Riecine: Fine Chianti Classico
John Dunkley of
Riecine has long been considered one of
the best producers of Chianti Classico, a man whose "meticulous work is
revealed by the quality of his wines," according to Rosemary George. That's
not, however, why Séan O'Callaghan called on him in 1989, when he was
taking a break from working on his thesis at the Geisenheim University, one of
Europe's foremost winemaking schools: "John was the one person [in the region]
I could understand," he said. Two weeks after his visit, he received a letter
asking if he wanted to work at Riecine; he did, though a variety of
circumstances kept him from arriving before 1991.
Since then Séan has taken on the day-to-day operations at Riecine, and is now the winemaker. The changing of the guard can be a delicate time, but in this case things have worked out very well.
The brilliant red of
the 1995 Chianti Classico, a 100% Sangiovese, provides clear evidence
that it is still young. Youth need not mean immaturity; the bouquet is elegant,
and beautifully balanced, with berry fruit, cherries, and pleasant notes of
warmth and spice (from botti, not barriques). On the palate the wine's youth is
more apparent, especially in the burr of the tannins, and in a faint lack of
balance. As it stands it's very pleasant to drink, with nice fruit and
interesting
apricot notes in the finish,
but I would wait -- this wine has tremendous potential and will be far better
by the end of 1997.
The 1994 Riecine Chianti Classico Riserva is towering; the bouquet is extremely elegant with a complex, well balanced interplay of delicate spicy notes from larger oak barrels, earth and underbrush, black currents and wild berry fruits, and much more. On the palate there's lots of lush fruit, especially cherries, and it's well rounded, with silky tannins and a very clean finish. This is certainly one of the best wines produced in the Chianti Classico region, worth seeking out and setting aside for a special occasion.
La Gioia di Riecine 1994 is the Riecine's Vino da Tavola -- the same wine as their Riserva, though it spends 24 months in barriques. The small wood is reflected in the color, which is a deeper, more intense red than that of the Riserva, and in the vanilla notes on the nose, which are, however, beautifully balanced by the fruit and the vinous notes from the Sangiovese. On the palate the wine is full, enveloping, with very nice fruit, well rounded tannins, a touch of astringency that will mellow with time, and an extraordinarily persistent finish. This is another wine well worth seeking out and setting aside, though to be frank I prefer the Riserva -- both are superb, but the Riserva has closer ties to the land.
Riecine also makes several white wines, some of which are extremely interesting. They're also frustrating in some ways, because Séan finds Malvasia, their primary grape, uninteresting. So he experiments, changing things from year.
The 1995 Riecine Bianco is a faint pale yellow, with clean floral notes, especially wisteria, melon, and just a touch of white pepper. On the palate the wine is full, smooth, and well rounded. It's acidity is quite low, and there are persistent apricot notes on the finish. The 1996 Riecine Bianco is a very different beast: a charged yellow with straw-pink highlights, and an unusual, vanilla-laced bouquet with apricots and tropical fruit as well. On the palate the vanilla is again pronounced, and the wine is chewy and fairly sweet, with a clean bitter finish. I preferred the 1995, which was harvested very early to keep it fresh, fermented in steel, and taken quickly off the lees. The 1996 was, on the contrary, harvested extremely late, and kept on the lees for a longer period of time to extract more from the skins. In addition, a tenth of the wine was fermented in wood to try to balance the effects of the late harvesting; the influence this tenth has on the rest of the wine is astonishing -- you wouldn't necessarily guess the two wines are from the same vines. Séan hopes that the bitterness of the finish will round out with time.
Séan is also working on another white wine, San Sebastiano. It's extremely promising, though its characteristics are still in a state of flux. The first vintage produced, 1994 (it's named after his son, who was born that year), was produced using the cordon cut technique -- in other words, the shoots with the bunches of grapes were cut, but left in the vineyards, where the grapes drew all the reserves from the wood (this helps preserve the fruit too), and also picked up Botrytis, the Noble Rot that concentrates the sugars and adds a distinctive, very elegant tang. The must was fermented in demijohns (there wasn't enough to make using a steel tank feasible) and bottled. The wine is a delicate amber, and has an elegant, extremely complex subtle nose with all sorts of nuts and dried fruit, especially apricots. On the lips it is buttery, and on the palate it is surprisingly dry, with nice complexity and a delicious hazelnut finish. It's not a sipping wine, but rather a dessert wine that would go very well with cheeses and such.
There was no 1995, and the 1996 is in the barrels. It will be quite different than the 1994, because the grapes were picked and hung to dry in a shack, as is done with Vinsanto, then fermented. Though it has more body and sweetness (and will be a superb dessert wine in a couple of years), Séan finds that it lacks fruit, and is bothered by its raisiny tang. So next time he'd like to combine the two, aiming for 60% cordon cut grapes, fermented in glass, and 40% dried grapes, fermented in wood. Grace, fruit, and Botrytis from the former, balanced by the body and sweetness of the latter. It should be extremely interesting, and if it satisfies him he'd like to do away with the Bianco and just make San Sebasiatno.
To close, Riecine also makes a brilliantly crystal clear grappa that has some bitter yeasty notes on the nose. I prefer floral notes, and though they weren't as apparent in the bouquet, they were definitely present on the palate, as was a pleasant sweetness. This is the sort of grappa that should be put in a brandy snifter and enjoyed over the course of an evening.
You may be wondering
how an Englishman ends up making wines in Chianti. Circuitously; Séan's
uncle owns a winery in south-west England, and after working at it briefly, he
went to Germany for the 1983 harvest. The harvest led to an apprenticeship,
which led to school and managing a winery, and then... Chianti. "Had I known
I'd end up here I might have gone to Bordeaux," he says, "though Germany is
excellent for learning to make a clean wine."
Perhaps because Séan is not Italian, we ended up talking about the wine world in general as well. Though he is more familiar with Australia, he likes Californian wines, especially some of the Zinfandels and the Cabernets. And he especially likes the atmosphere, that lack of a suffocating wine culture that ties the producer down to tried, proven, and perhaps out-of-date practices. On the subject of Californian Sangiovese, his reaction is mixed. The Californians, he says, have the advantage that they can let their Sangiovese ripen completely. "Here it never does, and that's what gives it its character -- it's stressed, because of climate and our stony soils." The Californians are, he observes, moving onto the hills, which provide stress, and irrigating -- "their grapes are almost too good." He's less enthusiastic about the wines than he is about the grapes: he's liked one, which is in the Californian style, but finds most of what he has tasted to be imitations of Tuscan Sangiovese. He'd rather see more uniquely Californian expressions of the grape. He would also like to see Californians invest in the Chianti region -- were they to do so, bringing in modern techniques, he thinks it would be like opening a smoke-filled room to a breeze.
To close, a few technical things: Riecine has four hectares of vines, two of which are being replanted, and to make up for the loss they have rented two more hectares; in the future they plan to have eight hectares of land. They're also rebuilding their cellars to simplify and rationalize production -- they should be finished next year, and then the wines will be even more interesting than they are now.
As a final note, John, Séan and Gary (the third owner) are quite happy to have visitors, though you should call, on 0577/749098, to let them know you're coming. The winery is on a hill overlooking Gaiole in Chianti; there are signs in Gaiole that will point your way. Check their site to find out the latest! Or, visit WineAccess to locate the wines at a retailer near you (click on the Wine Library).
Good Food &
Drink,
Kyle Phillips
