"Simply on another planet"
2010 Miani Rosso
No Refosco, No Merlot - Just Rosso
Enzo Pontoni is pushing seven feet tall, he's a recluse, and up until not so long ago, was working just a few barrels in a garage.
He also makes some of the best wine in all of Italy.
If you haven't heard of Miani, it's not a surprise. Production is tiny, and fans across Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere chase the elusive bottles down before they see the light of day.
Quality at Miani top-to-bottom is insanely high, but his reds are consistently the most coveted and rarest of his wines.
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To highlight the rarity, I should mention that the 2010 Rosso is only available one other place in the country and there's not much more than a case available.
2010 is a special vintage for the Rosso: in 2010 Miani didn't release any of his single vineyard reds, so all of the juice went into the Rosso bottling and elevated it in a big way.
Keep in mind that his single vineyard Merlots sell for $220+ and his Refesco Calvari goes for somewhere around $380-425+.
This may very well be the best example of Miani's Rosso that we've seen. It's classic Miani: strikingly complex and commanding, yet cut with striking minerality and an unmistakable sense of refinement, even finesse. They possess a finely-tuned balance, managing at once both power and precision, decadence and restraint.
Antonio Galloni calls the 2010 Rosso, "beautiful and classy to the core." And we couldn't agree more.
The man himself is just about as hard to get ahold of as his wines. A notorious recluse, he rarely emerges from the vines and the cellar. In fact, most of the intrepid tasters who venture out to this obscure pocket of Friuli never even glimpse Pontoni, dealing instead with his mother.
This obsessive level of dedication shows in the wines. They're ruthlessly intense, fastidiously sculpted. Shockingly so. This helps give you a sense of what Galloni means when he writes, "Enzo Pontoni is simply on another planet... In the best years his wines frankly have no peers in Italy."
We're constantly on the lookout for Miani, but rarely are we able to score enough of his reds to do an offer. The last one was in 2011.
Please be warned that Miani is rare enough and with enough fans that allocations and a sellout are very likely. We'll do our best, but if you're interested, this is something to jump on.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media: "In 2010, proprietor Enzo Pontoni did not bottle any of his top reds. Instead, readers will find the 2010 Rosso, a gorgeous, entry-level offering that captures plenty of Miani intensity, but with less richness than is typically found in the flagship wines. Mocha, espresso, black cherries, licorice and savory herbs flow from this nuanced, chiseled Friulian red. The 2010 Rosso is beautiful and classy to the core. It will also drink well upon release."