Erne Vermentino 2021
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2020-
Wong
Wilfred
For years Terenzuola on the Ligurian-Tuscan borderland of Colli di Luni sold off a portion of grapes that he grew in his vineyards to other local producers as a method of quality control. In 2019, however, everything changed when the wine made with grapes he had farmed won Tre Bicchieri for another estate. Our man said “BASTA. No more selling grapes!” It was clear that his method of quality control was benefitting his competitors a little too much! The Erne project was born. Erne is dedicated to Ivan Giuliani's grandmother Ernesta, who taught religious education and always gently pushed her grandson to do the right thing. “In life, your family tells you to go down a certain path. When you come of age, maybe you decide you want to do things differently. But as I’ve matured, I’ve watched as my path has come to run parallel to what Ernesta was telling me.” With several Tre Bicchieri awards of his own, and exalted praise for his wines and his prowess as a winemaker, Ivan has now settled into the success that he knew would come after many years of tribulation as a young estate-owner and vine-grower. Erne represents a winemaker who has realized his dream of being counted among Italy’s best, and no longer has to sell wine in bulk that get his neighbor Italy’s top award!
A fantastic, aromatic white grape that grows with great success in Sardinia, Tuscany and in lesser proportions on the island of Corsica. Somm Secret—Vermentino is thought to be genetically identical to Liguria’s Pigato grape and Peidmont’s Favorita. It comprises a large proportion of the whites in southern France where it is called Rolle.
One of the most iconic Italian regions for wine, scenery and history, Tuscany is the world’s most important outpost for the Sangiovese grape. Tuscan wine ranges in style from fruity and simple to complex and age-worthy, Sangiovese makes up a significant percentage of plantings here, with the white Trebbiano Toscano coming in second.
Within Tuscany, many esteemed wines have their own respective sub-zones, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The climate is Mediterranean and the topography consists mostly of picturesque rolling hills, scattered with vineyards.
Sangiovese at its simplest produces straightforward pizza-friendly Tuscan wines with bright and juicy red fruit, but at its best it shows remarkable complexity and ageability. Top-quality Sangiovese-based wines can be expressive of a range of characteristics such as sour cherry, balsamic, dried herbs, leather, fresh earth, dried flowers, anise and tobacco. Brunello, an exceptionally bold Tuscan wine, expresses well the particularities of vintage variations and is thus popular among collectors. Chianti is associated with tangy and food-friendly dry wines at various price points. A more recent phenomenon as of the 1970s is the “Super Tuscan”—a red wine made from international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, with or without Sangiovese. These are common in Tuscany’s coastal regions like Bolgheri, Val di Cornia, Carmignano and the island of Elba.