#VILLA FIDELIA SPORTOLETTI 2006 PROFESSIONAL#

Grechetto from the Assisi slopes has a fresher, more minerally character than from other parts of Umbria. The white is Grechetto with just a splash of Chardonnay. It is perhaps their everyday drinking wines which have the most marked progress. The white partner for Villa Fidelia Rosso is Villa Fidelia Bianco this blend of Grechetto and Chardonnay is grassy and creamy when young and matures in to a complex, fulfilling wine of distinctive character. The wines are as good if not better than ever. It is still a family business and the welcome still as warm as it was in 1999. The face of sales and marketing now tends to be Fabio, an enthusiatic and knowledgeable advocate with an excellent understanding of local wines and Italian wines generally. Ernesto and Remo are still very active but the baton is gradually passing to their sons. However fame and fortune never led this family business to lose touch with its roots and they always ensured supplies of their sought after wines were available to local customers and visitors to the vineyard.

#VILLA FIDELIA SPORTOLETTI 2006 PROFESSIONAL#

Fame was assured and in subsequent years the Sportolettis invested heavily in modernising their production facilities and visitors today will be impressed by the modern, efficient and professional setup. 1999 also coincided with one the best Umbrian harvests in a generation, and American wine guru, Robert Parker, awarded the Villa Fidelia vintage from that year a staggering 96 points. However from a business point of view it was a master-stroke American and Japanese markets take some persuading to go with the unfamiliar, but the new Villa Fidelia Rosso produced a wine familiar in its make-up, but undeniably Umbrian in its terroir. From a purely selfish point of view I regret the change of blend the unusual inclusion of Pinot Noir produced a wonderful, distinctive wine and I regret its passing. Brave enough to take on advice from an external consultant, they progressively moved focus towards quality, removed the lower grade wines from their range, and relaunched their flagship wine as a Bordeaux look-a-like replacing the Pinot Noir with Cabernet Franc. Remo and Ernesto Sportoletti have their soul in Umbrian tradition, but are very creative and ambitious winemakers.

I didn't know it at the time but that year Sportoletti were on the cusp of tremendous changes. I bought a case of Villa Fidelia Rosso 1997, a blend of Merlot, Carbernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir to this day I believe it is the best case of wine I have ever bought. In those days it was a much more rustic operation than today but I can remember vividly the passion that Remo Sportoletti showed as he took my friends and I round the production facilities, and pride he took in describing the wines they were producing at that time. I visited the Sportoletti vineyard for the first time in 1999.

Villa fidelia sportoletti 2006