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Perhaps some of the best chocolates in the world are
made in this region. One cannot stop fantasizing about white truffles.
But still. To a wine lover the first two words that come to mind are Barolo
and Barbaresco- two small, hilly towns producing some of the best Italian
red wines.
Barolo has been a 'king of wines and wine of kings.'
Barbaresco came to prominence, thanks to Angelo Gaja who made the Nebbiolo
grape of Barolo do miracle for the small town, facing the Alps. Bruno
Giacosa is a traditionalist producer of excellent wine. Barolo has many
legendry producers including Conterno, Giacomo, Altare, Scavino, Clerico
and Sandrone
Beyond the Big Bs
But there is life beyond the big Bs. Barbera is a grape
variety, central to this region and the dry and fruity Dolcetto makes
some interesting red quaffable wines. Arneis, Cortese, Moscato are some
of the white grape varieties that add lustre to the wines of the region,
while one cannot undermine the excellent flavours provided by the international
varieties too.
I visited recently a few of the vineyards and wineries
in this Northwest Italian region, which may not be as prominent as Gajas
or Giacomes, but make interesting wines with their own personality, nevertheless.
Piemontese are very stubborn and individualistic people, like race horses-difficult
to rein in. This makes for many individual styles which go beyond the
soil and terroir of each region.
In Piemonte, the word wine stands both for tradition and innovation, old
and modern, a marriage which has made it one of the most sought after
region for lovers of good food and wine Like in Bordeaux and Burgundy,
the neighbouring vineyards might produce wine totally different from each
other, thus adding to the excitement of tasting wines from different wineries.
Here are some of the wineries I visited, though we tasted
many more wines with the help of FederExport Piemonte.
1. Veglio Michelino e Figlio
A small family owned and run winery that makes a range of wines on its
small 60 acre estate, half of which is cultivated with vines, the other
half being another precious Piemontese fruit- the hazel nuts. They produce
350,000 bottles ranging from Chardonnay, Moscato d'Asti in whites to the
full range of Piemonte reds, Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo Langhe, Barbaresco
and Barolo.
We tasted 15 labels starting with Chardonnay which was
crisp and dry-an excellent value for money. Barring the basic Rosso which
was disappointing, all other wines were good to very good. Nebbiolo d'Alba
2005, Barolo 2003 were excellent while 2004 was quite acceptable to the
palate.
Perhaps, tasting in Riedel glasses helped the flavours
as the wines did not taste as good during a tasting in Torino a few months
earlier. Their reasonable prices would make them the target for any importer
looking for good values. There are not many Barolos that will sell on
the retail front- here is one that can.
Incidentally the Barolo 2007 we tasted from the barrel
tasted very promising and should be a shining star in 2010, feels Oswaldo
Veglio, Michelino's son.
www.vegliomichelinoefiglio.com
2. San Biagio di Giovanni Roggero
Travelling from Torino towards La Morra, one sees beautiful snow clad
mountains on the right, most of the way. After about 90 minutes of driving
through the beautiful terrain, going past Elio Altare estate and Terra
del Barolo one reaches this small family-run winery.
As the name indicated it is run by the Roggero family.
Giovanni owns the 18 hA estate in La Morra which is in the Barolo appellation.
He and his daughter Tiziana and sons Davide and Gianluca who is the winemaker,
make not only Barolo from different parcels, Barbera d'Alba, Dolcetto
d'Alba but also an interesting wine from Verduno grape.
Italy has a trove of wine grape varietals only they
can keep track of. But it gives the uniqueness to their wines as well-which
is what they have not exploited commercially so far. It was unbelievable
to find out that Verduno Pelaverga, named after one of the villages is
being produced by only 12 producers in the world including 2 in this region,
and we tasted it by one of them!
Full of spicy aromas of cinnamon and white pepper, this
cherry red, clear and brilliant red wine can also be enjoyed cool with
fish, chicken and seafood. The 2006 vintage, having 13.5% alcohol was
not fully developed yet. At the affordable sales price, they should be
sold out to a small importer in the US in one small order. But like any
proud producer of this region, they like to spread out their palate base.
Out of the 12 wines we tasted, the best were Barolo 2003, 2004 and Barbaresco
2005. Prices are competitive with the other average Barolo producers.
www.barolosanbiagio.com
3. Az. Ag. Degiorgis Sergio
Owned by Patrizia Degiorgis, who is also the President of Consorzio Export
Piemonte Divino, this woman-run winery in a village called Mango specialises
in Moscato d'Asti, the favourite sweet wine from Piemonte. She produces
only 70,000 bottles from fruit grown in the vineyards at steep hills 550
m high.
The hills here remind one of Mosel, at an ingredient
of 40°. The 40 year old vines yield very concentred fruit and an opportunity
to make high sugar wines. Sorì del Rey made from grapes from 50
year old vines have low alcohol, high sugar- and the 6 gm acidity make
them excellent dessert wines. However, with the residual sugar of 120-150
gms/liter I would not advise it for diabetes patients.
Her Essenza 2004, a Moscato passito is a delicious dessert wine that she
is very proud of. Plenty of sugar balanced by acid and tropical flavours
make it a desirable wine even when there is no dessert in the house when
one has guests.
www.degiorgis-sergio.com
4. Cascina Luisin de Minuto Roberto
This is one of the more prominent and older producers in the town of Barbaresco.
Founded in 1913 Roberto Minuto has only 6hA of vineyards and produces
only 30,000 bottles (2,500 cases) a year. Roberto informs me that in the
pre-war producers there were only 5 families producing this wine, including
Giacosa, Luisin and Gaja.
As you step out of his winery-cum-home into the terrace,
facing you are the breathtaking snow clad mountains giving a panoramic
view. Straight ahead is France, with Diano dÁlba on the extreme
left and on the right is Torino beyond the mountains. A little more to
your right, is Monte Rosa mountains, beyond the estate of Angelo Gaja,
Darmagi Estate stretching to extreme right where you can see his residence
perched on top of a hillock.
Fresh air and breathtaking views are not the exclusive
prerogatives of Barbaresco but just one more picture card poster view
like thousands in Italian landscape, all the same.
We start with a bottle of Langhe 2006 which Roberto
tells us was opened about 3 days before, but was still very fresh. Aggressive
tannins make it good with red meats now but will get better in 5 years,
our host tells us.
We go through 3 Barbaresco and Barolo-like everywhere
else the 2003 from the extreme hot vintage was drinking the best. This
vintage wines are powerful, bigger bodied and very concentrated. All of
them deserved a 4.5/5 star rating.
5. Az. Ag. Bera
After tasting the big Bs, the scene shifts again to the Moscato and Asti
and the off-dry to sweet wines from the family of Bera. Located in the
Langhe region, on the right side of the famous and important river Tanaro,
it is located between Alba and Asti in a small village.
Bera Brut, a sparkling wine with 60% Chardonnay and
40% Pinot Grigio is a delicious palate cleanser aperitif wine that puts
us into the mood for Moscato d'Asti-again some deliciously sweet wines
for non-wait watchers. Passito 2003 had a great mouthfeel with a lovely
balance of sweetness and acidity, with honey aromas and peach flavours.
www.bera.it
6. Boeri Alfonso
Located in a small hamlet known as Costigliole d'Asti, at a location as
difficult to find as some of the new wineries of Nashik in India, this
winery has some extremely interesting wines, starting with a crisp, very
dry but refreshing Chablis-like unoaked Chardonnay 2006. Even the alcohol
level was a low 12.5%. Even though a wee-bit too expensive only because
of our high taxation, this wine would go as an aperitif or with sea food
on any corner of the earth.
Bevion 2000, a Chardonnay a few bottles of which are
only left with the owners, was opened for us for tasting. Surprisingly
fresh, full body; still crisp a slightly heavy on the oak, nevertheless
an expressive wine evoking the emotions of the winemaker.
The Barbera and the Pörlapa` were their signature wines. But an interesting
wine they produce from a blend of Nebbiolo (70%) and Barbera (30%), known
as Barbòlo was an engaging wine.
www.boerivini.it
7. Morgassi Superiore, Gavi
There is a cliché in the wine industry which
says that the best way of making a million in wine business is start with
a billion. Mario Piacitelli made his millions in his own factories in
Milan, making electromechanical equipment.
He stared growing grapes in 1991 in the vineyard he bought in Gavi and
though the soil is known for Cortese grapes that make dry Gavi di Gavi,
he has also since ventured into Timorasso, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon,
Barbera and Syrah
They make very fine quality, spice, well concentrated and complex Gavi
di Gavi which become a benchmark for other wineries in the region to compare
with. The prices unfortunately are also commensurate with quality and
it leaves itself open only for the duty free purchases by the hotels only.
Gavi has been a DOCG since 1998, after they had started the production.
Gavi di Gavi can be made only this village.
Mario is helped by two married daughters Cecilia Roger and Marino Barbini
who despite being city girls come every weekend to help in the vineyards
and winery with their father.
What Morgassi lacks in terms of variety, it makes up in quality at an
appropriate price.
www.morgassisuperiore.it
8. La Scolca, Gavi
The enthusiastic Dr Giorgio operates the 125-acre La
Scolca estate which produces around 300,000 bottles a year using the most
advanced modern technology. It produces excellent quality wines at a premium
price too.
The dry spumantes made from Cortese grapes here are
quite high priced. The quality no doubt is really top quality. Some of
their bubblies do sell at Champagne prices.
After tasting Gavi from Scolca and Morgassi, it becomes
difficult to locate equivalent delicious wines. Many wines that are being
sold in India at the moment are rubbish when compared to wines from these
two estates.
Once people start appreciating the difference between
the Chianti and Chianti Classico, or Soave and Soave Classico, they would
be willing slightly higher price for Gavi di Gavi (Gavi from the village
of Gavi) and more specifically from these two estates.
9. Manfredi Azienda Vitivinicola
The huge modern estate of Manfredi located in Farigliano is not far from
Barolo but only a stone's throw from Dogliani, which I had visited extensively
a few months earlier. It is a post war phenomenon which has a state of
the art production facility, producing different qualities ranging from
bag-in-the-box to the top Barolo. Luigi and Aldo Manfredi manage the cellar
combining technology with tradition, utilising the expertise of the oenologist
Giovanni Marchisio.
Anna Coletta, the petite export manager took us around
one of the most modern and automatic plants one has seen in Italy; really
out of sync with the visits to the small plants. The spumantes and Piemonte
Chardonnay we tasted were nothing to write home about, but for their fantastically
low prices (it could be termed as the B & G of Piemonte wines). They
could even compete with it in terms of price.
But the best value from this ISO 9001 approved winery
was Nebbiolo DOC 2005 with not very aggressive tannins but a lot of fruit
and balanced acidity. Barbaresco 2004 was rather aromatic and for the
price it was like buying in the bargain basement. Barolo 2003 Patrizi
can also hold its own against the cousins from the town of Barolo.
www.manfredicantine.it
10.Az.Ag. Mauro Giribaldi
I tasted some of the wines brought in by this Alba producer Mauro and
his charming English-speaking daughter Alessandra to the office of FederExport
Piemonte. Several of his wines including Nebbiolo, Barbaresco and Barolo
were of very good-excellent quality. They also make an unusual wine Uve
Cento which deserves another article, at a later date.
www.vinigiribaldi.it
Subhash Arora
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