Date: 24th – 30th January 2013
Resorts visited: Jumeirah Vittaveli, Soneva Fushi, Anantara Kihavah, Kanuhura
Travel Count: 5 speedboats, 4 dhonis, 4 seaplanes
My month of winery visits began with the rather wonderful Antinori Estates, and in particular, showcasing the wines of Tormaresca & Prunotto.
We are incredibly lucky to be sole distributor for Antinori in the Maldives (and Singapore and the UK if we really want to boast about it), as they are undoubtedly the greatest italian wine producer. Fact. Until probably the 1970s, italian wine was famous for being fairly rustic (i.e. rubbish) Chianti, in a straw bottle, which was then used as a candlestick, and was hardly the great export product it is today. Antinori changed all that. You can read all about it on their website but in summary; a family owned business now being run by the 26th generation, who in the 1970s decided it was time to start competing with France and change the face of italian wines in the world. They began producing the ‘Super Tuscans’ (read more about them here or here) synonymous with quality italian wines: Tignanello, Solaia, Sassicaia, Ornellaia, which have become some of the most awarded wines in the world and remain so today.
Over the years the business has expanded considerably, with purchases of estates and brands throughout Italy and worldwide, including Tignanello, Castello della Sala (Cervaro della Sala again one of the most awarded wines in the world: 91 points Wine Advocate, 3 Gamberi Rosso), Guado al Tasso, Tormaresca and Prunotto.
We supply Antinori wines to pretty much every resort we work with here – from the top end Solaia and Tignanello vertical selections right through to Villa Antinori Bianco & Rosso IGTs, their flagship wines from the original Tuscany estate.
The purpose of this trip was to consolidate the reputation of Antinori Estates wines with those resorts already stocking some brands, and also to raise the profile of other titles that we would like the resorts to stock by holding tasting and dinner events with both staff and guests. It also gives the winery representative an idea as to where their wines end up and see all the hard work we do! From my perspective, this was an opportunity to learn more about the wines we carry direct from the producer, visit multiple resorts and also the culmination of a lot of planning, stress and fear of the unknown as I had never been to most of the resorts before and in some cases had literally no idea how we would get from one to another until the night before.
Jumeirah Vittaveli
So I collected JP from the airport direct from Shanghai where he is based as Asia-Pacific Export Manager for Antinori, and we took our first speedboat of the week to Jumeirah Vittaveli. I had visited the resort at least twice before, including to deliver my own training and also for an extended period over Christmas working with the team in their Fine Dining restaurant Fenesse so I was really looking forward to a) staying in a guest villa and b) eating in the restaurant I’d worked in! The room definitely didn’t disappoint – we were both given beach villas with private pools….
After a quick unpack and change it was time to head for training. In each resort we tried to conduct a minimum one hour training session, giving a bit of history about Antinori but more importantly, talking about the wines being served for the dinner event and allowing the non-Muslim staff to taste the wines in order to better present and serve them. Jumeirah have got a really great set up here with full training room, projector etc and the Sommelier kindly attended and served for us so the first session went really well. It was also really great for me to be able to sit back and learn rather than being the one doing all the talking for once!
That evening we went to see the ‘fish feeding’ where every night rays, sharks and the local (quite intimidating) jackfish come to fight over a few scraps from the kitchen – quite an eye opener!
The next day was pretty much free until the dinner event, and as it was JP’s first time in the Maldives he wanted to try all the resort had to offer so I felt it was my duty to accompany him sailing and snorkelling! The reef at Jumeirah is pretty spectacular and there are literally thousands of tropical fish – I need to invest in an underwater camera to really do it justice so I can share some pics. It was really great for me to have an excuse to do this as well – considering I visit the resorts for business and meetings so often it is really amazing to get a guest experience (albeit briefly) and enjoy myself a bit rather than being permanently attached to my blackberry/laptop (some things never change upon leaving London!)
For the dinner itself, each resort likes to do things differently and it also depends on the kind of clientele staying at the time. Jumeirah like to allocate a whole restaurant for an event, and offer both communal table (so JP and I would sit with guests and answer their questions over dinner) or private dining option. In this case, we had about 16 people signed up, mainly couples who preferred to sit separately so this meant that JP had a lot of legwork to get round all the tables to speak to each group individually. We supplied 5 wines, each matched with a course. I won’t go into detail of all the menus over the 4 weeks otherwise I’ll be here forever but here’s some information on the wines:
Tormaresca Chardonnay, Puglia IGT 2011, 12%
A quick note on Puglia – Puglia is an emerging region for Italian wine, successful for a number of reasons but mainly 1) value for money, 2) enormous amount of indigenous grape varieties, 3) consistent climatic conditions pretty much guaranteeing quality of harvest and 4) consumers looking for quality, traditional winemaking rather than mass-produced volume. I strongly recommend you try something from the region if you haven’t before it gets too popular and 1) is no longer valid!
The Tormaresca Estate is in Puglia, southern Italy (the ‘heel’), and made up of two distinct areas; the central, inland Castel del Monte and the Salento peninsula in the extreme South East.Whilst Chardonnay grapes are grown in both areas, this wine is made predominantly from grapes grown along the coast, which means the vines benefit from cooling sea breezes in what is traditionally a hot part of Italy. Harvested in August, the grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks, following which 10% was then transported to oak barriques for 3 months’ ageing before being blended with the original component. This means that it has just a touch of the traditional oak flavours and a little more body, but doesn’t distract from the fresh acidity and green and stone fruit typical of chardonnay from this region. Bright, fruity, very easy drinking with a long finish, and great value for money. This would be a fantastic wine to ‘convert’ those Chardonnay haters who associate the wine only with really overoaked examples from Australia. (I will save my evangelical rantings about Chardonnay for a separate blog post but needless to say – give it a try if you are one of those people! Try an unoaked Chardonnay! They’re delicious! And great with LOTS of food!)
Tormaresca Roycello Fiano, Salento IGT 2011, 12%
Fiano is one of the original grape varietals of the many (min. 360, max. 4000 depending upon who you ask) indigenous to Italy. This comes from the more inland, volcanic part of the Tormaresca estate and the minerality of the soil comes through on the palate. Stainless steel fermentation again ensures the grapes retain their fruit and acidity; this is dry, refreshing, and fruit forward, with citrus and tropical fruit on the nose. Medium bodied with a persistent finish, this would be great as an aperitif or with light seafood. I could definitely drink a glass or two of this with lunch! If you like dry white wines, why not give the old Pinot a miss and try a Fiano instead?
Prunotto Barbaresco Bric Turot 2008, 14%
Moving on to the Prunotto Estate in Piedmont, northern Italy, probably best known for Italy’s famous rich, dark, highly alcoholic and tannic red wines from the Nebbiolo grape. Equally referred to as ‘the Burgundy of Italy’, Piedmont is renowned for boutique wines and gastronomy, and is home to the white truffle. Similar to Burgundy, there’s a long history of interesting Napoleonic inheritance laws which meant vineyards got sliced and diced over the years and can be very small, with very different soil types. It’s important to remember that italian wines are designed as an accompaniment to food, and in particular, food of the region in which the grapes were grown. Like burgundies, italian reds are often more acidic than other wines, the acidity acting as a palate cleanser, allowing you to enjoy alongside rich foods, and that’s what Barbaresco and Barolo typically need – these are not quaffers!
This Barbaresco comes from the Bric Turot single vineyard, which has a very fine soil rich in calcium, magnesium and zinc, resulting in mature, thick skinned, dark and rich nebbiolo grapes. Once fermented, the wine is aged for 12 months in second use oak barrels (meaning less overt oak flavours but richer and softer texture), followed by 12 months bottle ageing before release. The result is a concentrated, acidic and tannic Barbaresco, with floral, herbal, red fruit and leather aromas and full bodied and balanced on the palate.
Prunotto Barolo Bussia 2005, 14%
The Bussia vineyard is south facing, with calcareous, sandy soil. Known for its powerful, meaty style of Barolo, Bussia is one of the highest regarded sites in the DOCG. Known as ‘the King of wines, and wine of Kings’, Barolo is traditionally more intense than Barbaresco, and this is no exception. Richer, darker, more intense, plum and cherry notes on the nose are backed up by leather, tar, and that wet leaf, forest floor smell that always reminds me of mushrooms that I associate with Piedmont reds. Needs to be eaten with flavourful meat – game, duck, hearty stews in front of a roaring fire, that kind of thing. I’ll let Wine Advocate have the last word on this one: “The 2005 Barolo Bussia is a gorgeous, ripe wine layered with scents of menthol, spices and minerals that complement a generous core of fruit. The French oak is beautifully integrated and the wine possesses exceptional overall balance, with a round, harmonious finish. This is a highly promising Barolo from Prunotto.” – 93+ points. This review was from 2009, so you can take the ‘highly promising’ as read – this is fantastic drinking now.
n.b. A short note on italian wine labels: confusingly, italian labels will rarely tell you the grape variety, as depending on the vineyard, weather, winemaking techniques and a whole host of other things, two wines made from the same grape can taste very different. For example – Barolo and Barbaresco are two villages in Piedmont, roughly 16km apart. Both wines are made with the same grape, nebbiolo, yet the result is two different wines. Therefore it’s important to know the appellation or region and the style of wine from that area i.e. Chianti Classico or Brunello di Montalcino rather than plain old Sangiovese. Capisce?
Prunotto Moscato d’Asti 2011, 5%
Well, Piedmont is also famous for nuts and delicious pastries, and Moscato is designed to go with those. Halting fermentation early means that not all the sugar in the grape is converted to alcohol, therefore the wine will be sweet, and lower in alcohol. Usually a dry wine will be 11% +, off dry around 9-10%, and anything below that, sweet (good tip there, you’re welcome). This Moscato is not only sweet, but also has a slight sparkle due to being fermented in a pressurised tank. I would say it’s the kind of wine you can give kids a glass of at Christmas so they feel like they have their own ‘champagne’, but frankly, stick with the Schloer as this would be wasted on children. It is delicious, sweet but not cloyingly so, the slight fizz makes it really refreshing, and it’s packed full of tropical fruit (lychees, passion fruit) and lovely jasmine, honey and nut aromas on the nose. Great with desserts or to finish a meal if you want something quite light.
So we had a delicious 5 course dinner accompanied by these equally delicious wines. Next day it was back to Male in time to catch a seaplane to Soneva Fushi…to be continued….
The Family Nose 