Duemani ("two hands") is a beautiful Tuscan estate sitting on the cusp of the Mediterrannean Sea. Looking at the photo above, you can almost tell that the biodynamic farm is buzzing with life. Several types of wildflowers (purple and yellow) and plants bloomed on the edges and between the vines, the leaves seemed to sparkle (perhaps a recent silica spray?), the soil felt great-- lose and spongy (unlike some vineyards in which the soil can become very compacted). Standing in the vineyards, looking toward the ocean you cannot help but be captivated by mysterious Elba, rising out of the sea in the distance.
<-- The majestic Mediterranean coast just a short drive away.
Husband and wife team Elena Celli and Luca D'Attoma cultivated this magical vineyard where they grow 65% cabernet franc, 15% merlot, and 20% syrah. Luca is the winemaker and Elena runs the business side of things, helping in the vineyard whenever possible. The cab franc and merlot are done guyot style but the syrah is trained up posts. Above, Elena examines some cabernet franc vines. Below, Luca holds court in his cellar, located a short drive away. The cellar is tiny-- pretty much what you see in the picture below; with such tiny production, you know that Luca spends a lot of time with each barrel.
Together, they make three cuvees (pictured below): Altrovino, Duemani and Suisassi, all IGT. The labels all have a similar geometric dot pattern. The wines inside are all on the powerful side, but each so different from the other.
Duemani "Altrovino"
The altrovino is a 50/50 blend of cabernet franc and merlot, reminiscent of a right bank Bordeaux. This wine is vinified in cement, then spends elevage in cement-- nothin' but grape (no wood at all here!).
Duemani "Duemani"
The Duemani really explores what cabernet franc can be in Tuscany. On this particular trip, cabernet franc seemed to be a fairly popular topic of conversation-- many growers experiment with it, and in just about every wine-centered conversation people kept mentioning the interesting things happening with cabernet franc in Tuscany and the Marche (keep a lookout for this trend!).
Duemani's "Duemani" is 100% cabernet franc-- this one fermented in oak, then aged in 50% new French oak. This is a very powerful wine with incredible aging potential-- Duemani was in their 12th year in 2010; I'd love to try these same vintages again in about a decade and see how they have aged. Lots of varietal character here, with green pepper and black pepper jumping out through the sweet vanilla fragrance of the oak.
Duemani "Suisassi"
This one really got me. Fermented in open-topped barriques, then elevage in all new oak (a blend of 70% French & 30% American). Luca tasted me through all the syrah barrels before he did his final blend-- the differences and complexities were stunning; one barrel sample smelled like vanilla pancakes, another like meat, another like a blackberry pie. The raw fruit power of the biodynamic syrah was stunning-- full of complexity and life.
The altrovino is a 50/50 blend of cabernet franc and merlot, reminiscent of a right bank Bordeaux. This wine is vinified in cement, then spends elevage in cement-- nothin' but grape (no wood at all here!).
Duemani "Duemani"
The Duemani really explores what cabernet franc can be in Tuscany. On this particular trip, cabernet franc seemed to be a fairly popular topic of conversation-- many growers experiment with it, and in just about every wine-centered conversation people kept mentioning the interesting things happening with cabernet franc in Tuscany and the Marche (keep a lookout for this trend!).
Duemani's "Duemani" is 100% cabernet franc-- this one fermented in oak, then aged in 50% new French oak. This is a very powerful wine with incredible aging potential-- Duemani was in their 12th year in 2010; I'd love to try these same vintages again in about a decade and see how they have aged. Lots of varietal character here, with green pepper and black pepper jumping out through the sweet vanilla fragrance of the oak.
Duemani "Suisassi"
This one really got me. Fermented in open-topped barriques, then elevage in all new oak (a blend of 70% French & 30% American). Luca tasted me through all the syrah barrels before he did his final blend-- the differences and complexities were stunning; one barrel sample smelled like vanilla pancakes, another like meat, another like a blackberry pie. The raw fruit power of the biodynamic syrah was stunning-- full of complexity and life.
<-- Here, if you look to the right of the happy grapes (with a lovely natural bloom), you catch a glimpse of the cover crop between the rows.
<---- Here is a little station on the edge of the vineyard used to dynamize the biodynamic preparations. All three wines are Demeter certified.
These wines are so interesting, and I am really looking forward to tasting future vintages of Duemani, but I'm really excited to taste how these wines age. One thing that I find fascinating is the combination of biodynamic viticulture and the use of oak-- so many organic/biodynamic winegrowers shy away from oak use and go for amphoras/porcelain/cement; their reasoning is that the oak flavors will not mask or dominate the fruit of the grape. The Duemani "Altrovino" seems to play around with this idea a bit. The Duemani "Duemani" and the Duemani "Suisassi" have pretty obvious oak influence. I wonder if Luca is going for serious structure aimed at agability, or if he feels that the fruit is so intense that it can be softened by the oak. I didn't get a chance to pick his brain about it on this visit, but hopefully I can report back on it later!
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