SIOR MENI - (Sauvignon) Collio 2002

As Masimilliano suggests, forget Italy when you try this wine. Realising Collio’s potential for top quality Sauvignon Blanc, Paolo Valle made a pilgrimage to the Loire Valley in the early ‘90s, more particularly to Didier Dagueneau’s cellars in Pouilly Fumé to see how the best examples of the grape were treated in their heartland. The result of his explorations is Sior Meni, an extraordinary oak-aged Sauvignon: Wet clay, cherry and vanilla pipe tobacco, rhubarb, raisins, marzipan, paprika, treacle, cardamom, sweet basil, assorted pot pourri and even the faintest sweet whiff of cannabis resin appear at different intervals when nosing the wine. The olfactory equivalent of a cool afternoon spent in the spice markets of Zanzibar, the wine then glides over the tongue, offering greengages and dried apricots, cinammon and a plethora of other subtle spicy nuances. The finish is very impressive, fruity acidity and an exotic sweetness persisting admirably.