Italiano
The world’s 2016 red (and white) wines
Silvio Jermann organized an interesting tasting to compare vintage 2016 international superstars (but above all Friuli wines) both reds and whites.
A while ago, Silvio Jermann brought together a small group of expert tasters, all from Friuli with the exception of Irishman Ben Little, a big fan of Pignolo who is writing a book about the varietal. The aim of the encounter was to determine the best vintage 2016 Friuli white wines and the best reds worldwide.
Having such an illustrious panel, Jermann decided to warm up their taste buds with a comparative blind tasting of white wines all from the same year. The contestants were Nova Domus Terlano, Terre Alte Livio Felluga, Friulano M Schiopetto, Collio Edi Keber, Chassagne-Montrachet Le Concis du Champ Lamy and Jermann’s own Capo Martino, Vintage Tunina and Visvik.
Perhaps due to the regional taste bias of the jury, the most appreciated wines were Vintage Tunina, Visvik and Collio.
Vintage Tunina 2016 Jermann
97/100 - € 48
A blend of 80% Chardonnay and Sauvignon and the rest Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana and Picolit. Some of the Chardonnay matured for three months in large barrels. The color was a straw-yellow with green reflections while the bouquet of this very great white wine stood out for its elegance and freshness. The complex aroma had notes of aromatic herbs, banana, apple and passion fruit. The mouthfeel united tension with fruity consistence, acidic freshness, elegance and persistence. A wine with a decidedly long lifespan.
Visvik 2016 Jermann
96/100 - € 85
Ribolla Gialla grapes harvested in Slovenia and processed at Jermann’s winery in Dolegna where the wine matured long in wood which was perfectly absorbed. A market debut. Very different from the orange macerated Ribolla wines, Silvio has been able to give this neutral varietal an original touch of freshness and complexity. The structure of both the aroma and mouthfeel is excellent and permeated by citrine and balsamic notes. A wine d’auteur for me.
Collio Bianco 2016 Edi Keber
95/100 - € 19
Mostly Friuli grapes, one third a blend if Ribolla Gialla and Malvasia, and made in cement and steel vats. A golden, straw color with a bouquet that has totally lost certain nuances from reduction and now opens generously with a fruity complexity both to the nose and mouth, with distinct notes of pear and apple along with hints of citrus. A wine to enjoy now and for the next 15 years.
The reds were tasted in two groups and other wines were added with the winners of each creating a final faceoff between eight champions.
The eight were: Antinori - Tenuta Guado al Tasso Merlot San Walfredo, Miani Merlot, Le Due Terre Merlot, Jermann Lonsblau Sytz, Château Le Gay Pomerol, Doro Princic Merlot, Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1er cru and Jermann Pigna Truss.
It was neck and neck between the first two with the Miani Merlot winning by a hair, while the Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1er cru placed third followed at a distance by Antinori’s Merlot San Walfredo Tenuta Guado al Tasso.
Merlot 2016 Miani
98/100 - € 120
Merlot grapes from vineyards with a yield of less than 3.5 tonnes per hectare with the wine maturing in oak barrels for a couple of years. A classic from Enzo Pontoni who loves to reduce the yield of each plant almost to the extreme in order to obtain a wine that expresses force and structure but also abounds with red fruit, from berries to dried prunes. This wine is still at the start of its evolution and we are sure over the next decade it will improve even further.
Pauillac 1er cru 2016 Château Mouton-Rothschild
97/10 - € 720
A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit-Verdot. A distinctly ruby color with an abundance of wild berries (blueberry and currant) and spice and a concentrated and elegant mouthfeel. This wine is also taking its first steps in evolution and all the tasters predicted that it will have a lifespan hard to match. While it is very good now, it would be truly sinful to consume it in its infancy.
Merlot San Walfredo 2016 Antinori - Guado al Tasso
94/100 - € 130
A Merlot nicely matured in wood that has an intense ruby color with intense aromas of ripe fruit that are surprising in the bouquet’s attack. The mouthfeel is consistent and continues to surprise with its unusual expression of ripe fruit, above all the notes of wild berries. To consume perhaps not in the too distant future.
It should be noted that most of the tasters agreed that, in regard to the reds, in 20 years the results of the contest would be flipped in favor of the French wines and by a long shot.
