Oltrenero Brut Nature, the voice of Oltrepò

I have always been impressed by how ‘into wine’ Francesco Zonin is, the way he gives an authentic voice to his family’s wine interests, as well as the image that accompanies the bottles of Prosecco in advertisements. I am fascinated by the way he promotes the family’s various estates in such a practical and attentive way also through the punctual use of social networking. It is almost as if, by following his and Zonin’s official web profiles, one can ‘live’ his day-to-day existence, including his globetrotting to take part in tastings around the world. Thus I was more than interested in the event he organized at Tenuta il Bosso together with the estate’s enologist Piernicola Olmo. It was an informal and unusual, as well as decidedly interesting, tasting of Oltrepò Pavese wines centered in the still wines made from Tenuta il Bosco’s principle vineyards of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, grapes also used to blend the estate’s traditional method sparkling wines.

Zonin’s presence in the Lombard hills of Oltrepò Pavese dates back to 1987 when they acquired the Zenevredo estate, which at the time had only 30 hectares. Since then they bought numerous adjoining vineyards that often had not always been cultivated properly and were used to grow grapes to be sold to larger producers. With time the estate expanded to 150 hectares filled with a large variety of grapes, from Pinot Noir to Gutturnio to Bonarda and Malvasia. In these lovely hills, Zonin has dedicated much time and effort to produce the right traditional method bubbly, one that could become a calling card abroad – thanks  also to Zonin’s important export market. Oltrepò, in fact, is most known for producing local wines that are rarely consumed outside the region of Lombardy. Among the reasons for this is the rivalry between cooperatives and the mentality of some producers who are convinced that their wine is the best and thus they see no need to work as a team.

Zonin has chosen the suggestive name Oltrenero (Beyond black) for Tenuta il Bosco’s line of sparkling wines, which along with a Brut and a Rosé (Cruasé) now includes a Brut Nature. The 2010 vintage of this latter wine, made for the most part from Pinot Noir, was previewed last June but in my opinion this was too soon after its disgorgement to fully appreciate its characteristics. Today it is much more complete, with a distinct identity and a higher quality. Zonin’s project is still only at its initial stage but it aims at improving Oltrepò Pavese traditional method through aging, letting it sit 48 months on the lees, and exploiting Pinot Noir to define its style. My personal opinion is that the presence of a giant like Zonin in an area that has yet to find a common identity will only produce positive results. It will help ‘de-provincialize’ a zone that is the second biggest producer of Pinot Noir after Burgundy. Even though Oltrepò Pavese first experimented with traditional method sparkling wine a century ago, it still has a lot to learn in regard to winemaking consistency and expressing its own beauty.

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