Torre dei Beati: the engineer's wines

We love talking about Abruzzese wines and wineries. Abruzzo is a land full of wonderful realities, both historic and young, producing excellent wines.

Among these, we have already written about Torre dei Beati, an emerging winery based in Loreto Apruntino, and their Mazzamurello 2010.
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Adriana Galasso and Fausto Albanesi, the owners of the winery; very kind and calm people. I spent time in particular exchanging quite a few words with Fausto, a person who left a strong impression on me.
Fausto has that innate sense of humor – not made of hilarious jokes and booming laughter. Fausto makes you laugh and smile with his subtle irony (and self-irony), his calm manner, his tone of voice and facial expressions, all supported by a sarcastic streak and the mind of a very intelligent person.
Fausto is an engineer lit up by a passion for wine, and his winery is the fruit of a blend between practice, rationality and "head" on one side, and heart on the other (which, however, always remains firmly anchored to the brain!).
Torre dei Beati stands for tradition, but also for experimentation; "Tradition doesn't necessarily deliver good results – fortunately, in some areas there has been progress."
This winery produces organically for the wellbeing of those who work there, but Fausto (and I must say, myself as well) does not believe that a milligram of pesticides harms the wine consumer – rather, the quantities used among the vines certainly harm those who work in close contact with them every day, and the environment.

Torre dei Beati also employs many typical biodynamic practices, and so many have asked our engineer why his winery has not obtained a Demeter certification, which he could have easily achieved. The answer is simple and predictable, and once again I find myself in agreement with him: "The biodynamic approach includes many useful practices that have a proven, beneficial effect on the grapes and the final product, but many others are purely useless and esoteric. Certification is just marketing – we focus on making good products."

Fausto is a very confident person – he knows what he is talking about – but at the same time he is truly very humble.
The engineer's wines are born from scrupulous attention to the vines and to the harvesting and selection of the grapes; everything that can improve the product is welcome, without preconceptions, without either lobbying or forced "anti-lobbying."

Fausto is deeply attached to his products – you can see how much effort he puts in. During this meeting I tasted, comparing them side by side, both Mazzamurello and Cocciapazza, two Montepulciano from the same vintage (2009) that are entirely different – even though they are in fact the same wine, from the same vineyards, the same harvest, and the same fermentation tank.

Where is the difference? Cocciapazza is obtained from the clearest part of the wine, drawn off from the upper part of the tank; Mazzamurello is instead drawn from the cloudier, lees-rich portion stirred back in with battonage.

Both fermented in stainless steel, but Cocciapazza is subsequently left for twenty months in first-passage barriques for 70% and the remaining 30% in second-passage barriques; Mazzamurello, on the other hand, is left for twenty to twenty-two months in new barriques.

Cocciapazza has an impenetrable ruby red color; on the nose, liquorice and woodland undergrowth come through strongly, along with red fruits, juniper, and spices. Elegant on the palate, with fine tannins and perhaps a slightly lean body, justified however by its freshness.

I found Mazzamurello – which you can read about in the in-depth tasting note – more aromatically complex, sweeter, and more persistent. These are truly two different products, suited to different drinking occasions.

Then, setting aside my taster's hat and putting on that of a layman, I personally prefer Mazzamurello. Fausto, on the other hand, describes them like this: "Cocciapazza is a strong child who stands on his own two feet, who doesn't need any help; Mazzamurello is the child who needs attention, who you have to nurture and pamper. In the end, you love them both just the same!"

During our conversation I was never quite able to figure out his personal tastes – he is charmingly enigmatic. The answer always comes eventually, after a long hesitation, but his tone is the kind that never really lets you know whether he is joking or not, and in the end my smile closes every conversation!

Thank you, Fausto – truly a person worth knowing and spending enjoyable time with.

Can you picture an engineer out in the vineyard?

Even if the winegrower sometimes finds himself in the spotlight for the evocative beauty of his craft, we do not love exhibiting a trade almost as ancient as humankind.
We do not love following trends, nor proclaiming our allegiance to one movement or another. Neither out of conviction, because we struggle to fit ourselves into paradigms dictated by others, nor out of opportunism, because that is far from our nature.
We love following our own path without excess, one step at a time, with the commitment and time that the vineyard demands. We like to imagine that this path has no end, just as the variability of the seasons has no end, nor does the imagination required to interpret them.
With the experience that gradually builds over the years, we are always curious to compare old and new techniques, maintaining an awareness of our limits and our humility.""

Congratulations.