Know Your Vino

A vertical wine tasting is the technical tasting of one specific wine from a producer across several vintage years. There is nothing quite like a vertical tasting to truly experience and understand the collaborative effort that takes between the winemaker, Mother Nature and Father Time. It also provides a real, albeit rare, opportunity to discover the unique characteristics of a wine from year to year.

Missoula is very fortunate to welcome renowned Italian winemaker Francesco Mazzei, who will be leading us through an exceptional vertical tasting of four vintages of the Castello di Fonterutoli’s “Siepi,” which is the super Tuscan blend of Merlot and Sangiovese. Francesco is visiting the West Coast while his brother Filippo is on the East Coast. They are only making twelve stops in the U.S. and Missoula has made the list and the Ranch Club is hosting the event.

The Mazzei family is one of the oldest wine-making families in Italy, with production dating all the way back to 1465. As Americans, we can even trace some our own viticulture history back to a Mazzei ancestor who turned Thomas Jefferson into an oenophile. Jefferson invited the Mazzei family to come over from Italy and plant some of the first European vines in America at his estate in Monticello, Virginia in 1773.

Today, Francesco is the twenty-fourth generation to make wine at the family’s Tuscan estate, and you can be sure he takes care to preserve the traditions of his ancestors while adopting modern innovations. The result is a collection of wines that are revered around the world. Each wine being poured during the vertical tasting has received the Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glass”) award, the highest honor a wine can receive in Italy. This is equivalent to receiving a 92-95 point rating from leading wine critic, Robert Parker.

The stellar quality of the 2006 vintage will be poured, and, as it is best appreciated when compared to other excellent vintages, we’ll also enjoy the 1996, 2003 and 2005 vintages as well. The new vintage of the Belgvardo Rosé will also be poured. This tasting will be followed by a Tuscan-inspired five-course wine dinner created by Ranch Club chef Jason Lovell. The tasting is Monday, October 19 at 6 p.m. The cost is $75 per person. Seating is very limited so I suggest you reserve a spot immediately for this rare and special opportunity to taste Siepi and meet its maker – not to mention enjoying the flavors and stunning views of the Ranch Club. There will also be an opportunity to purchase the vertical at the event. For reservations, call 406-532-1005.  See the tasting notes for the Castello di Fonterutoli’s “Siepi” below.