A Boot-Full of Wine – Tasting Notes from Italy

4 March 2011

As a young altar boy, I remember sneaking a taste of the altar wine before mass one day. It counts as my first ever wine! I remember it as being sweet, with a heady perfume. The style of wine was that of a vin santo.

There are many theories as to how vin santo got its name, some no doubt more apocryphal than others, but the widely held belief is that the origin of the name derives from the wine’s association with Eucharistic celebration.

Tuscany and Umbria are the centres of vin santo production, though many other regions around Italy produce their own versions. (The vino santo from Trentino, however, is made from the Nosiola grape, and is a different wine altogether, and usually less oxidised. More on oxidation below.)

Grape varieties used for vin santo are traditionally Trebbiano and Malvasia. (Trebbiano is a fairly neutral variety, and high in acid, much like the Palomino used for sherry in the former but not latter sense.) A red or rosé example of vin santo, called occhio di pernice (eye of the partridge), is made from a blend which includes Sangiovese grapes, but employing the same techniques.

This technique involves drying the carefully selected, hand harvested grapes in ventilated rooms for a period of about four months, which greatly concentrates the sugar levels. (I am writing this article in late February, and the Capezzana winery has just pressed its “passito” Trebbiano grapes for their vin santo two weeks ago. This after harvesting the Trebbiano in September!) The length of time the grapes are dried influences the degree of dessication and hence potential levels of residual sugar for a given alcohol reading.

Fermentation can be sluggish due to the potentially high sugar levels, and traditionally was “kick-started” by placing the must in small barrels used for a previous vintage of vin santo, being careful to leave some of the lees in the barrel. This represented a yeast innoculum, and was called “madre” or mother. It was felt that this “madre”, combined with wild or ambient yeasts, added to the complexity of the wine.

The barrels were then left in attics to age for a period of at least three years, but often longer. Ullage was allowed to develop and thus oxidation would occur in the headspace of the barrels. Unlike other wines, the barrels were allowed to heat and cool according to the diurnal and annual temperature cycles. Thus a degree of “madeirisation” also occurred. Fermentation would naturally stop at around 14% alcohol, when the yeasts were rendered inactive. Many a Tuscan still produces his/her own vin santo, using the time honoured methods above.

These days, however, with concerns about hygiene, stuck ferments and wine stability, most commercial vin santo is produced in new or newish barrels, and the fermentation is begun by an introduced, cultured yeast which works well in the high sugar, high alcohol environment (though some producers still add a portion of “madre” to add complexity.) Levels of oxidation are also less than that which was found traditionally.

The similarities between vin santo and other wines (such as sherry and madeira) are notable, in particular the oxidatively aged oloroso style of sherry, and Boal and Malmsey madeiras. An important difference between sherry and vin santo is that vin santo is not fortified or sweetened – it derives its alcohol and sweetness from the dried grapes themselves. (On the rare occasion wine spirit IS added, the wine is called vin santo liquoroso.)

Vin santo can come with varying levels of sweetness (like sherries) but is usually regarded as a dessert wine. An oft-suggested food pairing is that of the almond biscuits (‘cantucci’) from Prato!

Here are a few examples I have tried:

Reviewed

Fattoria Viticcio (Chianti Classico region) – Dolce Arianna – Vin Santo – 2001 (16.5). Grapes were dried for three months, and barrel fermentation and aging proceeded for five years. A blend of Trebbiano, Malvasia and Canaiolo. A deep amber colour, with nutty, oxidised, even rancio characters on the nose. Intense, persistent with complex biscuit, honey and dried fruits, medium sweet (residual sugar 53 g/l) with good acid.

Fattoria Artimino – Vin Santo – Occio di Pernice – 2004 (15.5). Made with 60% Sangiovese and 40% Malvasia Nera that were left to hang on the vines for as long as possible before being hand picked and dried for 3 months, this wine was then matured for three years in chestnut barrels. A complex nose with some candied notes, the palate was reminiscent of ripe nectarines. Brisk acidity and pleasant woody notes were in evidence but the wine finished with some bitter/astringent phenolics.

Fattoria di Bacchereto – Vin Santo di Carmignano – 1999 (17.5). This from a biodynamic vineyard not far from Prato (that produces a fine Carmignano also). A blend of 80% Trebbiano and 20% Malvasia, dried for four months. Vinification with natural yeasts in small chestnut barrels for a whopping eight years! A wonderfully complex wine, sweet (I would estimate residual sugar at about 100g/l) but not cloying, with flavours of dried apricots, orange peel, honey, and toasted almonds, and generous persistence. Confirms my preference for sweeter styles of vin santo.

Baddia A Coltibuono – Vin Santo – Del Chianti Classico – 2002 (18.7). A blend of 50% Trebbiano and 50% Malvasia, matured/fermented in oak casks for four years, and subjected to the swings in temperature as was the case traditionally, the production of this wine is extremely limited – only 6500 bottles in this difficult year. This is a wine of enormous complexity, depth and length. Apricots, honey, citrus, fig, vanilla, butterscotch and a gorgeous creaminess of texture. Just stunning.

Fontodi – Vin Santo – Del Chianti Classico – 1997 (18.3). A blend of Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes, this time dried for five months and aged for five years in a combination of chestnut and oak barrels. Production about 4000 bottles. Darker amber in colour, caramel and butterscotch on the nose carries through the palate. Crisp acidity which gives a drying lift to the finish.

It has often been said that sherry is one of the world of wine’s great untapped secrets – I agree, but to this I would add vin santo. Procure a bottle in the stead of a Sauternes, Trockenbeerenauslese or Tokaji next time you are in search of a dessert wine!

Ciao for now!

Brendan Jansen