The story of Italian wine is somewhat
like the tales you might remember from high school – the Prom Queen vs. the
somewhat shy and bookish wallflower. In
this case, it’s exuberant Tuscany vs. the more austere wines of Northern
Italy’s Piedmont.
Everyone loves wines from Tuscany; they
are, in most cases, warm and friendly.
Chianti went from being a vinous joke in the 1960’s to a complete
turnaround in the 80’s – suddenly, the world was in love with Chianti
Classico. Then Tuscan winemakers started
to experiment, planting French varietals, including Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah,
and began mixing these with native grapes, especially Sangiovese. These so-called Super-Tuscan blends won
over a whole generation of wine lovers, and a phenomenon was born. The Voyager loves these generous wines. However…
Wines from the Piedmont are, for the
most part, an entirely different story.
The superstar grape, Nebbiolo, is unlike anything most novice
wine-drinkers have tried. It has characteristics that, at first
glance, don’t sound as inviting as the olfactory and gustatory profiles for
other red wines. Nebbiolos have scents
of violets and leather; so far, so good.
Another part of the nose of a great Nebbiolo is tar. Yes, the same tar that covers your roads in
most parts of the civilized world.
Doesn’t sound especially inviting, does it? And yet, when you combine it with those
floral and leather aromas, it ends up being something unique and wonderful. On the palate, there is often a nuttiness,
combined with a smooth texture. Often
these wines go beyond what most of us consider “dry,” and move into something
best described as “arid,” as if they’re sucking all the moisture from your
mouth. But don’t let this deter you, as
this extreme dryness can make the wines an excellent companion for food.
Nebbiolo reaches it highest expressions
in wines from two regions: Barolo and Barbaresco. These can be magnificent – but they tend to
be costly. Value hunters must look to
wines bottled as Nebbiolo from the Langhe region – the large-scale geographic
area that includes Barolo and Barbaresco as sub-zones. Here, at around $20, you can pick up wines
that will give you a clear idea of why Nebbiolo is revered among wine
connoisseurs.
The first Wine Face-Off for this post
brings two such Nebbiolos into confrontation – although that’s probably a bad
characterization, since really good Nebbiolos are more lovers than
fighters. Of course, they also have
enough complexity to qualify as fairly cerebral wines, so maybe this is another
Face-Off that we should categorize as more of a debate than a brawl.
The test dish was stuffed peppers with
beef. I can imagine that these bottles
might also be a fine match with lamb, and could also serve as a very nice
counterpart for a ravioli stuffed with mushrooms in a cream sauce.
 |
| a fine introduction to Nebbiolo |
2011
Rivetto Nebbiolo (Langhe – Piedmont, Italy): Pale ruby, already some brown on the rim. Absolutely typical aromas of roses, tar and
violets, with steely earthiness underneath and a hint of orange peel. Red fruits on the palate, with a long finish
filled with dark mineral flavors.
Well-balanced and thoroughly enjoyable; a very sound introduction to
Nebbiolo. ***1/2
 |
| the Ca Veja from Paitin is subtle and superb |
2010
Paitin Ca Veja Nebbiolo d’Alba (Piedmont, Italy): Medium ruby, with brown on the rim. The usual Nebbiolo suspects – roses, tar and
violets – are all there on the nose, but here they’re overshadowed by vanilla
and a scent that I can only compare with walking through an evergreen forest in
the mountains during the early morning, when the sun is just starting to warm
the earth, the pine needles, and the wildflowers beside the trail. Sorry, but Nebbiolo can bring out the poet in
even the most prosaic soul. This has the
texture of satin, and the subtlety of a morning sunrise (there goes my inner
poet again!). Unusually, the tiniest
hint of sweet fruit comes through on the mid-palate after this wine has had
some air. Ethereal, graceful and
delicious. ****
So we have a winner, but this is yet
another Face-Off that wound up with the Voyager having to make a choice between
two excellent wines. Here’s an instance
where the amount you pay does make a difference. The Rivetto, at $17.99, is a nice value – but
much better at the case price of $14.39.
The Paitin Ca Veja is $24.99 at retail, but $19.99 when purchased as
part of a mixed case at my local retailer.
Both are good value, especially when compared with most Barolos and Barbarescos. But, if I had to choose between the two, I’d
plump down the extra cash for the Paitin Ca Veja; it has as much elegance as
almost any red I’ve encountered at this price point.
And here’s another excellent Nebbiolo
that The Voyager tasted on its own…
 |
| The Garibaldi Accerto: a lovely Nebbiolo |
2011
Garibaldi Nebbiolo d’Alba Accerto (Alba, Piedmont):
Fairly deep garnet – a little darker than most Nebbiolos you’ll see on the
market. Big violets aromas, with orange
peel, leather and beef scents, as well as a blueberry tone underneath. Later, the bouquet is informed by sour
cherries, cranberry, menthol, spices and a deeper leather perfume. A slightly off-beat feature: after the wine
had been decanted for several hours, a note of soft, spiced vanilla began to
emerge – odd because vanilla, often a by-product of oak aging, typically comes
out right after a wine has been poured. A lovely nutty quality on the palate, with
nice balance and the dryness one expects from this grape. I sampled this with chicken accompanied by
herb gravy, which proved to be a nice match.
I suspect that this would also be a good wine with lamb, beef stew, and
perhaps even a good steak. Excellent
value at $14.98. ****
In his superb book A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway famously wrote “there is no end
to Paris.” For the Voyager, the same
could easily be said of Nebbiolo. It has
a poetry that, for me, is matched by only a few wines on the planet. And here’s my confession: if I was on my
deathbed, and was offered a choice between a fine Pinot Noir and a quality wine
made from Nebbiolo – well, suffice it to say that perhaps my soul will ultimately find its
rest in northern Italy.
The second Wine Face-Off from our
Piedmont tasting pairs two Barberas.
Barbera is the second-tier grape of the Piedmont, but in this case, second-tier
certainly does not mean second-rate. The
very best areas of the Piedmont are all planted with Nebbiolo, which gets
international plaudits and higher prices.
Barbera, however, has a very different character. Typically, it’s accessible at an earlier age
than the great Nebbiolos. However, it
shares a key characteristic with Nebbiolo; Barbera has the advantage of being
extremely food-friendly.
This Face-Off pits wines from different
vintages; I tried to compensate by decanting the younger wine (the 2013 Mauro
Molino), while pouring the Montebruna into a glass at the same time. It seems likely to me that there is a real
difference between the vintages, as the older wine was not simply more mature,
but had intrinsic qualities that the Mauro Molino lacked.
 |
| A worthy introductory Barbera |
2013
Viticolore Mauro Molino Barbera d’Alba (Piedmont,
Italy): Medium garnet. Cherries, roses,
wildflowers, spicy herbs, vanilla, and even a note of café au lait on the nose. Gentle
vanilla and red fruits on the palate.
Soft; perhaps could use a touch more acid to make this as much of a food
wine as Barbera can be. Moderate finish. Still, very nice overall, and a good match
with pasta in a tomato and garlic sauce.
(Note: not much change in this wine after three days saved under Private
Preserve inert gas; usually, being under gas for that long reveals an extra
dimension or two. In this case, what you
see is what you get.) ***
 |
| This Barbera makes a statement... |
2012
Montebruna Barbera d’Asti (Piedmont, Italy): Medium-dark
garnet. Spices and pepper come through
most prominently in a lovely bouquet that also contains vanilla and herbal
scents. Sour cherry and blackberry
aromas as it opens out, with a distinctive espresso note. Nicely balanced, with what wine writers
sometimes call typicity (see below). After being saved for three days using
Private Preserve inert gas, the blackberry aromas came to the fore, along with
mulberry and dark licorice. A fine
Barbera, delicious with food, and a reminder of why northern Italy is such a
special place for fine wine. ****
So this Wine Face-Off results in a clear
winner; the Montebruna is richer, with more grip, and is simply more of what a
Barbera is supposed to be. The Mauro
Molino is fine, but it’s thinner than the Montebruna, lacks the depth that the
older wine from Asti is showing now, and has a shorter finish. Still, if you find that your local merchant
has only the Mauro Molino, don’t despair, as it will still give you a good
sense of what Barbera can do. If you’re
serving pasta or pizza – and you’re willing to go beyond basic wines from
California – Barbera will be a revelation.
For Italian cuisine, these wines are hard to beat.
Wine
Word of the Week –Typicity: if you taste several
Cabernets together – or several Chardonnays together – or several Sangioveses
together…in short, if you taste enough of any particular grape, and remember
what each one tasted like (wherever it might be grown) eventually you will come
to some conclusions about what that category of wine should taste like. We
triangulate our tastes; we try several different types of wine made from the
same grape (even if they’re from distinct areas), and ultimately we begin to
understand the essence of that grape.
Similarly, if we’re tasting wines made
from one grape – or a mix of grapes -- from a particular area, we begin to
comprehend what the soils in that particular area have to offer. For example, Cabernets from the Napa Valley
in California are not the same as wines from the Left Bank of Bordeaux, where
Cabernet is also the dominant varietal.
Cabernets grown in Australia, Italy, Chile or Argentina all have slight
differences that, over time, experienced tasters can discern. Pinot Noir is now grown all over the world,
but it yields particular aromas and tastes in Burgundy, as opposed to Oregon,
California or New Zealand.
Typicity, therefore, is a sense of what
either a particular grape or growing region is at its heart. This is one of those wine terms that one can
only understand when you investigate a grape -- or an area -- in detail, and allow
your sensory memory to come into play. Gaining
this kind of knowledge over time is lots of fun, and deeply
satisfying.
