugnolo. Fermented in 40-hectolitre (4,000-liter) French oak casks, some new and some old. And a return to indigenous yeast. The other innovation of this vintage was temperature control, beginning the fermentation with lower temperatures and using it to avoid any peaks, while letting everything happen as naturally as possible.

Medium color. Elegant cherry nose. Lovely elegant fruit on the palate with a tannic streak and satisfying backbone. Still quite youthful, but beautifully balanced, with length and elegance. Drinking beautifully but still very youthful. A lovely end to a fascinating and revealing tasting.

Zester Daily contributor Rosemary George was one of the first women to become a Master of Wine in 1979. She has been a freelance wine writer since 1981 and is the author of 11 books. She contributes to various magazines and also writes a blog on the Languedoc region.

Photo: The cellars at Boscarelli estate. Credit: Courtesy of Boscarelli Estate

Comment

smaller | bigger

Write the displayed characters

Post Now Preview