What’s the most epic wine tasting in which you have taken part?
It was on a Sunday when I received a call: “Hey Simone, I’m Matteo! What’re your plans for tomorrow? I want to invite you to a horizontal tasting of the Ferrari Trento 1995 vintage with some friends.”
At that moment I was very surprised.
But, who is Matteo? Matteo Lunelli is the president and CEO of Ferrari Trento, and CEO of the Lunelli Group.
That horizontal tasting was a unique opportunity, so I was delighted to accept with great pleasure and on Monday I went to Trento.
Now, I’m here to explain to you why it was so epic.
Are you ready? Let’s start!
A bit of history
Before I start with the Ferrari Trento 1995 horizontal tasting, I want to tell you some more about the winery. Not too much detail, so you have a good excuse to visit it!
My first visit to Ferrari was about a year ago. The cellar is located in Trento (Trentino Alto Adige) and it was established in 1902 by Giulio Ferrari.
He had a great dream: produce an Italian sparkling wine comparable to the best French Champagnes.
Then, he started to grow the Chardonnay in Italy producing the first bottles by using the traditional method.
Giulio had no children, so after 50 years he found a successor for his dream. His name was Bruno Lunelli, the owner of a wine shop in Trento.
Bruno increased the wine production without ever compromising on quality, thanks to his passion and entrepreneurial talent. He was able to impart his talents to his sons: Franco, Gino and Mauro.
Nowadays, the 3rd generation of the Lunelli Family is in charge of the company, with Marcello, Matteo, Camilla and Alessandro. Their aim is to take Ferrari around the world as the ambassador of the Italian Art of Living.
Another thing that you should know is that Ferrari is one of the 45 members of Trentodoc. It’s the association that safeguards the quality production of sparkling wines from Trentino.
Ferrari Trento 1995 Horizontal Tasting
Locanda Margon was the location for this sensational private tasting. This is the two Michelin starred restaurant guided by Chef Alfio Ghezzi.
7 bottles for 10 people. The special guests of the Ferrari Trento 1995 horizontal tasting were:
- Ferrari Perlé 1995;
- Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore Magnum 1995;
- Ferrari Cuvée Duemila Magnum 1995;
- Ferrari Centenario 1995;
- Ferrari Bruno Lunelli 1995;
- Giulio Ferrari Collezione 1995;
- Ferrari Etichetta Argento Magnum 1995.
These bottles are the reason why this wine tasting was so unique and epic! All of the bottles are not even commercially available and some of them have never been commercialized.
First of all, I will give you more info about the weather trend of the 1995 vintage. Then you can understand the tasting better. There was spring-like frost and fresh air during the summer. Not many grapes to harvest but the quality was very high.
Let’s start…
…the wonderful experience!
Yes, Ferrari Trento 1995 wine tasting was an experience. Made even better as we tasted these precious wines with some delicious courses studied and cooked specifically by Chef Alfio Ghezzi.
Another important thing, the tasting was guided by Marcello Lunelli and Ruben Larentis, both oenologists of Ferrari, and Matteo Lunelli.
Finger Foods
We started with some finger foods, accompanied by the Ferrari Perlé 1995.
Mozzarella in carrozza. Flax seed cannoli, cheese, raspberry, olives and watercress.
Sesame puff pastry, spicy mortandela and honey. Raviolo of apple, mortadella and marinated apples with Ferrari Perlé. Buckwheat breadstick, herbs and flowers. Porcino of cornmeal mush.
Perlé had a golden yellow, almost amber color. Very little and fine perlage. Some notes of honey and truffle. The wine was ideal with the finger foods.
The Menu
Let’s move on to the starter: beet, trout, onion and trout caviar hollandaise. All of this was combined with Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore Magnum 1995. Unfortunately, it had an oxidized note (probably) caused by a bad conservation. The wine also had notes of hazelnut, leather and tobacco.
After the starter, we passed to the rice creamed with Chardonnay, Calvisius caviar and oyster powder, and Ferrari Cuvée Duemila Magnum 1995. This bottle was produced to celebrate the new millennium, only in magnum and jeroboam sizes. The wine was still fresh and had saltiness. There was also a little hint of tannins. On the nose, tropical fruit, litchi and coffee. The taste of the rice was a bit prevalent compared to the wine.
It was very cool to taste these two bottles in magnum size.
Did you know that magnum bottle is the right size for a Traditional Method wine? It has the best ratio of air to wine. The cork and the neck of a magnum bottle are the same of a standard bottle, but the volume of wine is double. Then, the wine has a slower and constant ageing and also a bigger surface for the lees.
But back to the Ferrari Trento 1995 horizontal tasting.
The next two bottles have a particular shape: Ferrari Centenario 1995 and Ferrari Bruno Lunelli 1995. They can’t stay in vertical position because they have an external punt at the bottom. There are two reasons for this: a great sparkling wine should be stored in a horizontal position and it should wait at the table in the ice bucket.
It was very hard to design this particular bottle because of the very high internal pressure! In a bottle used for the traditional method, there is a pressure of around 6 bar (three times the pressure of the tires in your car).
Ferrari Centenario 1995 was combined with shrimp glazed in its stock, carrot and tarragon. The color of the wine was light amber. Centenario showed some ethereal notes such as wax and varnish, but also a balsamic note and the aroma of whisky. The aromatic quality of the course was well-balanced from the intensity of the wine.
The pairing for the Ferrari Bruno Lunelli 1995, was also seafood. Turbot, celeriac and Brussels sprouts. 2006 was the year of dégorgement. The color was amber. On the nose, you could recognize some interesting notes of patisserie, cotton candy and lemon peel. The freshness was very high.
After Bruno Lunelli, there was Giulio Ferrari Collezione 1995. It had a sugar residue of 6 g/l. Amber color and some notes of tropical and citrus fruit and spring flowers. The course was chicken with porcini and cabbage leaves. So yummy!
Dessert time!
The first was goat cheese and blueberry preserve. The second, honey, walnuts, pollen and rhubarb ice cream.
The wine for these two desserts was a magnum bottle of Ferrari Etichetta Argento 1995. This bottle is very rare because it has never been commercialized and it was produced only in magnum size limited edition. The sugar residue was 12 g/l. Perlage was fine and persistent. Smelling it, crusty bread, truffle, honey and white-fleshed fruit. Ferrari Etichetta Argento was perfect with the second dessert: you could find several aromas of the course in the wine and vice versa.
Little patisserie to finish this wonderful night.
Another wine tasting
Oh yeah!
After Ferrari Trento 1995 horizontal tasting, there was another interesting wine tasting in the cellar of Ferrari, guided by Ruben Larentis, on Tuesday morning.
11 + 1 bottles.
Ferrari Perlé
The wine to start was Ferrari Perlé. Only Chardonnay grape. Ferrari Perlé is a wine that wants to give you balance, softness and appeal.
The vintages were 1997, 1994 and 1990 with respective dégorgement of 1995, 2005 and 1994.
Alle the wines had a golden yellow color and some greenish highlights. Starting with primary aromas of fruit and flowers in 1997 (green apple, pear, white flowers and crusty bread) to tertiary smells in 1990 (coffee, tobacco and walnut), passing through 1994, a great mix of the first two vintages. The acidity was higher in 1994. Good saltiness and long finish for all the vintages. In 1990, there was also a little hint of tannin.
Ferrari Perlé Rosé
This time 2005, 2001, 2000 and 1997 vintages. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The dégorgement was 2016, except 1997 that was 2015.
The color was cherry red. On the nose, all four wines had some notes of berries. The toasted smell increased according to ageing. 2005 and 2001 were very similar on the nose. A clear bounce there was with Ferrari Perlé Rosé 2000. It had intense notes of coffee. The weather trend of 2000 was hot.
Ferrari Perlé Zero
I’ve already had the privilege to taste this wine during the official launch in Milan. It’s the last wine produced from Ferrari and it’s already sold out. A great success!
The wine is a cuvée from 3 vintages: 2006, 2008 and 2009. The ageing is by steel, oak and glass. 100% Chardonnay. Smelling it, notes of grapefruit, crusty bread, honey and spring flowers. It’s fresh with a great acidity and a long persistence. The perlage is incredible, so refined!
Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore
Three magnum bottles: 2000, 1994 and 1989. The grape is Chardonnay from the best vineyards.
The most balanced wine was the first: hot vintage, amber color and toasted smells. In 1994 there were more buttery notes, the malolactic fermentation was not completed. At the end, 1989 was little too much vinous.
Le Bollicine di Nonno Felice 2000
This wine was poured blindly together with the three magnum bottles of Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore.
It’s a special wine, produced by Ruben Larentis for very few friends. Only 50 bottles! I felt very privileged about this. Only Chardonnay of 2000 vintage cultivated on upland. No words to describe it!
A big thanks!
First of all, I want to say many thanks to Ferrari Trento with Matteo Lunelli, Marcello Lunelli and Ruben Larentis, WineTip with Federico Pedrazzi, Alberto Cristofori and Massimo Cassamagnaga, Gaudenzio Roveda, Alberto Poretti and Gabriele Roveda.
Thank you so much to Chef Alfio Ghezzi for the delicious dinner and Aleksandar Angelov, with his team, for the flawless service during the dinner. Thanks a lot to Alessandro Della Penna for the careful organization of the event.
Ferrari Trento 1995 horizontal tasting was a unique experience and the tasting in the cellar has been on the same scale!
I feel very privileged and honored to have taken part in it.
Three wines of Ferrari have impressed me so much: Ferrari Bruno Lunelli 1995, Ferrari Perlé 1994 and Ferrari Perlé Rosé 2000. Very much recommended!
Have you ever tasted one of those wines? Let me know by leaving a comment.
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Cheers
Simone
