During the month of November a number of very prestigious wine events were held here in Malta, evidence, if any was needed, of the growing interest in the various vinous subjects and aspects.   

Danatella Cinelli Colombini – (Montekristo Wines)

At the beginning of the month Montekristo Wines hosted Danatella Cinelli Colombini.  The visit was the inspiration behind a Tuscan Food and wine week at Quadro in the Westin Dragonara.  Signora Colombini,  whose family still own the famous Fattoria dei Barbi, set off on her own in 1998 and today is the owner of 2 inherited estates.  Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda and Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino.

Rather revolutionary in the Italian wine industry, Donatella’s employees are all female.  That includes the wine makers.  If that does not make her a feminist, what about this?! She has blended and bottled a ‘Brunello Prime Donne’, the first red wine of this Calibre chosen by and directed in style and flavour for women.

I attended the Saturday function where 4 wines were being shown.  The first was Chianti Superiore 2002.  Normally when I see Superiore on a bottle of Italian wine I think of Del Boy but this one was truly Superior to many Chiantis that I can think of.  Very fresh and clean with smooth ripe tannins, very good length and a cherry/dark choclate aftertaste. Very good value for money. This was followed by Leone Rosso 2001 a rather boring blend of Sangiovese and Merlot in the modern trend.  Quite good to start with but very one dimentional after a few minutes in the glass. 

As expected the Brunellos were not disappointing.  Although not the greatest Brunello ever made the Donatella’s 2000 is a good effort from this rather difficult vintage.  Rich and perfumed maybe a bit over extracted with  a lot of oak showing.  The Reserva 1999 is in a class of it’s own.  Much more Brunello in style and Character.  Fresher and livelier with better balance and riper tannins. Tight on the palette which requires a few years in a dark, cool storage space to open up.

Especially for Italian wine lovers Donantella’s , are wines to watch in the future!

John Kolasa (Wands Ltd)

Wands Ltd kicked off their Grand Bordeaux Week with the visit of my very good friend John Kolasa .  John has had a 35 year illustrious career in this part of France which included 8 years at the helm of Chateau Latour.  Since 1994 he has been managing Chateau Rauzan Segla in Margaux complimented by Ch Canon in St Emilion in 1996.  Both properties belong to Chanel Inc.

The event took place in the newly opened Golden Sands Radisson Hotel.  John delighted the 85 strong audience with an erudite and animated tutored tasting of 5 wines showing both the qualities and the differences between the two estates and ‘terroirs’.  Starting in St Emilion with the ‘baby’ Canon 2000.  Rich,  and spicy with a solid structure.  Tight with a mineral and tannic backbone.  Definitely one for the long haul.  Moving on to Margaux and Rauzan 1996.  Showing the splendour of  the Cab Sauv in this year with a fresh Plummy/Cassis nose.  Herby hints, rounded tannins and a velvety structure.  Staying at Rauzan the 1995 has an intense nose with tabacoo and Eucaliptus hints with a big tannic structure that will reward cellaring for another 10-15 years. 

The highlight of the tasting were the 1983s from both estates.  The Canon served from Magnums was waving his identity card at us.  Typical, unmistakably Southern Plateau St Emilion.  Fruitcake and spice on the nose with fully developed mineral and summer fruit flavours.  Elegant and quite fresh still.  Ready to drink.  Rauzan on the other hand has a few more years to go.  Gamey with still very apparent tannins. A bigger, denser wine altogether.

To accompany dinner we were served the second wines from both properties.  Clos Canon 1998 is showing all the opulence of the Merlot and the appellation’s vintage  whilst Segla 1995 is a bit more intriguing and leaner.  This wine marathon came to an end with the sweet, Sauternes 1 ere Cru Classe,  Chateau Guiraud 1995.  Rather over developed but still quite nice with lots of ‘nobly rotten’ flavours.

The only disappointing aspect to another wise fantastic evening was the quality of the food which when served with such fine and classic wines appear to be worse than it really is.  Except for the desert (which was too sweet for the wine) I honestly could not find a redeeming feature during the 5 course meal.  Rock hard bread, dry duck terrine, undercooked and salty risotto and a haphazardly plated ‘stewed’,  supposedly roasted  fillet of beef which at least on my table was rather dull and void of any fresh or juicy flavours.  I suppose this could have been attributed to the fact that we sat down for dinner later than expected as well as having a new kitchen and equipment to work in.  But still, let’s just hope things improve as time goes on.

Jean Marie Winter (P Bonnici Ltd)

Mr Winter is the Sales director of Schlumberger.  The biggest vineyard owners in Alsace, in north east France.   I love Alsacian wines.  Besides their unique character I am particularly fond of them because of their huge versatility when it comes to accompanying food.  I have been championing the glories of Alsace wines for the past few years and it seems that the message has got through.  Latest statistics show that the Maltese are now drinking twice as much Alsace as they did 2 years ago. 

Two very different events were held.  At Zest in St Julians the emphasis was  on compatibility with fusion and eastern cuisine and the other  a more traditional and European approach at Ta Frenc in Gozo.  As the Zest do coincided with Beaujolais Nuveau day I opted to attend the Gozo function.

The energy, time and money recently spent by the team at Ta Frenc is nothing short of spectacular.  In relatively a very short period of time they have managed to upgrade the restaurant into probably Malta’s finest gastronomic palaces.   The now famous vaulted wine cellar, with it’s dual temperature controls, impressive long mahogany table and splendid  collection of wine provided an excellent venue for the wine tasting dinner.  We started with the excellent Riesling ‘Princes Abbes’ 2000.  Still very fresh, aromatic and citrussy with a classic minerality and a clean, very defined flavour.  Excellent value for money too.  This was followed by Pinot Gris from the Grand Cru site of ‘Kitterle’ 1998. Very concentrated, honey, apricot and caramelized notes on the nose with a full bodied flavour given the impression of sweetness although more than likely dry or with very little residual sugar. 

40 % of the world’s Gewurztraminer is planted in Alsace.  This variety is capable of producing some of the most sublime white wines and especially in Alsace it often reaches high  degrees of alcohol.  It’s aromatic nature with strong flowery and spicy flavours is not to everyone’s liking but I must admit I love it in all it’s shapes and forms.  Dry to the very sweet.  It is so versatile that it can be served with a large range of foods including red meats or poultry.   Schlumberger’s effort with this grape in the Grand Cru site of ‘Kessler’ in 2001 provided fine wines, very rich and concentrated but equally balanced. 

Maybe a bit too young but never the less it stood it’s ground with the rich and heavy textured roast quail that was served with it.

To finish we had one of Alsace’s great specialties. The rare ‘Selection de Grains Nobles’ are sweet wines that are only made in years where specific weather conditions in late Autumn permit the development of ‘noble rot’.  At Schlumberger only 10 vintages were produced since 1945 and this time we were treated to the Cuvee Anne 1976.  Six bottles were made available for this tasting and I found a lot of bottle variation.  The first serving that I tasted was very fragile with slight oxidation, which got worse in the glass.  Eventually a better bottle came my way.  Showing classical honey and apricot nose with a nutty, caramelized palette.  Still,  a bit light and not as concentrated as one would expect with a slight bitter aftertaste.   Having tasted the Cuvee Anne 1971 on a visit to Alsace a couple of years ago my conclusion was that the 71 is holding better.  Maybe it was the fact that the six bottles has only just recently traveled to Malta or that the vintage is drying up.  I will let you know after my next visit to Alsace! 

To finish off I can only congratulate the people involved in organizing these visits and functions which can only serve to increase wine knowledge and appreciation in Malta.