At the Mercato Centrale\nin Florence, on the first floor from 11\/10\/22 to 13\/12\/22 there were six\nevenings dedicated to six important wine producers. These events were conceived\nby Umberto Montano who, together with one of his partners, leased the entire\nfirst floor of the central market of Florence and leased the spaces to third\nparty entrepreneurs to give the public the best of cooking, food and drink both\nas raw material and cooked. This important initiative was also implemented in\nMilan, Rome and Turin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Umberto some time ago,\nmindful of when we met, in the early 90s when he, in one of his restaurants,\norganized meetings with wine producers who talked about their company and had\ntheir wines tasted and I was a frequent visitor to these pleasant meetings,\nfrom there began my growth in the world of wine, he recreated these events\ndedicating them to me. The object of the meetings would have been to talk about\nthe current year of production and to taste five or six wines produced by the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me it was a pleasure\nto contact some producer friends who immediately showed their enthusiasm for\nparticipating in these meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The events were free for\nthe participants, the companies offered the wines and I, as always, did my job\nout of pure passion. Umberto made available the location, the staff and the\nglasses, one for each wine tasted. I found great professionalism in the guys\nwho worked for Umberto, staff directed by the talented young Pin Cecchi. There\nwere about 80 participants in each event and as many people were always on the\nwaiting list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The events were as\nfollows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On 11.10.22 with the\nTenuta La Massa company. On 25.10.22 with the Venetian company Trabucchi\nd’Illasi. On 15.11.22 with the Azienda agricola Toscani. On 22.11.22 with the\nTuscan company “Il Marroneto”. On 06.12.22 with the La Braccesca\ncompany of the Marchesi Antinori spa group and on 13.12.22 with the Maison\nVeuve Blanche Estelle with its “Encry” champagne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first evening was\ndedicated to the Tenuta la Massa company and its owner Giampaolo Motta, a\nlongtime friend, was with us, who brought six of his wines including Giorgio\nPrimo 2009, an olfactory riot of black truffle and cassis. Giampaolo is a very\nconvinced supporter of the Bordeaux blend even if he produces an excellent pure\nSangiovese, the “Carla 6”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giampaolo entertained us\nfor about two hours during which he described the wines tasted. Very interested\nand attentive audience. Beautiful evening during which Umberto spoke praising\nGiampaolo and his wines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following evening\nwas dedicated to the Trabucchi d’Illasi company. There were Prof. Giuseppe\nTrabucchi, his wife and his two grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company is located\nin the Veneto region and produces among the various wines Valpolicella,\nAmarone, Amarone Riserva and Recioto. All well-balanced wines of great depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was particularly\nstruck by the Recioto 2008 which I found very expressive on the nose and\ncompletely satisfying on the palate, finding it fine and elegant to which I\ngave the score of 100\/100. This evening was also very pleasant. Prof. Tabucchi\nprojected the photos of the company onto a screen, explaining them. Even this\nevening the room was full and the public was very happy to know this important\nreality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third evening was\nheld on 11.15.22 with the Azienda Agricola Toscani, a Tuscan company founded by\nOliviero Toscani and now run by his eclectic and likeable son Rocco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wines tasted were\nfive of which the first four with Syrah grapes and the fifth with Cabernet\nFranc grapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were all\ninteresting and enjoyable wines. The “Lol\u00ec” 2021, sparkling ros\u00e9 wine\nwith the ancestral method (steel only). “I Toscani”: Syrah is\nfermented with a small percentage of Greco (steel and bottle). The third\n“vedomare rosso” slightly more structured wine (steel, Slavonian oak\nbarrels for 12 months and bottle), “Lume\u00f2” fermented and macerated\nfor six months in terracotta amphorae and cocciopesto, with the addition of a\nsmall percentage of white Greco grapes. Use of amphorae and bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fragrant and vinous\nwine. The last wine was the Cabernet Franc, “come with me”, fermented\nin steel, aged in 350-litre French oak tonneaux followed by 12 months in the\nbottle. Among the various scents, this pleasant wine had green pepper and\nvarnish enamel on the nose. This too was a pleasant evening with lively and\nattentive interest, given Rocco’s narrative exuberance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fourth appointment\nwas with the company “Il Marroneto” of Montalcino owned by Alessandro\nMori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I would like to point\nout that the wines produced by this company, both the Rosso di Montalcino and\nthe Brunello di Montalcino in its normal version and in the “Madonna delle\nGrazie” version and both the reserve (very rarely produced), are wines of\nhigh quality and economic value . The company does not need to advertise itself\nand give away wines for tastings, when enthusiasts spend good money to\nparticipate in paid tastings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I made this premise so that there are no misunderstandings. Alessandro\nhas granted his wines free of charge for the strong and fraternal friendship\nthat binds us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His son Jacopo came to the evening with his charming girlfriend, as\nAlessandro was abroad for work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In contrast to the exuberant\nAlessandro, Jacopo is a shy boy, but who knows his stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I must say that during the tasting of the red, the two brunellos and the\ntwo Madonna della Grazie, we were all enchanted by the pleasantness of the\nwines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scented wines of cherry, plum, minerals, blood, balsamic, spicy,\nexpressions of the beautiful territory that gave them birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The palate is pleasure-loving, caressed by sapidity, minerality,\ngustatory balance and sweet and silky tannins. What to say more?. Jacopo\nillustrated the history of his family’s company and of his lawyer father who,\nhanging up his toga, decided (a wise decision) to devote himself to wine.\nMagnificent evening!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The whole audience was mesmerized and dumbstruck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The evening of 06.12.22 was with a vertical of five wines from the\n“Bramasole” company which produces a fantastic Syrah in Cortona. Dr.\nRenzo Cotarella, CEO of Marchesi Antinori s.p.a. did us the honor of being\nthere at the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our friend Renzo Cotarella dedicated his precious time to us as he is\nalways around the world between wines to taste, evenings and meetings. Renzo\nsupervises everything at the Antinori companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wines of the evening were the “Bramasole” Cortona doc in\nthe vintages 2004, 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to get to know a company, it is essential to do a vertical\ntasting of several vintages of the same wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After this evening surely the public of enthusiasts got to know\n“Bramasole” and understood how this wine is when young and its\nevolution over time. They understood that Syrah has fruity aromas of plum,\nspicy notes of black pepper, worked leather and sometimes black olive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Renzo told us about the company, the production, he explained to us the\nreason for certain aromas of the wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were all delighted to hear him speak with emphasis and passion about\nhis enormous and demanding work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Umberto, a friend of Renzo’s, was also very interested in listening to\nhim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the evening Renzo had a small group of people around who\nwanted to compliment him and wanted to ask him for further information on some\nthings he had said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This evening was also magnificent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We now come to the last appointment which was that of Champagne Encry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Maison Veuve Blanche Estelle of Mesnil sur Oger is made up of three\nhectares of vineyards in Mesnil sur Oger and is owned by Enrico Baldin and\nNadia Nicoli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have known them for some years, since their first public debut in\nMerano at the Wine Festival, where I immediately liked the champagnes I tasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enrico and Nadia came to the evening and offered the following six\nchampagnes for tasting: Brut, Zero Dosage, Extra Brut, R\u00e8verie, Ros\u00e9 and the\nvintage 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All champagnes very rich on the nose and on the palate with fine and\ncaressing bubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past I have also tasted old champagnes produced by the previous\nowner of the Maison and those produced by Enrico. We have gone from scents of\nmountain herbs and a bit of stables to different, more refined scents and 2012\nis further confirmation of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I write the tasting notes of the Blanc de Blancs 2012 because it will be\ndifficult to find this vintage around as the company stocks are finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Encry Blanc de Blancs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Grand Cru, vintage 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Light golden yellow color and fine and quite numerous\nbubbles. Varied and intense nose made up of aromas of cedar peel, star anise,\npeeled ripe tomato, chalk, helichrysum (licorice) and mineral. The olfactory\npath continues with intense notes of blond leather, brackish, green banana\npeel, acacia honey, licorice, eggnog and Coccoina glue (coconut and almond\nmilk). Pleasant mouth with marked acidity and squeezed lemon flavor. The body\nis medium and, despite the marked acidity, the wine has a good gustatory\nbalance. The lips are salty and citrusy. In the mouth it is wide with long\nacidity. Its gustatory persistence is long with a lemon finish. Pleasant, young\nand lively wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (93\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the evening, Enrico talked about the current\nyear, describing it as another important year in terms of quality, and showed\nphotos of the vineyards and grapes on a screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hall was full, no empty seats and a waiting list\nof dozens of people as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have to point out that in this period it is\nimpossible to find Maisons or entrepreneurs willing to give away all the\nbottles of champagne for a tasting. Champagne prices are skyrocketing as demand\noutstrips supply. Personally, I thank Umberto Montano and his team for making\npossible this series of events that everyone enjoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also thank all the companies that have allowed us to\nbe able to do all this and the public who attended and showed great interest\nand attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At the Mercato Centrale in Florence, on the first floor from 11\/10\/22 to 13\/12\/22 there were six evenings dedicated to six important wine producers. These events were conceived by Umberto Montano who, together with one of his partners, leased the entire first floor of the central market of Florence and leased the spaces to third […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[568,137],"class_list":["post-12629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","tag-incontri-al-mercato-centrale","tag-paolo-baracchino","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG-20221209-WA0047-misure-sito.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pav13q-3hH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12629"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12633,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12629\/revisions\/12633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}