WTN: Lacrima di Morro d'Alba!

2007 Marotti Campi "Orgiolo" Lacrima di Morro d"Alba.

Wow. There is absolutely nothing else like LdMdA! Blazingly fruity, with a punch of mulberries??? rose petals, violets, and black pepper. This bottling sees oak, but definitely not oaky in any way...it's all about the fruit! Still...some lovely structure and a very refreshing quality, despite that candied fruit. I am not normally a fruity wine lover, but this stuff is pretty neato.

Hi Brian -

Thank you for the note. I also like Lacrima di Morro di Alba, but am not familiar with this one. The Conti di Buscareto Lacrimas are very good if you come across them.

At any rate, it was a real surprise to learn a couple of months ago that Lacrima Nera and Gaglioppo are actually the same grape, according to DNA analysis.

Gagliappo is a new one for me, Andrew.

The only other Lacrima I've had is a bottle from Luigi????? Nice stuff also.

I wonder if Lacrima Nera is the same as Lacrima di Morro d'Alba? I've never noticed the same shocking aromatic notes in Gaglioppo, not that I've had a ton of it...

Brian and Oliver -

Lacrima Nera is the name of the grape used in Lacrima di Morro d'Alba. Gaglioppo is a common red grape in Calabria - I have had a few Calabrian wines made from this grape, and all have seemed considerably fuller and riper than any Lacrima I have had. Of course, the hotter climate in Calabria has to play a factor there. Admittedly, I don't know much about the soil or the terroir down there.

I have no idea why this grape only seems to be common in the Marche and Calabria, and nowhere else in Italy.

I'm wondering if in fact they are the same. In my experience they don't taste at all the same, the Vitis catalog has more than ten entries for grapes called Lacrima, several listed as Lacrima Nera, and the Wiki entry for Gaglioppo reads 'An Italian study published in 2008 using DNA typing showed a close genetic relationship between Sangiovese on the one hand and ten other Italian grape varieties on the other hand, including Gaglioppo. It is therefore likely that Gaglioppo is a crossing of Sangiovese and another, so far unidentified, grape variety.' Maybe all of that is true and it's also identical to the Lacrima of the Marches, but as I say I've never had a Ciro, for example, with any of the aromatic punch of the wine from the Marches.

There are examples of different Italian grapes having the same name, eg Trebbiano*, but in fact being quite different. If anyone knows any more about Lacrima I would be delighted to be educated. And of course 'nera' just means 'black-skinned'.

* ie Trebbiano Toscano, Abruzzo, Lugana, Soave...

Oliver, regarding Trebbiano di Lugana, I just read in the last issue of Decanter that it has been agreed that the variety that makes Lugana is not in fact Trebbiano and that it has now been renamed to Turbiana.

Regarding Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, I can only agree that it is hard to imagine that Lacrima and Gaglioppo could be the same variety, even considering the warmer climate in the south. I often describe LdMd'A as red Gewurtztraminer.

Cheers,
Anders

Hello Anders,

I haven't had a Ciro that was fresh-tasting so I'm not entirely clear about the essential character of the wine, but it's hard to imagine mistaking it for Lacrima dMA. Funny how there aren't any aromatic red varieties in France, but at least 3 I can think of in Italy, probably more.

I understand that 'Turbiano' is the same as Verdicchio, which makes sense. I just had a really excellent Lugana at Vinitaly, Ca'Lojera, and if that wine was made from Trebbiano Toscano I'll eat my hat. Deeelicious.

Malvasia is another common name in Italy, as is Vernaccia.

Hi Oliver,

I also remember having read somewhere some years ago that Trebbiano di Lugana/Turbiana is actually Verdicchio, but I have failed to find any firm evidence for it, such as a scientific publication, though I have searched for it. Do you have any reliable source for your information? I would expect it to be difficult to get acceptance for the name change had there been proof that the variety is the same as Verdicchio.

I certainly agree that some very decent Lugana wines is made.

BTW, I'm off for Piemonte in the middle of June. Any chance to see you there?

/A

Hello Anders,

I found this: http://fabriziograssi.altervista.org/Nu ... bbiano.pdf

which says that Trebbiano di Soave is identical to Verdicchio, but only 'very similar' to Trebbiano di Lugana. Very technical analysis, includes a number of different Trebbianos as well as Verdicchio.

I will be in Piedmont for vacation from late May to late June, my cell there is 339/280.4390, give me a buzz.

Hi Oliver -

I did some additional reading on the Lacrima Nera/Gaglioppo ID issue, and some bloggers seem to think that one might be a mutation of the other. Interesting, to say the least. I do agree that the Lacrima DMDAs that I have had have been fresher than even the younger Gaglioppos I have tried, but figured in retrospect that climate and terroir had something to do with the differences.

As an added note, I have had a couple of Calabrian blends with Gaglioppo and another grape, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Librandi's Gravello is probably the best known example. I have yet to find a Marche blend with Lacrima Nera as one of the components.

As far as Trebbiano di Lugana, we're in agreement there. I'm not aware that anyone have proven a conclusive link between TdL and Verdicchio yet, but there seems to be a lot of speculation that the two are closely related. Both are certainly capable of making very underrated wines, unlike Trebbiano di Toscana, which has virtually no value outside of its traditional role in Vin Santo.

Andrew,

the report I linked to says that Trebbiano di Soave is genetically identical to Verdicchio, and Trebbiano di Lugana is very similar but not identical. I had thought those two Trebbianos were the same grape, but no.

It's hard to discern the 'true' character of a variety like Gaglioppo when (at least in my experience) most of the examples are poorly vinified; this was also true in eg southern France until fairly recently. Most of the Italian indigenous varieties vanish when blended with Cabernet, in my experience, with the possible exception of Lagrein.