February 5, 2010

1986 : Terrific Tiger Offers
Last week, we highlighted a few great wines from the Tiger Year, 1998--this week we're going back even further in time to feature wines from another terrific Tiger year, 1986. These wines are drinking beautifully now, but are also cellaring in the short term. Offering yet another reason why the Year of the Tiger is worthy of celebration all year long.

Fiorano No. 25 Bianco 1986

The wines of the late Prince Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi created a phenomenon for their ability to age. However, to ensure that his legacy would not be misrepresented, Ludovisi destroyed his vineyards, passing his private cellar to Italian food and wine critic Luigi Veronelli and entrusting him to find individuals who could keep his vision alive. This mission continues today, as the vintage wines have been left to Sergio by the late Veronelli.

HK$1,168.00

Fiorano No. 39 Semillon 1986

To say you have sampled the wines of the Fiorano estate would put you in the elite few. The wines are the product of a dedicated and passionate prince whose avant garde approach was way ahead of its time. His whites took on a phenomenon for their ability to age, but became a true rarity as the prince was elusive and did not care to put the wines in the wrong hands. The wine appears slightly cloudy with a pale yellow tint. It's wondefully complex with a nose of dried herbs, flowers and honey. Smooth and light on the palate with slight acidity and notes of honey and light hints of flowers.

These precious gems are the product of dedication and passion from Principe Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi (and his Fiorano Estate in Lazio), whose avant-garde approach of organic agriculture and the use of a magical mold was way ahead of its time. His '70s, '80s, and '90s whites were a phenomenon for their ability to age, but became rarities as the prince was ever elusive and refused to release his wines. After tearing up his vineyards to ensure that his legacy would not be misrepresented, Ludovisi passed his private cellar to the iconoclastic Italian food and wine critic Luigi Veronelli, entrusting him to find the appropriate individuals who could keep his vision and discovery alive. This mission continues today, as the vintage wines have been left to Sergio by the late Veronelli, presenting him with the challenge of fulfilling the original promise to the Prince. Like the bottlings from Gravner, these wines are not for everyone—they are enigmas for the enthusiast to play out. With this in mind, these wines will only be made available in an extremely allocated assorted case, in an effort to find serious palates. The two whites being offered, Bianco (Malvasia di Candia) and Semillon, range from the 1986 to 1994 vintages and are only beginning to show their great destiny. We implore the recipients of these wines to cellar a portion of their allotment up to 20 years so they may show their full grace, allowing the story and legacy of the prince to continue.

HK$1,168.00

Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Riserva 1986

For more than sixty years, Bruno Giacosa, the Langhe's most consistent producer, has made some of Italy's greatest Barolos and Barbarescos in the traditional Piemontese style. His success is based on his painstaking selection of grapes. In poor vintages, Giacosa sells his fruit in bulk; in exceptional vintages, he honors the wine with the coveted red label Riserva, as he has done here. The Falletto Riserva includes grapes from the famed Rocche del Falletto plot (a small area of old vines on top of the Falletto slope), making it particularly attractive to collectors.

HK$8,800.00

Grattamacco Rosso 1998

As its fellow Super-Tuscans from the house of Ornellaia, Grattamacco is known for delivering remarkable constancy—yet another example of a premier producer whose efforts are not compromised by aberrant vintages. It knew exactly what it was before Super-Tuscans came to be.

HK$520.00

Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano Riserva 1998

Among the best Barbarescos produced by this devoted traditionalist. A cellar staple—this wine will easily age for the next two decades. It’s all about, licorice, sweet tobacco, red fruit and balance. Drink and watch it evolve.

HK$1,758.00

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Masseto 1998

Over the last several years, Toscana has emerged as a bastion of high-calibre Merlot. Foremost among these names is Masseto, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia’s monovarietal Merlot. Despite having debuted only in the 1986 vintage, Masseto is working on establishing the epic mystique of the storied Château Pétrus. The simple fact is that Masseto’s past—however recent—provides just as compelling a testament to the wine's splendor as the genesis of Pétrus. The 1998 Masseto is opulent and expansive, and offers ripe dark fruit along with secondary notes of tobacco, The '98 could benefit from further cellaring, with anticipated maturity expected from 2008-2018.

HK$6,278.00

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