L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano WINE NEWS TRENDS PROFILES A mid all the current enthu- siasm for Italy's native wine grapes – dare I say the peninsula's more "geeky" varieties - and the exciting wines made from them, I am coming to realize that there is a potential casualty. International grape varieties planted in Italy seem positioned to take an inadvertent hit in terms of popular attention as native wine grapes continue to fascinate consumers and wine educators. While there are indeed good rea- sons to lament certain applica- tions of international grape vari- eties in Italian wine, we must remember to avoid prejudice and preconception because there is also good work being done with- in that category. I am not without sin in that regard. It was a single bottle of wine at a recent tasting in Tuscany which reminded me of my short- coming. When the host announced the next pour as being Syrah, I nearly sighed with disin- terest having had my head in the native variety clouds for quite some time. The wine that made its way into my glass - Fattoria La Torre's "Esse" - 100% Syrah from the area of Montecarlo in the province of Lucca, was noth- ing short of … sublime. That wine stayed on my mind and JOEL MACK upon returning back to the US, I arranged for a second tasting of Esse and to no disappointment. In fact, the second tasting conducted on my home turf gave even more convincing testimony and a chance to experience the wine's remarkable prowess at table. Syrah, which you may from time to time hear called Shiraz, is the child of French varieties Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche. In her excellent text Wine Grapes, Jancis Robinson notes that Syrah has been planted in Italy since 1899 when it was introduced into Piemonte. Robinson goes on to point out that by the year 2000, Syrah plantings in Italy were audited at only 1,039 hectares. Not exactly an explosive growth record over the course of one hundred years. Interestingly, a quick search at ItalianWineCentral.com, the superb and accurate online refer- ence for all things Italian wine, indicates latest reporting of Syrah plantings in Italy to be at 6,739 hectares, with most plantings of the vine in Sicily and Tuscany, respectively. Chances are great that any encounter you may have so far had with Italian Syrah was where the variety had been used as part of a blend. In fact, ItalianWIneCentral.com lists no less than 110 Italian designations where Syrah is used as a signifi- cant component in the wine blend. It appears that it is Syrah's plantings in Sicily which during the last 15 or so years have con- tributed to the increase of the variety's hectares under vine in Italy since 2000, as noted above. According to Bill Nesto and Frances Di Savino in their fine book The World of Sicilian Wine, surface plantings of Syrah between 2000 and 2007 increased 738% in Sicily where the variety has been frequently used as a blending partner to Nero D'Avola to increase color, give the wine a "meatier smell" and fullness in the mouth. In Tuscany, too, you will find Syrah lending its special some- thing to blending partners – the lovely Promis bottling of Gaja's Ca'Marcanda (Toscana IGT) comes to mind. But, Tuscan des- ignations like Cortona DOC and Toscana IGT are also providing a stage for varietal bottlings that are earning Syrah a place among that region's great wines. The foothills of Cortona have proven especially hospitable terroir to Syrah. La Braccesca, an Antinori property, makes a gorgeous 100% Syrah (Cortona DOC). And from the area around Montecarlo (Lucca), Fattoria La Torre pro- duces their stunningly beautiful 100% Syrah, Esse (Toscana IGT). Thinking in comparative terms to Rhone Syrah, Italian expres- sions of the variety strike me as being more often about plummy ripeness – perhaps a result of Italy's hot temperatures – than are their Rhone counterparts which can sometimes impress one as remaining more on the black pep- per/spice side of the conversation. Italian Syrah, too, from where I sit, can many times bring a more lively acidity underlining a cer- tain firmness of structure than do Rhone versions. Back to that first tasting of La Torre's Esse in Tuscany – as the first beautiful impressions of that wine reached my senses, so too did a moment of shame for hav- ing nearly dismissed an exceed- ingly gorgeous wine with a mind too full of preconception, my penance, perhaps. Forgiven by the power of that wine's beauty, shame transformed to pleasure, and appreciation, too, for having been taught yet another lesson by what happened to be in my wine glass. Tasting Note Fattoria La Torre Esse Ripe cherries, red and dark berry fruit, underscored with notes of mint and baker's choco- late. Smooth tannic finish. A wine so supple it drinks like one imag- ines liquid cashmere might. Chances are great that any encounter you may have so far had with Italian Sirah was where the variety had been used as part of a blend Tuscan designations like Cortona DOC and Toscana IGT are providing a stage for varietal bottling that are earning Syrah a place among that region's great wines Syrah in Italy: Penance and Pleasure

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