I am thinking about the last two nights in Seoul where I hosted two amazing Italian wine tastings for Hyundai Black credit card holders – some of the most exclusive, high-wealth individuals in Korea – and I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the participants. The tasting focused on some of the best Super Tuscan wines as well as Nebbiolos. It included a multi-media presentation with my videos of vineyards and wine producers for every wine from Italy.
A sit-down tasting of six Tuscan reds started the event and participants tasted 2006 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve, 2008 Marchesi Antinori Solaia, 2008 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia, 2008 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia, 2008 Tua Rita Redigaffi, and 2008 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto. The 180 people seemed to overall favor the last wine for its pure richness and creamy texture, but they were impressed with all the wines.
If you are a premium subscriber, click the names of the wines for my past scores, which were totally appropriate for how the wines tasted at the event.
A multi-course dinner followed the tasting and focused on the great wines of Piedmont. The wines in the tasting included 2004 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabaja, 2007 La Spinetta Barolo Vigneto Campe, 2007 Gaja Langhe Sori San Lorenzo, 2007 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio, and 2002 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Monfortino.
All the wines were superb quality and drinking wonderfully. I explained how improvements in viticulture and winemaking had made more balanced and less austere wines enabling us to drink them at an earlier stage. “Nebbiolo no longer takes 10 or 15 years to be drinkable,” I told them.
The 2007 Gaja seemed the favorite in this part of the event. I loved the wine for its purity of fruit, its class. Here is my tasting note:
The nose of plums, strawberries and flowers come out vividly to almost perfection. It follows through to a full body with firm and tight tannins. Finish is full of hazelnuts and chocolate. Intense and long. Almost a salty finish. The depth and intensity is amazing yet it’s refined and so polished. Leaves me spellbound. Better after 2015. 99 points.
For me, the 2002 Giacomo Conterno was one of the more impressive wines of the event, just for the fact that the quality was so amazing in a disastrous vintage in Piedmont. The rain and hail in 2002 raised havoc in the region. The 2002 Conterno showed such balance and harmony; it was dense and rich. It showed some much ripe plum, hazelnut and hints of cocoa. It had fabulous length as well. It proved that great winemakers truly show their talents in difficult vintages.
During the event, I spoke to dozens of participants and they were all impressed with the quality of what are some of Italy’s greatest wines, and most commented on how the quality price ratio for the wines was unbeatable compared to France. Granted, I think they were comparing the wines to the exaggerated prices of Bordeaux first growths and blue chip wines. However, I think that Italy’s best wines are catching on in Asia as many find France’s best just too expensive.
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