Pomerol Trotanoy 1982: a wine as old as me

Or should I say as young as me...? Thanks to a former colleague, yesterday I had the great privilege of drinking a bottle of 1982 Trotanoy in La Brisa restaurant in Milan.

We did a little BYO in Australian style (though I can't mention this to said colleague as nothing from the new world will ever be adopted in the old!) though on a grander scale and strolled the streets of Milan with our precious bottled wrapped in alluminium foil on our way to the restaurant.

The food and service at La Brisa is very good; genteel but not stuck up, with that "relaxed but tablecloth" air of restaurants that can keep up appearances without being too pretentious.

As for the wine, I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed. I was expecting Trotanoy, being mostly produced from merlot grapes, to be very soft and easily drinkable. Instead it still had excellent back bone acidity and some tannin, that proves its ageing potential is by no means over. The bouquet was nothing bombastic: quite closed and delicate, with some dried flower notes and earthy overtones.

It was the "stoffa" as we would say in Italian, that really impressed. "Stoffa" is like fabric or stuffing, and the Trotanoy 1982 has good body and structure that will last it well. Leaving it in the glass a while, it becomes softer and changes slightly, warming to a more open bouquet.

Not bad at all for a wine dating 27 years and making me feel like I have plenty ahead of me, proving that 1982 is a vintage to be reckoned with ;-)

Australian prosecco: Brown Brothers upsets Italians

In a recent post on his blog Vino al vino, Franco Ziliani writes about Australian prosecco and Italian products being 'copied' overseas. At 26 comments and counting, a furore has ensued over what the Italians perceive as another episode in their beloved enogastronomic products being imitated around the world.

The more sensitive issue for Italians is not that overseas sources are copying their products, but that Italians themselves are incapable of properly protecting and promoting their culture and quality produce.

My take? Prosecco is a type of grape, so it is permissable that it be used in other wine making regions, Italy or overseas, and that it be given that name. For example, when, in Australia and the rest of the world, you could no longer say "Champagne", we were talking about a regional name and all the tradition and culture that lies behind that wine making technique. That does not mean we can no longer write "chardonnay" on a bottle of sparkling wine, it being the grape variety most used in that style of wine.

In addition, the Italians need to first learn to appreciate their own produce. Prosecco is one of the most bastardised words in wine in Italy, much like spumante, and many Italians drink "prosecco" as an aperitif without knowing what it is, whether that's what's really in the glass and whether it's of quality or not.

As pointed out in many of the comments on Vino al vino, the Italians need to devise a comprehensive system of protecting and promoting their own products. As one reader says, a wine tasting once a year of authentic Italian wine at the embassy in the US (and in any other country for that matter), does not constitute a concerted PR effort in the face of the many imitation Italian products that exist.

The argument is far more complex than I have been able to outline here, but it will be interesting to see if it becomes another example of intellectual property in the wine making world. For my part, I would be interested in trying the Brown Brothers prosecco, if only to taste an expression of this wine from another part of the world. That I would favour it over a good Italian prosecco from Valdobbiadene for all its tradition, culture and quality is another debate.

Wines from Slovenia: finding Pulec Wines at Vinitaly

The owner of Pulec wines happens to be a very nice man, and while his stand of wines from Slovenia at Vinitaly is nothing remarkable, it is worth a detour both for the welcome from the owner and the wines themselves.

Pulec wines is just across the border from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy’s renowned white wine region of excellence. In addition, Pulec wines shares the same territory of the Collio DOC area of Friuli, which can be seen as a guarantee of quality.

Their wine range from Slovenia includes among the whites: friulano (formerly known as tocai friulano), ribolla gialla, pinot grigio and chardonnay, and for the reds: cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

I found the friulano (denominated sauvignonasse in Slovenia) and pinot grigio particularly impressive, with lovely intense perfumes and very soft in the palate. They are quite high in alcohol but should be great food matching wines. I also tried the cabernet sauvignon which was quite young, but showing excellent promise. It was full-bodied and tannic but its fruit and vegetable flavours should come to the fore in time.

Looking at the Pulec Wines gallery, you can see what a beautiful area they are in, with hillside terrain providing an ideal micro-climate. While the family still sells some of its grapes, they plan to increase their own bottling and labeling in time, with a new cellar that is currently on hold due to the economic downturn. Cellar visits in Slovenia are possible though.

Among the elbowing for space and the showing off of many visitors to Vinitaly, this was a truly unique and pleasant experience from a company proud of its traditions, and who believes in the quality and potential of its wines. I would say that if you’re looking for something different, Pulec Wines is definitely worth exploring.