2009 L'Apparita

Also recommended:2013 Rosato Toscana (85).

Marco and Lorenza Pallanti have risked everything in their pursuit of excellence. A recent vertical of Ama's Merlot L'Apparita made that once again abundantly clear. Over the years, I have had the good fortune to taste almost every wine made at this pristine, hillside estate in Gaiole. Simply put, there are only a few estates in Italy at this level. Readers will note the addition of a new wine, the Chianti Classico Riserva that may become a Gran Selezione (see the introduction to this article for more information), as well as the Haiku, which is now in its second vintage. For more on Ama's flagship Chianti Classico Bellavista, readers may want to take a look at this vertical tasting from our Archive.

I have been lucky to have had many fabulous tastings at Castello di Ama over the years, but this was one of the most remarkable. L'Apparita, a 100% Merlot from high-altitude vineyards in Gaiole, gets less attention than some of its peers, but it is right up there with the very finest wines, not just of Italy, but of the world. Of course, tasting wines with perfect provenance is always a privilege and helps remove any variability that can result from less than perfect storage. Proprietors Marco Pallanti and Lorenza Sebaste are true visionaries. An approach built on painstaking attention to detail, along with an uncompromising commitment to quality and a willingness to take risks places them among the world's elite producers. Even from the very first vintages, the Castello di Ama have been stunning. Best of all, the Castello di Ama wines age extraordinarily well. This survey of fourteen vintages of L'Apparita shows that the Pallantis' intuition to graft Merlot onto existing Canaiolo and Malvasia Bianca rootstocks in 1982 and 1985 was spot on. One of the most fascinating aspects of vertical tastings is the ability to chart the development of a wine over several decades. The Merlot at Ama is usually harvested around the middle of September. Fermentations last between three to four weeks. In its first vintages, L'Apparita was aged in a high percentage of new French oak barrels, as was the custom for high-end wines in the mid 1980's. Since 2004, new oak has been around 50%, while time in barrel has progressively increased from about 12 months in the 1980s and 1990s to 18 months today. Toast levels have also generally come down. Where to start with this tasting that traces L'Apparita all the way back to the inaugural 1985? I love the 2004 and 2006, two wines that capture the personalities of those vintages; the 2004 silky and polished, the 2006 a total powerhouse. I also admire the 1997, a wine that remains incredibly youthful and primary. Today, it is drop-dead gorgeous. A trio of wines from the early 1990s is stellar. The 1992 is pure refinement, while the 1991 is the product of a very late harvest that stretched into October, and the 1990 an exotic wine from a legendary vintage that more than lives up to its reputation.

This is a fabulous set of wines from Lorenza and Marco Pallanti. In addition to these wines, I also tasted the full range of 2010 and 2011s, two vintages that are shaping up beautifully at Ama. The single-vineyard Chianti Classicos return to the fray in 2011, the first vintage produced after 2007. The 2011s are full of promise although they naturally reflect the more exuberant quality of the year vis-à-vis the cool, structured 2010s. I also retasted Ama's 2008s, two wines that have improved markedly since I reviewed them last year. Pallanti describes 2008 as a good vintage up until September, when rain became problematic. Castello di Ama fans will want to check out my vertical of the Chianti Classico Bellavista, also in this issue. Lastly, let me add that any readers still holding the 2002 Chianti Classico (a year in which the single- vineyard wines weren't made) are in for a very pleasant surprise.