Garantito IGP: On the Importance of Lot Numbers

This time, I take the stand:

A friend of mine who imports wines was touring Vinitaly with a friend who was planning to open a wine shop. They were tasting, and she found something she liked; as they were leaving the producer's booth, he asked, "Did you get the lot number?"

"The what?" she said. They went back.

You may be wondering why J thought lot numbers were so important. After all, So-and-So's 20__ vintage is So-and-So's 20__ vintage.

Well, yes and no. If So-and-So works all of the wine at once, and bottles it all at once, it is.

However, if there is enough of the wine that So-and-So divides it into several tanks and bottles them separately, each tank is a distinct entity, and though the winemaker will likely try to treat them alike, things can vary from one to the next.

How? First of all, differences in tank time can result in slight differences in the various lots. Second, wines in different tanks can evolve differently, even if they're treated alike: One tank may be in a slightly cooler spot in the building. Something settles out that doesn't in another that is a little warmer. In this case the differences in the lots can be minor, but they can also be substantial.

Or the wines in the different tanks can receive radically different treatments. Some friends of mine tried leaving one tank of one of their white wines on the lees for longer than the others, to see what would happen.

• The wine from the normal lots was brassy gold with gold highlights, with an elegant bouquet with floral notes, warmth, sea breezes, and hints of white chocolate; on the palate it was smooth, full, round, and crisp, but not tart, with rich fruit that led into a clean persistent finish with slight bitter almond notes. A big wine with tremendous finesse.
  
  
• The special lot was obviously cut from the same cloth, but on steroids: Intensely charged brassy gold with gold highlights, and floral notes laced with sage, herbs, almost caramel-like sugary overtones, and bitter almonds in the bouquet. Pleasing but somewhat biting, and so powerful that the individual nuances interfere with each other. On the palate it was huge, with tremendous fruit and a powerful, very long, finish with extremely intense bitter almond overtones.

The same label, but two different lots and two very different wines.

"In retrospect, we should have called the special lot something else," says the winemaker, adding that they burned their fingers badly: The experiment confused their customers. Those already familiar with the wine, who thought they knew what they were getting, were quite upset by the special bottles, while those who discovered the wine by buying a special bottle were equally upset to discover that most of the wine was lighter.

Lots are, alas, not always created equal.



We Are:
Carlo Macchi
Kyle Phillips
Luciano Pignataro
Roberto Giuliani
Stefano Tesi

The Photo of the Week: Amarone in the Making, Revisited, and the Wines of Le Bignale

The last photo of the week showed Amarone as it was being pumped over the cap in the fermentation tank.

It takes Amarone much longer than most wines to reach that stage, however: The grapes are first dried (without heating, by cool dry air) to raisins, a process that takes several months, during which the sugars are concentrated and a variety of chemical changes that give Amarone its characteristic bouquet and palate take place.

I took this shot at the end of January, at the Azienda Agricola Aldrighetti - Le Bignele in Marano di Valpolicella. They still use the traditional blend, including Molinara, which is the redder bunch. Perfect grapes almost ready to be pressed. And the wines? I tasted them with Luigi and his daughter Silvia

Before we get to them, a brief introduction.

The Aldrighetti family has long made wine, but Angelo and Luigi, who are brothers, only decided to bottle it themselves in 2005 -- I can easily imagine the people they sold to's being rather unhappy with their decision -- and the winery building has an almost-finished look about it; the essentials are all there, but the landscaping will wait. And this is as it should be.

Their vineyards are directly below the winery, and what I looked at was -- if I understood correctly -- east sloping. The vines are trained high, in the Pergola style, which goes counter to the current preferences for Guyot training that one sees in much of the Valpolicella (and most everywhere else, for that matter), and Luigi told me that they prefer the pergola because the ground contains a great deal of moisture, enough that hot dry summers are not a problem for them, and because of this having the bunches further separated from the ground significantly reduces problems with rot and mold.

Their total production is currently about 30,000 bottles. They still sell some of their wine to help pay the bills, but plan to reduce bulk sales and purchase more vineyards, thus increasing their total production to 80,000 bottles.

The wines, tasted at the end of January 2011:

Le Bignele Sulà Rosso Veronese IGT 2009
This is 35% Rondinella, 60-65% Corvina and Corvinone, and a little Molinara. It differs from Valpolicella in that it ferments and is bottled without the year of aging that the Valpolicella undergoes. Lively cherry ruby with brilliant ruby reflections and pink rim. The bouquet is fresh, with sour cherries mingled with greenish vegetal accents and pleasing violets. Quite fresh, and pleasant to sniff. On the palate it's light, and fruity, with lively sour cherry fruit that gains depth from some greenish accents, and is supported by tannins that have a slight greenish burr to them, and flow into a fairly long bright tart finish. Very pleasant in a lighter key, and will drink beautifully with simple grilled meats or light stews. In short, a perfect cookout wine. Expect it to go quickly. Nice acidity and quite sunny.
2 stars

Le Bignele Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC 2004
Lively cherry ruby with black reflections. The bouquet is bright, with fairly rich sour cherry fruit supported by some greenish vegetal accents and some iodine too, with pleasant savory accents as well, and it opens nicely, showing considerable finesse. On the palate it's medium bodied, with bright sour cherry acidity and sour cherry fruit supported by tannins that are slightly greenish and have a bite to them though they are not coarse, and flow into a bright sour cherry finish. If you like smoother softer wines it won't work as well for you far from the table, but with grilled meats or light roasts it will be quite nice -- fried things such as lamb chops too-- and if you like the style, which is fairly aggressive, you will enjoy it very much.
88-90

Le Bignele Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso DOC 2003
Lively black cherry ruby with brilliant ruby highlights and black reflections. The bouquet is fresh, with berry fruit that's fairly rich but not as tart as the 04, and that's because of the vintage, which resulted in large grapes because of the moisture in the soil, and also produced quite a bit of noble rot in the vineyards, something that they hadn't experience with previously. Pleasant, however, and on the palate it's rich, with fairly lively cherry fruit supported by moderate acidity and by tannins that have a warm greenish burr, which is in part the ripasso. With respect to many 2003 wines it's nowhere near as overripe, displaying acidity that the others lack, and freshness too. It's not at the level of the 04, but is very pleasant to drink.
2 stars

Le Bignele Amarone della Valpolicella DOC 2004
Deep garnet ruby with black highlights and almandine rim. The bouquet is muted at first swish, though more swishing brings up deft berry fruit supported by some cedar and sandalwood, with slight underlying sweetness. Beautiful harmony and elegance, in a wine that is still very young. On the palate it's rich, with powerful cherry fruit supported by deft berry fruit acidity and tannins that are fairly bitter, and still very young; flowing into a clean rather bitter finish. It's quite pleasant, and still very young; one could drink it now with a roast -- leg of lamb comes to mind -- but if you have the patience to give it another 3-5 years it will richly reward you. If you can wait longer, better yet.
88-90 (Now)

Le Bignele Amarone della Valpolicella DOC 2005
Lively cherry ruby with brilliant reflections and black highlights. The bouquet is fairly rich, with sour cherry fruit whose sourness is more marked than the 04's and with some sandalwood notes as well. It has cleaned up nicely sine it was presented a couple of years ago, but is less fresh than the 04. On the palate it's full, with considerable alcohol and berry fruit that's lighter and less round, while the tannins are a bit more strident, and have a much more pronounced burr that carries into the finish. The 05 was disjointed as a vintage, with high heat and rainfall, and the combination makes for unbalance and disequilibrium. This said, the wine is quite good, and a superb expression of the vintage.
2 stars

Le Bignele Amarone della Valpolicella DOC 2007
Lively black cherry ruby with black reflections and cherry rim. The bouquet is fairly rich, though still young, with berry fruit that has some prune accents and also a fair amount of sweetness, though it is fresher and brighter than many of the 07 Amaroni. Nice balance and very young. On the palate it's fairly rich, with fairly sweet cherry plum fruit -- it's sweeter than the older vintages -- while the tannins have a slightly greener feel to them, and flow into a clean burr that carries into the finish. It's pleasant though very, very young, and will need another 3-5 years to begin to show its best.
2 stars

Le Bignele Recioto della Valpolicella DOC 2005
This Recioto ages in steel and was bottled for a year ago. It is deep black cherry ruby with violet reflections and white rim. The bouquet is somewhat tarter than many Recioti, with plum berry fruit supported by deft vegetal accents and pleasing sandalwood spice. Quite pleasant, and as it opens sweetness emerges. Very nice. On the palate it's full, rich, and very smooth, with powerful plum cherry fruit supported by lively acidity and very smooth sweet tannins, while there is also some sandalwood, and it carries into a bright berry fruit finish. It's more acidic than many recioti, and this makes it brighter, a delightful experience. They served it with Gorgonzola piccante, and the combination is perfect.
90

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The Azienda Agricola Moro Rinaldini: Lambrusco & More

The Rinaldini family came to winemaking via a side route: Paola's father Rinaldo ran a popular restaurant, but was fascinated by wine. Fascinated enough by it that he made what he served his customers (and cold cuts too), and in the late 60s decided to get serious and shift his focus to wine.

The Azienda Agricola Moro Rinaldini has 15 hectares of vineyards between Reggio Emilia and Parma, in the foothills of the Colline Matildiche, and makes a variety of wines, both still and sparkling; among the sparkling wines are a number of Metodo Classico, or bottle-fermented wines, including a Lambrusco.

Which is among the bottles Paola Rinaldini sent me to taste.

The still wines she sent are also worth noting. They are made with the Lambrusco region's traditional varietals, and though one might think it odd to make a still wine from them, they work quite well. One is simply late harvested and oaked, while the other is instead made from grapes partially dried on mats before pressing after the Amarone technique, and is it does somewhat resemble Amarone, though with the flavor cast of Lambrusco grapes.

Curiosities, given the volume produced (within the context of Emilian winemaking), but if you are interested in unusual wines they are well worth seeking out.

The wines, tasted at the end of January 2011:

Rinaldini Osé Lambrusco Dell'Emilia IGT Rosato Secco
Lot 1090
This is a blend of Lambrusco Salamino and Lambrusco Marani. Lively rose color, with fine white surprisingly persistent (for a Lambrusco) perlage. The bouquet is quite fresh, with brambly raspberry fruit supported by slight greenish accents and underlying ripe cherries and berry fruit. Pleasant and zesty. On the palate it's fairly light, and bright, with lively sour cherry fruit supported by brambly raspberry acidity and by the sparkle, which adds peppery fullness and confer a salty feel as well, and flows into a clean savory finish with underlying sour berry fruit. Quite pleasant, and one of those wines that you set out and have to replace because the first emptied while your back was turned; it will be nice with pizza or -- if you want to think Emilian -- cold cuts including both culatello and mortadella, and will be perfect at cookouts with simple grilled meats and the vegetable fixings that go with them.
2 stars

Pronto Lambruso Rosso dell'Emilia IGP Secco
No lot number visible
This is 70% Lambrusco Salamino, 15% Lambrusco Marani, and 15% Ancellotta. Impenetrable pyrope with fine purple perlage that bubbles down quickly. The bouquet is intense and vinous with considerable bitter graphite shavings and brambly accents mingled with berry fruit and spice. On the palate it's ample and fairly bitter, with rich graphite placed cherry plum fruit supported by sparkle and leafy bitter accents that flow into a fairly long bitter finish, while there is also underlying sweetness that nicely balances the bitterness throughout. It's quite approachable, in a fairly direct decidedly mineral key, and will work well with simple grilled meats or light stews, and though it will also be a nice cookout wine, there isn't quite enough acidity for fried meats and vegetables. Expect it to go quickly.
1 star

Rinaldini Vecchio Moro Lambrusco Dell'Emilia IGT
Lot 9288 (? - it's blurred)
This is named after Paola's grandfather, who was known as Il Moro; it's a blend of Grasparossa, Ancellotta, and Marzemino. Impenetrable pyrope with purple foam that rises up and gradually settles to ring the glass. The bouquet is bright, with rich prune cherry fruit supported by deft leafy underbrush bitterness and some brambles; it's quite rich and enticing. On the palate it's fairly full, and fairly sweet, with rich prune cherry fruit supported by mineral acidity and sparkle, and by tannins that have a warm graphite laced burr and flow into a fairly long bitter finish with savory accents. Quite pleasant, and will work very well with grilled meats (or even stewed flavorful fish, including fattier fish), and is also a wine that one could drink while nibbling savory cheeses along the lines of Parmigiano Reggiano or well aged cheddar.
2 stars

Rinaldini Pjcol Ross Lambrusco Brut 2009
Lo 92?? (it's blurred)
Pjcol Ross is an autochthonous Lambrusco clone of the Val D'Enza, which was traditionally trained to elm trees, but poorly suited to more intensive vineyard planting (and relatively unproductive, too), and therefore largely abandoned when the farmers began to plant specialized vineyards. The property Rinaldo bought still had some, however, and his father Il Moro, who was born in a nearby farmhouse and remembered the old wines, suggested Rinaldo ferment it in purezza. It turned out well, and now they bottle ferment to add sparkle it rather than use the Charmat process that is used to add sparkle to the vast majority of Lambrusco. It's inky pyrope with very purple foam that boils up and then settles, while fine purple perlage continues to rise from the bottom of the glass. The bouquet is intense, with powerful prune and forest berry fruit supported by greenish vegetal accents and some bitterness, and also slight jammy accents. Very pleasant to sniff, and has a lot to say. On the palate it's full, and round, with powerful fairly sour plum cherry fruit supported by deft sparkle and sour savory accents that are more marked than those in the Vecchio Moro, and flow into an elegant savory cherry plum finish with underlying brambly bitterness. A beautiful wine, and shows why bottle fermented Lambrusco, though rare and uneven (I've had other bottles far from this level) remains a wine to be sought out. It will work very well with grilled meats or cold cuts, though I would rather drink it with like-minded friends.
90-92

Rinaldini Vigna del Picchio Rosso dell'Emilia IGT 2006
Lot 035
This is a still blend of Ancellotta and Lambrusco Maestri, which are late harvested, and after fermentation go into barriques -- something that may seem obvious to those used to the winemaking of other regions, but that was (and to a degree still is) innovative for that part of Emilia. Impenetrable pyrope with purple rim; it's poured ink. The bouquet is fairly intense, with jammy cherry plum fruit supported by underbrush and some India ink, which isn't however bitter, and by, as it opens, tree bark that blends with the fruit, while violets also emerge. It's quite distinctive, and interesting. On the palate it's medium bodied and quite smooth, with ample rather bitter berry fruit supported by minerality more than acidity and by very smooth tannins that have a slight sandalwood burr and flow into a fairly long, deft cedar laced finish with some savory accents and underlying bitterness. It's elegant and quite approachable in an international key, displaying considerable polish, nice fruit, and good wood use, while the acidity is kept firmly in check. If you like the style, it is graceful and will drink nicely with succulent not too fatty red or white meats. If you prefer brasher wines with more acidity it's not quite the thing for you, though if you're the curious sort you should definitely think about it.
2 stars

Rinaldini Moro del Moro Rosso Dell'Emilia IGT 2006
Lot blurred
This is made from late harvested grapes that are then allowed to further dry on mats, in the manner of Amarone, before being fermented. It's impenetrable pyrope with some garnet in the rim. The bouquet is intense, and jammy, with dusky prune plum fruit supported by some greenish balsamic accents and deft underbrush and sandalwood; though the label doesn't specify the varietals it's clearly cut from the same cloth as the Vigna del Picchio, though slightly richer and a touch jammier, and does in a way bring an Amarone to mind. On the palate it's ample with warm slightly balsamic cherry fruit supported by deft tightly controlled berry fruit acidity and by tannins that have warm cedar overtones that clearly derive from oak, and carry into a clean cherry oak laced finish that gains definition from pleasing savory bitterness. Quite pleasant, and will work well with substantial stews; they suggest game on the back label, and it will be good, as will a hearty beef stew, or a succulent roasts that's not too fatty. It has a little more acidity than the Vigna del Picchio, and a touch of sweetness that adds fullness and richness; if you like the style, which is full and well polished, you will enjoy it very much.
88-90