Wine of the week: a wine worth its weight in gold

The maker of this unbelievably impressive wine spends every day pruning his bunches with a pair of nail scissors, says Matthew Jukes.

Matthew Jukes
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published

2008 Ombrone, Sant'Antimo, Cupano, Tuscany, Italy (£46, reduced to £39 for MoneyWeek readers, from SWIG, 020-8995 7060, www.swig.co.uk).

I am a massive fan of the Brunello di Montalcinos from Cupano and Ombrone is their Super Tuscan' incarnation. It is made from 50% cabernet, 35% merlot and 15% sangiovese, and in my wildest imaginations I would never have guessed that this wine would be so unbelievably impressive.

The winemaker, Lionel Cousin, is one of the most dedicated men in the business and he learnt his trade from none other than the late, great Henri Jayer (of Vosne-Romane fame). Arguably the most famous man in the history of modern winemaking, and someone with whom I enjoyed a life-changing dinner many years ago (the single greatest moment of my career to date), Jayer's impact on Cousin is felt in every sip of his wine.

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Cousin works his estate by hand. He has carried tonnes of rock up from the Ombrone river to give better support and drainage to his vines. He planted the vines by hand and works between the rows using a horse and plough. He spends hours every day pruning his bunches with a pair of nail scissors. He is wholly dedicated to Cupano this is why his wines are worth their weight in gold.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (www.matthewjukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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