Frescobaldi "MORMORETO 2007" by Philip S. Kampe

On March 2, 2012 at 12:52am, my wife, Maria and I became First time Grandparents to a 9 lb. 3 oz. baby girl named HAVA. She is the new 'JOY IN OUR LIVES'.

As Luck would have it, we received several bottles of Champagne and Wine from friends in the industry to Celebrate and Toast the Birth of Hava. One bottle stood out and that was the esteemed 'Marchesi de FRESCOBALDI' 2007 MORMORETO, a legendary Super Tuscan from the gentle slopes near Florence.

The 2007 is the 25th Anniversary of MORMORETO and is considered by family members as the Best Mormoreto produced. Should I hold on to the wine for the next 3-6 years as suggested or decant it and celebrate the birth of Hava as intended. I chose the obvious-decant the wine, invite friends over and Toast Hava as if it were New Year's.

Picture this, the wine arrived at noon on Friday, March 9th at our our building in New Jersey. I opened the package, saw and knew what was sent to me and without hesitation, I telephoned several friends in the Berkshires (western Massachusetts) to come to our weekend house (obviously in the Berkshires) Friday evening and we will open and decant the wine to celebrate Hava's birth.

And that is what happened last night.

What I didn't realize was how WONDERFUL the 2007 MORMORETO was. I knew that the 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2006 all received THREE Glasses at the GAMBERO ROSSO.
My wine knowledge tells me that the 2007 will be part of that Elite group of wines as the previous years.

During the celebration, complete with foir gras and truffles from Umbria (Thank you Fausto and Patrizia) we discussed the wine after I talked a little about the blend of grapes that comprise this wine.

The breakdown is simple: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Vines are 20 years old and rise to 1000 feet altitude. The soil, I know from past Frescobaldi tastings is the key to the wine. In this case the soil reflects the best of the vineyard. Only 3% of the fruit picked from the various grape locations are used for MORMORETO.

According to FRESCOBALDI folklore, the first SUPER TUSCAN on their property was planted in 1855. This may be the first in history?

From 1855 to this 2007 version, the FRESCOBALDI Family found the formula that works.
Words to describe the wine start with the layers of aroma of smoke, earth, vanilla blackberry, strawberry and violets. The intoxicating flavors on the palate exploded with upfront sweet fruit, strawberry, mint and smoke followed by expressive tannins that created a long, fruity tannic finish.

It is now Saturday morning and I searched for the last drops of wine left in the bottle to re-confirm last night's findings.

PHILIP S. KAMPE
philip.kampe@thewinehub.com