L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano One Brunello, unmeasured I first met Giovanna Neri, pro- prietor of Col di Lamo wi- nery, on one of those raw and rainy New York days when the city takes on the mono- chromatic tone of a black and white photograph. Along with daughter Diletta Pieraccini, Gio- vanna makes impressive examples of the iconic Tuscan red wines known as Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino. On that inclement day in New York City, during the trade event known as Benvenuto Brunello, a wine fair that principally introdu- ces the new vintage of Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montal- cino to wine trade and press, Neri's wines immediately grabbed my attention. Even in the noisy, distracting trade show environ- ment, the wines seemed to com- municate on their own special channel. Neri's wines have garnered good scores from a variety of wine critics. For me, however, the wines would inspire a rather different an- gle of consideration. Allow me a brief meander in order to attempt an explanation: a top Tour de France cyclist, I'd read, annoyed when data from the heart rate mo- nitor he wore disturbed the tran- quility of a mountain training ride, discarded the device along the roadside and continued the ride "au naturel." As a cyclist myself, I can tell you that when you are in a state of oneness with the ride, connected to cycling's physical and emotional thrills, its agonies and rhythms, you have little pa- tience for that which doesn't obli- terate whatever isn't about the ride. What I mean to say is, in con- sidering Col di Lamo Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montal- cino, I found it best to discard some of what's been written (and said) about Brunello, Montalcino, etc., and ride, as it were, "au natu- rel." To further make my point, however, I should need to relate to you a bit of background sur- rounding Torrenieri, an area tucked in against the northeast cor- ner of Montalcino's growing zone, and home to Col di Lamo. Torrenieri is something of an outlier among Brunello zones. Its terroir has been the topic of some debate. Although Torrenieri is in- deed part of the Brunello vineyard register, its compact clay soil, sim- ply put, is deemed by many as un- suitable for cultivation of Sangio- vese, the native Italian wine grape used in the production of Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino. Some believe that point to be especially true when the area's soil intersects with Torrenieri sites of very low altitude. Criticisms, some of which have been rather unfairly leveled at Torrenieri in general, include that Torrenieri Sangiovese can show brutish tannins and exhibit a degree of inelegance. And it is there that I must toss the heart rate monitor to the roadside. Neri's wines transcend the (so- metimes contentious) debate sur- rounding Torrenieri terroir and the invented framework used by wine critics to score them. The wines are more profound than the liquid holograms portrayed by wine sco- res, they are a testament to what can be done well in Torrenieri. Col di Lamo Brunello di Mon- talcino and Rosso di Montalcino have an uncanny ability to self-de- scribe. They overcome the illusion one encounters when trying to comprehend in a 90-something point award what is only a reflec- tion of their true message. Neri's Brunello and Rosso communicate over high frequency, focusing at- tention on the taster, probing sho- res of an emotional world like a river following its banks. And I want to flow along with them, un- disturbed, like the Tour de France rider, allowing the wines to obli- terate all that is not wine, so that I may stay connected to their story and to that which defies measure- ment, the unmeasurable thing which remains out of factual reach. From the Col di Lamo website: "What makes the Col di Lamo wi- nes special is Giovanna's ability to transmit to her products the ex- clusive love that only a woman, a mother, can feel for a child." Perhaps what I've been trying to say all along, in a single sen- tence. Great wines whisper. They ask you to pay attention. They invite you to go deeper. The greatest wi- nes of all can change the way you think. Neri's wines do no less. And in those most spectacular of ways, Neri's wines remain, for me, fundamentally unmeasured. Tasting Note Col di Lamo Brunello di Montalcino Sensuously ripe, irresistibly elegant, this is a Brunello of im- peccable grace and poise. Aromas and flavors of well-ripened red fruit, florals, warm spice, hint of saddle leather. Plump and fleshy, the palate is energized with deli- cious acidity. Refined tannins knit into a finish that doesn't hurry away. The wine will age well, yet is one of the more approachable young Brunello examples you will find. WINE NEWS TRENDS PROFILES JOEL MACK THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 Diletta Pieraccini. Credit: Col di Lamo Producer team Giovanna Neri (mother) and her daughter Diletta Pieraccini. Credit: Col di Lamo

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