Gorgeous little town this San Gimignano, the streets, the walkways, the views from the hillsides, back alleys and cute little shops … sadly at the time of my writing this I can’t show you any of it – I lost my camera and as one Italian resident pointed out during my search, “If this were say Scotland, you’d get it back, but this is Italy” – turns out he had lost his camera in Scotland and days later it was returned to him in Italy … God bless the Scots.
What I didn't lose were my notes from the Anteprima of San Gimignano – their 50 Anniversary of being a recognized DOC (the first in all of Italy - 1966) and then upgraded to DOCG in 1993.
Today 38 producers stepped up to their tables pouring the preview of the most recent vintage (2015) – most were about a month away from being bottled – though some will wait longer. Below is a list of the wines I thought showed a lot of promise for the coming year (I do not rate them because a lot can happen between tank and bottle) but I do think these wines will be something special … plus I rate a few older vintages that are quite delicious. Will we see them in Ontario? Probably not, but they are worth keeping an eye out for, if you are ever kicking around the world (or better yet in Italy visiting San Gimignano).
Promising Bottlings … Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2015
Cantine Guidi 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Fattoria Abbazia di Mone Oliveto 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Fattoria di Pancole 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Il Colombaio di Santa Chiara 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano “Selvabianca”
Lucil Libanio 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Mormoraia 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Palagetto 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Tenuta La Vigna 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano – my favourite of the Anteprima Vernaccia
Tenuta Le Calcinaie 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Honourable Mention Anteprima Wines …
Cesani 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano - he says it is bottled, but needs 2 months to come out of bottle shock … I thought it was pretty good and could only get better
Poderi del Paradiso 2015 Vernaccia di San Gimignano - again it is going through some bottle shock but should be worth it once it comes out
Previous Vintages and Current Offerings …
Cantine Guidi 2014 Vernaccia di San Gimignano …
Lively with good acidity, a mouthful of ripe and juicy Bosc pears. (*** ½+)
Fattoria San Donato 2013 Vernaccia di San Gimignano …
Grapefruit rind, canteloup with a slight buckwheat honey note. (*** ½+)
Panizzi 2014 Vernaccia di San Gimignano “Vigna Santa Margherita” …
Half of this wine spent 6 months on lees while the other half spent 6 months in neutral oak, then they were blended; the results are quite fruity with melon and pear notes, good acid backing and a hint of vanilla. (****)
San Benedetto 2013 Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva …
I was surprised to learn this was the winery’s first reserve wine ever made, it showed a real freshness, even after 18 months in “used wood”: floral, peach cobbler, a little vanilla and couple-hour-old apple core. Nice depth. (****)
Tenuta La Vigna 2014 Vernaccia di San Gimignano …
An award winning wine and their 2015 was my favourite of the Anteprima wines – this 2014 still smells and tastes like fresh white fruits with a little bit of a honey note that is very inviting. (*** ½+)
Tenuta La Calcinaie 2013 Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva “Vigna ai Sassi” …
10% Chardonnay goes into this Riserva, all stainless steel fermented and aged with 3 years of lees contact: apple skin, vanilla and an almost spicy note – it feels like oak but has the freshness of steel, this one’s quite yummy. (*** ½+)
Tollena 2011 Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva “Signorina Vittoria” …
Nice weight in the mouth with notes of pineapple core, honey and melon rind. (****)
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