TN: A chance to sample the Veronelli cellar (very old Giacosa, Braida, G. Mascarello, Felsina ....)

Astor Wines hosted a special event Friday featuring wines from the cellar of Luigi Veronelli, the influential Italian wine and food writer and TV presenter.

The draw for me was the chance to taste a range of very mature wines from areas I don’t know, or don’t know well. But the evening was also a tribute to Veronelli’s passion and his personal ties to and support for many of Italy’s top winemakers. I had no idea of the scale of his influence, or the fondness with which he is regarded. A number of proprietors and winemakers were there, including Emidio Pepe and Giuseppe Mazzocolin of Felsina, along with Veronelli’s daughter and granddaughter. Some of us had the chance to mix more with the winemakers after the tasting at a relaxed dinner in Astor’s upstairs event space.

At its peak in the 1990s, Veronelli’s cellar contained some 70,000 bottles. I believe they said it’s down to 42,000 now, most of it reserved for educational events such as this one, though small quantities are being sold. The wines were obtained directly from the cantine on release and stored in perfect conditions since, so you won’t find any Italian wines of this age that are in better condition.

The most striking thing overall was how remarkably fresh these wines were – shockingly youthful in most cases.

For most of us, the wine of the night was the Pepe Montepulciano d’Abbruzo, a wine I’ve only experienced young. The Mascarello Monprivato and the Maculan Passito would be just a half step behind.

In deference to Veronelli, who objected to point scores, I won’t assign them here.

The wines were all poured before or as attendees arrived, and most of us held off tasting until well into the hour or more of remarks, so they had a lot of time to open up. None seemed to have suffered for the air time. Some of these wines would have shown better with food; we had only bread for the tasting.

1993 Bruno Giacosa - Pinot Nero Extra-Brut (from magnum) (Piemonte)
Nutty and crisp on the nose. There is a very faint trace of caramel but the flavors are so fresh! Great depth and good acidity, with oodles of minerals – a bit like a mature but not oxidized Sancerre. Long, long finish. Very fine, and very youthful.
(No dosage. 36 months on the yeasts.)

1986 Livio Felluga - Colli Orientali Friuli Bianco ‘Terre Alte’ (Friuli-Venezia-Giulia)
From tocai friuliano, pinot blanc and sauvignon blanc. A surprisingly light golden hue for a 31-year-old white. Some minerals and wax on the nose, with the minerals carrying through to the palate. A nice interplay of rich body with a solid acidic backbone. Not terribly complex, but refreshing and remarkably young.

Reds to follow shortly….

1989 Braida - Barbera d’Asti ‘Bricco dell’Uccellone’ (from magnum) (Piemonte)
I’ve never had a Braida more than 10 years old or so. When young, the new oak tends to dominate.
A gorgeous dark garnet color. At 28 years, what strikes you on the nose is that unique earthy signature of full-bodied barbera with age– dark, dark cherries in the direction of plum plus an earthiness that reminds me of dry, sun-baked soil. Those flavors carry through to the mouth. (The owner, Rafaella Bologna, in notes for this wine called it tobacco leaf.) Only a faint oak note after some air. There’s ample fruit still and a bit of mellowed tannin, but this wine is supported mainly by a balanced acidity. Not super complex, but this is at a beautiful moment. I can’t imagine a better balanced barbera. A great, great pleasure!
(12 months in French barriques)

1985 Felsina - Toscana IGT Rosso 'Fontalloro’
Earthy and slightly smoky nose – a captivating nose. The fruit was drying out a bit on the bottle my row was poured, and I think I would have preferred this five years earlier. Certainly it would have shown better with hearty food. Unfortunately, the bottles at the dinner later had heavy sediment, so I didn’t get to retry this. The delightful and erudite Giuseppe Mazzocolin, the owner was unable to find another bottle. Still, a very fine wine.
Mazzocolin was one of the winemakers who spoke most passionately about Veronelli’s early support for what he was trying to do in Tuscany.
(18-24 months in French barriques)

1977 Barone de Cles - Teroldego Rotaliano Riserva ‘Maso Scari’ (Trentino Alto-Adige)
I tasted my first teroldego with some age at a LDM/Louis Dressner tasting a few years ago. That was eight or ten years old as I recall. Here we were at 40 years. Sweet, almost medicinal fruit on the nose, with an overlay of maturing caramel. A similar profile in the mouth. Sound but I would have preferred this a bit younger, when it likely showed a bit more distinct personality. (I should have sought out another bottle but forgot to.)

1975 – Emidio Pepe - Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Abruzzo)
Signor Pepe set out to persuade the disbelievers in his region – to show that Montepulciano d’Abruzzo could age. And, man, did he succeed! For many of us, this was the real standout of the evening. A piercing bouquet of intense fennel seed and dried red fruits, all remarkably vibrant. This smelled like a wine only in middle age. On the palate, this has great finesse, with dried cherry flavors and a beautifully evolved structure of tannin and acid. Refined. Elegant. Those were the words. For me, this brought to mind a very feminine old Barolo or a mature Cote Rotie. Absolutely first rate! And a revelation for me.
It was a treat to meet Signor Pepe. The twinkle in his blue eyes is bright at 86, and he lit up as Gray Newman and I exercised our Italian. This was one of those occasions when I felt honored to meet a great winemaker, and he was plainly proud to be there.

1970 G. Mascarello - Barolo ‘Monprivato’ (Piemonte)
The first vintage that a Monprivato cru was bottled. Another wine that was almost implausibly youthful. This was quite closed on the nose at first, but then opened up to a refreshing celery note for me. Great concentration of fruit and tannin, and the fruit seems very ripe, but the balance is excellent. At first it seems like a brawny adolescent, but it gets better and better in the glass – and also younger and younger. A pour from a second bottle at dinner was more refined and approachable. Certainly this benefited from the duck and celeriac-fennel gratin. (A third bottle was lightly corked.) Enrico Dellapiano, the winemaker at Rizzi in Barbaresco, said he thought this was one of the best Barolos he’d ever had.
1964 Boncompagni-Ludovisi - Roma Rosso ‘Fiorano’ (Latium)
I sniffed this knowing nothing about the wine. “Claret” was my first thought, and indeed it’s cabernet and merlot. It just happens to be 53 years old (!). Some green pepper notes. Lots of fruit and lots of tannin – and about 40 years more age than I would have guessed. This is almost pre-pubescent. Taut, balancing between fruit and tannin. This would really be best with red meat.
(Volcanic soil. “Long elevage” in 1,000 liter casks)

1982 Maculan Torcolato Passito (Veneto)
A perfect bookend to the Giacosa spumante. Banana oil scents, and a fabulous tension of sweetness, botrytis and acid. Absolutely on a par with a great Sauternes. Up there with the Pepe and the Mascarello as a high point of the evening for me.

wow, thank you for sharing

Bravo, the Braida sounds amazing!

Amazing event. Tell us more about Veronelli. Was he a private buyer? In the business? I’m curious both about the why’s of his influence and what led to such a massive cellar.

He was a very influential food and wine writer in Italy for many decades and (I learned Friday) also had a popular TV show about food that ran for many years. Many people considered the annual Veronelli wine guide to be the best (far better than the Gambero Rosso/Slow Food guide, at least in the days when it fawned over heavily oaked wines). The wine guides were not translated into English, so they weren’t well known here in the U.S.

He was also a polemicist, a some-time poet and a self-professed anarchist. And, plainly, something of a ham (and I don’t mean proscuitto). He also succeeded once in getting a judge to enjoin the sale of Coca-Cola across Italy for one day.

The best story we heard Friday night was about two friends who showed up for dinner at his house with two friends of theirs that they had failed to tell Veronelli they were bringing along. Veronelli’s response: He told his two friends they would have to eat at a restaurant, and then invited the friends’ friends in for dinner.

You have to like the guy.

I assume that he made good money from all this. Not only did he buy a great deal of wine, but he built what appears to be a rather magnificent cellar in which to store it.

Here are some articles:

http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/arts-and-leisure/2015-01-20/mostra-luigi-veronelli-102707.php?uuid=AByOemgC

Obits in 2004:

Thanks for the notes John. It was a great event.

DISCLAIMER: I helped translate into English some of the speeches (Lucia and Arturo) and the Veronelli quotes. I received no compensation, but I was able to attend the event and look forward to cooperating on other ventures with the parties in the future.

Veronelli was famous for a number of things, including his TV shows and his guides http://www.seminarioveronelli.com/i-vini-di-veronelli-2018/

In addition to what John noted, he was a major force behind getting Italy to adopt the French style labels that indicated exactly where wines were from (single vineyard wines) and helped support many growers (like Pepe) who produced great wines from regions where quality was lacking.

And a few comments on the wines:

The Pepe was amazing, 40 year old Montepulciano that seemed to have a great future ahead. My friend at the tasting expressed reluctance about buying recent Pepe wines because he cannot wait another 40 years for them to come around. I spoke with Pepe a bit and he talked up his 2010s and 2013s as wines to look for.

The amazing thing about the Maculan was that the 82 tasted like it was much much younger. A brief chat with Signora Maculan (I don’t remember her first name) revealed that evolution of some of the best vintages is insanely slow.

Love this, and great to see an eclectic mix across Italy - no Piemonte or Tuscany fixation here.

I must admit I thought it would be brave cellaring Teroldego so long, I’m not sure I’d brave cellaring Foradori’s Granato for that long

That could be said of many of these wines, including the dry whites, the Monprivato and the Foirano Rosso. The Pepe was young but it had evolved. That Foirano in particular seemed almost in suspended animation.

I knew I should have gone to this. Sounds fantastic.

I have often had the experience with Mascarello Monprivato that it gets fresher and fresher with air and becomes so deliciously red fruity and zesty.

Wow, I’ve never had a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo over 10 years of age much less 42 years. I didn’t know they would age that long and to be only in middle age. Just wow. Great tasting and notes, thanks.

Is Chiara his grand-daughter?

Thanks for sharing John. I appreciate that you eschew pointing these wines. We’ve got a local (to Australia) reviewer whom regularly drops points on Cappellano Baroli. I must admit it frustrates me a bit and I find it pretty insensitive at best, especially given the reviewer is well aware of Teobaldo’s wishes.

We are not supposed to give it a rating (on the wish of the producer), though I’m happy to do so.

That’s the reviewer’s opinion, stated May of this year.

What a special event, thanks for sharing.

I too appreciate your respect for the producer’s wishes regarding scores. It was pretty clear how you felt about the wines. I’m not a big points aficionado to begin with, but I wouldn’t be upset by someone who chose to use them. Wine may be an expression of art to the winemaker but to the consumer it may be regarded at a less ethereal level.

Yes.

Is she single?

She’s about the cutest girl I’ve seen in the wine world since Enrica Scavino.

Just to clarify, Veronelli (the collector and wine critic) was against scoring as he was against many things that make wine more of an industrial commodity. Veronelli was highly critical of “industrial wines” and (as John noted) Coca Cola. Wine was something to be thought about and discussed and not to be summarized in a two-digit number.

Yes, I was deferring to Veronelli, not any winemaker(s).

FYI, I Vini di Veronelli, the wine guide his company publishes, isn’t entirely averse to rankings. It uses what amounts to a four-star system – one, two or three stars, plus a blue three-star ranking for very special wines. But that’s a far cry from the 100-point system.

Incidently, Jon Bonne, Alice Feiring and Levi Dalton were at the event. If anyone sees any comments from them, please post a link here.

Levi put a few posts up on the instas.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbDdvZWHrlM/?taken-by=leviopenswine

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbDgaxWHr6N/?taken-by=leviopenswine

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbGIVPKH3nd/?taken-by=leviopenswine