Bolgheri wine: the vertical of Podere conca

Put on a sunny early summer morning and a small secret garden in the heart of Milan... here begins a wonderful tasting in the house of the Dr Silvia Cirri, head of Anaesthesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care 'between weeks' and CEO of the winery Podere Conca over the weekend. Ah, how wonderful! I have just leafed through the new catalogue, a set of cards of rare aesthetic taste (with the small logo windows as a bullet point in the wine card, I was further won over) that smell of DAS, the modelling dough I used as a child to create small sculptures... before I learnt how to bake clay or make a plaster cast at art school. Smelling this smell awakens wonderful childhood memories, when my father and I used to have fun creating anything with our hands. I think of my familyto my origins. And I believe this is the right key to writing this article. That of Podere Conca and Silvia Cirri is the story of a Bolgheri wine which stems from a large extended family, is the story of bonds that go beyond definitions, it is the story of people for whom building is not a boast, but a mission. Certainly, a mission that makes one proud.

As I will never tire of repeating, for me success is the consequence of work done with the utmost commitment and attention to detail. And I feel this commitment and care in the wines of Podere Conca, even before any other taste-olfactory sensation. The second thing I feel is the quest for Beauty, but not a brash, cheap beauty, but a cultivated Beauty that makes measured elegance its voice. Label after label, wine after wine, taste after taste.

Isn't the very idea of inviting six journalists into one's home for an intimate and private vertical the same expression of this elegance? No noisy events, no formality, no ostentation. Silvia Cirri welcomed us and even discussed with us topics that went beyond the wine itself, but which told us more about that wine than any catalogue. Or so it was for me.

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Bolgheri wine: Apistòs 2019

As for the wines, three particularly appealed to me. First of all Apistòs IGT Costa Toscana, 100% cabernet franc. I smile to think when I used to resent the vegetal notes of this grape variety, notes that I now adore in a well-made wine. Over the years, I have learnt that those notes of green pepper, tomato leaf, bay leaf and earth are the cross and delight of cabernet franc as they can be very elegant or ungainly depending on the quality of the wine. Apistòs is an imaginary, incredible flower. An important name for what is intended to be the winery's flagship wine at its first appearance.

This IGT Costa Toscana Cabernet Franc presents itself Intense ruby red, semi-transparent and very consistent. On the nose, I can smell all the varietal aromas of the grape variety enriched with notes expressing well-dosed wood: green pepper, tomato leaf, seichuan pepper, beech wood, a delicate hint of vanilla and bitter cocoa. In the mouth it is fresh, rightly tannic, structured, consistent and elegant, with a long spicy finish. Perhaps the young age of the vine emphasises the exuberance of its own aromas, but in such a broad bouquet for me the result is exceptional.

Bolgheri wine: vertical tasting of Agapanto Podere Conca

• ❤️ Bolgheri DOC 2020It is a semi-transparent ruby red, consistent. The cabernet franc stands out on the nose with notes of tomato leaf, green pepper, berries and black pepper. In the mouth it is very tannic, structured, warm, soft and with an important sapid vein. Long finish of black pepper.
• ❤️ ❤️ Bolgheri DOC 2019Intense ruby red, barely transparent and consistent. The nose is particularly interesting, delicate, complex and elegant with balsamic and medicinal notes. One recognises green pepper, mountain pine, rhubarb, liquorice, violet and a very delicate accent of vanilla. In the mouth it is very soft and balanced, with a great structure and powerful but well-blended tannins. Long finish of mountain pine.
• ❤️Bolgheri DOC 2018: intense ruby red, barely transparent and rather consistent. The nose is balsamic, very elegant and fine. The nose is complex, with notes of liquorice, dark chocolate, pink pepper, wild blackberries and a hint of red orange peel. In the mouth it is consistent, very elegant, fresh, structured and with slightly astringent but well-blended tannins. Soft and with great balance, long on the finish.
• Bolgheri DOC 2017Intense ruby red, barely transparent and rather consistent. The nose doesn't blow me away, the first bottle was a little 'sitting' and slightly oxidised with notes of fruit that were a little cooked, while the second, although better, betrays a hot vintage. Notes of black mulberry jam and undergrowth. In the mouth it is a little too soft, lacks a little freshness and is already ripe.
• Bolgheri DOC 2016: intense and semi-transparent ruby red, rather consistent. The nose is very intense with notes of ink, chocolate, vanilla, rhubarb and camphor. A nice nose, although not my favourite. In the mouth it lacks a little coherence to the nose, it deviates from those sweeter notes and you can feel the closeness to the sea. Not a very long finish, but with excellent drinkability.

At the table we also tasted the 196 and Elleboro, which I invite you to discover my tasting in this article where I recount a visit to the cellar for my last birthday.

As for the 196 Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 occurs Rruby red with violet hues, consistent. The nose is delicate and characteristic with notes of chocolate, cherries and liquorice. In the mouth it is consistent, fresh, soft and with very pleasant tannin. A table wine or 'gastronomic' as they say with great drinkability.

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Thanks once again to Silvia Cirri for her hospitality and her work. Thanks to Simonetta for cooking us an excellent lunch. A hug to Flavia. And thank you Maddalena Mazzeschi (Podere Conca press agency) because I like you so much.

Cheers 🍷

Chiara

PS I had great pleasure in seeing Hosam Eldin Abou Eleyoun, our AIS Lombardy President... good luck in today's and tomorrow's elections. As always, I'm with you! I heard in "The House of Paper" (I'm inspired because my husband is watching it again for the tenth time) that in a Cameroon-Brazil match you root for Cameroon because human beings tend to take the side of the smaller, defenceless and/or losers. I will be different because I instinctively cheer Brazil. I like people who can work passionately and professionally, winning is 'only' a consequence. And you are Brazil for me.