Vinitaly 2009, Part 2

Thursday afternoon was all about Tuscany, and mainly the 2004 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino. After a hearty lunch, we began at Siro Pacenti. Dad went to visit the winery when he and Mom were in Italy last summer after we met Giancarlo Pacenti last year at Vinitaly, so he was eager to make this stop. Dad even had a gift for Giancarlo, who was very happy to see us and take time to sit with us as we tasted his newest releases. As with many of these producers, we tasted the 2007 Rosso di Montalcino, followed by the 2004 Brunello. Both wines were nice, but young, though it was quite enjoyable to be able to discuss them with the winemaker while tasting. Like so many others we have met over the past two years, Giancarlo Pacenti has quickly become a friend who we look forward to visiting with when in Italy.

When we left Pacenti, we had a few minutes before an appointment with another friend, so we stopped at Valdicava. Here we tasted two big, young wines, the 2005 Brunello and the 2004 Brunello Riserva.

Next up was a scheduled appointment with Mario Bollag of Terralsole. Like Giancarlo, we met Mario last year, and Mom and Dad then went visit him at the winery over the summer. Mario was only at Vinitaly for a day this year, so we had made an appointment to be sure we could see him. He is incredibly friendly, and also very passionate about his wines, which makes a visit with him quite a treat. Our tasting started with the 2006 Rosso di Montalcino, followed by the 2003 Brunello and the 2004 Brunello. Mario had us taste both of these to see how different the two vintages really are. While the 2004 vintage is much more acclaimed, the 2003 is definitely more accessible now, as the '04 was still somewhat tannic. Next up, Mario presented his three IGT wines. There was the 2005 Coldoro, which is a Merlot, the 2005 Solista that is Syrah, and the 2005 Pasticcio, a blend of 55% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, and 15% Sangiovese. All of the IGT's were very nice, and it was a wonderful visit with Mario once again.

Having finished our main visits of the day, and with time already running short, we really pushed through at a rapid pace the rest of the day. First up was Salvioni, where we had the 2007 Rosso di Montalcino and the 2004 Brunello, which was more approachable than the others we had tasted thus far. Next we ventured away from Brunello for a bit, stopping first at Volpaia. Here we began with the 2006 Chianti Classico, followed by the 2005 Chianti Classico Riserva and the 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva Coltassala, a single vineyard selection. We then had two IGT wines, the 2005 Balifico that is 2/3 Sangiovese and 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by the 2005 Prelius Maremma. From there, we made our way to Tua Rita, where we tried the 2007 Giusto di Notri, which was a barrel sample but already very promising, followed by the 2007 Perlato del Bosco, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

After experiencing some other areas of Tuscany, it was back to Montalcino. We stopped at Poggio di Sotto for their 2006 Rosso di Montalcino, but promised to come back the following day to taste the Brunello when proprieter Piero Palmucci would be present. Next was Casanova di Neri where we tried a full lineup of wines beginning with the 2007 Rosso di Montalcino. After that, it was the 2004 Brunello normale, the 2004 Brunello Tenuta Nuova, and the 2004 Brunello Cerretoalto, which was quite tannic and will need several years of aging to show its full potential. We finished with the 2006 Pietradonice, a Sant'Antimo made with Cabernet Sauvignon.

In the booth right next door was Castello di Rampolla, so we stopped there to try a pair of IGTs from this great producer, the 2005 Sammarco and the 2005 d'Alceo. We then finally wrapped up our Tuscan afternoon at Il Poggione, where we once again began with a 2007 Rosso di Montalcino. That was followed up with the 2004 Brunello and the 2003 Brunello Riserva.

As we made our way back toward the exit, we ended up making one last stop for the day at Villa Sandi, a large producer in the Veneto. Megan had recently been to an event at the winery, so we made our way into one of the more elaborate setups we had seen for a final tasting. We began with their NV Prosecco, which was nice and made in a bit of a lighter style, then followed with two wines from their Sicilian holdings, a 2007 Nero d'Avola and the 2006 Filio, an IGT Cab/Merlot blend.

After all this, our first day at Vinitaly finally concluded. We would spend an hour or so in the taxi line, which allowed some time to sober up before heading for the Bottega del Vino, and then Friday we would be back for more.