Reviews

2008 year results
December 2008

The end of the year is a traditional time to look back and think about the past.

For me 2008 was very busy with events, trips and tastings. I decided to publish a list of the most memorable things which happened to me in the past 12 months. To make it clear, it is not a global analysis of the wines and the wine sector, but my best personal experiences on the year. So, welcome to my hit parade-2008.

Legendary wine
In spring I was honoured to attend two unique tastings. One took place in Austria and was organised by Karl-Heinz and Katharina Wolf from WeinArt. The company specialises in fine and rare wines, and it regularly holds vertical tastings of the world’s greatest names. This year I was among the guests invited to taste 35 vintages of Château Margaux spannig over a 70-year period, from 1934 to 2004.
The other exceptional, even historic event was a tasting of more than 50 vintages of Château La Mission Haut-Brion, in honour of the 25 years’ ownership of the estate by the Dillon family. The London tasting was initiated by Prince Robert of Luxembourg, President of the Domaine Clarence Dillon family group.
With a great respect, I am giving the nomination of this year’s legendary wine to two names — Château Margaux 1959 and Château La Mission Haut-Brion 1929. Both are among the greatest masterpieces of the winemaking art which give us, wine enthusiasts, inspiration and bliss.

Tasting of the year
The above events are also strong contenders for the Tasting of the year nomination, but I chose something else. “Supertuscan wines 1968-2008: Chianti Classico pioneers yesterday and today” tasting was held in a Tuscan estate San Felice in March. It was commemorated to the 40th anniversary of Vigorello, first representative of a new movement. Other 16 producers who had started to make Supertuscan wines before 1985, participated, too. As a result we took part in an unprecedented tasting of the historic vintages and a horizontal tasting of 2001 vintage. Bravo to everyone who supported the initiative and gave us a unique opportunity to go back to the 1980s, to taste very rare bottles and to get certain of the fact that Supertuscan wines are worthy representatives of the winemaking Italy. They successfully stood the test of time, and some of them have a right to be listed among the world’s greatest wines.

Wine discovery
I get to taste over 2,000 wine samples each year. Many of them are familiar, from new vintages; some come from famous regions which I haven’t had a chance to study thoroughly; yet others hail from little known areas of local grapes.
In October I took part in a whistle-stop tour around South Italy which included Puglia and Basilicata. Torrevento estate in Puglia introduced us to Nero di Troia grape (local name for Uva di Troia). Torrevento CEO Francesco Liantonio organised a vertical tasting of his top of the range Vigna Pedale wine, a 100% Nero di Troia. Puglian Pinot Noir — that’s how I would compare this under-appreciated, but truly wonderful grape.

Event of the year
In April Spanish Ronda hosted the first WineCreator symposium(www.winecreator.net) which gathered world’s leading journalists, critics and winemakers who produce distinctive wines. It became a platform where best representatives of the wine press and most authoritative enologists (“wine creators”) exchange ideas and opinions to promote creativity and diversity of wine styles. WineCreator expert panel consist of 20 critics and journalists, and I am honoured to be among them. This high profile event is to take place every 2 years.

Favourite meal
In September I was visiting winemaker Paolo Saracco in Piedmont. For lunch he took us to La Ciau del Tornavento in Treiso, close to Alba (www.laciaudeltornavento.it). A magnificent view of the hills and stunning dishes from a Michelin-starred chef and a great enthusiast of his work Maurilio Garola, plus wines from Paolo Saracco made the meal very memorable indeed.

Ideal wine and food pairing
Another experience in Piedmont, this time thanks to Luciano Sandrone, a great winemaker in Barolo. To enjoy the famous white truffle season, Luciano invited to the Michelin-starred Di Guido da Castigliole restaurant in Relais San Maurizio hotel. Chef-owner Lidia Alciati cooks stylish dishes with the produce of Piedmont, and the menu is complemented by a 2,500 strong wine list with entries from Piedmont, France and other regions. The restaurant has a great ambiance, with its dining rooms under stone vaults of the former monastery cellar.
For “Gli agnolotti di Lidia” (ravioli type pasta from Piedmont by original Lidia’s recipe) with generous shavings of truffles, Luciano chose Barolo Brunate 2001 from a traditional winery Marcarini. The marriage of pasta, truffles and Barolo was perfect, impeccably harmonious, unmistakably Piedmontese, transforming the experience of Piedmont into an amazing plane of enogastronomic nirvana...

Favourite wine
The last nomination, dearest to my heart. It is unrealistic to choose just one favourite wine of the year. I remember many of them for different reasons. Instead, I decided to reward the region whose wines were opened in my house most frequently. It is Chianti Classico, with its elegant, fresh, classy wines made from a great Tuscan grape Sangiovese.