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Le Due Terre Pinot Nero
I get into everything late. My timepiece is a calculator Casio, I have to personally inject ink into my printer cartridges, I pay for things with cash! This very morning facebook apps told me I am not suited to life in the norties and should travel back in time to the 1920’s. Whilst I would love to be a jazz loving, flappy gangster (or gangster’s moll i suppose 🙁 ) there is that small problem of prohibition. Faced with such an ugly concept I’d be forced to make my own wine, naturally, (actually naturally, natural wines) and that is what Le Due Terre do. Ok they are not forced into this by stringent alcohol laws but I just wanted to talk about my Facebook quiz result. Everybody say SEGWAY.
When it comes to Le Due Terre’s Pinot Nero I am late on two counts. Firstly, I tried this particular wine once already two years ago and secondly because everybody is talking about natural wines these days and so I have strapped myself to the bandwagon. They say; because there are no pesticides or added artificial wotnots (yeasts, sulphites etc) these wines are better for your health. I say; the real reason us wino’s love natural wines is because we can drink them all night and wake up hangover free. Maybe some people are drinking these wines for health reasons but I am pretty sure they are liars. So, onto the wine.
When we talk about “natural” wines we are dealing with a very tricky concept. Since there are no universal laws about the processes that make a “natural” wine you need to know, more than ever, a little bit about the producer before making your natural wine purchase. In theory these wines will have been virtually untouched from grape to bottle and will be like wines from “the days of olde“. Wines falling under this category should not have added sugars or unnatural yeasts, no sulphites, no filtration and the grapes should be picked by hand. Each vineyard has its own processes and at Le Due Terre, a tiny little producer of just 20,000 bottles per year in the town of Prepotto in the Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of Italy, just 3 miles from the Slovenian border, Flavio & Silvana Basilicata are passionate about their winemaking approach being “hands off”.
Le Due Terre are 100% committed to showing the expression of the two soils (le due terre). The winemaking process here involves selecting only the very best grapes that are crushed and the must racked into small wood. Fermentation comes from native yeasts and eventually the wine settles and there is no need for filtration. Taking extra time in the vineyards tending to the vines and carefully selecting the grapes means less work in the cellar! All this labour and low yields come at an expense to the consumer and the wines of Le Due Terre are not cheap instead they are plain excellent and for those who like to whip out something a bit special at dinner parties the wines of Le Due Terre are sure to please even the most fussy palate. For such a small outfit they have a nice varied selection of wines too including the Pinot Nero, a Merlot, a Rosso Sacrisassi ( a blend of Schioppettino and Refosco which I haven’t tried but sounds very interesting) and a Bianco Sacrisassi.
I’ve tasted their Pinot Nero on two occasions and both times have been blown away by the sheer drinkability of this wine even when young. I’ve been lucky enough to have tried the 2001 and 2005 vintages, both have been excellent.
Le Due Terre Pinot Nero 2005 – BUY – €30
Garnet red with floral notes on the nose, lots of strawberry present and a slight butter biscuit whiff on the end. Smooth, mid bodied with a gentle mouth feel and well balanced tannins. Good effort. 90 Points
Le Due Terre Pinot Nero 2001 – BUY – £105 (in magnum)
Garnet red with orange hues, the nose is a spicy display with some earth and gamey notes. The wine is perfect for drinking today with silky tannins and a lush mouthfeel that connotes a wine in its prime. The long, soft finish is as good as any Italian Pinot I’ve tasted. Unabashedly – 94 Points
Where can I buy this wine? – The 2005 Pinot Nero – (the 2001 is available at Decorum Vintners)
Europeans – Peck – €30
Americans – Morrell – $63
Brits – Everywine – £26
Leave a Comment
Which decade do you think you are best suited to? Or something about wine. You know, whatever. 😀
Una terza terra del Pinot Nero: the Oltrepo Pavese, Montecalvo Versiggia in the Lombardy region!
Hi Sarah,
Welcome back, really missed your interesting and always entertaining wine reviews. Hope we'll see more of you personally, love your videos.
babsinumbria
I like Brovia Rocche.It is another fine blend of herbal and ripe fruit tones, almost salty with baked clay, raspberry coulis, spicy strawberry and aromatic seed notes, rich fruit up front, density balanced crisp, fine cherry/raspberry fruit, really well framed, admirable freshness and concentration, nice background herb and spice notes, ripe tannins, a touch of melon rind, a little tarry tobacco tone, really nice finish with pure fruit and spice, very complete wine.I like to enjoy my weekends with this wine and my Montecristo. I buy my Cigars Online.
Just discovered your blog via Twitter. I imagine I will be popping in often to read your thoughts on Italian wines– I love them but I don't know much about them. Likewise, I'd be delighted to share my “expertise” on California wines if you ever need a recommendation. Cheers!
Decade I am best suited for? I have to say the 1850s.
I often wonder if wine producers were required to put a 'ingredients list' of all the ways and means by which they alter their wines, would the trend towards 'natural' wines be stronger. Most consumers take wine for granted, not thinking that wine has indeed be tampered with. I met an American winemaker who told me to avoid Australian wine because they extracted tannins from walnuts. If I get headaches, they are usually from Aussie wines – and not just the cheap ones.
Hi,
Are you into California wines at all, or other wines from America?
There's a site you should check out: http://www.pardonthatvine.com. Chris Riccobono (nice Italian boy) does short video reviews of wines from all over the world and the U.S. He's very informal, and gives a lot of great tastings.
Ciao, Donato
There is nothing like the sweet embrace of arriving at a new destination. The locals, food, music, art, and culture are all so unique wherever you go that they must be experienced first-hand. As an operator of Tuscany food and wine tours I see this every day. There is nothing like watching my guests make connections with the locals, sharing stories about each other's cultures, and even prying family recipes out of the hands of our chefs. I appreciate the article, and do let me know if you ever find yourself in Tuscany.