Look up the Umbrian DOC of Orvieto
in any consumer reference. You will see that it produces "vapid
lightweight whites" which should be consumed "as fresh as
possible." In spite of that, here we are urging you to try a
pair that are four and five years old. What gives?
Unlike the vast majority of Orvieto by volume, these are a triumph
of careful viticulture, a culmination of deep vine history, and quite
delicious.
Orvieto's reputation for simple white wine is a fairly recent phenomenon.
It derives not from its innate qualities but rather from the proliferation
of modern industrial practices. The good news for value seekers lies
in this fact. The prices of exceptional items, like these, are implicitly
rated against, and kept in check by, wines of more humble status.
In past centuries, poets, writers and leaders of society sang Orvieto's
praises. Paolo Mantegazza, the
inventor of cocaine, described Orvieto as "liquid gold." Poet
Gabriele D'Annunzio defined it as "the sun of Italy in a bottle" because
of its fragrance, strength and color. In his will, Pope
Gregory XVI ordered that his body first be washed with the wine
of Orvieto before being buried.
Luigi Barberani's father began farming wine to serve to his guests
at three cafés he operated in Orvieto. Luigi farms his vineyards
with organic methods. Grapes are hand picked. New vine plantings tend
to be taken from the estate's own oldest vine cuttings. Industrial
clones, selected for productivity and compatibility with machine harvesters,
are not used. As a result, there is an indigenous charm to these wines.
Barberani's vineyards are on the slopes of lake Corbara and are rich
in a rare calcite mineral formation known as tufa,
which also underlies some of the more interesting crus of Chianti,
Barolo and Vouvray. The lake provides heavy cool air during the early
part of the day.
2004 Barberani Orvieto is produced in a privileged area of
the Castagnolo hill covering an area of almost 7 hectares. The grapes
used to make this blend are the five traditional varieties of Orvieto
-- 50% Trebbiano Procanico, 10% Verdello, 20% Grechetto, 2% Malvasia
and 3% Drupeggio -- plus 10% Chardonnay and 5% Riesling Renano. No
fertilizers are used in the Castagnolo vineyard and the yields are
low (~7000 kg/ha.) This is far lower than is allowed by the Orvieto
DOC rules. This results in very ripe grapes with a full proportion
of natural acidity along with greater intensity of bouquet. It also
means the wine will keep well, as we have already witnessed here at
Veritas.
As soon as they are harvested the grapes are de-stemmed and briefly
cold macerated before a light pressing. Fermentation is temperature
controlled in stainless steel. 3060 cases were bottled on March 12th
2005 and released a month later.
2003 Barberani Grechetto emerges from a four hectare pebbly
plot of limestone, clay and sand with a southern exposure. Grechetto
is a variety that dates to the Etruscan era and is considered the
most interesting of the five traditional Orvieto grapes.
In planting this vineyard, Luigi Barberani did opt for two special
clones from the University of Perugia. One produces small, compact
fruit clusters while the other produces larger bunches with fewer
grapes. Both provide fruit with excellent structure and aroma.
In 2003 the grapes were harvested relatively late for the vintage,
during the last half of September, and were de-stemmed and crushed
before pressing. One of the varieties was allowed to macerate on its
ripe skins for several hours, thereby extracting more color and structure.
This added to the aging potential. 1050 cases were produced.
Both of these wines would make a nice compliment to a seafood restaurant
wine list otherwise stocked with raw, juvenile white wines. There
is something ineffably pleasing about the softening effect time has
on substantial, pure juice like this. The Grechetto is the more supple
and luxurious of the two wines. Perhaps it is a function of the vintage,
or the small difference in age, or the extractive approach used with
the Grechetto. We find the Orvieto to be brighter and spiked with
sweet green apple and pear flavors, while the Grechetto has a more
evolved spectrum of flavors and a deeper, almost red wine-like texture.
Serve either with Fumetto
di Pesce.
Further reading:
Italian Made
Italy's
Slow Cities
Please enjoy this exciting video of Barberani's Amos destemmer in
action, shot by Luigi's son Bernardo:
