Tasted at Vintaly 2005:Tommaso Bussola

Via Molino Turri, 30
37024 Negrar(VR)
Tel. 045.750.1740
www.bussolavini.com
Imported to the US by Rare Wines - Vieux Vins (CA)

I met Tommaso Bussola a number of years ago, when I visited him in the course my first in-depth visit to Valpolicella. He's affable, and very laid back, and I found his low tech system for drying the grapes destined to become Amarone and Recioto -- in a well-ventilated roofed shed -- quite refreshing after some of the high tech drying systems I'd seen in other cellars, which do to guarantee consistent results from year to year, but also remove one of the major elements that defines a Valpolicella vintage, namely the fall weather. By comparison, the air in Tommaso's shed was damp, because it was raining heavily outside, and he was worried about rot. Put simply, Tommaso takes what Nature dolls out, rolls with the punches, and works very well with what he has; the wines reflect not just the weather of the summer, but also what happened in the fall, which may be dry one year, resulting in quick drying of the grapes that favors the concentration of certain elements and certain transformations in the skins, and wetter the next, resulting in a slower drying that favors the concentration of other elements and other transformations in the skins, and perhaps a touch of Noble Rot (which he doesn't look for, but will accept if it happens).

The result of all this is that one never knows quite what to expect with one of Tommaso's wines, though one can be certain it will not disappoint.

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