The Vigna delle Piave Vineyard
In The CONCA d'ORO
FONTODI ESTATE
PANZANO , ITALY
"Oh My God" is what I sputtered after taking a taste of some Flaccianello the other night. OMG as the kids say, and it was just the natural reaction of tasting one of the tastiest wines I've ever tasted in my life, and I've tasted quite a lot: many great Barolo's of all the best vintages, Brunello, Barbaresco, Amarone, Champagne, Burgundy's, and all the great Bordeaux 's. The Flaccianello 2010 I drank the other night at Trattoria Monte's in Greenwich Village was absolutely spectacular, it was a perfect wine, and I don't often through that phrase out there other than a couple times a year, after drinking hundreds of wines a year, each and every year for the past 25 years or so, this was one of the best, and I'm sure one I'll long remember.
There have been other wines like this, one that stick out in my mind and will always remember, while thousands of others I don't. Yes I'll long remember that I drank that Flaccianello 2010 that night at Monte's, it was that good. I poured some of the wine into my glass, not knowing that it would be one of those great ones, an unforgettable wine. I poured it in the glass, smelled it, it smelled good, but I didn't know that once I drank it, and took that first sip, "Wow," was not all I could say. I told my friends, "Oh my God, this wine is amazing, I love it." I don't need to go into a whole "it taste like this (adjective) and that (adjective)," I don't like doing that. What I do like saying, is that it tasted so dam good, and I just loved it. It was delicious and in perfect balance, and a wine I'm sure that I'll remember drinking for a long time.
The Fontodi Estate, nestled in the famed "Conca D'Oro" (Gold Shell) in thee town of Panzano in the Chianti Classico zone in Tuscany is about 22 miles south of Florence. It's a beautifu estate sitting there in the Golden Shell. Fontodi was one of the first vineyards I had ever visited, way back in 1996 when I was doing research for the Venetian Wine Bar / Trattoria that I created in 1997, hwich just so happened to be the Vintage of the Century for wine all over the World. Anyway a friend set up the visit with the owner Giovanni Manetti to have a private tasting and tour of Fontodi, needless to say we had a wonderful time, and I have loved Mr. Manetti's wines ever since, especailly the Chianti, Chianti Vigna del Sorbo, and of course the Flaccianello elle Piave. I a have tasted almost every vintage of Flaccianello since, and have enjoyed many of them, but I teell you, none as much as the 2010, the wine is phenomenal, and I'm looking forward, I hope to drinking it again. Bravo Giovanni.
Basta!
Daniel Bellino Zwicke
June 14, 2019
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The CELLARS at FONTODI
THIS is what ROBERT PARKER Said about the FLACCIANELLO 2010
Now to a superstar of Italian enology: The 2010 Flaccianello della Pieve will take your breath away. This is a seriously beautiful Sangiovese-based wine with the kind of intensity and aromatic purity you only experience every 1,000 wines or so. There's a lot to say here. First, the wine’s beautiful appearance shows dark garnet colors with highlights of ruby and purple gemstone. The bouquet delivers a steady and seductive evolution with dark cherry, chocolate, spice, tobacco and sweet almond all seamlessly balanced one against the other. Its texture and inner fabric is rich, velvety and firm. There's a brilliant spot of acidity that hits you at the back of the mouth and helps the wine from feeling too heavy or dense. In fact, outstanding elegance is what ultimately sets it apart. The temptation to drink it now is huge, but those still young tannins definitely need a few more years to unwind. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035.
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FLACCIANELLO
Back Label
I'm looking for the pictures that I took when I visited the Fontodi Estate back in 1996. If I find them, I'll post here at a later date.
Giovanni Manetti
At FONTODI
"He Makes OLIVE OIL Too"
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