Mondovino

[Andre]

I value your opinion John,

I assume this movie was termed as a documentary although I agree with you that the viewer can be easily mislead.

I try to analyse things through the wines. I prefer Gassac as is and am Glad there is no New World influence or even potential of.

The movie does point out the influence of the "experts" on the "makers" an act that may yield some dangrous consequences.

We share the same view on most of the points you have skillfully ponted out.

[JohnL]

Andre!

Hi--

I really agree with your approach that it is what's in the glass that counts!

I hate to mess with your view but--that is the approach that a lot of the "modernists" would take!--that is--it is not about history or romance or anything else--it is about the wine.

I like Mas Daumas Gassac a lot--we certainly agree there--however to put it into perspective--not so long ago it could be considered a "new" modern wine for the Languedoc. That is an "expert" Emil Peynaud recommended that Mr Guibert plant Cabernet Sauvignon and make wine. Cabernet was not at the time a "traditional" grape varietal. Also the Mas Daumas white (I also like it) has chardonnay in the blend--another "international" varietal with Cab. One could make the case that Guibert is a "modernist" making a modern style wine.

He and his varietals, are relative newcomers to the region!

The key word is "relative" or perspective.

Wanna get really confused (along with me)--read the Robert Parker quote re: the 1947 Lafitte in the wine board that Max posted.

With wine-I have found that it is never very simple!

[Alexander Forryan]

In the film Mondovino, Michael Broadbent says that he would rather drink a poor, authentic, terroir-driven wine than a standardised wine.

I had forgotten I’d pre-ordered the film ‘Mondovino’ from the States on DVD and so watched it with renewed interest on its arrival in the post, a few days before my scheduled trip to Basilicata in the south of Italy. Though a good film, whose message I primarily agreed with, at the end I still had to confess a slight crisis of conscience … and besides, I still liked those big, fruit-driven, heavily extracted, vanilla-flavoured wines. However, my trip to Italy was only a few days away, so I didn’t give it much thought.

Every year in August, my great friend Giuseppe Pirpignani, returns ‘home’ with his wife and young daughter to a small village deep in the mountains. They spend the month with the rest of his family and had asked me along. “You can try some of our local wine,” he had promised.

We arose early on my first day in Teana, a village too small to feature on most maps of the region. Giuseppe had arranged for us to visit two wineries in the north, in the Vulture Mountains. We set off early for our two-hour drive north across some very wild and mostly inhospitable countryside. On the way we passed many small plots of land cultivated as ‘mini-farms’ growing everything for the Lucani’s (people from Basilicata) cuisine, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, beans, zucchini, and aubergines. However there were also, in addition to these small allotment-type plots, small vineyards positioned on the slightly higher slopes. Individuals producing wine for their own consumption owned these small plots of land scattered over the hills, “Just like my father’s!” Giuseppe informed me. We carried on past acres of orange trees and even more of the ubiquitous olive trees until we approached the Montagne del Vulture. The surrounding land seemed even more abundant with smallholdings, this due in part to the high yielding volcanic soil, but surprisingly for such a large wine producing area we didn’t see many vineyards.

Our first scheduled stop was in the town of Rionero in Vulture to visit the winery of Cantine Del Notaio. We met Signor Giuratrabocchetti at his offices on Via Roma and were shown into a small room where, after a short question and answer session, we were promised a tour of his cellars. A relatively new winery established in 1998, Notaio now produces just over 7000 cases per year in a variety of styles including two 100% Aglianico wines (La Firma and Il Repertorio) and even a rosé. Indeed, it was this rosé, Il Rogito, which after the short introductory speech prompted my first question. Was this rosé produced as a by-product of ‘modern’ wine making techniques in an effort to produce the Aglianico wines in a more heavily extracted “international” style? To this Signor Giuratrabocchetti referred me to their beautifully produced brochure that stated “We specifically designed Il Rogito to interpret and exploit the value of the Aglianico grape. And there is enough historical evidence to show that Aglianico has long been appreciated in this less intense version”. That may be so, however the literature then goes on to say how this wine, like the other two Aglianico wines, is aged in French oak for 12 months. On my subsequent tasting note I could only really taste the oak, the Aglianico being very much in the background. After a few more questions and armed now with the brochures we set off for the tour of the cellars.

The first thing that stuck me was how clean everything was (-almost too clean, as they say in all good detective films). The labyrinthine cellar was carved out of the ‘tufo volcanico’ and extended well under the adjacent road and beyond. All along the carefully and dramatically lit floor of the cellar were lines of new French oak barriques, only one tier high and all in immaculate condition. As we followed Signor Giuratrabocchetti through his cellar it occurred to me that for casks that surely had to be regularly topped up, there wasn’t any sign of spillage around the bung-hole at the top of the barrels. Could these only have really been there for show? I didn’t dare ask.

Our appointment in the afternoon was at the Cantine of Paternoster in the town of Barile. A much older and larger winery, Paternoster produces just over 12500 cases per year and has been in the wine business since 1925. Now, still a family-run business in its third generation, the company is still growing.

Signor Paternoster Jnr greeted us at the door as we drove into the driveway and gave us a brief tour around the current wine producing facility. Tanned and with an obvious enthusiasm for wine, Signor Paternoster was only too pleased to answer a few questions before then leading us off for a short scooter ride to the other side of town to see the brand new, state-of-the-art winery being built on the site of the old family property Villa Rotondo. My first question was to what extent critics’ scores influenced the styles of wines now produced by Paternoster and how this had changed their approach to their beloved Aglianico? “We make wine in styles that people will buy” was his reply. Honest, if nothing else.

The old Villa Rotondo is still there but is currently being restored and is to be used, in the future, as a centre for wine-tourism. It is due for completion some time in 2006. The new winery is situated right amongst the vines looking out across the newly planted, yet to yield, vines and will truly be an impressive site for future visitors. Vines, I might also add, that will still be picked by hand because, in this part of Italy, it’s still a cheaper option than using machines to harvest the grapes.

However, on the drive home my thoughts were of how Basilicata’s wine producers certainly seemed to be in the ascendancy and were gearing up for an estimated growth in interest and ultimately sales. The thing that seemed even more evident was that this growth in sales was going to be the result of producing wine in a more consumer-friendly style, with a higher emphasis on ‘treatments’ rather than terroir and with a view to getting higher scores from the critics. This of course makes good business sense, but my worry is that now, like in Bordeaux for example, the true nature of terroir and the personality of the grape is being lost in favour of higher scores.

As we sat down with the rest of the family for dinner after our two-hour drive home, Giuseppe’s father opened a bottle of his wine from last year’s vintage. This was, surely, the perfect accompaniment to the many dishes Giuseppe’s Mama had prepared. But Wow! Suddenly after a day of tasting big, blockbuster wines, here was wine that tasted ‘real’, a wine that tasted of sunshine, soil, grapes and love. No, it wasn’t perfect, but it did make me start to think. I asked if I could try a glass of the 2003 vintage next to the 2004. Suddenly here was a difference! And that difference was Lucani terroir, a true expression of the place, time and regional identity. Here were two wines, made by the same man, from the same vines, made in exactly the same way, the only difference being the climatic variations in those years. Yet these two wines had completely different personalities. The 2003, was robust, full of intense fruit and spice, high in alcohol, depth of colour and now, with some bottle age, tertiary aromas beginning to show. The 2004 on the other hand was delicately fruity almost floral, lower in alcohol, more subtle and far more feminine. Both wines, however, were crystal clear, with nice integrated tannins and both had good length.

My lasting memory of the wines of Basilicata will not be the beautifully stacked barriques with not a drop of wine split anywhere, nor the new space-age cantina being prepared for future wine-tourists, no doubt searching out those elusive vanilla-flavoured, micro-oxygenated ‘90s’. No, my memories will be of the Lucani people, for whom wine is produced for their family by their family. Wine that is produced with as much care and above all pride, as any of the other wines I saw produced and tasted in this dramatic and often overlooked wine region.

My epiphanic moment came at the family dinner table watching Giuseppe’s father’s gnarled fingers prizing the crown cap off of a bottle last year’s vintage. It was then I was suddenly reminded of Mr Broadbent’s comment during the film “A Standardised Wine.” Yes Sir, I think I agree with you. Maybe now, after 3 years of studying, I’m finally beginning to understand what this wine lark is really all about and long may my journey of discovery continue. Saluté!

[SYoung]

Great story, Mr. Forryan! You write beautifully!

However, your point about the differences of the same wine between vintages, as when you say "Here were two wines, made by the same man, from the same vines, made in exactly the same way, the only difference being the climatic variations in those years.", can also be said of the so-called Parkerized wines. They styles of making wines could be different, but, either way, the terroir difference present.

Moreover, you quoted Signor Paternoster as saying "We make wine in styles that people will buy”..." THus he tries to produce standardized wines but yet you still taste the terroir difference.

So I'm not sure that you've made a point in favor of non-standardized wine, if that was your point. Or maybe you simply wanted to tell a good story!

[JohnL]

I agree on both points.

The post in question by Mr Forryan was very well written (I enjoyed it).

I also agree the point he seemed to be trying to make did not come across well.

This topic (international style vs artisinal)as a whole is quite complex. There are no easy conclusions.

Therefore, the debate often gets murky and confusing.

I have been giving a lot of thought ot this issue and hope to post something soon.

[Rebel Rose]

In Decanter, October 4th:

Mondovino effect still present

May require free registration

With the DVD released in France this month, the film's participants have resurfaced to give their opinions.

'It's almost impossible to have an intelligent debate on wine in this country,' said Etienne de Montille, whose father, Hubert, was featured prominently in Mondovino.

And Jancis Robinson blasts French "superiority" in An English defense of the New World

San Francisco Chronicle, may require free registration

I'm sure that one reason the film was so popular with the French was that it pandered to their view of themselves as sole upholders of the noble, atavistic traditions of handmade wine production in an increasingly wicked world.

I am not the only wine traveler to feel that there is no one in the wine world more meticulous than California's top vintners, with their precision viticulture, yield monitors in their vineyards and the most expensive oak barrels in the world in their cellars.

[JohnL]

Good stuff.

It has taken awhile, but, the dust is clearing and there is now some rational perspective on the topics of the film.

Jancis has perhaps delivered some of the sanest commentary on the film yet.

The film was basically agitprop-- not a well reasoned presentation of what is going on in the wine world. As such, I believe it did a disservice to all parties.

Parker and Roland are not the devil's desciples and Mr Montille and his ilk are not facing extinction.

There is plenty of room for many different styles of wine in the world.