Collefrisio

A post for Summer

COLLEFRISIO

 

COLLEFRISIO, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

 

Lunch today was at 3 Coins, one of Taipei’s most revered Hong-Kong-Style restaurants and holder of a Michelin Star. Why do I say Hong Kong Style? Because their specialty dishes are roast duck and short ribs clearly prepared the way they do it in Hong Kong.

 

Today was a trade lunch with 3 reps from Collefrisio, an innovative organic winery in Abruzzo on Italy’s Adriatic Coast, south of the ancient port of Ancona.

The Adriatic here is more like a lake than an ocean. The Apennine mountains, the spine of central Italy with altitudes well over 2000 meters, shelter Abruzzo from the prevailing bad-weather westerlies; the infamous Bora peters out well to the north, while the tranquil Adriatic here moderates heat so that, counterintuitively, vineyards closer to the sea are cooler than plots higher up the mountainsides. On the whole, this region is suffering much less than other areas of Italy. Indeed, Antonio Patricelli, one of the owners, declares that his grandfather chose their home plot after long deliberations to find a place rarely touched by hail, and so it remains. Each year the picking days are earlier and earlier, but unlike most of the rest of the world, so far Abruzzo is largely untroubled by wild climatic events.

 

 

The three white wines we tried first were both impressively characterful, and quite different from almost anything I’ve ever tried before.

First we tried their Pecorino from Morricine, and it had a lovely pale straw color (unlike most Pecorinos that are weak and watery). It boasted apricot aromas and perhaps a note of green tea, notes of grapefruit, peach and wild flowers, and on the palate it was remarkably refreshing. All in all I pronounce it a fine and drinkable Percorino.

 

Next came Magnolia BIANCO, a medley of four de-stemmed white varieties, Sauvignan Blanc, Falanghina, Trebbiano and Traminer, all from vineyards close to the sea, but all harvested and vinified at different times with low-temperature fermentation to yield a big first impression of guava from the Sauvignan Blanc, while the other varieties carry on with yellow peach, lichie, mango and pineapple. Why would I drink anything else?

 

Third we tasted SEMIS BIANCO TERRE DI CHIETI, and I discovered that the name SEMIS, which derives from Latin for ‘half’, refers to the two partners who work COLLEFRISIO, Amedeo De Luca and Antonio Patricelli, who was with us today. The two of them represent the two hemispheres of their winery awareness, one emotional, one scientific. The Yin Yang contrast repeats with a black Koi Carp outline in negative space and a white  Koi Carp glued on to create this 3d effect meant to represent their contrasting but complementary predilections. Check out the photo.

 

The SEMIS BIANCO may be unique for its fermenting and aging, 90% in Acacia barrels from Slovenia, and 10% in American Oak. Is it strange or is it extraordinary…yes. It blends 3 varieties, Trenbiano, Falanghina and Pecorino all from plots with low yields around 35HL/Ha.
 

The wood reduces acidity just a little but adds amazing complexity and length. This wine will age.

 

SEMIS MONTEPULCIANO d’ABRUZZO 2016

 

This wine spends one full year aging on its skins to maximize extraction of polyphenols and anthocyanins, the not-so-secret reason why drinking red wine in moderation is GOOD for your heart and general health. This wine could age another 20 years without fading, but right now it radiates fresh ripe blackberries, cherries, pomegranate, even black truffles, plus notes of black pepper and cloves. The palate is very civilized, and this time the finish kept going too long. I had to drink the next one.

 

Next came a Primitivo from a contract grower in Puglia. Primitivo is not one of my go-to varieties, but although this one showed black tea on the nose as usual, its dark fruit was still youthful, and the body much lighter and more elegant than the primitivos I’ve come to dread. For Puglia, 15% ABV counts as restrained, and this one showed refreshing acidity to achieve credible balance. Perhaps it’s not typical of Puglia, but for me that’s a good thing…

 

Next up was their IN AND OUT Montepulciano d’Apruzzo from vines more than 50 years old. The grapes for this wine were harvested well into October, so, lots of hang time, and then it was macerated at low temperature for 24 days before fermentation. After fermentation it spent 24 months on used barriques and 10 months in bottle before release. As you might expect. this wine shows profound extraction. It is rich-garnet and purple, with an engaging nose of dark berries, pomegranate, violets, some tertiary truffle and spice. This wine fills your mouth and stays and stays, a fine example of Abruzzo at its best.

 

The flagship black-label edition of In and Out also features contrasting Koi Carp, and it comes from 100-year-old vines planted on their own roots before Phyloloxera struck this part of Italy. The grapes were harvested even later, in mid-November, for 16%ABV, but still they do not need to acidify to retain balance.

 

Thanks to Eric Lin for his agile translation and to Summer and her team for putting together a brilliant event.