24 Feb Monferace or the excellent Grignolino
Almost two years have passed since the official presentation of Monferace, the Grignolino that wants to raise its head after dark decades in which it was unfairly relegated to a crude and too light wine.
In these two years I have often had it tasted by people who did not know it, the last one was my intravinica friend Lisa Foletti, and it always came out with its head held high, arousing amazement.
So why was it only discovered in 2019 that Grignolino, if cultivated and vinified with care, resists over time and actually improves?
Well, in reality in 2019 nothing was discovered: in the 19th century at international competitions Grignolino was considered among the most important Piedmontese reds and was never presented with less than 3-5, sometimes even 11 years.
And references to aged Grignolino, with a “goudronnè” flavour, can also be read in the letter of presentation for the DOC application in 1971.
The lowest point in the recent history of Grignolino came in the 80s and 90s of the last century, when jam wines, with great structure and concentration, came to the fore, and probably the Monferrato producers themselves stopped believing in them, relegating the once noble vine to less suitable areas, perhaps aiming for contrast at almost rosé vinifications. The experiment failed and Grignolino was branded as the poor cousin of the great Piedmontese reds.
Those of us who have the honor (and the bad luck) of supporting Toro know well that memories of the glories of the past are a meager consolation for the sad present, and finding a poster that talks about an 11-year-old Grignolino successfully presented at the Florence exhibition in 1861 is a bit like hearing your grandfather talk about when he used to watch Valentino Mazzola play at the stadium.
OK, nice, but today?
A few weeks ago, thanks to the Monferace Association and the contribution of winemaker Mario Ronco, Erika Mantovan and Fabrizio Gallino, we tasted 12 wines, almost all from the vintage on the market, plus some decidedly more recent barrel samples.
Liedholm, 2018, Cuccaro Monferrato.
Very intriguing balsamic notes of eucalyptus, in some ways more in shape than some of the 2015s we tasted. Keep an eye on them!
From Intravino 06/16/21. Continue reading at:
https://www.intravino.com/primo-piano/monferace-o-del-grignolino-deccellenza/