Have you heard about the Milano Wine Week?
It was the first edition and it has been a great success! Milan was the wine capital for one whole week with a lot of events, from tastings to speeches.
Bottiglie Aperte 2018 was the opening event on 7 and 8 October. Do you remember my last experience of Bottiglie Aperte? There are always some interesting wines here from small to big producers. This is the reason why this was my 3rd visit.
Now I want to share my impressions and the new wine discoveries with you.
Are you ready? Let’s start!
Bottiglie Aperte 2018
Bottiglie Aperte has reached its 7th edition and grows every year. This time there were more than 230 wineries, so the event needed a new location: Superstudio Più. It allowed a 40% increase of the expository surface.
But the location was not the only news! For the first time, there was an area dedicated to the spirits.
Another important thing was the announcement of the innovative startup in the wine trade.
Bottiglie Aperte 2018 was always produced and organized by ABS Wine & Spirits, a company of the Aliante Business Solution group, and directed by Federico Gordini.
My new 5 + 1 wine discoveries
I told you before that I always find interesting wines here. These are my new discoveries from Bottiglie Aperte 2018.
Kròz Bianco 2015 – Villa Corniole
Villa Corniole is a winery that I know very well. It’s located in Val di Cembra, Trentino, where heroic viticulture is dominant. I never tasted Kròz Bianco before Bottiglie Aperte 2018. The wine is a blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Müller Thurgau. Half of the Chardonnay passes in oak and the other half in steel tanks. The color is pale lemon. The nose hints at interesting aromas of rosemary, peach, apple, sage, and lemon. Very complex in the mouth, high acidity, long finish with a pleasant hydrocarbon hint.
Le Lucciole 2015 – Chiara Condello
Chiara is a young producer from Romagna. I had the opportunity to taste the very first bottles of Le Lucciole during the Only Wine Festival, but it was still young, not yet ready. And after a year and a half, I can tell you that this wine is finally ready to express itself. Obviously, it’s a wine that will come to its best by ageing. The grape is 100% Sangiovese, aged for 2 years in Slavonian oak casks of 35 hl. It looks ruby. On the nose, there are the aromas of dried rose, licorice, black pepper, cherry, and blueberry. Well-balanced, very elegant for a Sangiovese, the acidity and the finish are good.
Pavar 2012 – Lis Fadis
A new winery for me in Friuli. I tasted all its wines available at Bottiglie Aperte 2018 and Pavar 2012 was my favorite. It was in a magnum bottle. The grape is Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, an indigenous grape from Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The wine ages for 42 months in barrique and 12 months in bottle. The color is medium ruby with purple highlights. The aromas are of wild strawberry, raspberry, rose, coffee, and currants. The acidity is medium, the tannins are high and the finish has a pleasant note of black pepper.
Aglianico del Vulture 2015 – Quarta Generazione
If you’re thinking that it’s the usual Aglianico del Vulture, you are wrong. A winery discovered by my friend Marco Farnè. The vineyards of Aglianico are grown on a volcanic soil. The ageing is 12 months in oak with batonnage. The wine looks pale ruby. On the nose, you can detect the aromas of tropical fruit such as passion fruit or mango, strawberry, blueberry, and licorice. It has a medium acidity, full body, the tannins are still underripe but with the right ageing this wine will evoke emotions. The taste contains a hint of dried rose.
Dolcetto d’Alba Superiore Bricco Capre 2016 – Mario Rivetti
Piedmont – the land of great red wines. My friend Francesco Cannizzaro told me that this Dolcetto d’Alba was his favorite of Mario Rivetti and I now agree with him. It ages in stainless steel for 12 months. The color is medium purple. The bouquet is very elegant with the aromas of cherry, rose, blueberry, black currants, and tomato leaf. It has medium acidity and high tannins. It needs more ageing in the bottle to expresses its best qualities. Great price performance.
Zinfandel Paso Robles 1978 – Ridge Vineyards by WineTip
This wine was one of the tidbits from California offered by the guys of WineTip. I met them during the Ferrari Trento 1995 tasting last year. It was surprising that the wine was in optimal conditions after 40 years. The color was deep garnet. The nose detected mainly tertiary aromas of dried rose, clothes, tobacco, leather, and forest floor. The acidity was still good and its finish was medium.
Masterclass
11 Masterclasses for Bottiglie Aperte 2018.
The wine experts to guide them were Matteo Pessina, Daniele Cernilli, Luciano Ferraro, Andrea Grignaffini, and Sandro Sangiorgi.
They covered several interesting topics, but I took part in the “Champagne Marguerite Guyot” and “Gualdo del Re L’RENNERO” Masterclasses.
The proceeds will be donated to charity to Pane Quotidiano.
Champagne Marguerite Guyot
Florence Guyot, the owner of the Maison, and WineTip guided the tasting. The cellar is located in the Vallée de la Marne, the main area of the Meunier grape in Champagne.
The first bottle was Cuvée Désir Brut, 100% Meunier and 3 years on the lees. The color was a medium lemon. On the nose there were the aromas of biscuits, quince, mountain herbs, and lemon. High acidity and a long finish with sweetness.
After this followed the Cuvée Séduction Blanc de Blancs. The grape is only Chardonnay that gives the wine a medium lemon color. 4 years on the lees. The bouquet offered the aromas of citrus fruit, spring flowers, and crusty bread. Well balanced, high acidity, and medium finish.
The third Champagne was my favorite – Cuvée Passion Blanc de Noirs. Then, it’s only Pinot Noir, 5 years on the lees. High elegance with the aromas of little bakery, powdered sugar, lemon, and honeysuckle. The taste was similar to that of the Blanc de Blancs, but more vertical.
The first three wines were all single variety. The rosé version, Cuvée Fleur de Flo, was a blend of 30% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 30% Meunier, and 10% Coteau Champenois (still wines in Champagne). 4 years on the lees. The color was salmon. On the nose there were the aromas of peach, apple, lemon, wild berries, and crusty bread. This wine had a bit of sweetness in the finish.
Lastly two vintages – Cuvée Extase 2004 and 2002. They had similar characteristics, but the 2004 was more complex than the 2002, only Chardonnay grape. The aromas were of patisserie, honey, apple, and lemon. High acidity and long finish.
Gualdo del Re L’RENNERO
It was a vertical tasting of L’RENNERO guided by Nico Rossi, the owner of Gualdo del Re, and Andrea Grignaffini.
L’RENNERO is a Tuscan Merlot and we tasted the vintages of 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2001.
The wines showed a beautiful range of colors. It started with a purple of the 2015 vintage, continued with a ruby of the central vintages, and ended with a garnet for the 2001 vintage.
On the nose the 2015 had mainly black fruit, but it was still young and fresh. The 2013 and 2012 vintages were in a more advanced state. The 2014 had a strong note of incense. The aromas of the 2001 were tobacco, chocolate, and caramel.
Also the taste of the 2015 was still young with underripe tannins. The 2014 was well balanced with a long finish. The 2013 and 2012 were quite similar, but the 2013 was stronger at the beginning and shorter in the finish than the 2012 which was the opposite. The 2001 was very complex, with velvety tannins and a long finish.
But the wine tasting was not finished here! There was a surprise: Progetto f. I took part in the official launch in March, if you remember my Instagram Stories. During Bottiglie Aperte 2018 I had the opportunity to taste it again with more aged. It was fully in line with my previous tasting notes. It’s a wine to forget in your cellar for several years.
Wine Awards
They are more and more desired. The categories were the same as those in the previous edition: Wine List Awards and Wine Style Awards.
The winners of the first category were Vun Park Hyatt (Milan) for “Best Star Restaurant”, Oro Cipriani (Venice) for “Best Hotel Restaurant”, Lorenzo (Forte dei Marmi) for “Best Fish Restaurant”, Griglia di Varrone (Milan) for “Best Meat Restaurant”, Kanton Fusion (Capriate) for “Best Ethnic Restaurant” and Carroponte for “Best Eno-table”.
In the Wine Style Awards, the winners were Tasca D’Almerita for “Best Trade Show Appearance”, Marchesi De Frescobaldi for “Best Social Communication“, Lungarotti for “Best Website”, Progetto NO Wine for “Best Packaging”, and Ciù Ciù Hakaton for “Best Event in the Winery”.
5,000 visitors of Bottiglie Aperte 2018
Bottiglie Aperte is confirmed a fundamental event in the wine trade. +25% more visitors compared to the last edition.
I believe that it can explode next year with the 2nd edition of Milano Wine Week. Mark your calendar for 6 and 7 October 2019!
If you attend, we will be able to meet over a glass of wine, because the beauty of these events is the opportunity to meet people in person.
Did you know the wines that I mentioned? Let me know by leaving a comment.
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Cheers
Simone
