Monday, August 18, 2008

The Latest From Brunello: It's Even Worse Than We Thought...

I haven't said much about the Brunello scandal of late, mostly because to write well about it one must be in Montalcino with one's ear to the ground. I am not.
However, Monty Waldin is, and his report, which Franco Ziliani has reposted, is frankly frightening. And very much worth reading (Scroll down past Franco's Italian to Jancis Robinson's introduction in English and Monty's report, also in English).

To add to this, another friend and colleague tells me that the Italian police have paid visits to all the major figures involved in the Brunello scandal -- cellar masters, agronomists, winery owners, consulting enologists and so on -- and examined the hard disks of their computers. Since many of these people, especially the consulting enologists, also work elsewhere, the scandal could very well spread to other appellations. The other thing my friend says is that the investigation no longer just regards winemaking. The inspectors are looking at land use, hiring, accounting practices, and everything else. It will take a while for the dust to settle, I fear.

3 comments:

Do Bianchi said...

Kyle, Franco and I also reposted Monty's piece at VinoWire, our blog devoted to Italian wine news.

http://vinowire.simplicissimus.it/2008/08/13/guest-opinion-monty-waldin-lets-off-steam-about-brunellopoli/

Best, Jeremy

Unknown said...

Ciao Jeremy,

Thanks much for the headsup!

Kyle

Anonymous said...

This is what happens when American wine reviewers don't have a clue about the typicity of a wine and rate all of the wine on a 100 'I like it' point scale.

The result?

Authentic, top-quality wines receive often a lower point score than those that were 'fabricated' to satify the 'Cabernet' preference of the American wine consumer and reviewers.

I remember a Barolo, reeking badly of Cabernet Sauvignon and yet it was awarded 94 points! It wasn't Barolo! It tasted and smelled like a California Cult Cabernet.

That's what happens when you apply your Bordeaux/California Cab taste to Italian red wine and every other indigenous red wine from around the world.