It is not possible to talk about Il Marroneto without talking about Alessandro Mori as well, and vice versa. I’m using a sentence from their institutional website, because I can’t do better than this:
“Alessandro and his Brunello blend to the point that the man and his wine don’t seem to have a sharp boundary…. the one would not be the same without the other!”
It is not one of those effective tag lines created by communication experts, it is a fact! It is the awareness you return home with after he has welcomed you with generosity into his cellar and his world. He has led us on a journey of millions of years, that began at the bottom of the sea and ended up here just below the walls of Montalcino, passing through the Sumerians, the Hittites, the Greeks, the Etruscans, the Romans and a lot more.
If I were to define Alessandro with just one word, I would say INTEGRITY. A young lawyer who promises his master to make wine always and only in total respect of nature, the territory and its generous grapes. A solemn promise that has turned into passion and his life philosophy ever since: flourishing vineyards, impeccable cellar!
Cross the border of Il Marroneto with me now, and get ready to leave the rationalist dimension for a while to enter a mystical world of pure energy, love, passion and total dedication to the land, the vineyard, the grapes and the power of nature!
Mysticism in its deepest form: the contemplation of the sacred that implies a direct experience of body and soul. In contemplation of a landscape that leaves you speechless, silent in awe, taking a lifetime lessons on history, geography, geology, ampelography, viticulture, oenology, but above all of consistency and love!
The mystical perception becomes even more intense in the cellar. The soul of every vintage is here, the Angels’ share that remains forever in the place of origin and permeates everything: the ancient walls, the sacred barrels, the air ….. and me! I still feel it lingering, the scent, the taste of it all.
There are no tricks here, no chemistry or mechanics, just perfect grapes, indigenous yeasts and no temperature control. Here the barrels have only gone in, none has ever come out yet! They jealously protect the life they carry because Sangiovese is alive, breathing, growing, slowly evolving.
Glasses are ready, excitement is rising and I’m getting tears to my eyes. A tasting from the barrels is a unique and mesmerizing experience and a way to enter deep into the heart and soul of this enchanted winery. This is how Alessandro gives us a piece of himself! All so different, all wonderfully unique. Class and consistency, a noble complexity, authenticity and typicality. My favorite is #20, where a part of the Madonna delle Grazie 2016 is still resting!
Innate elegance, perfect harmony and balance! A caress to the heart and soul! Just like the other part that is resting in the historic #18, which was the first to conceive this superb wine in 2000, a selection created to celebrate 20 years of activity of il Marroneto.
If with the 2016 vintage we will reach extreme levels of expressiveness and elegance, 2019 will be remembered as an unparalleled vintage. All barrels already present a crispy fruit, richness and complexity that promise incomparable emotions! Alessandro asked us what the differences perceived were to date, and at this moment it is really difficult to answer; they are different twins and have the same exceptional potential. It is the hand of the Master that takes over here, he knows how and why to assign the various masses to the different production lines.
Let me wrap it all up with the undisputed Queen of the Castel, Madonna delle Grazie 2015: instructions for use. But you don’t want to drink it now! You’ll be thinking… well actually I do, and I’ll explain why.
You know that girl who enters a room like a ray of light and everyone, I mean everyone, is dazzled by her exuberant beauty, so fresh and overwhelming? It is her, the one who makes your heart skip a beat with a single glance, who bewitches you forever with her jaunty attitude so full of unconscious beauty! Everyone’s desires but the girl no one dares to approach. It’s her, wonderful creature, young, proud, irresistible, unparalleled! Catch her if you can, taste her, … and then let her grow!
Because women are a lot more than that… they are made of refined elegance, of innate class, of timeless charm; they are a complex melody, composed and perfected only over the years. And she, this wonderful young creature, is destined to become a stunning woman! She will enter the room with royal grace, and everyone, I mean everyone will be dazzled by her! She will look you straight in the eyes and, aware of her beauty, will cast her spell on you and win you over with her open and yet enigmatic smile.
So, shall you drink or wait? The answer is simple! Take at least two bottles, enjoy the young girl and her exuberant beauty and then give her time to grow into a woman!
Why choose when you can have it all?
© Riproduzione vietata
Sommelier on a Mission 