Castor Membership September 2023: All Those Damn Grapes and Excuses Made vs. Attention Paid
Thankfully, there’s a sign-the entryway to I Pastini, Itria Valley, Puglia, Italy.
“All Those Damn Grapes”
I Pastini Locorotondo “Antico”, Puglia, Italy 2022
I am an advocate of lifelong learning, and fortunately for me, the wine industry doesn’t let one rest on their laurels (or old vines, as it were). There is always more to know, whether trying to wrap our minds around an emerging new region that is coming to market or grasping for an understanding of existing subjects that seem so capacious as to be overwhelming. I think that, as with most aspects of life, we look for comfort and familiarity in wine, and are content to stay in our lanes when it comes to choosing one bottle over another-even more adventurous wine drinkers or those in the professional ranks can champion a mere few esoteric places, grapes, and styles without continuing to evolve-we get stuck on a couple of wines that we can reference in social or professional settings as ticket entry into the ranks of the cognoscenti, without doing two important things: continuing to taste and diversify our palates, and metaphorically “cellaring” our knowledge, letting it evolve and grow more complex, while we explore other avenues for a while, revisiting those reference points when occasion arises or a memory is turned over, and seeing how the elements of a wine or region have matured in our minds and palates.
I love wine’s ability to stir up the aspects of life that we each enjoy the most, and despite my overly flowing prose in the previous paragraph, I am in need of a reminder to hit the refresh button on my wine choices as anyone. And if I were to narrow my renaissance to thinking strictly in terms of grapes, there is no better place to begin then the nation whose indigenous varieties dwarf the rest of the world, with over 500 identified grape types: Italy, or as I like to call it when studying, “the place with all those damn grapes”.
Combine Italy’s prodigious native varietal output with a recent opportunity to get first track on a newly arrived shipment of vintages, mix in a generous portion of fond memories for a particular little section of the heel of Italy’s cartographical boot, and you have the recipe for some seriously geeky grape-dom, and the chance to acquaint ourselves with three more of those “damn grapes”. You’re welcome.
The defining architectural mark of Puglia’s Itria Valley: the centuries-old limestone dwellings known as trulli.
Not hyperbole: Italy’s native grapes (over 500 recognized varietals, 350 of which the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has officially recognized), number more than the combined total of the next three countries on the list (that would be France, Spain, and Greece, in case you need this for a party bet or hotly contested game of Trivial Pursuit). And while some of these varietals have achieved international renown (Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, etc.) most of them are either unheralded entirely or caught up in the art of the multi-grape blend, such a common practice in this part of the world, particularly in Southern Italy, where viticulture and economics paint a different picture than in the prosperous north. As with many European wine areas that stress location over variety, the name of a particular wine’s town (and later, the appellation) became more of a staple than the grapes that went into it. Puglia’s proximity to the Adriatic Channel made it a natural crossover point for Greeks transplanting grapevines, and as such makes it the (somewhat surprisingly until one considers the geography) birthplace of Italian viticulture.
About 15 miles from Puglia’s Adriatic coastline, in the heart of Puglia’s Valle d’Itrea, the town of Locorotondo has given its moniker to the pea-shaped appellation of vines that surround it. There is a local red varietal, Susumaniello (say it three times fast), but white wines are the focal point of the farming done here, and the Locorotondo DOC appellation recognized that fact (only white grapes, and the still, sparkling, and sweet passito-style wines that come from them, are allowed to receive the appellation’s label). The chief white grape is called Verdeca-any Locorotondo Bianco must be comprised of at least half of this aromatic, stone-fruit centered varietal that at one time was a mainstay for vermouth production. Often blended with its secondary counterpart, Bianco d’Alessano, Locorotondo wines can range from neutral and herbal (think a slightly more interesting Pinot Grigio) to a more complex bouqet that for me evokes the grape’s possible Greek origins. The limestone soil present in the region, the main component of Trulli construction, is evident in Locorotondo’s freshness and mineral-driven verve, with an undercurrent of citrus that is sometimes subtle but, in the best examples, never weak.
Albarino thriving on the vine.
Wine, for me, is often about memory-the sense of recall in blind tasting, the special bottle that marked an occasion, the everyday one that accompanied a treasured time. Too many years ago for me to enjoy remarking on, I worked at a wine bar where we had a Locorotondo available by the glass for quite some time, as it was a perennial favorite of the staff and guests. A few months into our pouring the Locorotondo, an Italian restaurant opened in the college town we were in-their decor consisted of numerous renderings of the remarkable mortarless limestone structures of Puglia, and sure enough, the place was called I Trulli. We made friends with the husband-and-wife team that had moved into town to open the restaurant, and shared our Locorotondo with them, for a brief time bringing much more Adriatic Italian culture into our little burg than it deserved. Seasons pass and focuses shift, and as I write this, I think I’ve probably tasted only 4 or 5 Locorotondo whites since then, and with decidely mixed results.
The Carpelli family of small Locorotondo-based producer I Pastini also based the foundation of their winery on memory-focusing solely on the area’s native grapes, working land that their family has labored over for generations, planting vines amid multi-millennia old (!) olive groves. The winery’s certified-organic production is quite small in comparison with other Locorotondo estates (and particularly when considering the region’s history of vermouth-making), totaling 10,000 cases spread across all of their six cuvees.
Their white blend “Antico” reflects this mindset in name and practice, with the juice vinified in tanks, and malolactic fermentation (secondary fermentation converting malic acids into lactic ones) avoided, which serves to highlight the delicate fruits and preserve precious acidity on the palate. A glass of the I Pastini “Antico” offered me the chance to both revisit and renew my affinity for Locorotondo, made correctly and artisanally. Lifelong learning? With Italy’s help, a near certainty: only a few hundred more of those “damn grapes” to go-D.
I Pastini Locorotondo “Antico”, Puglia, Italy 2022
Country of Origin: Italy.
Places and People: Founded by Gianni Carpelli and his family in 1996, the I Pastini winery has become a benchmark producer in Puglia’s Locorotondo DOC despite their relatively small size (10,000 cases total spread across six different wines). Centered around the town of the same name about 15 miles off of the Adriatic coastline in Puglia’s Bari province, Locorotondo DOC is a white-wine only appellation based entirely on native grapes. The Carpelli’s holdings are on a plateau just south of the town and are comprised of 22-year-old vines.
Soil: Locorotondo DOC has a predominantly limestone base, and the I Pastini vineyards also have a smattering of red clay.
Grape Varieties: 60% Verdeca, 35% Bianco d’Alessano, and 5% Minutolo (a dry, aromatic clone related to the Moscato family).
Winemaking: The certified organic grapes (as of 2019 vintage) are harvested and undergo a temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks. No malolactic fermentation occurs, preserving acidity and a cleaner mouthfeel.
Aging: The 2022 “Antico” is aged 5-6 months, also in stainless steel. The wines are cellared for 3 more months after bottling prior to release.
Flavors and Foods: The 2022 “Antico” offers a contemplative subtlety that I really enjoy. In short, it’s not an “in your face” wine, and a bottle enjoyed over great conversation reveals a bevy of complexities: wild thyme and white peach on the nose, preserved lemon, yellow plum, and stony mineral on the palate. Assuming your conversation has stirred your appetites, pair the “Antico” with lemon and pepper-marinated chicken breast, a salad of late-summer tomatoes and fine olive oil, and pan-roasted sea bass. If like myself you value regionality in your food and wine matches, the mozzarella-derived burrata and stracciatella cheeses are a staple of Puglia, and both would be excellent with a glass of “Antico” by their side.
Service and Cellar: Wine temperature is always important for me, but never more so than with more delicate white wines: the “Antico” from I Pastini should be kept at the upper end of white wine cellar temperature (50-52 degrees); served overly chilly/cold and this wine will possess a level of boredom not tasted since your most recent foray into supermarket Pinot Grigio. Pour the “Antico” at the prescribed temperature and its finessed white peach and preserved lemon notes are yours for the taking! If pulled from a 40F refrigerator, this can be achieved by letting the “Antico” sit in a room-temperature state for about 25-30 minutes. Enjoy the I Pastini in its youth (the next 1-2 years).
Estate vineyards at Ridgeback Winery in the Coastal Region appellation of Paarl.
“‘Excuses Made vs. Attention Paid”
Ridgeback Wines Cabernet Franc, Paarl, South Africa 2020
We all have those “one size fits all” friends; people who can be dropped from a great height into seemingly any social situation and land effortlessly, pivoting between the latest political scandal or last night’s sports scores with ease. We also know those folks who don’t thrive in just any setting, who may in fact be genetically constructed to succeed solely in one space, those people who, for lack of a better term, need a little extra attention paid.
I have a sociological theory that I like to lightheartedly employ when I examine my little circle of humanity and how wide it needs to be at any given time. I call it the “3 Things” theory. It goes something like this: every single person we will encounter in life, from blood relative to the faintest of acquaintances, will possess three traits that you will find absolutely maddening. These could be rather major attributes (a white-hot temper) or puny pecadillos (unrolling the toilet paper from the wrong side, which by the way is definitely from underneath, as toilet paper should clearly unfurl from the top, but I digress). Identify these three nefarious foibles, empathize with them, and learn to maintain your affinity for this person complete with their 3 things rather than in spite of them, and you’ll be on your way to a peacefully centered existence, provided of course that the person doesn’t fit into one of the two “3 Things” exceptions:
One of their 3 things is unforgivable (like, for example, someone’s penchant for being a mass murderer or other similarly tricky vocation)
2. Upon evaluation, you discover the human in question has more than “3 things”, in which case, some reevaluation is in order on your behalf as to whether you can stand this person at all.
Unfortunately, my painstaking research has shown that nearly all humans fall into exception #2, which really undercuts the validity of my whole “3 Things” theory and is one of the principal reasons why I am a simple wine guy rather than a Nobel-winning psychologist.
And speaking of wine (“Thank God”-everyone reading) it just so happens that I find a similar concept to be probably the single most difficult element of tasting and evaluating wines. I approach every bottle I try with an aim to search for the positive, even in something I know from the start is not going to be a purchase for me. I try to invoke my “3 Little Things” rule and put the wine in the best position to succeed: if it’s not drinking well on its own, can I imagine it with certain foods? Are there service aspects to the wine that I feel will dramatically improve (or possibly torpedo) its performance? Does the wine need further cellaring to reach its true potential? Any or all of these questions are often the case, because just like people, wines aren’t perfect, and just like people, some need a little more attention than others. The knifepoint where “extra attention paid” becomes “excuses made” is the axis where a good taster lives, and where I constantly work to improve. This story is about a wine that I find compelling in its neediness, and one that, with the proper care, will absolutely be one of the best examples of its grape and place that we can ask for: Ridgeback Wines’ 2019 Cabernet Franc from the region of Paarl, South Africa.
The tasting room at Ridgeback pulls you even closer to the vines.
Paarl is referred to by multiple internet reference points as a town, but with a population nearing 300,000 is a little more than that. Located in South Africa’s Coastal Region but well inland from False Bay, Paarl had a day in the sun with more industrial wineries (KWV notably) and fortified wine production, but over time those trends thankfully were cast off in favor of higher-quality still wines, which come from three white grapes (Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc), as well as the red Bordeaux varietals, Shiraz, and Pinotage.
Founded by Vernon Cole in 1996, Ridgeback Wines is a converted fruit farm that produced its first vintage in 2001, with famed female winemaker Cathy Marshall at the helm. Almost immediately, Ridgeback achieved critical success with their Shiraz, and when winemaker Toit Wessels took over in 2006, the farm was well on its way to the current size of 35 hectares under vine, producing an array of wines from both white and red varieties. Overlooking a small dam that is home to an abundance of waterfowl, the winery and tasting room at Ridgeback, particularly the wide-windowed tasting room that extends to the edge of the first vineyard rows, is a lovely homage to the land, one that embodies the winery’s philosophy of coexistence with its surroundings.
Planted on sandstone, granite, and shale soils, the red wines of Paarl in particular have a distinctly South African savory quality to them, with rustic, earthy notes that are at once a calling card for the region and a potential drawback to broader appeal. Right from the start, this beautiful area that experiences warm dry summers calls for extra care and commitment to have the wines reach their heights of expression. When the propensity for Paarl reds to have an overtly gamey textural note is combined with the notoriously finicky Cabernet Franc varietal, the stage is set for a wine that will require a little pampering. Cabernet Franc is the most singular of the red Bordeaux varietals, with a spicy dark fruit profile of black currants and cassis, but also the most problematic, with less structure than that of Cabernet Sauvignon and more pronounced tannin than Merlot. The grape’s tendency toward a high pyrazine content, which results in underripe fruit and notes of green pepper if not balanced by proper ripening, is another potential hazard. Luckily, Toit Wessels and his team make several choices that allay these concerns and put the 2019 Cabernet Franc on the path to deliciousness.
The cellar at Ridgeback.
With both wine and people, you have to put them in the best position to showcase their talents. You wouldn’t front a rock band with Pavarotti or insert Danny DeVito in along the offensive line of your favorite football team-concessions have to be made, and the best of these for Ridgeback is their distinct lack of greediness. Rigorous sorting and low yields on the single vineyard where their Cabernet Franc is grown result in a tiny production of less than 500 cases. The fruit that is harvested is as ripe as possible, an imperative for Cab Franc, thanks to leaf plucking near the grape bunches and meticulous dropping of any green berries, ensuring sunlight and optimal fruit. The team uses some whole berries in their pressing (about 30%), but all of the stems are removed, a process of great care that is, again, pretty essential for a grape that can already sport herbal flavors. The use of gravity to move the Ridgeback from fermentation tank to aging vessel prevents oxidation and makes sure that the only savory qualities that exist in the wine are meant to be there. Finally, recognizing the tannic structure of their wine, Wessels and team mature the 2019 Cabernet Franc in a mixture of oak barrels, only 1/3 or which are new, to prevent unnecessary wood flavors to permeate the final product.
If someone doesn’t like bowling or burgers and you treat them to a double Whopper and a game of duckpins, when that person reacts adversely, you might start by looking at the position you put them in. When I tasted the Ridgeback for the first time, I found a compelling wine, but the importer had just opened the bottle and it wasn’t particularly at the proper temperature, either. I had to see past all of that to what I thought the wine could be. Sure enough, after I purchased the last of the Ridgeback available in VA for this month’s Castor Membership, I brought it home to try, and quickly found its “3 Things”: it needed food, it needed temperature, and it needed time. Chilled to a red wine service temperature, the wine’s robustness was not out of balance or warm on the finish. Given a good amount of decanting time, the pyrazine element of Cabernet Franc was practically non-existent. And, as with most red wines where the fruit is not necessarily the primary focus, the presence of food, and in particular food that reflected the wine’s savory bent (in my case a lamb rogan josh with a softened spice level) enhanced it to a point of great pleasure.
Making excuses vs. paying attention may be splitting hairs, but I believe very much in this wine and love it as an example of trying a little tenderness. If this all sounds like a lot of work to you, don’t worry: you can still hang out with your friend on their bad days-you just might not enjoy it as much if you don’t remember their “3 Things”-D.
Ridgeback Wines Cabernet Franc, Paarl 2020
Country of Origin: South Africa.
Places and People: Founded by Vernon Cole in 1996, Ridgeback Wines is a converted fruit farm that produced its first vintage in 2001, with famed female winemaker Cathy Marshall at the helm. Almost immediately, Ridgeback achieved critical success with their Shiraz, and when winemaker Toit Wessels took over in 2006, the farm was well on its way to the current size of 35 hectares under vine, producing an array of wines from both white and red varieties. On the northern slopes of Paarl Mountain, the single vineyard holding their Cabernet Franc is positioned north-south with vertical shoots.
Soil: Clay soil with Oakleaf.
Grape Varieties: 100% Cabernet Franc.
Winemaking: After vineyard practices that include green harvesting and canopy pruning to allow sunlight and ripen the Cabernet Franc to the fullest (a key factor for this at times underripe grape), the selected berries are destemmed and mildly crushed, resulting in 30% of the juice remaining whole-berry for fermentation. All of the fruit is meticulously de-stemmed. Fermentation is done in stainless steel with temperature control, and gentle pump-overs are performed 3-4 times a day to extract flavor and structural tannins. Secondary (malolactic0 fermentation occurs in 225 liter barrels.
Aging: The Ridgeback 2019 is matured in a mix of new and used French Oak (roughly 45% new) for 15 months. Light filtration prior to bottling.
Flavors and Foods: A very dense ruby and garnet color in the glass, the 2019 Ridgeback Cabernet Franc yields dark red cherries and plums on the nose. A whiff of pyrazine is detectable at the outset but quickly goes away with aeration (see service notes below). A complex wine, some non-fruit scents that the Ridgeback posssesses are aloe, onions/chives, finely grained wood, very dark chocolate, cedar closet, and a subtle blue bbq smoke. The beauty of the Ridgeback on the palate is twofold: the dark cherry and spicy red and black currant fruit is the backdrop to a slew of non-fruit complexities, and the wine is able to showcase, with time to open, the spiciness of the varietal without the greenness (over my time with the bottle, green bell pepper came and went, but always in check and never as a main attraction in the glass). As the wine unfurls, notes of clove, Jamaican allspice, and cola arrive, along with the cedar you could smell in the nose, but never overpowering. The overall effect is that of a New World wine that drinks distinctly Old World in its approach to non-fruit, and that European bent is also evident in the fact that Ridgeback craves food to truly warm up and show you its ripened Cabernet Franc fruit. Leaner cuts of steak, any type of roasted or carmelized onions, ground bison, roasted mushrooms with fresh thyme and red wine, and wood-fired game make the Ridgeback a great late-summer/early fall wine. To think outside the box, try it alongside non-curried Indian cuisine, like lamb rogan josh or Channa masala.
Service and Cellar: Here we go…The Ridgeback is a classic example of a wine that requires extra attention to really see the greatest of its offerings. Rest assured you can pop the bottle right away and disaster will not be imminent, but serve the 2019 Cabernet Franc at the lower end of the red wine cellar temperature spectrum (56-58 degrees), in a larger glass (actually better in a bowl-shaped Burgundy glass rather than a tall Bordeaux glass), and after a 30-60 minute period in a decanter, and you will experience a completely different wine that has much more potential for pleasure. The 2019 Ridgeback’s tannic structure and non-emphasis on fruit should allow this wine to continue evolving for 10-15 years all told (2029-2034).