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Wine and Spirit: Two Unlikely Producers
Terrosi, Tenuta Sette Ponti
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Great minds do think alike. In Toscana and Friuli, two producers, who never had a background in winemaking, conferred with fellow winemakers and friends and now make some of the most impressive wines in their own right.
Christian Patat doesn't own an estate, but certainly crafts wine, working out of rented vineyards with grapes purchased from various estates in eastern Friuli. Patat may not own a winery, but he fine tunes his wines by consulting with some of the best producers in the region, like friend Enzo Pontoni of Miani. (Patat even assists Pontoni in making wine at Miani.) Though Patat, a former jazz pianist, had traveled extensively throughout France's wine regions, he always had a fondness for the historic vineyards in Friuli's Cormons area, situated in the Collio hills. He loved the indigenous varieties, in particular Friulano, which, according to the European Union law of 2007, can no longer be called "Tocai" so as not to confuse it with the Hungarian dessert wine Tokaji. Patat sources his fruit from 50- to 80-year-old vines at the old estate of Tenuta della Contessa, where he works with only two hectares to create the mono-varietal Delfino della Contessa Bianco.
Across "the boot," along the central northwest in Toscana, Tenuta Sette Ponti's wine exists partially because of the advice given to estate owner, Alberto Moretti, by Super Tuscan master Piero Antinori. Moretti knew he had good vines but needed some reassurance. He called upon one of Toscana's greats, Piero Antinori, who up until 1997 would purchase yields from Sette Ponti. Antinori's answer was positive, and soon Moretti was crafting his own wine. The name "Sette Ponti" comes from the seven bridges, erected in the 13th century, connecting the Arno River on the road from Arezzo to Florence; the first bridge, Ponte Buriano, is slightly visible in the far right background of Leonardo DaVinci's "Mona Lisa." Originally purchased by Dr. Alberto Moretti as a hunting retreat in the late 1950s, the Tenuta Sette Ponti soon turned into an oasis for Sangiovese, Merlot and smaller parcels of other varieties. Today, Moretti owns three estates in Toscana, and his son, Antonio, continues making the wines of Tenuta Sette Ponti.
Terrosi
Delfino della Contessa Bianco 2008, 750ml, $30.43
Patat desires to make the clearest expression of Friulano. This wine ages in cement tanks for nine months before resting another half a year in bottle prior to release. Made from 100 percent Friulano, the wine is spicy with full aromas of peach and orange rind and refreshing minerals on the palate. Only 625 cases of this wine were produced.
Tenuta Sette Ponti
Crognolo 2008, 750ml, $30.00**
The first release of Tenuta Sette Ponti's estate in 1998, Crognolo, named after the wild bush, cornus, that grows on the estate, is a 90-10 blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. This wine is moderately concentrated with red fruits, a plump mid-palate and well-integrated oak. The wine is initially aged in 225-liter barrique for a short period of time and then transferred to 500-liter tonneaux before spending six months in bottle prior to release.
**Indicates pre-arrival. |
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