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 Ask anyone about the most premium wine from Fratelli and the unanimous answer would be Sette- the red blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon- the kind of Super Tuscan that pleases even the most discerning palates- never mind if it is the most expensive wine from the Indo-Italian venture which is growing rather fast, reaching the number 3 spot in the production volume hierarchy of Indian wines in less than 10 years.
But Sette is not a wine that you want to quaff at any time of the day. It needs matching food and proper ambience including the temperature conducive of imbibing the moniker. I tasted Sette on my first visit to the winery 4-5 years ago and found it to be an instant winner though very expensive at around Rs. 1700 at that time. Even though the whole cellar was generously open for me throughout that visit, I found myself asking for refills of Chardonnay-the varietal that had quality fruit, concentration and finesse written all over it-and available at half the price of Sette in the market. The rather warm temperature of around 30 ° C in Akluj cried for a chilled, refreshing wine and I enjoyed sipping it in the lawn connecting the winery to the guest house and which is sheer delight to sit in the evening and let the lungs breathe in some pure and fresh air and the wine doing some good to the heart.
Vitae range was introduced in 2014 and I fell in love with both the whites- Tre (a blend of Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Mueller Thurgau) and Chardonnay. But with time on hand during the visit, I had the occasion to discuss several aspects of the premium whites in their current range- MS (Masi-Spurrier which is a blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Sauvignon Blanc ) which has been introduced only this year, Vitae Tre and Vitae Chardonnay. Undoubtedly all three are well-made wines and may be enjoyed with different foods depending on the texture, with the first two enjoyable more with light textured food like grilled fish, tandoori paneer tikka etc. But the barrel fermented and aged Vitae Chardonnay is a serious food wine and can go with most vegetarian foods, chicken biryani, chicken kebabs and can even handle butter chicken rather well if you love white wines.
 They say that all children are alike for parents, each with different qualities and traits. It’s not easy to have Piero Masi come out of his shell and take a preferred stand against or for any of these wines. But eventually I coaxed him into agreeing with me rather whole-heartedly that Vitae Chardonnay was his best white and despite the price of Rs. 1500, an excellent value-for-money wine, thus validating my belief. He also enjoyed it as much as I did at lunch, dinner and whenever we sat and relaxed in the lawn discussing various blends and the process of tweaking wines in different tanks.
Although he won’t admit but to most Italian winemakers Burgundy is Mecca of fine white wines and he is no exception. It is no surprise that the bottle used is a Burgundy bottle. Bright golden colour wine has balanced oak on the nose, nice structure and good fruit concentration with elegance stamped on the wine. It has a juicy finish unlike many oaked wines that leave slightly bitter taste on the palate due to wood. I would not recommend it as aperitif for which the varietal Chardonnay and MS white are better and cheaper alternatives. But with a fine meal, it adds a lot of synergy. Vegetarians would love it with aubergine-based dishes like bhartha or grilled/fried baingan, mushroom dishes. It’s ideal with chicken biryani, tandoori chicken-even butter chicken, amritsari fish and burra kebabs. Serve at 10-12° C.
It should be no surprise that I have selected Vitae Chardonnay over Sette as one of the 7 wines to be served at the sit-down dinner during the delWine Excellence Awards to be hosted soon by Pullman Aerocity.
Subhash Arora
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