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Saturday August 12, 2006 An Italian surprise Noted for its Parmigiano cheese, Parma ham and balsamic vinegar, Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region also yields premium-quality wines. LEONG SIOK HUI takes a sip. THE Emilia-Romagna region in Italy has long been associated with cheap, syrupy Lambrusco wines. A fruity wine, the Lambruscos (a grape variety) has been produced since days of the Roman empire. Recently, I was invited by Wine Cellar, a Bangsar wine shop and importer, to sample Umberto Cesari’s wines. This family-run estate bottles a variety of quality wines at Castel San Pietro in the Romagna hills. In 1965, Umberto and his wife Giuliana started their vineyards with just 20ha of land. Today, some 40 years later, their La Casetta, Parolino, Ca Grande and Laurento vineyards comprising 100ha are the largest in the area. Cesari focused on Sangiovese clones, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay resulting in world-class wines, like his Liano and Tauleto. But Cesari’s motto has always been “making good quality wine at a good value,” said Gianmaria, Cesari’s son who was in town. Take the Tauleto. This award-winning wine doesn’t differ much from a Super Tuscan. Yet you can snag a bottle for as little as RM220. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Super Tuscan for anything less than RM500.
We began our wine-tasting session plopped on the sofas at Wine Cellar with Gianmaria. The first wine on our list was the Lambrusco. Served chilled, the wine had a prickly fizz that danced on my tongue, its fruitiness refreshing. With its zesty, flavourful palate that is slightly sweet, this low-alcohol wine makes for a great drink in a tropical country. Its acidity was a nice counterpoint to the rich pasta dish smothered in sauce that came with it. “We wanted to make the Lambrsuco Grasparossa di Castelvetro for family consumption,” explained Gianmaria. But the wine was such a hit with friends and customers that Cesari decided to add it to his wine portfolio. Immortalised by Grisham American writer, John Grisham, was so impressed by Cesari’s Liano Rubicone Igt 2001, he worked it into his latest novel, The Broker. “This one here, a Liano from Imola, is fantastic,” Grisham’s protagonist proclaimed. It’s easy to see why. Made from a blend of select Sangiovese (70%) and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the Liano has subtle touches of vanilla, blackberry and ripe fruits. Though it is medium-bodied, the intense wine is well balanced with substantial tannins that give it a fresh, lingering finish. Gianmaria said the wine could still use a bit of aging to bring out its complex characteristics. A freshly grilled duck’s breast or a hearty lamb stew would go really well with the Liano. The trophy After 40 years, five of them spent experimenting, Cesari achieved his dream of producing a single-vineyard Sangiovese – the Tauleto, so Gianmaria revealed to us. Born from selected clones of Sangiovese Grosso and Bursona Longanesi, this full-bodiedwine bursts with savoury aromas of herbs and spices – with hints of rosemary, cloves and a bit of oak. The Tauleto 2000 is aged for 24 months in barrique, six to 12 months in a bottle and it is only produced in a good vintage – the last Tauleto created was in 2001. “This wine could do with a little more aging too,” advised Gianmaria. “I always thought the Tauleto went well with lamb and wild boar but when we paired it with certain chocolates, it was excellent!” It was only fitting to end our tasting session with a sweetdessert wine, the Colle del Re Albana di Romagna DOCG, crafted from Albana grapes. With its lovely bouquet of raisins, vanilla and honey, the silky wine has just the right acidity to prevent it from being cloying. “Dip a cantucci (Tuscan almond biscotti) into the wine and enjoy it,” encouraged Gianmaria. Despite being the third largest wine-producing region in Italy, Emilia-Romagno also shows that it can also produce quality wines, as Cesari proves. Cesari wines can be found at: Wine Cellar
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