2004 Merlot Buri

A recent thoroughly magical night of a large selection of younger and older Miani wines at London’s fine Enoteca Turi made for some long-lasting wine and dining memories.

Miani is one of Italy's cult properties, and with good reason. Proprietor Enzo Pontoni crafts some of the most profound, monumental wines readers are likely to come across. The range includes a number of compelling whites, two phenomenal Merlots and an equally majestic Refosco, the legendary Rosso Calvari, all made in miniscule quantities. Incredibly, this was the first comprehensive vertical tasting Pontoni had ever held of his Merlots. Because bottles have become extremely scarce – even in Pontoni's own cellar – a number of wines were tasted from magnum, a format that is not commercially available. To say this was unforgettable tasting would be a colossal understatement, as the wines were brilliant in every way.

Enzo Pontoni represents the very finest of the Italian vigneron spirit. Originally trained as an engineer, Pontoni spent the first part of his career working in many of Italy's largest cities, a cosmopolitan life that seems like another world compared to these humble, agrarian surroundings. Shake his hand though, and it is clear Pontoni is a man of the land. Despite his lack of formal training, Pontoni seems to be blessed with a prodigious, innate talent for understanding his vineyards. He is intensely critical of his own wines to a degree I have rarely seen in another producer and his excruciatingly high standards are the stuff of legend in the parts. The wines only go into bottle when Pontoni feels they are exceptional. Accordingly, there was no Merlot in 1995, 1996, 2003 or 2005. Virtually all of the emphasis at Miani is on the vineyards. Pontoni's philosophy relies on old vines, tiny yields and a maniacal dedication to the land. The winemaking facilities and cellar are as stripped-down as possible. Among the items of interest are several farming tools Pontoni designed and built on his own. Otherwise, the winery itself is unremarkable. Pontoni farms a number of tiny Merlot parcels in the towns of Rosazzo and Buttrio, both in the Colli Orientali appellation in Friuli. The early Merlots were made from a combination of fruit from Rosazzo and Buttrio, but in 2004 Pontoni began experimenting with bottling the wines separately; giving birth to his Merlots Filip (Rosazzo) and Buri (Buttrio). The Filip is generally rounder and more immediate while the Buri is firmer, fresher and more structured, with greater overall complexity. I consider the Merlot Buri to be one of the most profound expressions of Merlot on the planet.

Pontoni's first commercial release was 1987. The early reds were made in a relatively fresh style. It would be a few years, until 1993 or so, before Pontoni's work in the vineyards would give him the raw materials to make the style of rich, complex wines consumers are familiar with today. In the following years Pontoni sought a super-ripe style supported by lengthy periods of aging in new oak, an approach that was in fashion throughout Italy during the mid to late 1990s. Since then he has moved to slightly earlier harvests, gentler extractions and reduced the period of oak aging, all choices that have left the wines with more freshness, detail and textural elegance than was sometimes the case in the past. Pontoni's Merlots are still building their track records, but judging by this and other tastings, they are more than living up to the potential my high scores have suggested over the years.

It took me several years to get an appointment at Miani. Proprietor Enzo Pontoni literally lives in his vineyards, stopping home only for lunch and dinner. Pontoni represents the finest of the artisanal approach to winemaking and his meticulous, some would say fanatical, devotion to his old-vine plots is legendary. Once the wines are in the cellar a strict barrel selection takes place prior to bottling, meaning that the estate releases a total of roughly 8,000 bottles. Pontoni's 2006 whites have come together nicely since I first tasted them in barrel in December 2006. Readers fortunate enough to find this producer's superb 2004 whites should not hesitate to do so as they are terrific although his 2005s, from a much weaker vintage, are less satisfying. Pontoni's reds are equally breathtaking, as these 2003s and 2004s attest. The only problem will be finding them as quantities are minuscule. Pontoni told me that as he has gotten older he has moved away from the purely massive style that characterized some of his earlier wines (like the legendary 1997 Calvari) towards a more finessed, elegant approach. I can't think of too many wines I would rather have on my dinner table than those of Enzo Pontoni and Miani. These are among the finest wines being made anywhere. Those who think Tocai Friulano isn't capable of producing world-class wines need to taste Miani's 2006s.