A project that looks far ahead. The passion for taste and the continuous desire to be excellence. These are some of the elements they share Riccardo Illy is Clovis Taittinger, the enlightened entrepreneurs who enchanted the guests of the Relais Mastrojanni on 8 October with the presentation of two highly anticipated wines: Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Schiena d’Asino 2015 by Mastrojanni and the Comtes Taittinger 2008. Two Crus, two varieties known and appreciated all over the world.
To unite the two great wines, Polo del Gusto, the great project signed by Illy was born with the mission of becoming a reference point for culture and excellence of taste in the gourmet / superpremium segment worldwide, of which Mastrojanni is part and which is the exclusive distributor of Taittinger in Italy.

In 2004, the Illy Group was established with the intention of diversifying production and investments: chocolate (Domori and Prestat, official supplier of the Queen of England), Tea Damman Fréres and Agrimontana jams in Piedmont. The Illy family started investing in wine in 2008, when they became the owner of Mastrojanni.

Between present and future

"This is a particular year, very difficult, but it has also been an important year for us, the first full year of activity of Polo Del Gusto (the subholding set up in June 2019, for the non-coffee activities of the Illy group.) to invest in new businesses, despite the difficult period. My grandfather Francesco did so too, who set up the National Coffee and Chocolate Industry in Trieste in 1933, in the midst of the depression of 1929. Mastrojanni was acquired in 2008 in full Brunellopoli, the Brunello scandal. Nevertheless, the Illy group decided to make the acquisition. This year, despite being a difficult year, sees us retreat – but not too much – compared to 2019. We have invested in the wine sector and we have done it twice: the first time by acquiring this company (Mastrojanni 2008) and making it grow: from 24 hectares to the current almost 40 hectares of vineyards and more than 100 of land in total. And with new investments: the Bottaia, the part of the vinification and all the Borghetto, which has become a Relais with its 11 rooms, the Spa and the restaurant. Invested, through Domori, in the distribution of Taittinger and made a choice on what I like to call the Universal Wines, wines that have a long history behind them. Ours is a family business that thinks in intergenerational terms. We prefer to aim for long-term projects, in Universal Wines. In Italy with two important grape varieties: Brunello di Montalcino and Barolo. After Brunello, the next step will be thinking about Barolo, we have been thinking about it in recent months says Riccardo Illy.

Back of Donkey, a magical vineyard

"The Schiena d’Asino is a very old vineyard, the portion of the first vineyard purchased by the lawyer Gabriele Mastrojanni in 1975, the Brunello that is produced (about six thousand bottles) only in the great harvests, the Cru of Tenuta Mastrojanni. Only one hectare of extension and 3600 vines. Mastrojanni is one of the few realities in Montalcino that manages to replace the vineyards with the same clone and in the same place where the previous one died. It is a work of careful selection, which has allowed, over the years, to maintain a very typical personality. 2015 is an important vintage, each company in Montalcino has produced its own wine, a wine with a well-defined character. Brunello Vigna Schiena D’Asino is a very balanced wine, with great aromas; we waited to collect and this gave results. When everyone had already harvested we still had to start: when the soil cools down, ripening slows down and the aromas are accentuated. Sure, it's risky. We don't want to make wines for the market, but wines that we like first of all and that the market has always favored; we have never chased the great structure in wine, wine piacione it's not for us. Brunello Vigna Schiena d’Asino 2015 is a year of structure, but of great finesse and elegance. For this wine we prefer a longer aging, and these results are obtained only if you have the patience to wait. The right steps, without haste: it must be aged in wood, but also in the bottle; then he waits. The 2015 vintage is one of the best ever. We are now on the market with a year that the others have already finished. It is a magical vineyard explains Maurizio Castelli, Mastrojanni oenologist since 1992.

The power of confrontation

«During the lockdown, in the long months of closure, with Andrea Machetti (Mastrojanni), Clovis Taittinger and Riccardo Illy, we always felt in touch; we confronted each other, we always continued to work and plan for the future, while all of Italy was blocked. Working with excellence, providing our agents with products of excellence, exclusive, but which have a great family history behind them, not just business. This is what characterizes Domori and the Polo del Gusto, the perception of solidity, of compactness, of us as a company, but above all as people who work together. In addition to Taittinger, of which we have been the exclusive distributor since 2017, from this year we have become the exclusive distributors of Mastrojanni and its wines "comments Andrea Macchione AD Domori.

Since 1734, the history of champagne in the world

"I love the vineyards, all of them, and these of Mastrojanni in Montalcino were truly a discovery, it is a magnificent area, vineyards and hills as far as the eye can see. The vineyard always excites me. Champagne is above all a wine to dream, to escape with the mind far away. It is the pleasure of meeting, of sharing. Champagne is a way of seeing, a common vision of sharing life. Our family is passionate about the culture of wine and the culture behind the wine, the territory, the people who work in the vineyards. This means giving importance and respect to wine, everything, not just champagne. The 2008 vintage is for us one of the best ever, hot and fresh at the same time. The chalky terroir of the Grands Crus de la Côte des Blancs is intense. Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is a great champagne, made exclusively from Chardonnay. The grapes come from five towns of the Côte des Blancs classified as Grands Cru: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. This unique terroir extends over a strip of land of just 20 km. To be able to judge it better you have to drink it. And for Mr Clovis the most suitable glass for drinking champagne remains the cup, ”says Clovis Taittinger.