Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/898117
DEPARTMENT HEADER 98 / the tasting panel / november 2017 98 / the tasting panel / november 2017 Santa Margherita Wine Educator Kristina Sazama's opening question regarding structure garnered an eager response from Sean Van Straatum, General Manager/ Wine Director for the Viceroy L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills, California. "I personally loved this wine," he said. "Not a ton of fruit essence but more like rose petals, potpourri, and all these dried characteristics, so I took it to Piemonte, Nebbiolo." Not exactly correct, but a great call. Sazama revealed that the wine was the Lamole di Lamole 2012 Vigneto di Campolungo Gran Selezione Chianti Classico. The single-vineyard selection from a premium estate in Santa Margherita's portfolio was the only Italian in the bunch. "You're right," said Sazama. "I like to say there is fruit, or as you say restrained fruit, but other components as well, adding to the complexity. What I love about this wine is that there's this element of the tradition, but then there's an element of the technology. There are some very interesting things they're doing at Lamole di Lamole to make that Sangiovese structure less on the dusty side and instead give more of a velvety mouthfeel." Van Straatum wasn't the only somm who referenced a wine like Nebbiolo, and they could have been thrown off just slightly by the dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon. "It's Sangiovese, but there is probably about 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon as well, and that's really just attributed to this particular single vineyard," Sazama continued. "When the Marzotto family of Santa Margherita purchased the estate in 1993, there was already a small portion of Cab planted, so it's not really a blending choice; we're including the old vine Cab that is part of this single vineyard." It's an endearing notion, but there are other ways in which the Marzotto family keeps with tradition. "The area of Lamole was planted by the Romans in the 13th century with the use of terraces, as there are very steep slopes here. It's quite a labor-intensive estate to farm and it had fallen into neglect, so the first thing the Marzotto family did was rebuild the terraces," Sazama explained. "This helped with things like erosion, but the stones they're using are also helping to retain some of the heat so you just get a little bit more consistent ripeness in this vineyard." Additional updates at the winery—this time of the technological variety— include an optical sorter and what Sazama referred to as "deferred extraction." "The optical sorter is not so common in Italy. There's about 20 percent that is rejected even though it's hand-harvested fruit," Sazama said. "Then they have this cool thing, a deferred extraction if you will, because one of the issues with Sangiovese is that it can have rather dusty tannins. But by separating the juice and skins up front, and then reintroducing the skins when the must reaches about 6% alcohol, they're actually getting a better extraction in the alcoholic solution, which helps with the more velvety mouthfeel in the final wine." Tradition and technology aside, Sazama attributes terroir to the fruit character. "In Chianti Classico, you have more of the galestro soil. Here in the Campolungo vineyard, it's actually a sandstone; Albarese is a sandstone, but here it's actually even more friable, and I think this sandstone impacts the ripeness of fruit in the glass. Also, Greve in Chianti is an area higher in elevation, and in fact, some of the highest in elevation in all of Chianti Classico, so you have these beautiful breezes. The elevation, the drainage, the steep slopes—all this has enabled us to work toward Organic certification." Lamole di Lamole VIGNETO DI CAMPOLUNGO GRAN SELEZIONE CHIANTI CLASSICO Tasting Notes Desiccated rose petals and potpourri collide with ages meats to form an elegant yet powerful representation. Could be a Nebbiolo from Lange. —Sean Van Straatum On the nose: heavy aromas of volcanic rock and very subtle bay leaves. On the palate: very angular in texture, red cherries, pomegran- ate, and obvious tannin. —Jesus Evangelista M.W. Candidate Kristina Sazama, Wine Educator, represents Lamole di Lamole with a plethora of knowledge.