2008 Pre-Tasting of the Wines from Montepulciano:
Five Stars Awarded to the 2007 Vintage
Text and photographs by Paolo Alciati - March 2, 2008
MONTEPULCIANO – After the success of the two days dedicated to wine sector professionals, of whom over 1,000 showed up in Montepulciano (thanks in part to the mild weather and the convenient location in Piazza Grande), there has been another pre-tasting of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano planned for 2008.
2008 pre-tasting of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
In fact, late afternoon on Wednesday, February 20, over 150 journalists from various parts of the world met in Chianciano Terme, coming from tasting the Chiantis and just before heading to Montalciino to taste the famed Brunello, where they had the opportunity to pre-taste the vintages of Nobile e Rosso di Montepulciano (Noble and Red from Montepulciano) which will be released in the near future. The group, which included some of the best Italian and international wine and food writers, arriving from as far as Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and Brazil, was received at the Hotel Ambassador, where they had the traditional welcome dinner.
The event officially opened at 10Am on Thursday morning, inside the 700 square-meter of a specially built structure, with the introduction of the president of the Consorzio dei produttori (Producer's Consortium), Luca Gattavecchi, currently in his first year as president, and themayor of Montepulciano, Massimo Della Giovampaola. In addition to the usual explanation of the technical characteristics of the 2007 vintage in Montepulciano, presented by enologist Lorenzo Landi, this year the tasting of some prototypes of Nobile 2007 took place, under the guidance of Professor Christophe Ollivier, of Bordeaux University. During the event, Gattavecchi announced the star evaluation assigned to the 2007 wine prototypes, and also introduced the 2005 Nobile di Montepulciano, which will be released soon. The wine tasting by the journalists for the Nobile di Montepulciano 2005, Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2004, and Rosso 2007, started immediately after. There were 34 producers participating in the presentation.
From left: The President of the Consorzio dei Produttori di Montepulciano, Luca Gattavecchi, the mayor of Montepulciano, Massimo Della Giovampaola, enologist Lorenzo Landi, and Professor Christophe Olliver, of the Bordeaux University.
Following the four stars received for three years in a row from 2003 to 2005, and the five stars received for the 2006 vintage, the 2007 confirmed the exceptional quality of the wine once again by scoring five stars, that is, the top score assigned in this competition. The evaluation was conducted by a Tasting Commission organized by the Rome chapter of the Associazione Italiana Sommelier (AIS, or Italian Association of Sommeliers), which included enologists, sommeliers, trade journalists, and representatives of consumers and the consortium. Given the diversity of the jurors, representing a variety of categories, the evaluation is perceived as absolutely objective and reliable.
"This is another great vintage for our wine," said the president of the Consorzio del Vino Nobile, Luca Gattavecchi. "This confirms the continuity of the quality standard for the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, thanks not only to the characteristics of the terroir, but also to the refined expertise of our producers who, year after year, produce the best quality product possible." According to French expert, Professor Christophe Ollivier, the 2007 vintage will be characterized by intense perfume and great structure of the wines, which will thus be able to age gracefully for a long time.
In meeting with the journalists, the producers had the opportunity to appreciate the flattering numbers of the 2007 Nobile di Montepulciano, whose production surpassed 8 million bottles for the first time ever, marking a 36% increase over the 2006 production. The Rosso di Montepulciano production was over 3 million bottles, marking a 58% increase compared to the previous year. About 60% of these wines are exported, with the US increasing its demand every year and taking in 12% of all exports from this Tuscan area. Other intersecting markets were represented by the emerging Asian economies. Thursday afternoon, at the end of the tasting, the journalists went to visit local producers in small groups, getting to know Montepulciano better, before heading on to Montalcino.
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