da www.jancisrobinson.com
29 settembre 2009

Father and son Massimo and Michele Bianchi Bernetti, owners of Umani Ronchi, one of the most successful wine producers in the Marche on the Adriatic coast of Italy, came to the private room in the bowels of Bocca di Lupo in London 10 days ago to prove the ageability of two the wines that put them on the map, Casal di Serra Verdicchio and Cúmaro.

I always associate the latter with the late James Rogers, who was one of the most visionary members of the British wine trade in the 1970s and 1980s but tragically did not survive to see the 1990s and shake us Brits out of our obsession with price. He had absolutely no prejudices but believed solely in how the wine tastes. He was a great champion of Bulgarian Cabernet Sauvignon when it was at its peak of quality and value, for example, and appreciated the potential of Chile about a decade before most people. He introduced me to Cúmaro(pronounced Coo-ma-ro) as a wine wildly superior to most of its peers, then called Rosso di Conero.

The wine is made from 100% Montepulciano grapes and, in the first vintage 1985, was the first Conero red to be aged in barrique. The wine, grown at the northernmost limit for Montepulciano grapes, usually spends 12-15 months in oak, generally about a third new. Giacomo Tachis, ex Antinori, consulted in the early 1990s and the aim of the winemaker has always been to make an elegant wine rather than a blockbuster.

In my experience it has been remarkably consistent even if there has recently been a slight revision of their policy on tannins. ‘Ten to 15 years ago', Michele told us, ‘we were very careful to make soft tannins, but now we positively like some tannin.’ These reds are super-appetising, and the whites a keenly-priced marvel of longevity, as I will explain further on Saturday.

WHITES
Casal di Serra 1996 Verdicchio Classico Superiore 16.5 Drink 1998-2007 Pretty dark caramel colour. Lightly mineral and strong toast nose. Still good freshness and tingle. Real character. Some baked-apple finish. 12.5%
Casal di Serra 1998 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore 17.5. Drink 2000-12 Copper colour. Lovely complete wine. Great complex nose with some honeyed character but great freshness and minerality too. A miracle this has lasted so well. 13%
Casal di Serra 2004 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore 17.5 Drink 2006-15 Gold and very fresh, dense and mineral on the nose. Lovely texture and still very lively. Tingly finish. Very long. Hint of lemon. 14%
Casal di Serra 2008 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore 16.5. Drink 2010-17 Lively and very mineral and fresh. Still quite tight and unevolved. I would prefer to hold on for a year at least. 13.5%

REDS
Cúmaro 1988 Conero 17.5 Drink 1995-2012. Very good vintage. Quite warm and powerful. Phenolic ripening perfect. Very dark ruby with a core that's almost black. Very warm, ripe, quite a southern, velvety nose.Then lovely elegance and refinement on the palate. Great lift and charm. Maybe there aren't quite the array of nuances that there would be in a really top bordeaux 88, but it’s at least as good as a mid classed growth bordeaux 1988. Delicate. May not last all that long in the glass.13%
Cúmaro 1990 Conero 17.5 Drink 1997-2010 Similar to the 1988 but a bit hotter and drier. Dark ruby. More high toned and chocolatey on the nose than the 1988. Warm and comforting. Slightly dry finish. Not quite as fine as the 1988. 12.5%
Cúmaro 1995 Conero 17.5 Drink 2004-14 Very good year for the Marche. Some late spring rains delayed ripening but not cool and good diurnal variation. Great weather during harvest. Dark crimson. More minerality on the nose than most. Polished. The slight rusticity seems to have been smoothed out in this vintage. Spicy scent. Very full and ripe on the palate and still very slightly dry tannins. Real claret build.12.5%
Cúmaro 1997 Conero 17+ Drink 2006-16 Great vintage in Tuscany ‘according to some’, said our host. Not as great in the Marche. Wine is harder on the palate than the 1995. A little bit baked on the nose. Thick and sweet and a bit simple and dry on the end. Even slightly austere.12.5%
Cúmaro 2000 Conero 18 Drink 2008-13 Quite warm and powerful - quite like 1990. Very very dark crimson. Wonderfully rich and complete and satisfyingly malty on the nose. Scented and glorious. Lift. Just right now! Satisfying without being heavy.13.5%
Cúmaro Riserva 2004 Coner  17.5 Drink 2010-24 Very fine. Cool night s and warm days. Very intense purple. Blackish. Young and rich and perhaps a little more 'international' than some earlier vintages. Lovely ripe tannins but not quite ready yet.14%
Cúmaro Riserva 2006 Conero 17+ Drink 2013-22 Very dark crimson. Edge of acidity and greenness at this stage. 14%

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