I love doing little head to heads, but actually these two wines were so different it was hard to compare them.
One is a classic that has kind of disappeared from the scene of late: Librandi - Gravello 2006. It is 60% Gaglioppo (the classic grape that makes Ciro') and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine's been around for a while - I think Librandi started making the Gravello in the 80's. Librandi is still family owned, thank goodness, but they make huge amounts of wine by Italian standards, 90,000 bottles of just this wine, and they have many others. This wine is from Calabria, way south, the tip of the Italian boot.
The other wine is a relatively young upstart that got a big trampoline push by the corrupt Robert Parker. Its the Montevetrano 2005 - 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Aglianico. It is from the Salerno area of the Campania region - so its definitely south Italy but not extreme south like Calabria. Silvia Imparato farms about 4 hectares so I'm thinking she makes about 30,000 bottles of this wine. And I'm sure she's expanding cause the big bucks are coming in! All the major wine-critique publications in Italy have fallen in line and have jumped on this bandwagon, big scores everywhere.
Tasting notes:
Gravello 2006
Not a bad wine. Quite graceful. Good body but remains silky in the mouth. There's obviously southern fruit here, reminds me of a Chateuneuf-du-Pape. The nose has some cooked vegetables and herbs in it. No oak that I can detect. Website says they use Allier barriques, but I'm guessing they are more than 3 years old. A good, sweetish, full-bodied wine with a controversial but somewhat characterful nose. Famous Italian oenologist Donato Lanati consults for Librandi which I find a shame. They should make their own choices and keep their Calabrian character. 17 Euros
Montevetrano 2005
This wine was totally different. For one, you can detect oak, even though its not heavy at all. Here you can tell its Cab-Merlot while in the Librandi you can't really tell there's Cab at all. This wine is much darker but flatter. It is full bodied, pleasant and all that - but its got little character! It lacks vibrancy. Its got no oomph. And then I remembered - this may be a wine made by another consulting oenologist, (known as Mr.Merlot), Riccardo Cotarella. And then it all came together - the flat blandness, the big Parker score, showing signs of oxidation already on day two... 46 Euros
And the winner is......Librandi, even though mass-produced, at least it showed some character! And it definitely looked and tasted more vibrant.
Cheers,
Agostino