PV Tasting Notes
Pale medium lemon colour, the nose is intriguing as is everything about this wine, beginning with yeasty character then giving way to lemony apples, juicy pear, fennel seed, mint and preserved ginger, the palate is elegantly crafted, medium to full bodied, rich with a resolutely tannic structure similar to a red wine. There’s plenty of crisp acid and minerality, the finish is long and full of flavour. This wine is made up from 60% Rondinella Bianca, (a new wine grape created by Celestino over a period of 10 years) 15% Golden Traminer 15% Kerner, 10% Incrocio Manzoni.
Independent Review91 Points Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate Feb 2011
The 2009 From Black to White is an intriguing blend of 60% Rondinella Bianca, 15% Traminer, 15% Kerner and 10% Incrocio Manzoni. Juicy pears, peaches, smoke, dried flowers and mint are woven together beautifully in a finely-knit, generous fabric. The inviting finish is soft and exceptionally polished. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014.
Proprietor Celestino Gaspari was once the heir apparent at Quintarelli. He has since struck out on his own at Zyme, where he spares no expense in his quest to make rich, textured wines. With this set of new releases it appears Gaspari has begun to achieve some of his lofty goals. These are simply fabulous wines. It will be interesting to see where the estate goes from here, but the direction seems pretty clear.
Background: while inspecting some vineyards in 1999, I noticed an old Rondinella vine with a cane bearing some strangely whitish clusters. Curious, I began experimenting to see if I could obtain grapes that were completely white. After a few years, this proved feasible, and we now have a vineyard block with sound genetic material. It differs from the “black” Rondinella in that the leaves are a lighter colour, it grows with medium vigour, and bears grapes that resemble, depending on sunlight, the coppery tone typical of Pinot Grigio.
Other grapes selected: by design, the other component varieties in the blend are from grapes that are the result of crossbreeding. They were selected through my personal concept of balance as well as for their individual character.
Technical data: Vineyard vintage 1998/2003 – Training system: Guyot 6500 vines per hectare.
Area: East Valpolicella Valley Output: 60-80Q.li –wine output 55-60%
Vineyards practices: shoot thinning, leaf removal, cluster thinning.
Harvest, Fermentation, and Maturation: the clusters are harvested in wooden boxes during the second and third decades of September, de-stemmed and pressed. The juice macerates on the skins for a few hours, settles at 7-8°C, and ferments for 15 days.
Technical data: Alcohol 13% - Non-reducing extract 20,00 g/l Tot. ac. 4,50 g/l - pH 3,45
Wine description: a yellow-flecked pale green; expansive bouquet, with hints of citrus and herbs such as mint; on the palate, complex and full-bodied with notable viscosity, and an almost endless finish.