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You might remember my brief mention of Davide Spillare in my VinNatur 2011 – producers to keep on eye on, blog entry. Davide’s Azienda Agricola covers about 2 ha in  Gambellara, in the province of Vicenza.  Davide works naturally both in the vineyards and in the winery, being shown the way by his teacher and mentor, Angiolino Maule.  He works mainly with the indigenous Garganega grape, and ferments all of his wines spontaneously without any additions, except a little sulfur in his whites.

The Bianco Rugoli is made up of 90% Garganega (grown on volcanic soil) and 10% Trebbiano. After manual harvest and crush, maceration with the skins lasts 18-24 hours giving this wine it’s gorgeous glow. It is then pressed and transferred to used barriques  for about 10 months for fermentation. It then spends some time in steel and is bottled without fining or filtering with just a bit of sulfur.

Date tasted: May 17th, 20:00

Appearance:  honey-toned orange

Nose: slightly jammy orange peel with hints of brown honey. very clear high intensity fruit. Some hints of herbs like sage and thyme. There are some aromas that could only be described as roasted lamb w rosemary. Ripe golden gooseberries. alcohol shows on the nose. With 15 minutes in the glass, a smoky minerality begins to emerge blending nicely with the fruit. Showing also some hints of very ripe fruit, perhaps some grapes being overripe – in a good way.

Palate: spicy, fruity and dry on the palate with good acid and tingling alcohol, which begins to integrate as the wine warms. Very mild tannins with a slight bitter aftertaste. As time passes, the wine seems to become increasingly refreshing, even though the alcohol is my only lament, as it very slightly stings the tongue. Not enough to put the wine way out of balance, however. Young..

La Biancara di Angiolino Maule

Angiolino Maule owns 11 hectares (& rents 2ha more) of vineyards on volcanic soil between the provinces of Vicenza and Verona, an extension of the Soave foothills in the Veneto, in North Eastern Italy. The Veneto is a region traditionally famous for the Soave white wines and the dark, rich and typically hugely alcoholic Amarone della Valpolicella wines.  But Angiolino is traditional in another way, working the vineyards as naturally as possible without the use of any synthetic or chemical additives, industrial fertilizers or any other artificial soil treatments.  Rather, he practices biodynamics and uses only natural preparations in the vineyards.

Angiolino's vines on volcanic soil in the Veneto

Angiolino’s philosophy is carried through to the cellar where his wines spontaneously ferment with only indigenous yeasts.  He doesn’t control temperature during fermentation, he uses no enzymes nor sulfur and bottles without fining or filtering.  To quote Angiolino “The big difference between the majority of vine growers and my vine growing is my great respect for nature and that means no compromise.  I accept and defend what the land gives me without correcting, adding or subtracting to get more.  In the cellar I think the difference is even greater, some producers with the excuse of protecting or enhancing came to use six to eight chemicals added to the must or the wine, I disagree” Read the rest of this entry »