Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life
Walter Speller is one of the top experts in Italian wine. He writes for Jancis Robinson as well as managing his wine consultancy, Hunt & Speller. Reading his writing is like looking at a very calm sea after a huge storm. You know there is a lot going on there, for when the storm was raging, our boat almost sank and we were almost lost at sea. But who would know it now?
Walter is a deep current. He has learned to convey peace and calmness, but he knows things. Life isn’t neat. And his writing ferries one across depths. When I read about a wine that I think I know very well, when Walter writes about it, it’s like I’d never tasted the wine before. And he makes me want to open a bottle right away, to see what he sees, feel what he feels. He’s a fabulous influence on me in my wine life. I learned new things with this interview. That’s how it is with Walter, always learning something new. Please welcome him to our little series.
“On July 2, 2021, Betty Kuhne Sawyer
Hitchings, 93, marched through the gates of Heaven and immediately asked for
directions to the River of Boxed Chardonnay.”
[Read Betty’s obituary, it really does sound like she had a wonderful life, regardless of her choice in wine]
What I do know is this: If I’ve been a good boy and minded all my P’s and Q’s, there better be something better than Franzia waiting for me at the Pearly Gate Café.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
I’m cooking a chicken tagine for a dinner party tomorrow and pulled a few bottles from the wine fridge that I thought might make interesting pairings:
2013 Recaredo Corpinnat Terrers Brut Nature
2016 Château Lapuyade Jurançon Sec "Cuvée Dentelle"
1996 Ridge Zinfandel “Pagani Ranch”
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
I first met Dan in Napa Valley, where he is a winemaker at the historical winery Larkmead and also has his own label, Massican, which focuses on Italian grapes, among others. Dan is an inquisitive soul, constantly searching into corners of the winemaking (and greater) world, looking for answers. A really generous person, I’ve tasted Italian wines with Dan in Napa Valley that I’ve never seen or had the opportunity to taste in Italy. Really glad to have him on these pages today with his perspective and passion.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
I don’t have any standing up, but I do have a lot lying down.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
As we are deep into the summer here in Napa, drinking white wines is top of mind and always topped-up in my glass. And the greatest so far has been the Clos Saint-Joseph Blanc 2019 from Villars-Sur-Var. Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano), Rolle (Vermentino) and Semillon. A perfect wine! I could drink this everyday this Summer.
“Overall, the 1986 vintage was lackluster for much of the world but some regions got lucky.”
“A very good if slightly underrated vintage.”
“Largely good but stopped short of
excellent.”
Looking on my wine closet, there are some stragglers still hanging on from 1986. One red wine from Friuli, a couple of reds from California, a Colheita Port and “from way out in left field,” a Texas red. No more Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscan or Piedmont wines. All gone, drunk up. I mean, look at what the experts said?
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
And because he needs only 2 hours of sleep a night, in 2020 DLynn co-founded (with Martin R. Reyes MW, Mary Margaret McCamic MW) Wine Unify, a platform that champions diversity and inclusion for underrepresented minorities in the wine industry. Armed with three initiatives – to welcome, to elevate, and to amplify underrepresented minorities – Wine Unify seeks to create more visibility and opportunity for people of color.
DLynn has forged a path in the wine world that is uniquely his. He constantly updates and reinvents himself.
…with apologies for length
Greetings! I’ve been meaning to write this for awhile. But you know how it goes, one gets busy and forgets about things. Oh, and the last 16 months or so have been extraordinary. I’ve dusted off my notes and am now sending this long overdue letter. Feel free to share it publicly with any potential (or current) members of the wine trade. It might save them a lot of time and trouble.
Where to begin? How about in the beginning? You saw those folks at that fancy Italian restaurant, having a leisurely lunch with several bottles, talking to the wine buyer and tasting, clinking glasses, in what looks like a scene where everybody is having a good time? Well, looks can be deceiving. Let’s dig in.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
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| Photograph by Michael Seto |
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Pierre Gimonnet 2012 Champagne Oger Grand Cru Special Club
F.X. Pichler 2005 Durnsteiner Kellerberg Riesling
Pierre Matrot 2010 Meursault Perrieres
Domaine de Montille 2002 Volnay La Carelle Sous La Chapelle
Bruno Giacosa 1998 Barbaresco Gallina
Château d'Yquem 1996
My husband and I are having over friends this weekend for the first time since right before COVID hit, and we're in a mood to splurge!
What’s the last great wine you drank?
That's easy! Last week I had the Tio Pepe Quatros Palmas Amontillado (2020 Bottling). It was exhilarating in complexity and only four casks remain of this "museum solera". Definitely history in a glass.
You’ve endured a lot from me over the years. From my sci-fi worlds of the future to my incessant gyrations about the wine trade, the state of the world and whatever else erupts from this mind. Today, I am cycling back to wine and recommending 5 wines that have crossed my path lately. They are all good, if not always available. But they found their way to me. So, they must exist somewhere else in reality. Read on:
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
Author of forthcoming South of Somewhere: Wine, Food and the Soul of Italy (October 2021) At Table University of Nebraska, and Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey (2010).
Writer of twice monthly on line column Robert Camuto Meets… @ www.robertcamuto.com
What wines do you have standing up right now?
A lot of Chianti Classicos. This spring after all those months in lockdown in Italy (including a bout with Christmas Covid), the first place I headed to was Tuscany for the comfort of good old Sangiovese.
I am on a Sangiovese tear right now. It’s possibly the most emblematic Italian grape. I love the different expressions from all the different parts of Chianti Classico—austere, mineral and vertical in Radda to softer and sunnier around Castellina. Sangiovese cries out for hearty classic Italian foods and salumi. In C.C, you have the pure Sangioveses and the blends. It’s a world.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
Yesterday at lunch with a friend in Verona, we drank a bottle of Le Ragnaie 2015 Brunello di Montalcino. Long, smooth, earthy and elegant.
Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?
It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I first tried (speaking of Sangiovese) Montevertine’s mythic Le Pergola Torte. It was at the end of a central Italy summer dinner with a bunch of crazy winemakers. Sadly, I can’t remember what the wine tasted like. (One of those evenings!)
From the archives
One of the most misunderstood winemakers in all of time is Jesus Christ. After his miracle at the marriage feast of Cana, criticisms of his wine style stirred the temple. Jesus, a man born to love, was reviled. But what about his wine? Was it the ultimate supernatural wine?
Jesus’ mercurial behavior, like the time he went ballistic in the marketplace, have contributed to his reputation as a flesh and blood being, only to be balanced with the events at Cana and subsequent actions with Lazarus.
Criticism of Jesus seems to outpace his actions, many of which have changed history. Denial of his importance in the world of wine and natural winemaking, especially, was common throughout the Roman Empire. After winemaking shifted to Italy, it was as if Jesus the winemaker never existed.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Well, I’m not standing up right now, I’m sitting here filling out this stupid questionnaire which I intend to use to demonstrate my superior knowledge of wine because that’s what this kind of thing is about. The truth is, we all drink lots of wines we’re somewhat ashamed to admit we drank. Like wines we got on sale at Safeway, or were recommended by some beauty blogger on Instagram. That said, I couldn’t quite finish the bottle of ’85 Chave Hermitage I opened last night to go with my fish sticks, so that’s standing up right now looking really embarrassed.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
Is there an adjective more abused in the wine business than “great?” Maybe “natural” or “yummy,” which are polar opposites. Greatness is hard to measure, like your own inseam. Also, whatever it was, I hope it wasn’t the last great wine I drink. I’d like to have more great wines. Mainly, yours. I did recently drink a 2010 Dom Perignon that would make a blind monk see. I suppose the Champagne could have been better, now that I think about it. It could have been Dom and Dommer.
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| Photo by Susan Lowry Hare |
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
At the moment I’ve got a bottle of 2019 Sandlands Red Table Wine in the fridge preserved with the new Coravin Pivot system, which is proving to be quite a handy device for keeping weeknight bottles fresh. In any case, Tegan Passalacqua has been making such wonderfully delicious wines under his Sandlands label, and this old-vine field blend from Contra Costa county is deliciously gulpable. It’s 55% Carignane and 45% Mataro and weighs in at only 12.8% alcohol. I like to drink it with a slight chill on it, and man, is it great.
In addition to that bottle, I’ve got the dregs of a couple of press samples that have been sent to me lately, a white Pinot Noir from Anne Amie Vineyards called “Prismé,” and a Vermentino di Gallura from the Sardegna producer Surrau.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
I’m not fully vaccinated yet (10 days and counting), so I’ve been easing my way back into social dining. I have a group of friends that have all been very careful and are partway through their vaccination regime too, and so we decided to go sit outside at The Morris restaurant in San Francisco a week or so ago, and we ordered some lovely wines. The star of the night was a 2011 Domaine du Collier “La Charpentrie” Saumur Blanc from the Loire Valley. It was just singing.
Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).
There are few things
better than a long afternoon sitting around outside with good friends and great
wine. If we’re talking ideal, it would be Spring, where the air is cool enough
to keep the wines from getting warm, but warm enough to be comfortable. We’d be
in the shade, at a picnic table, with an epic view, maybe of mountains or of
the sea, and enough to eat so that we can keep drinking without needing a nap
or to break away for a big meal.
I think if you had asked me this question 2 years ago, my answer might have
been more grand, but right now, what I really want to do more than anything is
just enjoy the company of great friends with no other encumbrances or
obligations.
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| From 8½ by Federico Fellini |
We’re talking the 1960-70’s here, which is a universe away from the world we live in now. But to get from there to here took a revolution that hammered away at the commercial, cultural, logistical and financial worlds that prevailed. It was a long, slow climb to the top, where now Italian wine enjoys a reputation as one of the great wine producing countries of the world. No longer is Italy in the shadow of France, as it was when I started out. But it took some dogged determination, and the blood, sweat and tears of a diverse group of producers (and importers) in order to pull this revolution off. Here are ten of those fomenters who created a new reality for Italian wine, and changed forever how all of us see wine from Italy.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
For most of my readers, Ian D’Agata needs no introduction. I consider Ian to be the top Italian wine expert (and author) living today. Not constrained to the Italian peninsula, though, he is extremely well-versed in wines from France, Germany and the world over. Ian is also a Renaissance man, having trained as a medical doctor before coming to the world of wine. He recently moved to Shanghai, China to take the post of Editor-in-Chief of the TS wine review (become a member HERE) and the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of TasteSpirit, China’s leading media and education company, including a wine school with centers in eight different metropolitan Chinese cities, a digital wine magazine with 3 Million private users, and international conferences and events on wine and food with world-renowned experts in their field. In essence, Ian is a busy man. But he graciously gave of his time to join us at By the Bottle for this segment.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Alsace and Franken Sylvaner (both dry and late harvest); dry and especially late harvest Riesling from anywhere in the world but especially the Saar, Mosel and Ruwer; Pinot Noir from Burgundy and Oregon; old Napa Cabs and Bordeaux; Niagara wines; and wines made from Italy’s native grapes. I have a lot of bottles standing because I am tasting and drinking all the time.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
Petrus 1998, but it’s not anywhere near being ready to drink. And a litany of Mosel BAs and TBAs.
Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?
No. I have been drinking and tasting since the late 70s at a fairly unimaginable clip and so I can safely say there isn’t a single world wine I don’t know well, though clearly there are areas of, for example, Spain, Portugal and South Africa that I do not know as well as those who live there or who work with those wines.
I initially learned about Patricia Guy from her book, Wines of Italy, which should be on every Italian wine lover’s book shelf. Patricia lives in Verona, Italy, where I eventually made her acquaintance. She grew up in the US, but has lived most of her adult life in Europe. She is a wine lover, an excellent writer (hence, no need to edit her interview) and a quiet thinker. She lives, from where I perch, an ideal life, and I am honored to have her comments here at By the Bottle.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
They’re all laying down, as am I at the moment.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
2007 Pietramora from Fattoria Zerbina. The perfume unfurled: raspberries, cherries, a note of blueberries. The palate echoed the nose: a whirling top of flavors that merged and mingled. It continued to evolve and with each sip.
I asked Cristina Geminiani, the winemaker and owner of Fattoria Zerbina to send a bottle of her Pietramora, aged for at least a decade, to me once a month when I eventually (and inevitably) end up in the Old Wine Writers Home to remind me of the pleasure of tasting a well-made wine. I do not expect her to do this, but it is a nice to think about us old fogies sitting, sipping, chatting and remembering in the presence of a gracefully mature wine.
Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).
When: late afternoon, the sun still in the sky. Where: on a terrace, with a gentle breeze blowing. What: something with an evocative fragrance and an ever-evolving flavor. How: with a good friend or two for company.
“You may have the universe, if I may have Italy.” – Giuseppe Verdi
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| Rome - 1971 |
This year will mark 50 years since I first visited Italy. That alone is cause for dismay. The good news? Life in the last 50 years has been so much better, thanks to Italy.
But eventually one must say goodbye.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not bidding adieu just yet. But the sun is getting lower on the horizon.
Italy has been my mentor, my guide, my friend, and sometimes, my foe. I’ve loved Italy with all my heart. And at times, I’ve wanted to walk away and never look back. Italy has tried to kill me, at least once. And it has cured me, also, at least once. And I cannot tell you how many times I’ve experienced a rebirth, all because of Italy.
That’s a pretty tall order, to lay all of this off onto a peninsula in the middle of the Mediterranean.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Sangiovese Superiore Le Papesse 2019 and Sangiovese I Probi 2016, both from Villa Papiano. I am quite intrigued by Romagna’s wines, especially the ones made with Sangiovese. I know nothing about them and it is high time to start learning.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
I consider a wine great when it is – or is going to be - unforgettable for its qualities of balance, depth, personality, persistence, promise. In this case the last were actually two, both from the vintage 2017: the future Brunellos from Le Chiuse and Fattoria dei Barbi, tasted secretly and prematurely, one from the bottle and the second from the barrel.
Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?
If the concept of “recently” could be consider elastic in terms of time, as it happened a few years ago, I must quote the Cannonau made by Alessandro Dettori in three different crus: Tuderi, Tenores and Dettori. These wines struck me for being already totally classic.
Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).
In the evening, somewhere comfortable, two or three wines maximum, with the feeling of having all the time of the world. And, of course, with the right company which could consist in a small group of friends, or, myself and just one more person.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Tzora Vineyards “Judean Hills” 2018 (Judean Hills,
red); Chateau Senejac 2016 (Haut Medoc, red); Moulin de Gassac 2019 (Languedoc,
red); Itay Lahat “Adom” 2019 (Galilee, red); Francesco Cirelli Montepulciano
d’Abruzzo 2019 (Montepulciano, red).
What’s the last great wine you drank?
Hmmm. Depends on the definition of “great”. The last wine that took my breath away was
Chateau Beaucastel served by Marc Perrin himself at my friend, Etienne Hugel’s,
wedding, now I am guessing close to 10 years ago (maybe fewer). Etienne is now no longer with us and so the
wine and the event both remain in loving memory.
Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?
Not classic but “up- and-coming”: several wines from Georgia (the country not the state). With thanks to my friends Lisa Granik MW (in the US) and Vova Diachenko (in Tel Aviv) for the introductions.
I’d noticed, when I would go to Italy, that the Italians loved watches and timepieces. In fact, it borders on a national mania. I would always have a dependable watch on, but my Italian counterparts would have these electronic sundials and steampunk chronometers flashed upon their wrists. It was fascinating to observe.
That said, I’ve been running the idea up the flag pole that the Swiss watchmakers could impart some valuable lessons upon the Italian viticultural landscape. This quote (with additional following ones) from Terreni that really drove this idea home was this:
“Emotions don't come from the turnover that you make or the profit that you make. Emotions come from what you can give in terms of pleasure to people who buy the products and crave what you are making. This is something that evolves over a long period of time.”
We often pooh-pooh the notion of emotionality, as if it is an uncontrolled, irrational thing. You read in the business pages that the stock market is going haywire, running amuck, feeding off emotions, and one might get the idea that an emotional basis might not be most stable foundation. But Terreni thinks differently. It’s how one captures loyal customers, and keeps them. I find this path to be a solid one, as it was something that I saw again and again. If you’re just filling a slot, making a product for a possible demand, it could be very successful. But it might be a flash in a pan. Look at some of the classic wineries in Italy, they seem to be more like watchmakers than trendsetters. They are moving from generation to generation, at a slower pace, with not quite such a steep angle of ascension. But they are moving towards their summit. That’s part of their evolution.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
I’m starting a new series, By the Bottle.
It mimics the By the Book feature in the Sunday NY Times Book Review, which
asks a series of questions to authors about books. This time, we’ve turned the
tables on wine lovers, winemakers, and all kinds of folks in the
world of wine. It’s all for fun, with the hopeful expectation that we might
gain insights into friends and colleagues in a lighthearted and easygoing
way. Expect more, not consistently, but from time to time. Usually on Thursdays.
Kicking this off with Ole Udsen, a wine
merchant, wine writer, senior oil industry negotiator and commercial innovator.
Ole is a dear friend who lives in Vedbæk, a community on the coast 20 km. north
of Copenhagen, Denmark. Ole is one of the most learned people I have ever met
in regards to Italian wine, and southern Italian wine in particular. He has an
ecumenical thirst for knowledge for wines from all over the world and is one of
the most open-minded people I have ever met. But he is no pushover; which is
probably why we get along so well. Thanks for launching the ship, Ole! See you at dinner.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Many. Some Albillo and Garnacha from Sierra de Gredos, a 2011 Hunter Valley Sémillon, a 2007 Pfalz Spätburgunder, and about 10-15 others.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
Barolo Prapò 1996, Az. Agr. Bricco Rocche / Ceretto.
Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).
I don’t have any. Great drinking experiences come in many guises.
