Wine Focus for October: Piemonte and Piemontese grapes

[Robin Garr]

The subject says it all! Piemonte wines plus traditional Piemontese varieties grown in other locations around the world: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Cortese, Arneis and more. This gives us a broad range of red and white and even rosato, from inexpensive to very expensive. Gentlefolks, pull your corks!

[David M. Bueker]

Some non-Piemonte Arneis and Barbera coming tonight. Hope to get notes up tomorrow or over the weekend.

[Robin Garr]

I haven't been doing wine in the price niche of Barolo or its cousins lately, but I do love me some Barbera and Dolcetto. I've found California Italian varieties in general less successful, although the folks at Mosby certainly turn out a lot of sometimes interesting stuff.

[David M. Bueker]

My Cal-Ital wines for tonight come from Idlewild. Tom Hill and I have both had excellent experiences with the wines in the past.

[Robin Garr]

Bill Mosby, at Buellton, is a really nice guy who I met on the wine road years ago. He's passionate about Italy and grows about 25 different varieties, including some rarities that are hard to find over there. I'd say the wines are generally decent to good, but they're hard to get around the country.

[David M. Bueker]

I will just mention (more to come) that the quality level of Italian varieties in California is much higher than it used to be.

Piedmont makes some of the world's great reds but that is not generally admitted here in France. So I was lucky to find a shop with a decent range of quite high priced Italian wines and other gastronomic products in attractive small town Pont-Audemer about 50km from us. I have doubts if a business like this can survive in such a location so I will do my best to profit from it while it is still there. I bought one bottle each of Dolcetto, Barbera d'Alba and Nebbiolo d'Alba about which you will be hearing when the wines have settled down from the short trip.

For last night's stuffed guinea fowl with chanterelle mushrooms, a Barolo from the cellar seemed ideal..

1999 Giovanni Accomasso & Figlio Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (10/3/2015)
This is a sound but not inspired Barolo. Colour still quite pristine with less amber tints than often in Barolo. Nose quite shy. Palate medium bodied+ still showing some primary red fruit, minerals and bright acidity but few rose and tar notes typical of mature Barolo. Structure was straight backed with some firm tannins on the finish. The overall effect was harmonious and balanced. It's my guess that there is unfinished business here like with a lot of '99 Burgs. Good.



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PS: Sniffing the bottle with heeltaps this morning, the bouquet is much more developed and complex. This indicates the need for a good airing before serving and increases my confidence that the wine is still keeping something in reserve.

[David M. Bueker]

There were two Cal-ital wines in the tasting from Idlewild Wines, their Arneis and Barbera. I was heartily impressed with both. At about $30 each there are less expensive Italian versions, but these were notable for quality and distinctiveness, and I would (and will) gladly purchase each again in the future. Sam Bilbro is doing great work with these wines.

My detailed notes are here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=54550

Had an interesting experience last week. I opened a Mauro Veglio Castelletto Barolo 2009. I don't have Barolo's very much although I love them, but when I do I decant them and let them sit for at least 3 hours. I probably let this one sit for more than that. When we finally tried it it was good but still tight as a drum. I made a note that it would probably be really good in about 10 years. However, we did not finish the bottle and I had about 1/4 of it left. I have a storage vessel that size and saved it. The next night it had opened up and was outstanding. I've never had the experience of liking a wine more the day after. It just adds to my feeling that you can't open a Barolo early enough. For the record this was about a $55 bottle, but it was my birthday.

On another note, a small shop here has started offering a Barbera d'Asti from Luca Ferraris. I really like a good Barbera and at $12 this is a steal if you can find it.

A couple of decent but not spectacular Cal-Itals from the weekend:

2013 Campovida Dolcetto (Mendocino County). A little muddled, to be honest,. Mostly dark fruit-black cherry, plum. Some acidity, but not sure enough. Somewhat earthy. Not really very excited by this, particularly when compared to their delicious 2012 Pinot Noir from coastal Mendocino. B-

2013 Due Vigne Dolcetto "Cinnamon Hill" El Dorado County (above 2,000 feet elevation, I recall). More red fruit on the nose and palate. Sweet red cherry and earth. A little more acid to balance the fruit. However, the alcohol sticks out more than it did on the Campovida, confirming the 15.3% on the label. I liked the fruit profile and structure more here, but the heat does detract a bit. B

Casata Monticello, Barbera d'Alba, ($9.99, alcohol level 13%). It gave flavors of dark cherry, blackberry, tar, dark chocolate, and minerals. Matched it with Italian fennel loaded sausages, penne in our own pesto, grated Romano; and sliced tomatoes, Yum!

One of the features which distinguishes Piedmont from the major French wine regions other than Alsace is that its wineries usually make distinct wines from the several grapes varieties which they grow, e.g. in reds Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Grignolino....By contrast Bordeaux and Southern Rhöne blend their grapes and Burgundy only has one in red.

Traditionally the "great" wines, Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara...., were made with Nebbiolo with the other grapes used for "everyday" wines with food. However, some producers have ambitions to make "great" wines from Barbera and Dolcetto. I am unconvinced by such "great" examples, often burdened with wood, which have come my way. This Barbera is a more traditional quaffing wine, but less rustic than often in the past.

2012 Ferdinando Principiano Barbera Barbera d'Alba Laura - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (10/7/2015)
This is a lively wine with medium- body, attractive bright red fruit (red currant and strawberry in particular), minerals, lively acidity and a suspicion of a prickle. Not a lot of depth but good fun and moreish as well as a good pairing for a pasta dish in a tomato sauce. Good.

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[Robin Garr]

Cascina La Ghersa 2013 “Piagé” Barbera d’Asti ($14.99)

Ruby in color, rather light, clear but not transparent. Simple red-fruit aromas, cranberry perhaps, with a back note of fresh green herbs. Dry and tart on the palate, red-fruit flavors follow the nose, crisp, palate-cleansing acidity, food-friendly 13% alcohol, and a softly bitter note of tannins joining tart berries in the finish. U.S. importer: Vanguard Wines, Columbus, Ohio. (Oct. 7, 2015)

FOOD MATCH: We enjoyed it with a simple salad dressed with fresh tomatoes and their juice, olive oil and thin slices of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It’s a more traditional match with red meat in general, grilled chicken, tomato sauces and cheese-based dishes.

WHEN TO DRINK: Barbera d’Asti is not intended for long-term cellaring, and it won’t really improve as its fruit fades against its natural acidity. It’s best to buy it and drink it soon. That said, the winery suggests that it won’t suffer from aging over two or three years.

VALUE: Our local price is within range of Wine-Searcher.com’s $14 median U.S. retail. At that price and through the middle teens it’s a fine value for a good Northwestern Italian table wine.

WEB LINKS T. Edward Wines in New York City, a regional distributor of organic wines from around the world, has a useful fact sheet on Cascina la Ghersa and its “Piage” Barbera d’Asti here

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Compare prices and find vendors for Cascina La Ghersa “Piagé” Barbera d’Asti on Wine-Searcher.com.

For more on U.S. availability, contact regional distributors Vanguard Wines in Columbus, Ohio, and T. Edward Wines in New York City.

For links to many more good Barbara d’Asti bottlings and information about the wine and its region, check this page on Wine-Searcher.com.

2010 Azienda Agricola l'Armangia Sopra Berruti Barbera d'Asti from CellarTracker:
14% alcohol by volume. Viscous. Purple color; opaque. Plum, espresso and herbal notes on nose and palate. Has some depth for its price point and a medium to long finish. There is a slight bitterness but I didn't find that off-putting. I could see pairing this with a ragout or pappardelle Bolognese but that is not what I was having for dinner. This was fresher on the first evening. There was a teensy bit of sediment in the final glass. I liked the wine and found it a good QPR at under $20 a bottle (wine prices run higher in North Carolina than in some other parts of the USA.) I bought several bottles of this after tasting it in a local wine shop and my notes on a previously opened bottle were similar.

2008 Fiorenzo Nada Nebbiolo Langhe - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (10/14/2015)
Although I wasn't expecting the depth and complexity of a Barolo or Barbaresco, this scrawny Nebbiolo was a disappointment. There was a structural skeleton with little flesh on it. Tar notes are often an attractive component in Barolo but here they were dominant with a dash of quinine added in. Just drinkable. On this evidence Nebbiolo needs the best terroirs, but some, e.g. Sandrone, do much better than this outside the hallowed areas.

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[David M. Bueker]

2012 Sottimano Barbera d'Alba Pairolero - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (10/22/2015)
Restaurant wine list for $35, so worth a shot. Sadly it's hot, over rich, and had me looking for a place to nap half way through my second glass. I was especially distracted by the creamy overtones. This resembled a milkshake more than a Barbera.

2013 Manzone Barbera d`Alba Le Ciliegie, Monforte d`Alba.

13.5% alc, good natural cork, opened one hour, good for 2 days.

Spice and cherries on the nose. Initial entry thought was dry, low tannins, cherry, blackberry. Good finish w. excellent acidity. Slight prickle sensation on day 1, just like Tim`s report on his wine. "Plum..juicy" from across the table. Very nice depth of fruit here and held up great on day 2. Great buy forumites.

2011 Barbaresco, Produttori del Barbaresco:

This is drinking well right now: crisp but not lacking in richness with a lovely, long finish. The color is not all that saturated, could be a Burgundy, not super fragrant but the best is probably yet to come in this area. Very good stuff, as I have come to expect from this producer, and a good QPR at around $25.

I also had a Piedmont false alarm last week. Went to the BYO Nomad Pizza in Hopewell, NJ (can't recommend this place enough - a branch of the Philadelphia outfit) and stopped to grab a bottle of red, which was the 2014 Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, F.lli Badiali. Now from the name, I assumed that 'Alba' was the town in Piedmont, but in this case it is a DOC near Ancona in Marches! A pretty rare grape, which makes an very aromatic and unusual wine - give it a try if you see a bottle (I'm expecting Tom Hill to report on the California sources....).

2012 Fiorenzo Nada Dolcetto d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba (10/26/2015)
It's some time since I opened a Dolcetto and this one was not the "fun" wine I was expecting. I couldn't find any old TNs of mine as calibrators in a quick search but I did find an excellent article by Asimov. He points out that the key to Dolcetto is a balance between sweet, bitter and earthy elements and adds that, contrary to Barbera, tannis are more prominent than acidity. The element missing here was the sweet one and an added element was a touch of leather. The result was a quite strong and savoury tasting but rather hard and charmless wine which did unbend a little with air and greater warmth towards the end of the bottle. Fair unbending towards good and there is much better QPR around for €14 and less.

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