This year the Vernaccia Consorzio organized a meeting between Vernaccia and Chenin Blanc -- several different wines from the Loire Valley -- and asked Ernesto Gentili, who led the first Vernaccia comparison, to guide the panel.
He began by noting San Gimignano has made tremendous strides over the past seven years; in the first comparison, with ago with Chablis, they had a difficult time finding a sufficient number of worthy Vernacce. This year there were 20, and rather than simply select the best tout court they were able to base their selection on an attempt to identify the Vernaccia terroirs -- Vernaccia from calcareous, tuffaceous, clayey, and stony soils, all of which give different results.
Vernaccia has, he noted, many small, ambitious winemakers who are willing to make the effort it takes to draw the most from their land, and this, coupled with the undeniable potential of the varietal, is San Gimignano's strength. In short, the potential is there, and there is much work to be done.
The last thing about this comparison: While basing the selection on microareas, Ernesto consciously excluded those who have participated in previous comparisons, opening the way to people less well known to the wine world.
And, to my great pleasure, to Elisabetta Fagioli, who has finally joined the Consorzio, and presented a spellbinding Montenidoli Vernaccia Carato 2002. That it was as good as it was came as no surprise to me, because I have tasted older bottles of her wines, but it had fellow journalists smiling and and raising their eyebrows, and that was very nice to see. Vintage presentations are not the place for wine writers to play favorites, but with an old and dear friend I will make an exception.
The wines we compared:
Il Lebbio Tropie Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2010
Pale brassy white with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is moderately intense, with minerality and slight airiness mingled with hints of iodine and slight spice, and as it opens some bitter almond and hints of loquat. On the palate it's fairly rich, with languid lemony fruit laced with passion fruit and slight loquat, and supported by savory minerality that flows into a warm fairly savory finish with some bitter underpinning. Pleasant, and though it needs time -- another year -- for the nose to develop, it will work well as an aperitif or with fish or white meats now. If you like tighter wines it won't work as well for you, though if you prefer a softer expression of Vernaccia you will enjoy it considerably.
2 stars
Il Palagione Ori Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2009
Brassy white with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is intense, and decidedly mineral with considerable gunflint; it's like struck granite, and is quite deft. On the palate it's ample and languid, with fairly rich minerality supported by some glycerin that gives fullness, and by underlying citric citron acidity that carries into a long citron finish. Deft and quite pleasant, with a lot to say. Impressive.
88-90
Fattoria San Donato Angelica Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2008
Brilliant brassy yellow with greenish reflections and white rim. The bouquet is powerful, with minerality and gunflint laced with bitter butterscotch and some greenish vegetal accents; a fellow taster finds hydrocarbons and is right; with time some cola also emerges. Powerfully oaked, and though deft is very much influenced by the wood; it's not a wine I would automatically identify as Vernaccia. On the palate it's ample, with fairly rich mineral laced bitter almonds and loquat fruit again heavily influenced by oak that resolves into savory rather bitter butterscotch with sea salt as all fades. It's quite nice, but not strictly related to Vernaccia.
2 stars
Fontaleoni Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2007
Brassy yellow with brilliant greenish highlights. The bouquet is powerful, with bitter gunflint and savory accents mingled with some hydrocarbons that might have been bouillon were they less intense, and bitter almond. On the palate it's savory, with bitter gunflint minerality and chewy spice supported by some languidity and slight bitter mineral acidity; and flows into a fairly long bitter finish. It's a bit coarser than some of the others, and I found it giving an impression of trying very hard.
2 stars
Vagnoni I Mocali Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2007
Deep brassy yellow with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is intense, with considerable greenish butterscotch supported by hydrocarbons and bitter almonds with some gunflint as well, and hints of leather and savory accents; as it opens also some sweet cola. On the palate it's bright, with fairly rich lemony fruit supported by butterscotch laced bitter minerality and sea salt, and also by some citron acidity, which flows into a clean savory bitter finish. Pleasant, and has quite a bit to say.
2 stars
San Quirico Isabella Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2005
Fermented in large wood, without temperature control. Bright brassy gold with brilliant golden reflections and white rim. The bouquet is moderately intense, with some milky acidity at the outset supported by greenish savory accents and some bitter minerality; it has quite a bit to say though it demands more attention than some -- more delicate and a fellow taster also found cooked apples. On the palate it's bright, with deft mineral acidity and pleasant savory gunflint that flows into a clean fresh finish. It's quite pleasant in a deft key with considerable finesse and is a wine that will give a great deal to those willing to give it time and attention. Not a flashy wine, but there are all too many of those.
88-90
Montenidoli Carato Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2002
Brassy yellow with brilliant brassy gold reflections and slight greenish highlights, and white rim. The bouquet is deft, with pleasant savory minerality supported by slight heather, almonds, and deft spice mingled with blossoms and hints of orange as well; it's an extraordinarily harmonious nose and one could write and write without really getting to the heart of the matter. Very impressive, and develops beautifully in the glass. On the palate it's ample, with rich lemony fruit supported by savory minerality and deft languidity, and flows into a long graceful finish. Beautiful, and a wine that one can hold a long conversation with. Most impressive.
94
We then tasted several wines from the Loire Valley:
Domaine Frantz Saumon Montlouis-sur-Loire Mineral+ 2010
Brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is powerful, with wood smoke mingled with dried apples and bramble, and also some butterscotch with underlying sweetness and hints of hydrocarbons. Intense and fresh in a moelleux key . On the palate it's ample, and fairly sweet, with lively dried apple fruit supported by bright apple acidity, and flows into a clean bright apple laced finish with some underlying cut apple bitterness. Interesting, and quite approachable, with the acidity necessary to work well with succulent white meats and also fried foods, and a pleasant sweet underpinning that integrates very well with the acidity
88-90
Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont 2010
Brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is moderately intense, with greenish vegetal accents supported by some minerality and slight green apple. Gives an impression of crispness. On the palate it's ample, and much more languid than one would expect from the nose, with fairly rich Gray Pippin apple fruit supported by deft lemony acidity, and flows into a clean Grey Pippin finish with pleasant fairly sweet acidity. Quite rich, and will work well with foods of all kinds.
2 stars
P'tit Domaine Saumur Entre Deux Voyes 2009
Brassy yellow with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with some butterscotch mingled with green apples and pleasant spice; it's quite fresh and has a lot to say, with slightly greenish hydrocarbons that emerge to provide an underpinning. On the palate it's full and rich, with powerful minerality supported by deft savory citric acidity and by some minerality and sea salt, and flow into a long mineral laced savory finish. Quite impressive, and quite young, and will go places with time. Quite nice with beautiful freshness.
90
Domaine des Roches Neuves Sameur L'Insolite 2009
Brilliant brassy gold with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is intense, with mineral laced apple fruit supported by slight hydrocarbons, and deft accents that bring to mind spun sugar. Quite fresh, and is clearly still developing, though it already has quite a bit to say now. On the palate it's bright, though more languid than some of the others, with lemony acidity more than apple fruit, supported by considerable minerality and by delicate white grape tannins that have a slightly greenish burr, and flow into a clean savory mineral laced finish with pineapple accents. It comes across as being from a hotter vintage or perhaps a hotter area, and while very pleasant -- there is acidity, but of the pineapple variety -- doesn't quite have the verve of some of the others. Good, however, and which you prefer is a matter of personal taste.
2 stars
Coulèe de Serrant - Nicolas Joly Savennières Coulée de Serrant 2008
Brilliant brassy yellow with slight greenish reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with minerality and some hydrocarbons mingled with dried apple and some savory minerality and a certain mineral airiness. Mineral… On the palate it's pleasant and quite mineral with gunflint laced apple fruit supported by savory accents that flows into a long fresh moderately sweet apple laced gunflint mineral finish with pleasant greenish accents. Quite fresh, and while it's quick to write it has a lot to say.
88-90
Taken as a group the French wines were quite interesting, but did not -- and one cannot expect this since they were from several appellations -- present a unified front that once could compare with the Vernaccia. Rather, they showed various aspects of the Chenin Blanc grape, and offered a nice picture of the varietal.
The Current Releases tasted February 20 2012
The Consorzio also organized a presentation of the current releases of Vernaccia, which I was quite curious about, because the major player was the 2011 vintage, which I was rather worried about: Put simply, I feared it would reflect two horrible weather patterns, the cool wet weather that carried through July and the first half of August and the searing temperatures that began August 19 and continued though the end of the harvest. Instead I was pleasantly surprised in many cases by nice acidities and fruit that had reached ripeness. It's not a great vintage, but it is pleasant.
Owing to time considerations, I tasted a selection, rather than all of the wines.
Casa Alle Vacche
Casa alle Vacche Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Brassy yellow with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is moderately intense and rather pungent., with bitter accents and some wet leaves, with some gunflint bitterness as well. On the palate it's ample and rather soft, with moderately intense minerality supported by slight acidity, and flowing into a fairly long bitter mineral finish. It's almost devoid of acidity, as if the ripening got away from them, and it is consequently weaker than I might have liked.
1 star
Casa Alle Vacche I Macchioni Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Pale brassy yellow with brassy reflections. The bouquet is fairly intense, vinous with heather and bramble mingled with some almond blossoms and pleasant minerality, some sea salt too. On the palate it's bright, with lively fresh white fruit supported by lemony mineral acidity and pleasant greenish vegetal accents that flow into a clean fresh fairly sweet finish with slight loquat and underlying heather from a Tuscan field. Pleasingly graceful, and will work very well as an aperitif or with foods.
2 stars
Casale Falchini
Casale Falchini Vigna a Solatio Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Brassy white with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is moderately intense and rather bitter, with vegetal accents and gunflint supported by some sea salt; not yet really defined. On the palate it's ample and greenish, with a full savory languid with and some gunflint bitterness, flowing into a fairly brief savory finish. It's still working though what it wants to be when it grows up, but will revolve around savory minerality and gunflint, I rather think.
Casale Falchini Ab Vinea Doni Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2010
Lively brassy yellow with brilliant golden reflections. The bouquet is deft, with butterscotch mingled with minerality and some almond blossoms; it's pleasantly deft. On the palate it's ample and rather languid, with moderately intense lemon laced loquat minerality supported by moderate gunflint bitterness laced with slight butterscotch and flowing into a rather flinty finish. It's languid, and a little looser than I might have liked; if you prefer tighter more bracing whites you will find it a trifle lax; if you instead prefer whites that are less aggressive it is graceful in a slightly more curvy than lithe key, and will work well as an aperitif or with foods.
2 stars
Rubicini
Rubicini Etherea Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2010
Brassy gold with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with bitter almonds and heather mingled with savory minerality and a deft gunflint underpinning that brings struck granite to mind, and as it opens savory butterscotch. On the palate it's a little more languid than the nose suggests, with bitter accents and minerality laced with fairly intense butterscotch that flows into a fairly long gunflint laced finish with a pleasant butterscotch underpinning. Graceful and harmonious, and will work well as an aperitif or with foods.
2 stars
Rubicini Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Brassy greenish gold with brassy rf and white rim the bouquet is fairly intense, with greenish vegetal notes and some bitter almond mingled with savory spice. On the palate it's ample and rather bitter, with moderately intense savory minerality supporting some citric fruit, but not much, and it flows into a clean bitter finish. Fairly direct, and while it is a barrel sample I would have liked a little more verve.
Cesani
Cesani Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Brassy gold with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is greenish, with grass and hints of artichokes mingled with almond skins and some sea salt, and as it opens lemony accents. On the palate it's fairly rich and quite mineral on the outset, with a pleasing mineral fullness supported by lemony acidity that brings to mind Easter lemons, and flows into a long citric finish. Graceful in a more acidic key, and will work very well with foods, including fried fish or meats
2 stars
Cesani Sanice Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2009
Brilliant golden yellow with golden reflections. The bouquet is intense, and riper than most, with tropical fruit, passion fruit and some very ripe pineapple in particular, supported by sweetish accents and alcohol. On the palate it's ample and languid, with fairly rich pineapple fruit that gains direction from moderate pineapple acidity, and is supported by some gunflint minerality as well, which gains in intensity in the finish, where some bitter almonds also emerge. It's richer and riper, and if you like the style you will enjoy it considerably. If you prefer tighter more acidic, aggressive wines it won't work as well for you, though you will find things to think about.
2 stars
La Mormoraia
La Mormoraia Vernaccia Mattia Barzaghi Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Pale slightly greenish cloudy white -- hasn't been filtered yet. The bouquet is fairly intense, with minerality and some yeasts supported by hints of greenish almond skin and sea salt. On the palate it's languid, with fairly bright lemony fruit supported by dusky greenish accents and some savory notes, flowing into a fairly long almond laced bitter finish. Interesting, and will have quite a bit to say.
Il Lebbio
Il Lebbio Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Brassy gold with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with greenish vegetal accents mingled with savory pungency and some petroleum, and as it opens cool vegetal accents. On the palate it's ample and rather mineral, with minerality more than fruit and only moderate acidity, which leads into a mineral finish with gunflint bitterness that gradually emerges. It is more mineral than acidic and this is the vintage I think, though there is a degree of harmony to it.
1 star
Il Lebbio Tropie Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Pale slightly greenish brassy gold with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is sweeter, with floral accents and some butterscotch mingled with heather and sweetish spice, while there is also some underlying minerality. On the palate it's ample and rather languid, with fairly rich bitter almond laced lemony fruit that is also supported by some gunflint laced minerality, and flows into a fairly long rather bitter mineral finish with a slight burr. Promising in a fairly aggressive bitter key, and is a wine that you will like if you like this style.
Panizzi
Panizzi Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Brassy yellow with bright brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is intense, with gunflint and minerality supported by slight hints of pineapple and some bitter almond. On the palate it's deft, with pleasant minerality supported by glycerin that gives fullness coupled with hints of pineapple and menthol, and considerable minerality that flows into a long slightly bitter mineral finish that brings to mind granite -- memories of youthful days when I was studying geology, and it has a pleasing deftness to it. It will work well as either aperitif or with foods.
2 stars
Pietrafitta
Pietrafitta Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Brassy white with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is muted, though slight medicinal accents emerge mingled with some sea salt and eucalyptus. On the palate it's bright, with lemony eucalyptus laced fruit supported by savory bitterness that flows into a dusky heather laced finish that brings a cut field in summer to mind, supported by some languidity. Quite direct, and will work well with foods supporting while not demanding center stage.
Pietrafitta Borghetto Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Brassy yellow with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is moderately intense, with savory accents and hints of bouillon; it is clearly a bit up in the air and working on what it wants to be. On the palate it's ample and languid, with moderate lemony fruit supported by greenish accents that flow into a savory greenish finish; it gives an impression of trying quite hard, but is coming up short, and I found myself wanting less heft and more definition.
La Rampa di Fugnano
Rampa di Fugnano Alata Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Lively brassy yellow with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with butterscotch and some savory minerality supporting bitter almond blossoms and some spice. On the palate it's fairly rich, with savory minerality and fairly bright lemony fruit that flows into a clean fairly rich citric finish with slight vegetal underpinning. Bright, and will drink nicely with fish or white meats.
2 stars
Signano
Signano Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
pale brassy yellow with brilliant brassy reflections. The bouquet is fairly intense, with bright almond blossoms mingled with minerality and some sea salt, and some warm mineral acidity as well. Pleasant. On the palate it's deft, with bright savory minerality supported by delicate loquat acidity that flows into a clean slightly peppery mineral finish, and while it's quick to write it also has a pleasing deftness and will work quite well with foods. Pleasant and quite promising, a wine that will be worth seeking out.
Signano Poggiarelli Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Pale brassy white with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is greenish, with bitter almonds and sea breeze mingled with heather from a cut field. On the palate it's ample and rather soft, with moderately intense lemony fruit supported by some minerality and slight gunflint; it's somewhat lacking in verve and definition, and I found myself wishing it were tighter -- it feels as if the ripeness got away from them.
Fontaleoni
Fontaleoni Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Pale brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with heather and bitter almonds laced with some minerality and slight greenish accents that bring scalded milk to mind. On the palate it's fairly rich, with lively tart sour lemon fruit supported by brambly mineral acidity that has a decidedly peppery burr, and flows into a fairly long peppery acidic finish. It has some fire to it, and is very young; it needs another year to come together and will age nicely for several more years thereafter.
Fontaleoni Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2009
Pale brassy gold with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is intense, with greenish notes and hydrocarbons mingled with green almond fuzz and a fair amount of bitterness that has slight savory accents as well. On the palate it's bright, with lively lemon-laced bitterness and a fair amount of alcohol that confers warmth, while there is also gunflint minerality that continues into a fairly long peppery finish.. Pleasant, and though quite young has a lot to say and will also age well.
2 stars
Il Palagione
Il Palagione Hydra Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Pale brassy yellow with brilliant greenish brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is muted at first swish, though some spicy minerality emerges, coupled with considerable heather and some almond blossoms. On the palate it's ample and rather bitter, with fairly bright lemony fruit supported by savory mineral accents and flows into a clean mineral finish with mineral acid underpinning,. Quite promising in a vibrant, deft key.
San Quirico
San Quirico Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Pale brassy yellow with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is intense, with greenish vegetal accents mingled with heather and some spice, and also some hydrocarbons with underlying gunflint minerality, On the palate it's a bit more languid than I expected, with moderately intense savory minerality supported by gunflint and some heather from a cut field, flowing into a greenish bitter mineral finish with citron underpinning. Pleasant in a more languid key, but is more behind than some of the other barrel samples; it may have a little less verve though it's soon to say.
San Quirico Isabella Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2006
Barrel sample
Brassy gold with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is up in the air, with savory notes and some butterscotch supported by warmth and brambles, and as it opens some petroleum. On the palate it's ample and bright, with warm lemony fruit that has a slight butterscotch and bitter gunflint underpinning, and is supported by a peppery burr and greenish vegetal acidity that flow into a fairly bright savory finish. Promising, in a rather tart zesty key, and will drink very well with fried fish or meats, and also with hearty vegetable dishes.
San Donato
San Donato Angelica Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2010
Brassy slightly greenish white with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with heather and almond blossom mingled with some graphite shavings and minerality, and a certain coolness that brings to mind dappled shade. Deft. On the palate it's ample, with fairly rich minerality supported by bitter accents, while there is some glycerin that provides fullness, and it flows into a clean rather bitter mineral finish. Pleasant, in a zesty rather brooding key, and also has nice aging potential.
2 stars
San Donato Benedetta Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2009
Brilliant brassy gold with golden reflections and white rim; it's a bit more charged than many. The bouquet is intense, with butterscotch and some chocolaty liqueur mingled with some spice. A bit unusual, and with more oak than most, though I have an impression that it is large oak folding in -- it doesn't have the intensity of small oak. In other words, the wine is still developing. On the palate it's ample with bright minerality and some lemo9n fruit supported by bitter gunflint and some peppery spice, which flow into a clean rather brambly peppery mineral finish. It's pleasant but very young, and needs at least a year (two would be better) to come together and find itself.
2 stars
Fattoria Abbazia di Monte Oliveto
Fattoria Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Barrel sample
Pale cloudy greenish white; it's not yet filtered. The bouquet is greenish with some alcohol and slight graphite shaving bitterness, and also some lemony fruit. Promising though at present one-dimensional; it's very much a work in progress. On the palate it's pleasingly lemony with an underpinning of loquat, and supported by ample rather dusky acidity that flows into a clean slightly greenish bitter finish with a peppery burr. It promises nicely.
Tenuta Le Calcinaie
Tenuta Le Calcinaie Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Pale brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with dusky greenish vegetal notes mingled with some spice and minerality, and by some pungency that is also a factor of considerable youth. On the palate it's ample and rather soft, with fairly intense lemony fruit supported by dusky greenish gunflint minerality and a slight peppery burr that flows into a fairly long citric finish. It's a bit more languid than some, and if you prefer that to more tightly woven wines with brighter acidities -- though there is minerality that keeps it up -- you will enjoy it.
2 stars
Teruzzi & Puthod
Teruzzi & Puthod Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2011
Brilliant greenish brassy gold with brassy reflections. The bouquet is muted, though swishing brings up some wet paper and slight savory minerality with hints of citron. It's still in mid stride and hasn't recovered at all from bottling. On the palate it's ample and rather soft, with some savory citric fruit supported by slight minerality; it's a bit laxer than I might have liked, and while the nose will recover some, the palate will remain lax.
1 star
La Lastra
La Lastra Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2010
Barrel sample
Pale slightly cloudy brassy gold; it is transparent but not crystalline. The bouquet is smoky, with bitter gunflint and some citrus, citron in particular, and pleasant greenish vegetal accents. Enjoyable. On the palate it's still coming together, with moderate acidity and fairly pronounced minerality that flow into a dusky rather bitter finish. It will I think become rather graceful in a lithe key, though it's too soon to say.
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