Enjoying wine - perspectives on wine buying, collecting, tasting, a study in wine marketing & branding; observations, experiences and ruminations of a winegeek & frequent traveler. Sharing so others can 'unwindwine' for greater wine discovery, understanding and appreciation.
For a business partner dinner, hosted by son Ryan, we dined at Coco Pazzo Italian Restaurant on Hubbard street in trendy chic River North, Chicago.
Opened in 1992 by restauranter Jack Weiss, Coco Pazzo serves classic traditional seasonal cuisine of Tuscany in a classic stylish 100 year old loft building with timber beams brick walls and rich cyprus floors adorned with blue velvet curtains for a rustic urban chic atmosphere.
The extensive menu crafted by Chef Eric Hammond features both classic and contemporary dishes with the finest ingredients.
Coco Pazzo has an award winning Wine Spectator Best of Excellence Award winelist assembled and curated by Wine Director Tamra Presley Weiss, featuring a broad and deep selection of Tuscan focused Italian wines from modest to the most exclusive producers and labels. They also serve twenty wines by the glass WBTG and a collection of large format bottles for special occasion dinners. The winelist has been recognized not only by Wine Spectator but also Food & Wine, The Wine Enthusiast and Wine & Spirits.
From the wine list I selected three different wines in three styles and profiles to suit our diners' preferences and varied entree selections. All were ideal accompaniments and were very reasonably moderately priced values.
Avignonesi Grifi Toscana Rosso 2018
This Super Tuscan blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese was perfectly paired with my entree selection, the Saltimbocca di Vitello topped with sage and prosciutto with wine shallots and sides of Polenta and Spinach.
The Avignonesi estate still bears the name of its founders but since
2009 it has been owned by Virginie Saverys who pursued winemaking after a
successful law career in Belgium. Saverys has turned Avignonesi into one of the
largest biodynamic wineries in Italy with 340 acres of
vineyards and a state-of-the-art winery in the Montepulciano
appellation.
Grifi is a Super Tuscan blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese - 50.42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 49.58% Sangiovese. It was aged 18 months in French oak barriques (225 ltr) and large Slavonian oak barrels (6000 ltr).
The Sangiovese comes from the Marmino (18.55%), Caprile (15%), El
Grasso (10%) and Poggio Badelle (6%) estate vineyards. The Cabernet Sauvignon
comes from La Banditella (40%) and Poggio alla Lodola (9.58%) estate vineyards.
Winemakers' Tasting Notes: "The assembly of two such different personalities such as Sangiovese
and Cabernet Sauvignon blend together, giving this wine a unique
character. Dark ruby red in color with purple reflections, the nose
opens with notes of blueberries, blackberries and incense going up to
sandalwood and graphite. In the mouth it is dense and complex with hints
of blackberry jam and cinnamon. It then evolves like a balsamic
explosion supported by good acidity. The lively tannin all over the
palate accompanies the savory and persistent finish."
Dark garnet colored with purple hues, medium full bodied, dense complex concentrated blackberry and black raspberry fruits with notes of graphite, cinnamon spice, black tea, creosote and hints of what the winemaker refers to as balsamic, with a tangy acidic moderate tanning lingering finish.
Those that selected seafood entrees still preferred red wine so I chose this Sicilian Nerello Mascalese grape from the Mt Etna region from a spectacular vintage.
Spanish, from Tenerife, winemaker Eduardo Torres Acosta fell in love with Sicily and moved there to produce local sourced wines. After
gaining experiences with Arianna Occhipinti and Passopisciaro, he
set to produce his own wine, initially renting 5 acres of 50-year-old
vineyards on the slopes of Etna. He continues to produce totally organic
"artisanal" wines, using only liquid sulfur and copper
and, in the cellar imposing minimal human intervention.
From the Mt Etna Terre Siciliane region this is a blend of 80% Nerello Mascalese and 20% Nerello Capuccio, Minella.
For a third bottle, I ordered another Super Tuscan, this one a complex diverse blend of traditional Bordeaux varietals from a highly acclaimed vintage.
Tenuta Monteti was founded in 1998 by Gemma
and Paolo Baratta after years searching for a suitable property to develop for growing grapes and producing wines. They found and setttled on a property in a corner of Tuscany in the southern
Maremma area, in a small valley, 15 km from the sea and 145m above sea level, where the
fields are protected by the Monteti hill from which the estate takes its
name. At that time the area was still unexplored and unproven for high
quality wine production.
In collaboration with consultant oenologist Carlo
Ferrini, they pursued what they believed as extraordinary
potential of the land to produce quality wines capable with personality
with elegance.
Starting from scratch, without regulations of a pre-existing OC classification, they were free to experiment with the
soil and the climate, to plant the varieties that would respond and
best express themselves to their truest representation of their place. The result was planting Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Alicante
Bouschetto, all chosen to best express the unique terroir - climate, soil, exposure, and elevation of the archaic Mediterranean hills.
In 2010, their daughter Eva took over running the company assisted by her
husband Javier Pedrazzini, who is sales manager and production
supervisor, and a team of agricultural manager,
a managing oenologist, and 12 others working vineyards and the winery.
Monteti is the flagship wine, named like the estate after the hill that protects
the vineyard from the strong Mediterranean winds, and guaranteeing the microclimate.
The label is a blend of the estate varietal fruit, 45% Petit Verdot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Cabernet Franc. It is aged for 18 months in medium-toasted French oak barriques, 70% of
which are new. This is followed by further 2 years of bottle ageing
before being released onto the market.
Monteti reveals the personality
of the Maremman territory with its complexity and
elegance; the Petit Verdot setting the personality, the rebel
horse, Cabernet Sauvignon providing structure and longevity, softened and balanced by the Merlot, with the Cabernet
Franc adding a feminine element that embraces and softens both.
Winemaker's Notes: "An intense and luminous garnet red, it offers to the nose exotic
scents of delicate spices and marzipan, violet and black berries. In the
mouth it is intriguing, harmonious, interwoven with elegant tannins,
very long."
“A Night in Sicily”Covid Lock-in Virtual Wine Dinner Presented by Chicago's Italian Village Restaurants
Italian Village Restaurants in Chicago hosted “A Night in Sicily” presented by Jared Gelband, Italian Village Wine
Director and Chef Jose, and guest host Italian Wine Specialist, Daniele Sbordi, who lead a virtual journey to the
island of Sicily and a tasting of wines from producer Donnafugata
Winery.
A four course dinner was specially prepared for pick-up at the restaurant complete with preparation directions and a wine course selection of three bottles of Donnafugata Sicilian wines.
For the occasion, we were joined by son Sean and daughter-in-law Michelle in person in our dining room, and daughter Erin and son-in-law Johnny and their four children, who attended virtually via zoom from their home. We were joined via zoom with another dozen folks.
To facilitate and optimize the experience, we set up a large screen TV and our computer in the dining room for the occasion.
The dinner:
Antipasta Crostini con Caponata - Rustic Italian Bread / Caponata Topping
Primi Ravioli con Ricotta - Hand made Ravioli / Ricotta and Parmesan Cheese / Pistachio pesto sauce
Secondi Braciole alla Siciliana - Filet Mignon / Proscutto / Provolone / Green Onion / Salsa di Pomodoro
Dolce Italian Cannoli / Italian Biscotti
Vini - The Wine
Donnafugata "Sur Sur" Sicilia DOC Grillo 2019
Donnafugata "Floramundi" Cerasuelo di Vittoria DOCG 2018
Donnafugata "Sul Volcano" Etna Rosso DOC 2017
I wrote in these pages recently about the art and magic of pairing food and wine to magnify the overall experience. Tonight, the masterful pairing of the wines to the food courses by Wine Director Jared and Chef Jose amplified both the food and the wine. As a result, as I wrote Jared in a follow up note, "everything exceeded my expectations, the food, the wine, the pairing, the overall experience".
Donnafugata was established in Sicily in 1983 byGiacomo Rallo, the fourth
generation of a family with over 160 years of experience in quality
wine, along with his wife Gabriella, a pioneer of viticulture in Sicily. Giacomo passed away in 2016, so the company today is run by their children José and Antonio and a team of people focused on excellence.
The name Donnafugata comes from a novel by Tomasi di Lampedusa entitled Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). The name that means “donna in fuga”
(woman in flight) refers to the story of a queen who found refuge
in the part of Sicily where the company’s vineyards are located today.
The adventure tome also inspired the corporate logo, the image of a woman’s
head with windblown hair that dominates the brand and adorns every bottle. All Donnafugata wines' labels and names are inspired by Gabriella Rallo and designed by Stefano Vitale whose original artwork is featured each on the labels of each of the two dozen wines they produce. His works were featured in an exhibition "Art and Wine - Chasing Donnafugata”, presented by
FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano in Milan in 2018 in the
prestigious Villa Necchi Campiglio.
Donnafugata produce over forty estate wines meaning they are sourced from the producer owned vineyards that span almost six hundred acres of 45 different varieties of grapes indigenous to Sicily. Total production is near 5 million bottles annually.
Donnafugatta "Sur Sur" is produced from Grillo, an ancient Sicilian grape varietal. The grape name grillo means cricket, for the crickets that are common in the region and said to bring good luck. The name comes from the classical Arabic language
which was once also spoken in Sicily. The label features Stefano Vitale artwork of Gabriella (founder
of Donnafugata, with her husband Giacomo) as a girl in flight, running
barefoot through the flowers and fresh grass.
This is 100% Grillo classified grapes from the Sicilian DOC, according to Italy’s 'denominazione di origine controllata' (DOC) classification system, akin to France's well-known Appellation d’origine controlee (AOC) and America's AVA systems. DOC, means designation of 'controlled origin', it is the second highest quality classification of the Italian system.
There are 329 different DOCs in Italy, across a wide range of red and
white wines across the country, from Prosecco sparkling wines to the Vin Santo dessert wines of Tuscany. Each DOC has its own rules about
permitted grape varieties, maximum harvest yields, alcohol levels, and aging
requirements including use of barrels.
The grapes are from the western tip of Sicily, the Contessa Entellina estate and neighboring areas and in the hilly hinterland between Marsala and Salemi in the Baiata, Alfaraggio, Pioppo district. The region has a distinctive terrior, hilly with altitudes from 200 to 600 meters, loamy sub-alkaline limestone soils, arid with little rainfall, with substantial variance in warm daytime to cool nightime temperatures with Meditteranean breezes, that is ideal for the growing and ripening of Grillo grapes.
Donnafugatta have five hundred acres in eight different sites in the region where they grow both white and red grape varietals.
This label has been produced since 2013 with 4000 cases annual production. It was awarded 91 points, #86 of the Top 100 Wines of 2019 by Wine Enthusiast.
This was a wonderful pairing with the antipasta courses. We cheated and added a starter course of Linda's wonderful lobster tails on a ramukan of buttered croutons. Following was the Italian Village Crostini con Caponata - Rustic Italian Bread / Caponata Topping. Linda improvised with this course and chopped the Caponata into a wonderful tapenade. Both were wonderfully complemented by this wine.
Winemaker notes: "Brilliant straw yellow, on the nose SurSur offers a fresh bouquet with
notes of white fleshed fruit (peach and cantaloupe melon) combined with
scents of wildflowers and mint. A soft palate, the fruity notes return
combined with pleasant freshness."
This was straw colored, light bodied, aromatic with sprites of citrus, tropical fruit, floral, melon and hints of peach, dry with crisp clean acidity. Good QPR in this label.
Donnafugata "Floramundi" Cerasuelo di Vittoria DOCG 2018
This is a blend of grape varietals: Nero D’Avola, King of the Sicilian red grapes, and Frappato,
one of the most ancient native varieties of Sicily, sourced from 88 acres of eight Donnafugatta estate vineyards from the prestigious denomination: Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, in the territory of Acate on the western side of the southern tip of Sicily.
The terroir is gently sloping terrain from 120 to 150 meters with sandy medium tectured limestone soils with warm temperate Mediterranean climate of warm temperate days moderated by sea breezes, and cool nights.
This label is classified DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), the highest quality classification designation for Italian wines. , while the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), has less strict guidelines. The rules
for DOCG are stricter than DOC, yields must be lower and the wines
must be aged in barrels longer. Also, DOCG requires the wines be submitted for technical analysis and tasted for approval
by a government committee before they can be sold as DOCG wines. Interesting too, DOCG wines even have a numbered, government seal across the neck of the
bottle to prevent counterfeiting.
Floramundi, a refined red, the dialogue between two souls: the one of
Nero D’Avola, King of the Sicilian red grapes, and the one of Frappato,
one of the most ancient native varieties of Sicily.
Like all Donnafuggati labels, Floramundi features distinctive colorful artwork by Stefano Vitale artwork, sponsored by proprietor Gabriella Rallo. This label features the stylistic figure of a woman in a rainbow of symbols, of the tradition of the historic Pupi Siciliani (Sicilian
Puppets).
This is the third vintage release of this label; it was awarded 92 points by James Suckling, and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast.
This was a wonderful complement to the Italian Village Primi Course; Ravioli con Ricotta - Hand made Ravioli / Ricotta and Parmesan Cheese / Pistachio pesto sauce. Linda was the favorite wine, food and pairing of the rest of our group. I preferred the Secondi course and pairing.
Winemaker notes for this release: "Intense ruby color with bright purple reflections; Floramundi offers
intense fruity aromas, among which the notes of black cherry and berries
(blueberry) stand out; the bouquet opens with delicate balsamic nuances
of laurel and characteristic spicy notes of black pepper. The tasting
is supported by freshness and softness that make it juicy and very
pleasant to drink. The tannin is fine and well integrated. Floramundi
2018 expresses the harmonious balance that Cerasuolo di Vittoria can
reach."
Bright Ruby colored, light-medium bodied, bright vibrant cherry and cranberry fruit flavors accented by tangy acidity, dusty rose floral tones and hints of white pepper.
For the main Secondi course, Chef Jose prepared this imaginative Braciole alla Siciliana - Filet Mignon with Proscutto, Provolone and Green Onion in a robust tangy Salsa di Pomodoro. The Chef's directions called for this to be mixed with the accompanying Italian Village signature rosemary potatos.
Linda called an option and served the potatos on the side which was a great move - they were akin to a whole additional course in of themselve and provided another complete wonderful tasting pairing experience.
The Donnafugata Sul Vulcano label is from the Etna Rosso Denomination. It is a Etna Rosso DOC classified wine. It is a blend of Nerello Mascalese, the main red grape variety from the prestigious Etna appellation, with a small percentage of Nerello Cappuccio grape varietal.
The fruit for this label is sourced from Donnafugata 45 acres of estate vineyards in Eastern Sicily, on the north side of the historic volcano of Mt Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano from which it derives its name, between Randazza and Castiglione di Sicilia.
The terroir there is a higher altitude of 750 meters with deep mineral rich volcanic soil, cooler sub-climate with the Sicilian dramatic variations of warm days and cool nights.
This was more my style of wine, darker, more dense concentrated and complex, more like a Nebbiolo or a Bordeaux varietal. Naturally, this style was ideally paired with the hearty beefsteak, cheeses and tangy pomodoro sauce. As noted above, it also paired superbly with the rosemary potatoes.
The art series stylistic label features a goddess-volcano with intense colors, red,
yellows, and iridescent blacks, another design of artist Stefano Vitale.
This is the second vintage release of this label, first released in 2016.
James Suckling and Wine Critics.com both gave this 93 points.
Winemaker notes: "Pale ruby red, Sul Vulcano offers an elegant bouquet with notes of red
fruits (raspberry and cherry) and flowery scents (violet), along with
delicate spicy nuances of cinnamon and nutmeg."
Garnet colored, medium bodied, robust flavors of black raspberry and black cherry with notes of tobacco, hints of graphite, floral violets, hints of cinnamon and nutmeg spices with moderate tannins on the finish.
We supplemented Jared's Italian Village Donnafugata wine flight with a dessert wine from our cellar for the Dolce Course of Italian Cannoli and Italian Biscotti. Linda also served her Pots-au-de-Creme Chocolat dessert.
Château Suduiraut 1er Cru Classe Sauterne 2002 We enjoy sweet unctuous desert
wines with salads, cheese or deserts. This was a nice finisher, a
perfect complement to the final Dolce course.
This is a classic Sauterne, a blend of Semillon (94 %) and Sauvignon Blanc (6 %). Château Suduiraut is considered to be one of the finest Sauternes.
The
history of Château Suduiraut, dates back to the 1600’s. It was
classified as a Premier Cru during the official 1855 wine classification
programme. The French conglomerate AXA Millésimes acquired Suduiraut
in 1992. Golden honey, dark amber colored,
full bodied yet delicate, nicely balanced fruit and floral aromas,
complex roasted and candied notes of apple, vanilla and honey, medium
sweetness and a long smooth silky finish. Not as sweet and unctuous as
some vintages, the fruit is more subdued lacking the apricot nectar and
honey of some vintages. This showed plenty of botrytis, with predominate
notes of smoke, marzipan, almond, ripe apple, and hints of vanilla on
the tongue cloying finish. RM 91 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate rated this wine 90-93 points, Wine Spectator, 90 points.
