It's been sort of a transoceanic tasting of this producer's wines. Domenico went to the winery, which is located on the edge of the starkly beautiful Murgia plateau near the old town of Gioia del Colle (a DOC), roughly an hour south of Bari, and tasted their full range, including a few barrel samples that he says are very exciting. And I received from them a couple of bottles, which were shipped for arrival to coincide with Dom's visit.
Polvanera is in a somewhat remote region, at least as far as well-known, brand-name wines are concerned. Puglia [pool-ya] has traditionally been (and remains, more secretively) the source of a great deal of northern wine, in Veneto, Tuscany, and so on. These are called vini di taglio, cheap blending wines intended to make up for insufficient ripeness in the cooler latitudes. In a year like this one, your run-of-the-mill Chianti may well contain a good percentage of Apulian grapes. It's guaranteed if an azienda's web site tells you they own properties in Tuscany and Puglia or Sicily.
The same can be said for run-of-the-mill "extravergine" Tuscan (or Gardese, etc.) olive oil. Or more so. Puglia does produce 42% of all the olive oil in Italy, and it would be amazing indeed if some of its produce didn't end up in big-name oils from more prestigious areas.
Comunque. Anyway. Going there to see the region in microcosm seemed a good idea. I gave Domenico his instructions and off he went.
Besides, he had never ventured to Puglia before, not even to the World Cup at Bari.
It all began in late April. A young lady named Carmela Capozzo contacted me on Polvanera's behalf. She gave me this background:
In 2003, in the wake of a long family tradition, Filippo Cassano, Angelo Antonio Tafuni and brothers Giuseppe and Michelino Posa started an ambitious project at promoting the Primitivo and other grape varieties through the production of quality wine. They brought and restored an old farmhouse in the Marchesana, an area in the municipal district of Gioia del Colle, which was already rich in valuable gobelet-trained Primitivo vineyards between 1860 and 1880.
The name POLVANERA is derived from the typical dark brown colour of the soil of the estate surrounding the farmhouse.
The firm can currently rely on 25 hectares of estate-owned vineyard, 15 of which are under Primitivo vines and the rest under Aglianico, Aleatico and Fiano. Most of the vineyard are young and trained following the spurred cordon method. 4 more hectares of 60 year old gobelet trained Primitivo grapes are rented. [Domenico reported that Filippo Cassano also mentioned Falanghina. While many of the Primitivo and Aleatico grapes come from old vines, the others are from vines which are only in 2007 ready for a first harvest.]
OK, OK, enough with the predica lunga [long sermon = long-windedness]. Let's cut to the chase already. How were the wines?
Surprising. Mostly in a good way. In a few cases, in a sensational way. Read on.
But the labels...
Friendly wines, scary labels.
Wines' names are of stars in the firmament
during the Feast of Mary. However, the labels suggest an infernal connection, which is good if your market is Black Sabbath fans.
Italian Gothic? Antonio, Carmela, Filippo
Summary
Domenico met with the owners on June 11, tasting 2 spumantes
(metodo classico), 2 rosés, 4 versions of red (all Primitivo). He felt that the Primitivos in particular had the defect
of too neutral of a nose, although to the palate the wines were at the very
least passable and at the most very promising for ageing and development as
powerhouse wines. I agreed with him based on the ones I tasted, which did not include the barrel samples, of course.
Despite
what you might expect, the standout wines weren’t big, tough-guy Primitivos but
what I’m calling vini da donna –
ladies’ wines. There were three of
these, one a white Moscato and two rosé Aleaticos. Aleatico is an old variety of this area,
hard to find here and even rarer in the States. Traditionally used for dessert wines, one of these from Polvanera has a certain amount
of residual sweetness but would be excellent as an aperitif, and for a number
of reasons could be a huge success among the ladies. More to come on this one.
While the American market may not need yet another
soft, sweetish ladies’ wine, I have to say that these are unusually
well-structured and have a saving thread of acidity running through them. They are sweet or at least a little abboccato, but they never seem sticky
sweet. They are also made with minimal
intervention (chemicals etc.) – some sulfites to prevent mold, of course, but
nothing else.
None of these wines has any wood even though all have guts and nuance. I have highlighted the most interesting ones this way.
Here they are in order of tasting at the masseria where Domenico also took some photos.
1. Spumante Rosé Brut -- Metodo Classico, nonvintage
I had to ask Filippo in a phone conversation why they insisted on making yet another metodo classico wine. Every azienda in Italy seems to be obsessed with it. He told me: Because it's hard to do, a challenge to the winemaker. And the local market looks more favorably on a winery that can do it. There is a strong local market for these sparklers. My advice: Don't bother export it to the States.
100% Primitivo. 12% alcohol.
Nose – a little yeasty,
good acidity, lively. Evolved to tea
(tannins) and roses. Not bad as a
wedding sparkler.
Palate – Nice black cherry
flavour but not too much fruit, really a demi-sec despite “Brut” on label,
perlage a bit coarse, deep rosé colour, good mineral backbone. (Minerality a shared characteristic of all
these wines. Soil of region is sandy,
iron-rich and then, in specific zones, calcareous with veins of silicon and
quartz.)
Even after a third tasting,
this spumante was more pleasing to the palate than to the nose. Nose is closed and grudgingly opens over
time. Needs to be more open from the
beginning of the consumer’s experience with it. This is in part a fermentation issue, but it reflects the olfactory deficiencies of this grape.
2. Aleatico Rosé
2005
100% Aleatico. 13% alcohol.
Nose – delicious strawberry, evolving to rose
petals. Delicate and inviting. They knew how to treat this grape.
Palate – At first reminded me of Charms, the old
fruit-flavoured candies! The watermelon
kind to be precise (goes for the colour too.) Evolved to strawberry, raspberry, and rose petals. Slightly sweet but not cloying, a wonderful
aperitif especially if you don’t want to load up on fattening snacks or
canapés.
This is a superb ladies’ wine. With the right positioning it could be a big hit. Certainly has
more character and structure than “blush” wines – a far prettier colour
too. I can see this at weddings and
bridal showers, etc.
3. Zaniah Primitivo
IGT 2005
This is the base Primitivo of the house.
100% Primitivo. 14% alcohol on label (actually above 15)
Nose – Devoid of a defining aroma, a disappointment
even in the base wine that this is. Did
not acquire much more olfactory character after being open for 2+ hours. Filippo told Domenico that Apulian winemakers just about always either blend Primitivo (often with Cab or Merlot) and/or use barriques to impart a more pleasing perfume, despite what the "100% Primitivo" label may say. "That's what the Aglianico is for," he said, "to give more perfume." We will be able to taste the uvaggi (blends) in about a year.
Granted, given enough time to oxygenate, Zaniah acquired a more appealing nose. Flavours remained very clean and direct. A food wine pure and simple.
4. Zaniah Primitivo DOC 2006
13.5% alcohol.
Barrel sample. No affinamento. Domenico thought this wine fairly unpleasant. He wrote me, "They say this wine 'bisogna travaso' [needs racking]. Oh yeah."
Nose – unpleasant gunpower, did improve slightly as the time went on. "Maybe too much sulfur." Later, "Still closed and not much fruit. Wine like this must have fruit up front or who will buy?"
Palate – Much better on palate, lovely acidity and
fruit, tannins rather soft. A barrel sample. Dom said it was impressive, new as it was.
5. Primitivo 2006
-– 50-60 year vines
16% alcohol (at least).
Nose – Blackberry, dark forest fruits. "Rich and a little wild. Very good."
Flavour – Blood oranges and the dark forest
fruits. "Deep and complex, hinting at far
great things with time. Full of
life. Give it a year."
6. Primitivo 2006
– 70+ year vines
Barrel sample. This one knocked Domenico out.
17% alcohol – would be labelled as 15%.
Nose – Dom wrote, "pronounced smoky flavour (which no one else
felt), blackberry, dark forest fruits."
Flavour – "Blood oranges and the dark berries fruits. Even deeper and darker tasting than the 50-60 years vines. Soon it will be excellent, a real find. It will give high-priced California Zinfandel or Syrah a lot of competition. Profound colour, nearly black. "
7. Moscato 2006
Barrel sample. 12.5 – 13%
Nose – Well developed, early on strong scent of mint,
white peaches.
Palate – The mint and white peaches come through as promised in the perfume. Good acidity gives the thing a raciness that keeps the sweetness from becoming sticky.
8. Spumante Metodo Classico Demi-Sec 2005
Another 100% Primitivo. Tastes sweeter than a demi-sec.
9. Aleatico Classico 2006
Barrel sample. 12% alcohol.
Nose – Mint, sage, complex, earthy and aromatic,
complex and intriguing. Not just for
ladies!
Palate – Sweet, a true dessert wine, again with underlying structure and balanced by its acidity. This is a winner. Gorgeous. This is from very young vines – first wine made from them. Truly outstanding for an early effort.
Summary
Polvanera is still in trial and error mode. But they seem to have an effortless and
graceful affinity for these elegant, pleasing ladies’ wines. The Primitivo rosé is one of the best wines
of its kind I’ve ever tasted (I could admit an unmanly fondness for it), and
the Aleaticos have the potential to be a massive achievement. They
should plant all they can in the vineyards where it is well-suited.
They also need help with their labels, which are actually sort of grim looking. These need to reflect more faithfully the contents in terms of colours especially, but also general design and typography etc. The name of the Azienda doesn’t stand out enough. And the 3 “ladies’ wines” certainly deserve special treatment to make the nature of these wines really draw in the [American] female buyer and/or consumer in restaurants.
Is Domenico Selections going to be distributing any of these agreeable beverages for us ladies in the U.S. any time soon? (I like Black Sabbath, too).
Posted by: Sharon | January 02, 2009 at 01:30 PM