Michaela Morris’s top fine wines of 2019 – Italy and Beyond
Michaela Morris selects her top 10 wines tasted during the year, from travels abroad with Decanter, to Italy and beyond; including Piedmont and Tuscany's annual anteprima tastings...
Though I typically spend a few months in Italy over the course of a year, 2019 was a bit of an anomaly with travels to Croatia, Portugal, Australia as well as Eastern Canada thrown into the mix.
I still managed to attend Piedmont and Tuscany’s annual anteprima tastings. At these, sampling 100 embryonic wines in a day can be grueling, yet exceptional wines always stand out. Case in point – Fontodi’s 2015 ‘Vigna del Sorbo’ Chianti Classico Gran Selezione and Fèlsina’s 2016 Rancia Chianti Classico Riserva. Also from Tuscany’s stunning 2016 vintage, Montevertine’s Le Pergole Torte is a knockout. While all of these need time to reveal their full potential, Col d’Orcia’s completely mature 1979 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva brilliantly demonstrated the ageability of Sangiovese and proved the adage that there are no great wines, only great bottles. Rounding out the Tuscan quintet is Giulio Salvioni’s 2001 Brunello, which required a leisurely lunch to be fully enjoyed.
Between Decanter World Wine Awards, a visit to the oft-overlooked region of Lazio and countless tastings at my home-base on the West Coast of Canada, I tried plenty of other Italian contenders. However, I keep coming back to Ar.Pe.Pe.’s 2002 Valtellina Superiore Sassella Riserva ‘Rocce Rosse’. Generously shared at a casual evening with some of Vancouver’s top sommeliers, it served as a good reminder that not all regions struggled in Italy’s notoriously wet 2002 vintage.
My usual summer trips to Italy where replaced by what is best described as a two-part working honeymoon in Croatia and Eastern Canada. While I didn’t single out a specific wine from Croatia, I was delighted by Istria’s Malvazija Istarskas in general. Closer to home, Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards’ 2014 Blanc de Blancs was a revelation at a Masterclass on Nova Scotia. Tasted again (unintentionally blind) later on in the year, it was just as impressive.
I also ventured to the Douro Valley for the first time to attend the Douro Boys 15th anniversary auction. Beyond the requisite ports and many cellar worthy reds, I was particularly struck by the freshness and complexity of the whites, the epitome of which was Niepoort’s 2017 Coche.
As international guest judge at the impeccably run Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, I spend a few days touring around the regions of Victoria prior to judging. In King Valley, Fred Pizzini opened some beautifully aged back vintages of Pizzini Nebbiolo. It was a tough call but the 2002 Coronamento had a slight edge over the 1994.
Bordeaux may seem like an outlier on my list. However, my first job in the wine industry was managing the Bordeaux Futures campaign for a private wine store. To this day, I still taste the new vintage as the wines are being released in British Columbia. This year, a preview of the 2016s was followed by a glass of 2005 Château Haut-Brion. Simply unforgettable.
As memorable as these wines are, equally precious are the moments spent in the vineyard or over a simple home-cooked meal in a producer’s kitchen. Above all, rather than a specific wine, it was a conference that was most rousing in 2019. Tasting Climate Change in Montréal provided me with many takeaways. Not least, it inspired me to calculate my own carbon footprint. As I already have a number of trips to Italy booked for the coming year, I’ll be calculating the CO2 emissions and purchasing offsets to plant the equivalent in trees.
See Michaela Morris’s top 10 fine wines of 2019
Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2005
A very fine nose of damson, plums and cream, intermingled with rosemary, lavender and rose petal. Powerful and intense on the nose but does not overwhelm. This beautiful Haut Brion dances across the palate with a glittering finish that tapers into a precise whisper, displaying its class and pedigree. One for the ages.
2005
Château Haut-BrionPessac-Léognan
Montevertine, Le Pergole Torte, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2016
I tried this at a preview tasting co-hosted by Monteraponi and Montevertine at Florence's Four Seasons hotel and haven't been able to get it off my mind since. Comparing 2016 to the warmer 2015 vintage, Martino Manetti describes the former as more balanced in ripeness and more representative of the region. It hints at mint, thyme blossom and violets but is still somewhat demure. Nevertheless, it impresses with its silky smooth tannins, mouth caressing texture and unwavering energy. Uncluttered by new oak nuances, the beautiful purity of fruit shines through as clear as a bell. A gorgeous wine with a promising future.
2016
MontevertineToscana
Fontodi, Vigna del Sorbo Gran Selezione, Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy, 2015
Fontodi's Vigna del Sorbo sits in front of the estate. Southwest facing on galestro soil, the vineyard totals 8ha at an altitude of 450 metres. First produced in 1985, it has been designated as a Gran Selezione since the 2010 vintage. Initially closed, this expands slowly with nuances of red cherry, currants, earth, sage and liquorice coming into clear focus. The palate is well-endowed with compact fruit that has effortlessly absorbed the oak and maintained its integrity. The tannins are vigorous yet harmonious, making for a powerful wine that manages to remain elegantly poised.
2015
FontodiChianti Classico
Fèlsina, Rancia Riserva, Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy, 2016
The south-facing Rancia vineyard reaches altitudes of 420 metres, overlooking the lower-lying vineyards of Colli Senesi. It boasts complex soils of calcareous clay layered with the chalky white limestone-like alberese and schistose galestro. This 2016 vintage is simply stunning. It's stately yet gracious, with personality for days, leading with a sumptuous nose of smoke, exotic spice and iron-rich earth. Ripe fruit coats the mouth yet it remains buoyant and tangy as chalky tannins charge in to frame the palate. A seductive wine with an appetising, savoury edge and a long, long life ahead.
2016
FèlsinaChianti Classico
La Cerbaiola di Salvioni, Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy, 2001
<p>The last time I tried this wine was 6 years ago and thought it needed another 5 to come around. I was thrilled to revisit it recently over a long lunch with a few close friends. The tannins are still imposing and take time to unfold but developing notes of leather, autumn leaves and black tea are appropriate for its age. On the palate Asian spice and dried cherry arise as it opens and the fruit becomes plusher as it sits in the glass. Make sure to decant.</p>
2001
La Cerbaiola di SalvioniBrunello di Montalcino
Col d'Orcia, Riserva, Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy, 1979
A typical vintage of the past with moderate temperatures throughout spring and summer, a bit of rain in September and harvest lasting until mid-October. Of three different bottles tasted, one was exceptional, another very, very good and a further one just slightly tired. Overall, this fully but beautifully developed Brunello was impressive. Cocoa and coffee mingle with liquorice, undergrowth and dried orange peel. The surprisingly dense core is lifted by vibrant acidity. Tangy and saline, it finishes with pleasant amaro notes. At dinner, it was respectfully paired with a simple cockerel-stuffed ravioli tossed in olive oil, Parmigiano and pepper: this doesn't need a powerful meat dish as the tannins are already absorbed.
1979
Col d'OrciaBrunello di Montalcino
Pizzini, Coronamento Nebbiolo, King Valley, Victoria, Australia, 2002
With plantings dating back to 1985, the Pizzini family is among the pioneers of Nebbiolo in Australia. Coronamento is their reserve bottling with 2002 being its inaugural release. Gorgeous floral scents emerge amidst sous-bois, soy, tar and exotic spice. It has a deceptively gentle start then builds powerfully without compromising its silky, sensual character.
2002
PizziniKing Valley
Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards, Blanc de Blancs, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014
From a single-estate vineyard, this elegant and restrained traditional-method sparkler has a pronounced saline, mineral edge. Ageing is for four years on its lees in bottle, imparting an understated nuttiness. Slender in build but long, vibrant and piercing. Just beautiful!
2014
Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards
Niepoort, Coche, Douro, Douro Valley, Portugal, 2017
A field blend led by the Douro's native Rabigato, Viosinho and Códega do Larinho grapes grown on mica-rich schist soil at an average of 600 metres above sea level. Reductive and flinty at first with citrus and white peach appearing after giving it some air. The oak is well-integrated and a creamy texture is penetrated by persistent, mouth-watering acidity. Long moreish finish of grilled almond.
2017
NiepoortDouro
Ar Pe Pe, Rocce Rosse, Valtellina, Superiore Sassella, Lombardy, Italy, 2002
<p>The 2002 vintage was rainy and cold across northern Italy but in general Lombardy's Valtellina region fared much better for Nebbiolo than Piedmont. Ar.Pe.Pe.'s Rocce Rosse is one of the great successes. Delicate and fine boned, this gets more structure from acidity than tannin. Hauntingly fragrant, it a potpourri of alpine blossoms, tobacco, tea and crushed stones. While this won't develop any further, it will continue to drink beautifully in the near term.</p>
2002
Ar Pe PeValtellina
