I felt it would be about time to check the status of this wine. I had a most pleasant visit to the the producer and the young, charming wine maker Marco Sartori in May last year. The wines he presented then was mostly 2003 and some 2002, but when I asked if I could taste a 2004 to be able to sense the character of the estate, not the vintage, he opened a bottle of this wine, not only for my sake, but also since he was curious himself of how the wine was, not having tasted it since the bottling. We both agreed then that it was a very fine wine from a great vintage. Thus, when I came home I ordered a box of six bottles and now felt I wanted to taste the first one.
The colour is quite deep, but not opaque, purplish red.
The nose is very deep and with a rather strong note of new and very tasty oak, backed up by deep, ripe cherry fruit and a sort of stony hardness that gives extra depth and style. Very classy.
The attack in the mouth is intense, almost peppery, with much the same ingredients as in the nose - cherry fruit, tasty and stylish oak and the hardness is there to give a strong backbone to the wine. Great acidity and marvellously structured tannins, giving a great mouthfeel to the wine. A long and intense, fresh and peppery finish with a lit harsh earthiness. A great and very stylish wine. By no means ready now, but very interesting to taste and the purity and classyness of it is giving me great pleasure and also hopes for a great future. This is clearly one of the top producers in Valpolicella. They are situated in the western part of the region, the Valpolicella allargata, the enlarged Valpolicella. Many might regard the classical zone to be the origin of the greatest Valpolicella wines, but I often prefer the less opulent, more restrained and stylish wine from the western part. If anyone doubts that this part is capable of producing great wine, I could just remind you that the great Romano dal Forno is in fact based in this part.
Cheers, Anders