Freisa, Freisa, Freisa . . . G.D. Vajra Kye` 2011

It all started here, with the G.D. Vajra Langhe Rosso Freisa "Kye`".  I had the choice between two producers from Barolo to be the first wines in my portfolio and I was agonizing over the choice.

Should I go with the one that I had already met in Italy and tasted all of their wines (shall remain nameless) or should I go with the one that I had just talked with over the phone and had only tasted their Barolo. (G.D. Vajra)

What to do?  What to do?

I asked an old friend of mine in the business what he thought I should choose.  He is well known and has been around a long time and has a great palate so I was ready to listen . . . and he told me that he had recently been in New York and had tasted an older bottling, like 1995 or something, of the G.D. Vajra Freisa and how it had blown everyone at the table away.  That it was by far one of the most memorable wines he had tasted in awhile.  And that G.D. Vajra would be his choice.

And so it became my choice.

Now, five plus years later, after many vintages of Freisa under my belt, here is the newly arrived 2011 G.D. Vajra Langhe Freisa "Kye`".

Call or email me for your chance to taste the Freisa.

"In 2011 Freisa Kyè is surprisingly laid back and refined, with far less of the pure intensity and explosiveness it typically presents. Varietal notes are also a bit more in the background, at least today. Sweet herbs, mint, rose petal and orange peel are some of the notes that mark an especially elegant Kyè from the Vajra family." -- Antonio Galloni - Vinous

If you have never had a dry, savory Freisa of the first order, this is your chance.

Back label snafu . . .

When did I become an importer in Seattle, WA and when did Rinascimento Wine Company become someone else?  It is only 50 cs of wine with another importer on the back label . . .no big deal . . . right?  Hmmm, what to do, what to do . . . I think I am going to have to cover it up with a sticker . . . . (sigh) . . . that means a few days in the warehouse opening boxes for sure . . .

Favaro ROS

"La vigna è a 400 mt su terreno ripido e con tanti sassi di granito."
The vineyard is at 1200 feet on steep terrain and with lots of stones of granite.

"La vinificazione è fatta in tonneaux aperto e macerato per 3 settimane. Solo follature delicate e nessun rimontaggio."
The vinification is in open topped wooden fermenters and macerated on the skins for three weeks.   only delicate punch downs and no pumpovers.

"Poi rimane 14 mesi in barrique di 3 o 4 passaggi, nessun travaso."
Then it remains 14 months in three or four year old barrels, no racking.

"Messo in bottiglia senza stabilizzazione e filtrazione."
Bottled without filtration and cold stabilization.

"Un vino dove cerco eleganza e purezza."
A wine where I am searching for elegance and purity.

"Spero piacerà anche in California!"
I hope they like it also in California!

300 bottles made 

Camillo Favaro

Max and Taylor pronouncing Tre Monti . . .

Santa Caterina as pronounced by Taylor Grace

Aia dei Colombi, as pronounced by Max . . . .

Max saying Ronco Severo . . . almost . . . .

Taylor Grace and Max saying Monte Santoccio

All the new wines from the last container . . .

Tre Monti 

These are the new wines from Tre Monti above.  The Thea Bianco which will blow your mind is 100% Petit Manseng!  Who knew that it could create such a fantastic version in Emilia-Romagna?! The 2010 Tre Monti Petrignone Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva is back in stock.  This wine is tasting great right now.  And then there is the newest wine to the line-up, the "Doppio" Pignoletto Frizzante, a slightly sparkling wine that in Emilia-Romagna is paired with just about any salumi plate and is always the first thing you drink before dinner.

Oh, and the new 2013 Albana Secco "Vigna Rocca", just about the best mouthful of wine from this container.  And lastly, the "Casa Lola" Albana Passito, from air dried Albana grapes made in a late harvest style.  I actually haven't tried this wine as of yet so I hope that it is good.

Cirelli Trebbiano and Montepulciano are back in stock!

Cirelli Cerasuolo and Montepulciano 2013.

These new wines from Aia dei Colombi (the name means "are of the doves", so at one time maybe there was a dovecote in the area?) are going to become a staple for the Rinascimento portfolio.  The Falanghina is everything you would expect it to be.  Fresh and bright with a little prickle from being bottled early, it has that juicy fruit citrus flavor that you look for in Falanghina.  I am so excited.

Praesidium is a small winery in the mountains of the Abruzzo that produce only a tiny quantity of wine every year from five heactares of Montepulciano.  Current vintage is 2009.  They wines are aged for five years before release and can carry the designation of Riserva.  Two of those years are in tank, then the last three are in large Slavonian botte with a small proportion going into smaller, older French barrels. The Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo is truly a wine of power and even though it is a rose`, it will remind you more of a light red like Beaujolais.  Serve chilled.

I also bought a selection of the older wines from Praesidium.  The 2006 was a cool and long classic year and this wine is still showing primary fruit flavors and the tannins are just starting to integrate.

So far, this is my favorite of the older vintages.  Power plus finesse.  The tannins are totally integrated into the wine and the fresh fruit flavors of cherry and blackberry are slowly turning to more mature flavors while the acidity is still making the wine dance on the tongue.

And a blast from the past century, this is the 1998.  A wine that is ready to drink now.  

Nicola Ferrari is justly making a huge name for himself with his wines from Monte Santoccio.  I can't keep the Amarone in stock.  Here is the new 2010.  It is so over the top but at the same time, the acidity is bracing.  A true master of the Valpolicella region.

Four years in a row the Favaro Erbaluce has received three glasses from the Gambero Rosso.  The highest rating you can get.  Out of the thousands and thousands of wines tasted and rated every year, only a few attain the rating of three glasses.  The new 2013 is different in style than the previous few years because the weather was much cooler so the style of this wine is a little fresher than usual with lots of acidity.  It is going to be an Erbaluce that will age for a long time . . . if needed.  Most of it will be drunk soon enough!

Taylor Grace and Max pronouncing G.D. Vajra

Tre Monti - Slow Wine Guide 2015

Praesidium wines awarded high honors by the L'Espresso guide to Italian wines . . .

The original Botticelli's Birth of Venus . . .

Antonia and family from Vini Praesidium happened to be in Florence for the presentation of an award they received from L'Espresso magazine for their fantastic Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva 2009 and had time to stop by the Uffizi and see the original inspiration for the logo of my company, the Nascita di Venere (Birth of Venus) but Botticelli.

It is considered the quintessential work of the Renaissance (Rinascimento), a period of rebirth of knowledge, art and culture that came after the Middle Ages (this is hotly debated in many circles, but I am sticking to it.)

And since the formation of my company, that was in a way a rebirth for me in the wine business, what started out as a sort of wish of having a cool name for my company, has become really the basis of the philosophy behind my company.  Rebirth.  Revival.  Renaissance.

Thank you Antonia for the pictures and for thinking of us!

Harvest Photos from Praesidium in Abruzzo . . .

Antonia Pasquale sent us some great photos of the harvest at Praesidium.  Everything is hand harvested into crates.  The yield on these vines is tiny.  Looks like 2014 will be another good vintage. But we have to wait five years for it to be released!

Ottaviano Pasquale, winemaker for Praesidium with the fermenting Montepulciano and Cerasuolo in stainless
 

the grape must going into the basket press after fermentation 

Max says "Falanghina" . . . the new wine in our portfolio from Aia dei Colombi

In homage to Jeremy Parzen's Italian Grape Name Pronunciation Project, this is the first video in a series of Max and Taylor pronouncing Italian grape names (and maybe the names of my Italian produers).  I have already been told that I need to pay them in wine . . . uh oh!

Harvest at Tre Monti in Emilia-Romagna

 The harvest is in full swing at Tre Monti in Imola.  Check out the pictures of these grapes!

Intern? 

Albana di Romagna.  The golden wine.

Sangiovese di Romagna

Do I spy an amphora?

That is definitely clay pot cooking!