2011 Vignalta, Cabernet Riserva, Colli Euganei, Italy.
Lucio Gomiero’s Vignalta Cabernet Riserva from the 2011 vintage is drinking beautifully, with Bordeaux like class and depth, it was a real under the radar star at the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting in San Francisco, earlier this year and at 14 years old it is really hitting its stride. Inspired by Bordeaux, Vignalta was founded in 1980 by Lucio Gomiero, in Colli Euganei (the Venetian Hills) of Northern Italy, who believed he could make wines of equal quality in his home region, and this wine is proof! The 2011 Riserva, leaned heavily on Cabernet Sauvignon and the structure shines through here with a full bodied palate of blackberry, wild plum, dark cherry and earthy currant fruits, with exceptional mouth feel and mature tannin, along with spicy cedary wood, truffle, minty herbs, tobacco, hints of dried flowers and violets, coffee grounds and licorice. This wine is only made in top years and while not flashy, it was certainly one of the most impressive wines to drink at the Tre Bicchieri event and I can only imagine how great this wine would be with a full and robust meal. The Vignalta offerings are all wines I recommend, especially the basic Cabernet/Merlot Rosso, which is always a top value at around twenty-five dollars.
The unique Colli Euganei terroir includes a moderate temperate climate with high alkaline limestone soils, that Gomiero says creates high acid grapes, which is one reason for giving them extra hang time and picking ultra ripe fruit. This wine, he says, and to me, having had more than a decade of Vignalta wines, is maybe the perfect expression of this specific terroir in the Colli Euganei area, and giving this wine its distinction. Coming from 50 year old vines in the Euganean Hills, near Arquà Petrarca, set on the classic limestone, this 2011 vintage saw hand picked 100% de-stemmed grapes and fermentation and maceration was done in stainless steel tanks. The wine must received 6 pump overs a day at a controlled temperatures to extract the maximum from the Cabernet grapes. After which the wine was pressed to oak and aged in French oak barrels for 24 months, with a further aging in bottles for at least 4 years before release. The Riserva Cabernet can be, depending on the year’s grapes, 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, but in this region they don’t usually distinguish between the two on the label, but it seems the Franc didn’t pay much of a part in the 2011 version. This dark garnet wine is lovely in the glass, and it should go another 10 years with ease, and if you can find it, I’d suggest a short decant and enjoy it with some meaty dishes, it’s a brilliant effort!
($69 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive