The Romagna of wine you don’t expect: noble rot on our tables

When I talk to Alessandro, I feel like becoming a winemaker myself. The way he tells you about his work is engaging, overwhelming, at times moving. Then, thinking it over, I realise I’m too old — and it’s much better to drink his wine! Today Sadifruttirossi is in Cesena, between San Carlo di Cesena and Bertinoro, in the valley crossed by the Rio Plino della Taverna: a beautiful, tiny corner of Romagna, a magical land whose potential some people perhaps still don’t know.

Since 1999, in this setting, Tenuta il Plino has made wines deeply tied to the land, where Alessandro Ramilli does little more than what Mother Nature gives us.

In a world that rushes ever faster and often forgets nature’s rhythms, Tenuta il Plino tries to respect its “slow pace” — and above all, we can only taste its wines when conditions are right to make them, with no shortcuts.

Low yields, high planting density, strictly organic farming and the choice to vinify only the best bring complex, long-lived, elegant, enjoyable and strongly territorial wines to our tables. All of Tenuta il Plino’s wines have something contemplative about them. With every one of them it’s worth pausing a second longer to think how best to enjoy it, because they are enchantingly good.

Alessandro fearlessly champions the idea that quality Romagna wine must be valued with the right effort and the right means — by not underselling one’s work and not underestimating the perceived quality of the wine. Sadly, in the wine world Romagna has always played Cinderella: a region not much valued, yet one that over time has stood out with excellent wines that in my view need fear no competition or comparison with neighbouring areas. A region that perhaps still hasn’t learned to promote itself well.

A region where, until now, producers themselves have been somewhat divided, and with very low prices have not yet had the courage to value their product through proper pricing. Personally, I believe that if a Ferrari were sold for fifty thousand euros, it wouldn’t be seen as a Ferrari or worthy of its name, and customers probably wouldn’t even buy it. That’s exactly how many people see Romagna: excellent wines that, because of their low price (for now imposed by the market), the public doesn’t value as it should.

Then again, thinking as a consumer, I say: let’s make the most of these still-reasonable, somewhat underrated prices and enjoy our Romagna at the table every day. If one day Romagna’s producers wake up and together find the right way to value their “Ferrari”, we’ll still drink well — but with thinner wallets. To all of us: let’s enjoy the moment. To Romagna producers who make quality: wake up, it’s time.

But back to Sadifruttirossi, back to the hills above Cesena. Picture an enchanting landscape with one peculiarity: in this corner of paradise, mould is born, grows and is pampered. “What on earth is that?” Relax, folks! Sometimes mould can be a fantastic ally and give us wonderful surprises. Let’s start from the beginning and have a chat about noble rot in wine.

The term “muffato” is associated with sweet, dried-grape wines. The grapes in the vineyard are attacked by Botrytis cinerea (which is why these wines are also called “botrytised”), a particular strain of grey mould also known as “noble rot”.

Some connoisseurs will surely remember German and Austrian Trockenbeerenauslese. Italy’s most important botrytised wines come from Umbria, especially Orvieto. Few people know, however, that botrytised wines originated in Hungary.

The most famous botrytised wines are Hungarian Tokaji, French Sauternes and the unpronounceable Trockenbeerenauslese made in Austria and Germany. They are born in places unique in the world, with very particular climates.

Weather and climate ensure that the mould only causes a slow, steady dehydration of the berries and so a concentration of sugars. France’s most famous wine of this kind — one that “costs an arm and a leg” (very good but very expensive, as my grandmother Pina used to say at the Christmas fair when she had to buy me the bird of paradise toy) — is Château d’Yquem: at once a myth, a miracle of nature and a unique wine.

For lovers of this wine and of oenology, I won’t compare France, Hungary and Romagna, or French, Hungarian and Romagna soils. I won’t do anything of the sort. But I do want to tell you that at San Carlo di Cesena Alessandro has the microclimate to manage the birth and growth of noble rot, and every year (weather permitting) he makes an extraordinary wine called “Muffato del Plino”. Alessandro, together with a few other Romagna producers I’ll talk about very soon, is an honoured representative of this excellence.

Today Sadifruttirossi tastes and pairs a fine Muffato del Plino 2015: Romagna Albana Passito DOCG, a late harvest of bunches touched by noble rot. Organic. From 10 October each year, every week, Alessandro picks only the best bunches, those with noble rot. French oak barriques (strictly not new) until spring, then at least 12 months resting in bottle. A very elegant glass stopper.

The 2015 is very balanced, with a complex, intense, expressive nose whose first striking notes are honey, candyfloss, saffron (typical of botrytised wines) and ripe dates. Pouring it, it’s a pleasure to see its luminous gold — a foretaste of what we’ll find on the palate. The sip is fresh, lively and not at all cloying: balanced, sweet, soft. Freshness and minerality fully support its 100 grams of sugar per litre.

A curiosity: the 2018 vintage (unlike 2015) gave us — so to speak, since it was a difficult year in which Alessandro had to battle lots of rain and at times cut back the shoots — botrytised wines with only 50 grams of sugar per litre. If you get the chance to taste it, you’ll understand the importance of balance, which in my view wasn’t fully achieved that year. But I promise every other vintage I remember is fantastic and memorable.

Today’s pairing? Speaking of passito, many might think we’ll pair Muffato del Plino with a dessert.

Here are some new ideas. You can serve this wine at the start of your lunch or elegant dinner. Pair it with cheeses, especially blue cheeses — you’ll make a great impression. Simple Gorgonzola? That too. And if you really want it at the end of the meal with a dessert? Ricotta and amaretti cake: perfect balance. For more tips on what to put on the table on Sunday, for opinions or to suggest Romagna wines worth exploring, write to sadifruttirossi@gmail.com, or have fun on social media and take a look at what we’re up to.

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