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 After adding Rosé, sparkling Brut with zero dosage and the dessert wine Santo to their portfolio in recent months, Fratelli is moving ahead to showcase its winemaking dexterity by introducing two more white variants in grapes fermented in oak. Both Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay will be fermented in barriques and part matured in them to add complexity to the wines and ageability. The wine is already in the tanks. The company has not yet decided on the pricing which will be somewhere between the existing price for premium wines and the Super-premium Sette, says Alessio Secci, one of the Italian partners of the first Indo-Italian wine producing joint venture with equity participation.
The wines are expected to be released in 2015 in which might result in the loss of sales opportunity in the beginning of the next season which starts in India in October. One hopes the wines are not too oak-heavy considering new French barriques have been used. But Alessio clarified that Masi also does not like oak to dominate the fruit; hopefully the wines would be representative of his philosophy and style. The wines would have labels on the style of Sette and would possibly carry a price tag of Rs. 1200-1400 a bottle.
Go Gewürz
Also in the pipeline may be a small batch of a few thousand bottles of Gewürztraminer. ‘We have not taken a decision about it yet and will wait till the wine is ready, to decide whether it should be sold this year or next year by blending with this year’s harvest or whether we should use it in blends only,’ says Alessio. Fratelli had recently also come out with a small quantity of dessert wine. The Late Harvest Chenin Blanc with about 90-100 gms of residual sugar is a dessert wine, Santo. ‘The label was inspired by the world- famous Vin Santo of Tuscany though we use entirely a different process,’ he adds.
Sette has been undergoing an evolution not only in terms of aging but the grape varieties, says Alessio. The maiden release of 2009 had no Sangiovese but Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc only. The 2010 saw the addition of 10% Sangiovese. But it appears that as the winemaker Piero Masi is getting more confident of the Sangiovese and the vines getting older are giving better fruit, Sangiovese is turning out to be the king grape for them. Alessio says the 2011 has 70% Sangiovese and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and will be a true Super Tuscan. This wine is expected to be released around the year-end.
Sweet Santo
It was a sweet finale for me as I had an opportunity to re-taste the Santo released about 6 weeks ago. The sample sent to me a few weeks ago was simply undrinkable. Tasting with Joel Payne, a professional sommelier friend from Germany with decades of tasting and judging experience, we had both found it awful. We didn’t think it was corked because it had been sealed barely y couple of weeks earlier. Since the company claimed a positive feedback from others, I wondered if there might have been something wrong with that particular bottle.
As it turned out, there must have been a problem with that specific bottle. I had the waiter behind the war open 3 fresh bottles-and they were very much drinkable. I found it a tad too sweet with not enough acidity, but Alessio says that Masi feels it is too much acidity in the wine. The sugar of 90-100 gms/l in the dessert wine may be too much for Indian palates. But only the time and this year’s harvest will tell.
Fratelli Brut with zero dosage
Fratelli had announced the launch of Fratelli Brut last October in a rather half-hearted manner after Sula re-launched their sparkling wines range and a week before Moet Hennessey launched Chandon Brut and Rose Brut in Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai last October with much fanfare. Alessio says that they still have not launched the Brut formally. ‘Frankly, sparkling wine is not our forte but the 100% Chenin- based sparkling was produced only to add to our portfolio since our customers expect from us’.
‘Our winemaker Piero Masi as you know is from Tuscany and is not a sparkling wine expert. But he has several friends who are winemakers in Franciacorta. He went there and spent time to understand the process’, says Alessio. Franciacorta is in Lombardia, about 80 kms from Milan and is considered the Champagne region of Italy because of its terroir and the same grapes used to make the bubbly; some people unfairly compare the two and even consider it better than Champagne. The Methode Champenoise or the Metodo Tradizionale or Metodo Classico as it is known in Italy, uses the double fermentation method, used to produce all quality sparkling wines in India by Sula and Grover Zampa and earlier by the now-defunct Indage Vintners.
Like a fine gentleman and the true wine lover, the Man from Tuscany admits that Chandon is a fine bubbly and hopefully will help expand the sparkling wine market. But in the confusion between no- launch and soft-launch the company has not communicated forcefully to the wine drinkers that theirs is a unique sparkling wine- the only one in India with a zero dosage- no residual sugar and is bone dry. (Technically, any Champagne with 0-3 gms/liter sugar may be categorized as zero dosage).
‘People either love or hate our Brut,’ he says candidly. Reason is not far to seek; Indians like their wines and champagne/sparkling wines slightly sweet. But there is a niche market that loves bone dry bubbly- I do like them too; and they are a perfect match with oysters. ‘We don’t want to use cane sugar as dosage but only grape brandy (dosage or liqueur d’expédition in the form of cane sugar, molasses, brandy or old wine is used as the final step before bottling to top up the gap due to disgorging, throwing out the sludge by freezing the neck) is not available. But keeping in view the taste profile of our customers in India we have decided to reduce the acidity in our sparkling wine for the next release.’
Alessio also clarified that they don’t have any plans to add Rose Brut to their portfolio. ‘We already have 18 brands to cater to.’ Considering that the sparkling wine is not their forte, it might be a good decision although one must admit that for a maiden vintage it is technically very well made wine.
Sufi, Sonam and Sauvignon..Sangiovese and Santo
 At the private Soiree with Sufi music soulfully sung by the now world acclaimed singer Sonam Kalra and her troupe, I observed many people not only drinking the Brut being popped generously along with all the other labels but I saw them finish the glass or even repeat (as I did)-quite indicative of the fact that once acquired, the taste of dry sparklers can be delicious.
One heartening observation of the Sufi evening was that it went delectably well with Sonam who captivated the guests. But It also went well with Sauvignon, Sangiovese… of any colour (red or white), Sette and Santo. Actually, the Fratelli stable must have gone well with the audience who were happily drinking wine although a few were seen indulging in non- wine alcohols as well.
Alessio Secci, the Italian face of Fratelli, is in Delhi, Akluj, Mumbai and Kolkata till mid-April and if you are a fan of Fratelli or a foodie, you might run into him at one of the many events being co-sponsored by this unique band of brothers-and Piero Masi as the seven partners of a winemaking company constantly striving to make better quality wines.
Subhash Arora |