IN THE CULT wine film Mondovino, wine consultant Michel Rolland is portrayed as some kind of vinous Ernst Blofeld, with evil tentacles stretching out all over the world, intent on destroying good wine everywhere he finds it. The charge against Rolland and other successful wine consultants is that they make very similar soulless wines regardless of their origin, wines that are designed to impress judges and win wine competitions rather than provide enjoyment over a meal.
The importance of these wine consultants should not be dismissed. Some have scores of clients, and exercise an influence way beyond that. The Rolland wines are always good, but in my book also tend to share a particular ripe, voluptuous character. On the plus side, a wine consultant can bring the most up-to-date know-how, and plenty of publicity to regions that might lack both. For the producer, a few high scores from American critics such as Robert Parker and Wine Spectatormagazine can lead to huge demand and better prices. It is easy to see why many are tempted to sign up.
Alberto Antonini is a winemaker and consultant. The son of a wine producer in Chianti, on graduating from the universities of Bordeaux and Florence, he quickly established himself as one of Italy’s brightest stars, working with highly-regarded names such as Frescobaldi and Col d’Orcia before ending up as head winemaker at Antinori.
In 1996, he founded the independent wine consultancy Matura which offers a complete advisory service to producers throughout the world. Antonini has clients all over the globe, including Argentina, Chile, Australia, France, the US, South Africa, Romania, as well as most of Italy. In addition, he has several joint ventures, Altos Las Hormigas in Argentina, and Greenstone in Australia.
He rejects the notion that he makes the same wine wherever he goes. “You cannot just make the wine that you like. You have to follow the grapes, the region and the terroir. The wine must always be an expression of a culture, a climate and a terroir. My job is to visit a winery three to four times a year, working with the locals, the winemakers, and share my knowledge with theirs. I deal mainly with the vineyards and the final blend before bottling. But it is always a partnership. They are the ones who know the vines. I try to match my experience with their local knowledge. Identity does not mean perfection; it means that you look for character, personality and identity – wines that you can remember.” Antonini believes that Europe has got it right. “Europe has been good at keeping its identity whilst taking on board new ideas at the same time.”
Talking to Antonini, you do get a real sense of passion and of determination. He becomes most animated when he talks of his native Tuscany, where he lives with his family, and runs his own winery. He also believes that Argentina is beginning to fulfil its potential. “I first went there in 1995, and saw the quality of the Malbec. We have focused almost exclusively on that grape, although I believe Torrontés also has a good future.”
He also gets very excited about Greenstone, a vineyard he discovered with the help of an Australian winemaker. “This is one of the few calcerous sites in Australia; there are copper-infused stones and limestone. It has a high ph, like Bordeaux and Tuscany. The idea was not to make another Australian wine – there were plenty of those around. We wanted to do something different.”
As well as planting Syrah, he imported his own clones of Sangiovese from Tuscany, and planted them very densely, European-style, about 5,000 vines per hectare. His first Sangiovese, bottled a week earlier, shows a very impressive wine, deeply mineralic with classic dark cherry fruits. “Most new world Sangiovese is too ripe, too sweet.” says Antonini. The Syrah, which is starting to win plaudits in Australia, certainly does not lack character.
Antonini refuses to take on clients who do not have a vision, and merely want to chase critical acclaim. He also believes all of his wines are very different. “Taste my wines and see if you can tell. I don’t have a style, I don’t have a recipe.”
Tasting my way through a range of his wines, the only discernable common thread was that of an impeccable balance; all of the wines show plenty of varietal character, and plenty of regional authenticity, too. Without exception, they were also delicious to drink.