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Posted: Friday, October 5 2007. 1:00 PM

Innerview: Carlo Ferrini - the Tuscan Wine Houdini

His style is making fully extracted, powerful and structured red wines. Even though he prefers concentrated and structured wine, he is upset about the increased use of concentrating machines. He believes that concentration should be done in the vineyard, not the cellar.

He is not comfortable in making whites.

Ferrini makes no bones about the Bordeaux superiority because of centuries of experience of consistent wine making and says it has inspired him. Perhaps that is why his forte is blending varietals. 'They also work with the terroirs they are experts in,' he says.

Ferrini belongs to the group that is keen on modifying Chianti Classico regulations. Like Marco Pallanti, he also feels the varietal regulations should set a 50% minimum for Sangiovese in the wine blend to preserve Tuscan identity (currently 80%). The balance should consist of Colorino, Malvasia Nera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot in flexible quantities.

With such regulations, Ferrini feels he could make a Chianti Classico that would be a supreme expression of its terroir. He strongly believes that it is the land that makes the wine. Therefore, only the land should dictate the vine varieties used.

Ferrini believes that the best Sangiovese grapes are grown between 400 and 500 ms. above sea level. But it also makes it difficult to get dark colour due to the temperature and sometimes it is difficult for Sangiovese to attain full ripeness as also stressed by Pallanti whose Castello di Ama is situated at 500 ms. Since Merlot ripens earlier than Sangiovese and has characteristics such as colour and soft tannins that Sangiovese lacks, it becomes an important blend for Sangiovese.

Ferrini feels that it is easy to create small amounts, say one thousand bottles, of super wine but difficult to create large volumes of superb wine. Journalists, he suggested, should concentrate their attention on labels that represent a production of over 40,000 bottles. Here again he hails Bordeaux because the great chateaux make large volumes of wine at the pinnacle of wine quality.

For Ferrini, Ornellaia symbolizes the great project of Tuscany's 1990s. 'Ornellaia made great, innovative wine on a scale that could impact the market in a real way', he says. Ornellaia, by the way, has not been his client.

He prefers to work in Tuscany and drive several hundred kilometres daily to visit his clients rather then fly.

He is universally acknowledged to be one of Italy's foremost winemakers. A consultant winemaker at many of Tuscany's leading estates, Carlo Ferrini is active in Chianti Classico, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Arezzo and Pisa, as well as the Morellino di Scansano area of Maremma, where his skill and long experience with his beloved Sangiovese grape are matched by his expertise with the Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet and Merlot.

Apart from Tuscany he works for a few premium wineries in his second most -favourite region, Sicily- like Donnafugata, Planeta and Regaleali. All these wines are being imported into India.

For his magical performance, he has been frequently recognised. Gambero Rosso declared him "Winemaker of the Year" in 2000. So did AIS (Associazione Italiana Sommelier) in 2003.

He prefers to work in Tuscany and drive several hundred kilometres daily to visit his clients rather then fly. Carlo Fellini is not yet a global phenomenon like Michel Rolland who, besides having the language advantage also has no qualms of flying to his global destinations- in his plane or other commercial aircrafts.

Perhaps, he may decide to join the august circle of flying winemakers at a future date - he is 53 years young and has time on his hands.

Subhash Arora
September 16, 2007

Photos :: Subhash Arora

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