The 1994 Falesco Est! Est!! Est!!! Late Harvest possesses 12% residual sugar, a huge, Muscat-like, orange marmalade, perfumed, honeyed nose, medium to full body, terrific acidity, and superb richness and purity. This wine, produced from grapes harvested by hand during the month of November, is a gorgeously rich, sweet wine that will age well for 5-6 years.
This wine is from an estate owned by one of Italy's most renowned oenologists/winemakers, Riccardo Cotarella. One of the young geniuses that has revolutionized winemaking in Italy, Riccardo Cotarella is the spiritual equivalent of Michel Rolland in France. His brother, Renzo, is the chief winemaker for Piero Antinori. Cotarella's position with respect to white wines is to preserve their fruit, recognizing they should be fermented at low temperatures and bottled as early as possible.
Kudos to Riccardo Cotarella for this extraordinary showing of just what brilliant quality can be achieved from the vineyards of Umbria. As I mentioned, Cotarella is the Michel Rolland of Italy. As with Rolland, whom readers of The Wine Advocate discovered long before he became known to the international wine press, I predict Cotarella will be gracing the cover of leading wine magazines over the next few years.
Leonardo LoCascio, Winebow, Inc., 22 Hollywood Ave., Suite C, Hohokus, NJ 07423; telephone number (201) 445-0620; fax (201) 445-9869