Alok Chandra: Master's selection

Another new premium wine label has just been launched in India: “M/S”, from Fratelli Vineyards, which is located at Akluj, about 200 km south-east of Pune.

The brand name is unusual, and while it could stand for “Master’s Selection,” it’s actually the initials of two wine masters: winemaker Piero Masi (‘M’) and Steven Spurrier (‘S’).

Masi, 64, has been the winemaker and a partner at Fratelli Vineyards since its inception in 2006. A master-winemaker with 40 years of experience and 58 harvests under his belt, Piero is from Tuscany and extremely passionate about his calling: he and Spurrier collaborated closely to develop the two blends that bear their initials.

Spurrier, 75, is an internationally-acclaimed wine writer and expert — a Wine Master, in fact, if not by qualification.

In 1976, he had arranged a blind tasting of select Californian Cabs versus First Growth Bordeaux and Californian Chardonnays versus Grand Cru White Burgundies in what has come to be known as “The Judgement of Paris”. The tasters were all French, and the results were astounding: for the first time ever, non-French wines were rated as being equal to, if not better than, top French wines.  The story was later turned into the movie Bottle Shock (2008), with Alan Rickman playing the controversial characterisation of Spurrier.

Fratelli Vineyards is the third-largest wine company in India by volume, having crossed 160,000 cases 2015-16. It’s the result of a unique joint venture between seven individuals: the two Sekri brothers from Delhi, two Secci brothers from Italy, two Mohite-Patil Brothers from Maharashtra, and Masi. Together they make up the seven segments in the company’s logo: “Fratelli” means “brotherhood” in Italian.

Both the wines are blends: the M/S Red is 60 per cent Sangiovese, 20 per cent  Cab, and 20 per cent Syrah/Shiraz, sourced in 2015 from the company’s own vineyards at Akluj. Despite having no oak-aging and being quite young, the wine is very drinkable, with a fruity and spicy aroma and a medium-bodied taste reminiscent of dark cherries that’s typical of Sangiovese, with a good finish that comes from the Cab.

The M/S White is an unusual blend of 80 per cent Chardonnay and 20 per cent Sauvignon Blanc that disappoints: it does not quite have the smoothness of Chardonnay nor the crispness of a Sauvignon Blanc but falls somewhere in between. Maybe it requires more time in bottle.

Both the M/S wines are positioned to fill a specific gap in the Fratelli portfolio: priced at Rs 949.99 per 750 ml bottle in Bengaluru, in between the premium “Fratelli” range of wines (Rs 700 to Rs 800) and the super-premium Vitae (Rs 1,500) and Sette (Rs 1,642). Only 550 cases (6,600 bottles) each of the 2015 vintage have been  produced, with plans to double that quantity and add a rosé in 2016.

And what of the future for Fratelli? Part-owner Alessio Secci  says the company is looking to double volumes over the next five years, expanding its vineyards from the current 240 acres, expanding capacity at the existing winery and setting up a new winery in Karnataka. Fratelli is already in the black at the PBDT (profit before depreciation and tax) level — only the second Indian wine company (apart from market leader Sula) to be there — and if things continue to go right, one can forecast  its revenues increasing from Rs 29 crore in the financial year 2014-15 to touch Rs 100 crore by 2020. 

Long live the brotherhood!

Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant