Mindbendingly Delicious Barbera

Lasagna: I didn't realize I was craving it yesterday but, as soon as I heard the suggestion, I knew it was meant to be.  Funny thing is, it took even less time to think of what I wanted to drink with it: Barbera.  I knew just the one....

Barbera d'Alba, Giuseppe Rinaldi 2008
€9 ex-cellar. 13.5% alcohol.  Cork.  Not exported to the US.
One bottle—one criminally small bottle—of Beppe Rinaldi's Barbera d'Alba made it into the mixed case I cobbled together over the course of my adventures in Piedmont this May.

Tasting the 2009 version from botte at the estate with the lovely young Marta Rinaldi and learning that its production is too small to supply the US market (AND blown away by how delicious it already was), I just had to make space for a bottle of its brother from an earlier vintage in that mixed case.  Ten days, somewhere in the vicinity of twenty producer visits, and I was limiting myself to twelve bottles for the long journey home... insanity.  In retrospect, I wish I'd allowed for a second case, just of this.

Beautifully fresh and juicy, brimming with boisterous fruit, lively acidity and just enough tannin to keep you alert.  Blueberries, plums, red cherries....  It was absolutely delicious with our lasagna and altogether, seamlessly complete.  About as close as wine can come to being the most unimaginably delicious example of fruit juice while simultaneously being 100% vinous in character.  The kind of wine one could happily glug without a care or just as easily meditate upon for hours.  Something of a miracle of nature and one of the most memorable wines I've drunk all year.  Enough said.

Intro only...

Uncomplicated Pleasures

If you read enough wine blogs, especially at the more geeked-out end of the spectrum, or just here for that matter, it may sometimes seem as if there's a constant march forward, ever seeking out something more complex, something more obscure, more I-drank-it-first than yesterday's experience. There's no question that those pursuits do keep wine blogging fresh and help to keep the love of wine alive. But I also expect that the people doing all of that exploring and writing are still drinking simple wines, too, and continuing to find pleasure in them even if at a more quotidian, less rarefied level. I know that, for me, there are plenty of nights where I actually don't want something challenging or provocative, instead preferring to sit down with something simple, straightforward and just plain old easy drinking.


Saumur Champigny, Domaine Joulin (Philippe Joulin) 2008
$18. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Oslo Enterprise, Takoma Park, MD.
Sometimes that wine comes unexpectedly, in the form of something that's not familiar. I'd never had the Saumur Champigny rouge from Philippe Joulin so opened it on a night when I was up for anything. Something complex or challenging, something easy, maybe even something not so nice. This came out on the simple, straightforward point of the spectrum -- fresh, lively and supple; well balanced and direct. None of the gut, crunch or intense energy of, say, the Chinons of Bernard Baudry or the Bourgueils of Catherine and Pierre Breton; nowhere close to the depth and complexity of the Saumur Champigny's from Clos Rougeard, nor the richness of those from Thierry Germain. The only thing complicating this picture is the question of quality-to-price ratio. If this were three or four bucks less per bottle, there would be a good argument for slotting this into regular rotation for just the kind of nights I described above; at $18, though, it under delivers.



Barbera d'Asti, Roberto Ferraris 2009
$14. 14% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
At the totally expected end of the spectrum sits the Barbera d'Asti of Azienda Agricola Roberto Ferraris. I've been selling Roberto's wines for well nigh ten years and enjoying them for several longer, although oddly enough I've only written about them once before, for my guest contribution to the Barbera 2010 blog. Ferraris makes a couple of wines of ambition but the wines in his portfolio that I most enjoy drinking are his single vineyard "Nobbio" bottling and this, his Barbera d'Asti "normale." The 2009 just came ashore in the last few weeks and is already drinking great. Less dark, rich and jammy than the iterations from 2007 and 2008, the '09 epitomizes what I like most about good, straightforward expressions of Piemontese Barbera: it's juicy, snappy, full of blueberry and black cherry fruit, completely soft when it comes to tannic structure but alive and zingy on the palate thanks to Barbera's naturally high acid profile. Barbera also has natural tendencies toward giving high potential alcohol and, at 14%, this is indeed "stronger" than I normally like to go for everyday enjoyment. In this case, though, the 14% alcohol is completely balanced and integrated, showing up only via the pleasantly warm glow the wine delivers in the belly. Perfect Monday night pizza wine and, as long as we're talking QPR, a spot-on value at its price point.

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True Wine: Cappellano, Serralunga d'Alba

Today's post is a continuation of my travelogue from a springtime trip to Piedmont and, more to the point, is my contribution to Cory Cartwright's 32 Days of Natural Wine. Be sure to check it out there in its Saignéed form, and to follow along with the full 32 days of action.

Over the course of ten days wandering the Langhe hills this spring, little was spoken about natural wine, at least not with intention. Plenty was spoken about wine, of course. And plenty of wine was tasted, drunk and enjoyed, some of it over the course of visits with dozens of producers, some of it under more clinical circumstances, and some of it, most enjoyably, over meals with friends, some of them with those very same producers.... Whoever it was that first said that Northern Italians are "cold" clearly hadn't spent much time in Piemontese wine country.

Looking back on the contents of the notebooks I filled during the trip, I can't help but notice certain patterns emerge. For some winery visits, there are pages and pages of notes, from tasting impressions to details about vinification, to the specifics of a given blend or harvest. For others, there's surprisingly little, just some basic impressions, or a curious detail here and there. (Heck, there's always at least some detail; it was me asking the questions and taking the notes, after all.)

Maybe the name of a cat....

Marta
Or the provenance of an unusual piece of equipment....

The rather foreboding basket press still used by Augusto Cappellano was originally "rescued" by Augusto's father, Teobaldo "Baldo" Cappellano (who passed away in February 2009), when he spotted it at the local recycling/smelting center and offered a couple of cases of wine in trade for permission to take it home.

Looking back on those notes, I can't help but realize that sometimes the visits where I wrote the least were those that I enjoyed the most, that flowed the most naturally.

No matter how strictly you choose to define it, I'm increasingly convinced that making natural wine — when it's done right, I prefer to think of it as growing wine — is more about following the rhythms of and respect for life and the land than it is about following any dogma, be it a "natural" or more technically proscribed formula.

When I asked Augusto Cappellano, who's now seen 37 years of age, when he got his start at the family winery, he responded that he'd been helping out since he was born (and doing it full-time since 2003). For him, wine growing was simply a natural first step and has continued, over the years, to be a natural progression.

One could argue that my visit, late on a Saturday morning, was a disruption to that natural rhythm. Hail had struck Cappellano's vineyards in Serralunga the day before, damaging as much as 30% of the set (pre-flowering) clusters. Later that same day, Augusto's mother, Emma Orsi, had fallen down a flight of stairs, breaking a tooth and suffering a mild concussion. Yet there was Augusto, pulling up to the winery gate in his muddy-tired SUV just moments after I'd arrived. I was still wondering if I was in the right place but he was ready to roll. For a winegrower, seeing guests is just another part of the natural, daily rhythm, and Augusto takes it well in stride.

Perhaps Augusto inherited that gift for dealing with natural events from his father. In 1989, after a mud slide took out a significant portion of Cappellano's Barolo vineyards in the Gabbuti cru of Serralunga d'Alba, Baldo decided to replant the roughly one-hectare plot with own-rooted vines of Nebbiolo Michet. That's ungrafted vines: "pie franco" or "french footed" as they're often called in Italy and as they're referred to on the label of the Barolo produced from their fruit. Twenty-plus years later those vines are still thriving, unaffected by phylloxera, even though the soil composition in the vineyard (only about 10-15% sand, along with 30% clay and 50% limestone/calcareous) suggests that it should never have worked, at least not for so long.

The pie franco vines, by the way, produce smaller leaves and berries than do their grafted rupestris cousins, yet the pips are the same size. Augusto therefore removes the seeds from the pie franco must after the first three to four days of maceration to avoid over-extraction.

Marta guards the cellar with her life, making sure the mice don't make off with any more of the wine than mother nature already accounts for through evaporation.

Just as there was little acute talk of natural wine making throughout the trip, most producers were also not particularly predisposed to touting the merits of any particular approach when it came to cellar practices. What was practiced and believed would simply emerge, through the course of observation and discussion. At some estates, it was necessary to read between the lines or to probe for detail; at others, not at all.

Though I don't remember the word ever once being used during our visit, the cellar practices at Cappellano fall clearly and firmly in the traditional spectrum. Only a few wines are produced, all of them varietal.

The wines ferment on their native yeasts in a combination of steel, cement and wood tanks and generally undergo a two-to-three week maceration.


Both of the Baroli as well as the Barbera then spend at least three years, usually more along the lines of four to four-and-a-half, aging in old botti grandi, such as the 50hl casks pictured above.


Lest we overly fetishize the big old cask, though, it's important to remember that at a tiny estate such as Cappellano, with only 3.7 hectares of vineyards under vine, flexibility is key. There's not enough fruit produced in that single hectare of pie franco Nebbiolo, where yields naturally average only 16 or 17 hectoliters/hectare, vintage in and vintage out, to fill one of those 50hl casks. So you'll see botti grandi in the cantina, as well as smaller botti, both round and oval. You'll see foudres. And yes, you'll even see small inox tanks and barriques. Sometimes a barrique really is just a barrique, nothing more than a 225 liter vessel made from wood.

Likewise, farming on the property is entirely organic but Augusto still chooses, as did his father before him, to spray copper and sulfur in the vineyards when needed to defend against rot and mildew, both constant threats through much of the growing season in the Langhe.

Every year brings new challenges and new approahes. In 2009, Augusto took a different approach than usual with his Barolo "Rupestris." All of the wine went through its usual two week fermentation and maceration in steel. After two weeks, he moved half the juice from tank to large wooden fermenters (pictured above), put in a cap of skins, let that cap partially submerge, and then continued maceration with no pumping over for sixty more days. Malolactic fermentation occurred immediately following the primary ferment for the two-week batch but didn't occur until a month after the two-week-plus-two-month lot completed its fermentation and maceration.

As my visit drew to a close, we drank a little Barbera and Barolo, including a beautiful 2004 Barolo "Rupestris," poured from a bottle that had been sitting un-stoppered on the tasting table for two days.

And we finished with a vertical tasting of Barolo Chinato — originally invented by Augusto's ancestor, Dottore Giuseppe Cappellano, in the late 19th Century — going back to the 1905.

Hey, I had to sneak a little humor in there somewhere. Really, we just tasted the current "blue label" release; the rest of the bottles Augusto brought out, one at a time and with both loving care and a sense of fun, from the china cabinet in the winery's decidedly old school tasting parlor.


As always, there were things to be understood from the barrel and bottle, but much more was learned about wine, an entirely human endeavor, through spending a couple of hours with a man and his cat.

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Elvio Cogno, Novello

Each afternoon throughout Nebbiolo Prima, following the big morning tastings and a quick lunch, attendees had the opportunity to visit one winery, selected from amongst a number of regional producers participating in the daily event program. From the options for day one, I selected the Novello-based estate of Elvio Cogno, a producer whose wines I'd been wanting to get to know better. What better way than going straight to the source?

It was a beautifully warm, sunny day in the Langhe. As we pulled into the driveway at the Elvio Cogno estate, a couple of us were quite tempted to forgo the customary tasting in favor of a dip in the family's infinity pool.

Any thoughts of a dip in the pool were quickly put aside as current winemaker Valter Fissore and his wife Nadia Cogno (Elvio's daughter) emerged and talked to us a bit about the general lay of the land surrounding their winery. With eleven hectares under vine, the winery sits atop the Bricco Ravera hill, just outside of Novello. The Cogno family has been making wine in the Langhe for four generations. The history of the estate itself, though, is relatively recent, going back just to 1990, when Elvio Cogno left his partnership position at Marcarini to purchase land and establish his own estate.

The hilltop town of Novello, with the Maritime Alps in the background — the view to the south from Cogno's patio.

After the quick geography lesson, it was straight to the winery tasting room, where Valter Fissore led us through the entire slate of wines he produces.

1. Langhe Bianco "Anas-Cëtta," Elvio Cogno 2009
   I think it's fair to say that Cogno's example of Nascetta, a relatively obscure vine indigenous to the Langhe, is one of the best known. Of the 4.5 hectares of Nascetta planted in Novello, 1.5 belong to Cogno, and they've produced this bottling, called "Anas-Cëtta," every year since 1994. Varietal examples of Nascetta such as this were admitted to the DOC discipline under the umbrella Langhe Bianco designation beginning in 2004. As of the 2010 vintage, Nascetta will have its own DOC: Langhe Nascetta.
   
   After a one-day cold maceration, Cogno's Nascetta begins its fermentation on native yeasts in steel tanks. After a short period, 30% of the wine is moved to old barriques for completion of its primary fermentation. After six months on the lees, including batonnage, the two batches are remarried and allowed to integrate in tank prior to bottling. In the 2009 vintage, about 30-40% of the wine went through malolactic fermentation. The end result is a wine of medium body and medium acidity, full of pear fruit and a dash of white pepper, and with a very distinct nose of mustard seed, goldenrod and freshly baked whole wheat bread.
   
   
   Valter Fissore in the tasting room.
   
   
   
   
2. Barbera d'Alba "Bricco dei Merli," Elvio Cogno 2007
   The Bricco dei Merli (vineyard of the blackbird) is a 1.8 hectare parcel located just down the hill from the winery. Amazingly, 30-40% of the fruit comes from 150 year-old, pre-phylloxera "pied franco" vines. The wine is aged for one year in a mixture of new, large casks (new casks here always see Barbera first, before being used for Nebbiolo) and older barriques (which are currently being phased out at the estate).
   
   When first poured, the '07 showed very ripe, slightly pruned fruit. As it opened, though, the wine became fresher and, for this taster, much more delicious. Rich yet nervous, full of fresh blueberry and boysenberry fruit.
   
   
3. Langhe Rosso "Montegrilli," Elvio Cogno 2007
   Speaking with Valter, it's clear that "Montegrilli" is his wine — "mio vino," in his words. It is a 50/50 blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo, co-fermented in steel then aged for about a year in 2nd, 3rd and 4th passage barriques. The Nebbiolo in the blend comes from the best of Valter's young Barolo vines where the fruit ripens early enough to be picked simultaneously and co-fermented with the generally earlier ripening Barbera. The wine shows lovely, opulent aromas, brimming with 2007 character (ripe and forward). It drinks much like the Barbera "Bricco dei Merli" but with sterner aromas, firmer structure and more evident minerality.
   
   
   
4. Langhe Rosso "Montegrilli," Elvio Cogno 2008
   If the 2007 version was Valter's wine, the 2008 is clearly Valter's joy. He calls it his Gevrey-Chambertin. The '08 was produced with the same general disciplines as the '07 but saw a less intensive oak treatment, being aged in botti rather than barriques. Bottled only one month prior to our visit, it was already showing beautifully, with very elegant structure and red-fruited and floral aromatics. Fantastically drinkable.
   
   
5. Barbaresco, Elvio Cogno 2006
   Barbaresco is a new venture at Cogno, produced from a leased 0.6 hectare vineyard of 20-30 year-old Nebbiolo vines in the Montesommo cru of Neive. After a 20-day maceration and fermentation with a submerged cap, the wine spent a little over a year in casks of Slovenian oak before bottling. Very nice if somewhat simple in character, this, like the preceding "Montegrilli," was defined primarily by its elegance, putting it in stark contrast with the majority of 2007 Barbaresci I'd tasted earlier in the morning.
   
   
6. Barolo "Cascina Nuova," Elvio Cogno 2006
   Yielding from young vines (6-12 years) in Novello, "Cascina Nuova" is the most approachable and value-oriented of the four Baroli produced at Cogno. Quite elegant, delicate and fresh in style. It ages for two years in large casks, followed by six months of bottle age.
   
   
   The squared-off inox tanks used at Elvio Cogno were designed not only to optimize use of space (think about the shape of boxed wine vs. bottled wine in a shipping container or on the shelf) but also to facilitate the submerged cap method of maceration that Valter favors.
   
   
   
7. Barolo "Ravera," Elvio Cogno 2006
   "Ravera" is a south-facing single vineyard cru of 4.8 hectares situated in Novello. Cogno's 2006, produced specifically from the michet and lampia clones of Nebbiolo, underwent approximately 40 days of maceration, with pump-over for the first 10-12 days followed by 25-30 days with a submerged cap. It was then finished with 24 months aging in botti. Very young, forceful and somewhat closed at present, but very promising.
   
   
8. Barolo "Bricco Pernice," Elvio Cogno 2005
   Another new wine at the estate, "Bricco Pernice" is a two-hectare plot within the cru of Ravera that is planted entirely to the lampia sub-variety of Nebbiolo, with vines ranging from 10-50 years of age. Its name refers to the prevalence of partridges in the area. After a 30-day submerged cap maceration, it spent 30 months in new-to-Nebbiolo casks (used once previously for Barbera, which takes more kindly to entirely new oak per Valter) and another 12 months in bottle prior to release. Riper and with a more baked-fruit aromatic profile than "Ravera" or "Cascina Nuova." Very well done.
   
   
   
9. Barolo "Vigna Elena," Elvio Cogno 1999
   First produced in the 1997 vintage, "Vigna Elena" is named after Valter's daughter who, at age three, drew the picture that has since become the label art for this cuvée. Now nineteen, Elena is a graphic artist whose more recent work includes the label art for "Bricco Pernice."
   
   The wine comes from a one-hectare vineyard of 29 year-old vines. It's produced entirely from the rosé clone of Nebbiolo, of which Valter is a particular champion in spite of it fairly widely being considered an "inferior" sub-variety. As Valter explains, for this cuvée, which he produces only in exceptional vintages, he's looking for a Burgundian sense of elegance, not power. At eleven years of age, it's showing the encroachment of some maturity along with lovely aromatic development yet is still very, very young tasting. There's a whiff of brett but just enough to add some sauvage interest to the wine's overall character. Oh yeah, the technical stuff: 30-day submerged cap maceration, 36 months in 40 hectoliter casks of Slavonian oak and 12 months of bottle age prior to commercialization.
   
   
   
10. Barolo "Ravera," Elvio Cogno 2001
    Valter was particularly keen to show us his 2001 "Ravera" as it had been selected as the top wine out of twelve 2001 Baroli tasted as part of a Decanter master class on the day prior to our visit. The 2001, aged for one year in tonneaux followed by another in botti, showed a more overt wood influence than its younger counterpart from 2006. It handled that wood with no problem, though, exuding a ripe, dark and beautiful nose full of menthol, teak and dark, spicy fruit. Firm, dusty tannins brought it all together on the palate. Very fresh in color and aroma, this should have a long life ahead of it.

After our tasting, Valter led our small group on a quick tour of the family's recently expanded and renovated winery. Undertaking such work in Piedmont, in Italy in general, takes patience beyond the realm of virtue and into that of absolute requirement. Obtaining the necessary work permits and designing all exterior aspects according to historical specifications often makes such projects take years.

At Cogno, that combination of patience and diligent work have paid dividends in the form of a lovely winery space, not overly large but with enough space to allow for plenty of bottle storage and to facilitate comfortable and efficient work flow, from vinification through barrel aging and on to bottling.

As you'll have surmised if you made it through the technical aspects of the above tasting notes, a variety of shapes, sizes and sources of oak wine vessels are utilized at Cogno, ranging from barriques through the foudres and large casks shown in the above picture above. As it seems is the case at so many producers throughout the Langhe at the moment, Valter is moving more and more away from the use of barriques and more toward medium- to large-scale wood.

Valter has come up with a pretty tidy solution for dealing with those small barrels as they rotate out of the production cycle. Barrique stave fencing, anyone?

Some might view that shift as a step away from modernism and more toward the centrist position on the Piemontese stylistic spectrum. More cynical minds might look at it as following fashion. To me, having visited and gotten a closer understanding of the wines, it seems first and foremost a natural step in the ongoing and ever changing, ever cyclical efforts of a man trying to make the best wine possible from what nature has provided.

In closing, this shot goes out to all the friends and associates I've annoyed (and have yet to annoy) by publishing photos of them here at MFWT over the years. That's me with Valter, the Langhe hills rolling to the horizon.


Elvio Cogno
Località Ravera, 2
12060 Novello (CN)
Italia
Tel. +39 0173 744006

Intro only...

On the Barbera Trail

As promised a few days ago, and at the kind request of the estimable Dr. P., I've contributed a guest blog post, written from my perspective as a wine retailer, for the Barbera 2010 project. Here's an excerpt to whet your collective whistles:

"It's the wines that capture Barbera's innate rusticity and display its ease at the table that I find myself leading people to time and time again.

Take the wines of Roberto Ferraris, a grower of Barbera d'Asti whose nine-hectare farm is nestled in the hills of Agliano Terme. Ferraris is not a producer on many people's radar but I kind of like it that way. It removes any pretense of selling his wines based on a name. The focus instead is entirely on quality, and Roberto delivers just that, from his entry-level Barbera d'Asti through his vineyard designated wines...."

To read the whole story, head on over to my post at the Barbera 2010 blog. Thanks for having me, y'all. Buon viaggio!

Intro only...

Follow the Barbera Boys (and Girls!)

Oh, to be in Piemonte. The magical region in NW Italy has been beckoning me back since my first and last trip there... amazing to think it's already been four years.

Though it won't exactly make up for my disappointment in not being able to join the group that's headed there next week, I'm looking forward to following the exploits of my friends and wine writing cohorts on the Barbera 2010 trail. Jeremy "Doctor DoBi" Parzen has gathered a select group of North American wine writers, bloggers and restaurateurs to travel to the prime growing zones of Alba, Asti and Monferrato for a concentrated blitz on the world of Barbera from March 8 through March 11. You can follow along with them, just as I will, at the official Barbera 2010 site as well as at the various blogs and websites of those that are, unlike myself (sob...), able to make the trip.

A token shot from the MFWT archives.... Giacomo Conterno's 2005 Barbera d'Alba "Cascina Francia" was among the more compelling examples of Barbera I've enjoyed over the last couple of years. One of the great things about Barbera, though, is that it need not be profound to be eminently versatile and enjoyable.

Even though I won't be there for the main event, I'm due to do a little warm-up guest blogging at the Barbera 2010 site in the next couple of days, so check it out, bookmark it or subscribe, and stay tuned. I'll post a reminder here when my contribution is alive and kicking.

Intro only...

WBW 54 Reminder #2 (including a bonus point challenge) and a Delicious Barbera

The two week countdown has begun for the 54th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, which will be hosted right here at MFWT. Just in case anyone missed the original announcement, this month’s topic is “A Passion for Piedmont.” All you have to do to participate is to pick any wine – red, white, rosé, bubbly, sweet… you get the picture – from Piedmont (the northwestern corner of Italy that is, not the middle of North Carolina), try it, write about it and report on your findings. Having your own blog makes it easy but is absolutely not a requirement. You’ll find a more complete description of how to participate back in my original announcement. I’ll post the instructions again as our date – Wednesday, February 18, 2009 – draws nearer.

Castiglione Falletto is just one of the many beautiful hilltop villages in Piedmont's Barolo zone. (Photo courtesy of Alastair.)
I also promised/threatened to issue a bonus point challenge or two as our deadline draws nigh. Just what those bonus points will be worth remains to be determined but, at the very least, you can rest assured that they’ll move your report to the head of the class when I publish the summary of participants. So, without further ado, the first “Passion for Piedmont” bonus point challenge is:

Drink a red wine and a white wine, both from Piedmont and both from the same producer.

Sounds easy enough, right? I don’t hear too many wine bloggers complaining about second bottles. But remember, Piedmont is red wine country. White wines are certainly produced but are fewer and further between than their red brethren. Half the challenge will be in the shopping alone. So get to it. I’ll be interested to see what you find.

* * *
I’ve already been doing a bit of Piedmontese practice – with wines, that is, not the local dialect. For no particular reason, the focus of late has been on Barbera. Here’s a quick note on one that really grabbed me by the bootstraps.

Barbera d’Alba “Vigna Martina,” Elio Grasso 2006
$36. 14.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ; and Martin Scott, New York, NY.
Elio Grasso’s Barbera is made from the fruit of a single vineyard, fermented in steel and then aged in French barriques (half new and half one-year-old) for one year, followed by a minimum of eight-months aging in bottle prior to release. In addition to the wine’s single vineyard origins, it’s really the use of small (and especially new) French oak barrels (as opposed to steel-only or larger casks of Slavonian oak) that would lead some to brand it as “in the modern style.” The structure of Grasso’s Barbera, however, is more than up to integrating and balancing with that oak. In a good vintage it can be quite age worthy and will be outlived, in fact, only by the estate’s bottlings of Barolo. (The label image above is borrowed from the 2001 vintage.)

When I first tasted the 2006 upon release, roughly six months ago, it was tough. Tight’s not the right word; it was disjointed, awkward and ungiving, even if all the parts seemed to be there. Only six months on, it’s quickly coming into its own, showing beautiful concentration and presence. It’s already eaten up the oak, which has left only a nuance of toast and spice, nothing at all to interfere with, much less mask, the wine’s expression. Barbera’s fruit-forward nature is all there, with plums, blueberries and blackberries in spades, but there’s also force and substance. Just as the wine is handling its oak, it’s also carrying its naturally high acidity with ease, showing not a hint of Barbera’s tendency toward tanginess. At the same time, it’s that acidity – along with gentle but perfectly balanced grip – that lets the wine carry its weight and frame with grace. This one’s a baby right now, but already a pleasure to drink.

Intro only...

B-Sides: Some Recent Hits, Misses and Outtakes

B-Sides. Sometimes neglected, almost always overshadowed by their siblings on the up-side of the disc; sometimes plain bad, but just as often every bit as interesting, if not more so, than the tracks that get more airplay. Here at MFWT, “B-Sides” will be a new series of posts that I’ll run periodically (as long as the content moves me in any way). The B-Sides are quick notes about wines that didn’t get the full attention, by way of individual or more detailed posts, they may have deserved.

The hits – wines that made my palate stand up and take notice….


Pfalz Pinot Noir, Becker Estate (Friedrich Becker) 2006
$20. 12.5% alcohol. Screwcap. Importer: A Rudi Wiest Selection, Cellars International, San Marcos, CA.
I’ve read good things about Friedrich Becker’s Spätburgunders at both Barry’s Wine and Rockss and Fruit. So I didn’t hesitate to pick up a bottle of Becker’s Estate Pinot Noir when I found it on the shelves at, of all places, a local outlet of the PLCB. Very nice wine, with fresh acidity, minimal tannins and clear fruit expression. A classic unoaked Spätburgunder nose of black cherries, smoke, a little pepper and clove, and a twinge of green herbaceousness. Reductive when first opened – perhaps a side-effect of its screwcap closure – but that blew off quickly.

Chénas, Domaine des Pierres (Jean-François Trichard) 2007
$17. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
A solid example of fruity-style Beaujolais, showing much better than when last tasted a couple of months ago. It’s shed its earlier baby fat and is starting to lean-out and take on more herbal interest in its bright, raspberry driven flavor profile. Jean-François has taken over charge of the estate from his father Georges. They're apparently still working through their batch of old labels, so you may see this version of this wine labeled with Georges' name as well as with that of Jean-François.

Vouvray “Cuvée de Silex,” Domaine des Aubisières (Bernard Fouquet) 2007
$15. 13% alcohol. Screwcap. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA.
I don’t have much more to say about this than last time other than that it’s showing drier than it was just three months ago. At an average retail price of $16 – and I’ve seen it lower in some spots – this is a great value in Vouvray that’s both serious and quaffable.

The misses – wines that left me wanting a little (or a lot) more….


Jasnières “Clos des Longues Vignes,” Domaine le Briseau (Nathalie & Christian Chaussard) 2004
$28. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
The Chaussards’ wines continue to leave me scratching my head. This is a fully dry Jasnières that showed some Chenin typicity, with pear fruit, good acidity and aromas of flowering herbs. But it was bitter on the finish, hollow on the mid-palate and short on the end. Though fresh on day one, it darkened in color and oxidized more quickly than normal by day two. Too low-sulfur for its own good? I’m not ready to give up yet but it will take some convincing showings to change my impression of this estate’s wines.

Barbera d’Asti “Tre Vigne,” Vietti 2006
$26. 14% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Remy Cointreau USA, New York, NY.
I have a love/hate relationship with Barbera. This one fell in the grey area, with not enough depth in the fruit and textural departments to balance its tangy, borderline sour acidity. I have no problem with high acidity – it’s one of Barbera’s hallmarks – but it has to be in balance to work. Vietti is a consistently reliable producer but this vintage of “Tre Vigne” didn’t do it for me.

Marlborough Pinot Noir, Churton 2005
$10. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Allied Beverage Group, Carlstadt, NJ.
Every once in a while, I get the urge to explore a thing or two from Down Under and, for whatever reason, New Zealand Pinot Noir has recently piqued my curiosity. I had an off chance to pick this up for $10 on an importer’s close-out deal; it usually retails for $20-25. I wouldn’t buy it again even at $10. Like sweet and sour tomato paste. I forced myself to stick with it for not one but two nights – for educational purposes, mind you. I had a hard time squelching it past my tongue on both evenings.

The outtakes – wines that might have been hits if consumed at the right time or if handled with better care….


Bourgogne Aligoté, Domaine Diconne (Jean-Pierre Diconne) 2002
$13. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
As I enjoyed this wine when it was released back in 2004, I know it to have been a solid example of textbook Aligoté from a producer whose wines I generally enjoy. This one just got away from me in the cellar. Once I realized that, sometime in ’07 I believe, I decided to make an experiment of it, intentionally keeping it past its expected prime. The results of said experiment turned out as anticipated. Not entirely uninteresting but it was more volatile than anything else, smelling and tasting not unlike the vapor of Lemon Pledge.

Bekaa Valley White, Château Musar (Gaston Hochar) 2000
$30. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Broadbent Selections, San Francisco, CA.
I’ve yet to have a bottle – white or red – from Musar that justifies the reverent things I’ve heard and read about the estate. I don’t doubt that such a bottle is out there. It’s just that those with which I’ve crossed paths have all been either lackluster or abused. This one fell into the latter camp, the result of heat damage I suspect. What little fruit was left was caramelized; otherwise, this mostly just showed volatile acidity.

Saint-Véran, Domaine des Valanges (Michel Paquet) 2005
$15. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
Another grey area wine, this is still holding some drinkability but hasn’t developed enough in the way of bottle bouquet to offset its trip down the slippery slope. Paquet produces direct, early drinking Mâcon-Davayé and Saint-Véran that are pretty decent values. But this, after only two-plus years in the bottle, is fading faster than I would have expected. If you’re holding any, drink up while the drinking’s still satisfactory.

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Catching Up with Giuseppe Vajra

Giuseppe Vajra first walked through the doors at the shop where I spend my days about four or five years ago. He couldn’t have been much more than nineteen at the time, making his way around the US on his first trip as emissary of his family’s estate. It must have been an awkward baptism, as he wasn’t old enough, legally here in the US, to taste his own wines even though it was his responsibility to show and discuss them with clients. Logistics aside, like so many other young men and women of his generation who happened to have been born into wine growing families, Giuseppe, on that first trip, was still undecided as to whether he saw his future in wine.

As a guy roughly twice Giuseppe’s age, come relatively late to the wine business, it’s all too easy for me to look on his situation with awe, even with a touch of envy. How great would it be to inherit beautiful vineyards and a winery in Barolo – or almost anywhere for that matter? Going back through time and putting myself in nineteen year-old shoes, though, and imagining (theoretically) my own father talking of passing along “the family business” to me, Giuseppe’s trepidation was clearly justified. The call of the new and different, of the city, of exploring things away from home – even of rebellion – must certainly have been great.

When I saw Giuseppe again two or three years ago, he had taken a couple of steps toward a decision but was still somewhat unsure. Meeting him for a third time, just last week, it’s now clear where Giuseppe’s future and, yes, his heart, lay. When he speaks about the family winery, still headed by his father Aldo Vajra, it’s clear that Giuseppe is speaking in we terms, is thinking of how he’ll carry on – or even change – the work that Aldo does today. In speaking of Aldo, Giuseppe said, “The more my father ages, the less he wants to do to the wines.” It’s a lovely expression of the constantly evolving, increasingly natural approach to winemaking at the Vajra estate. And as Giuseppe spoke of their continuing adoption of biodynamic techniques, of their positive approach to minimizing the use of sulfur in the wine making regime and of the terroirs that make up the estate, it was again clear that he was thinking in terms of “we,” not just “he.” Giuseppe’s become more than a spokesperson, that’s for sure. Given that he’s named after his grandfather, Giuseppe Domenico Vajra, whose name still appears on the family’s wines, he couldn’t have chosen a more fitting path.

* * *
As on his first visit some five years ago, Giuseppe was passing through to show the current releases of the estate. Here’s a look at what he poured for us.


Langhe Rosso, G. D. Vajra 2006 (13% alcohol)
To some, the idea of a blended wine being produced in the Langhe district of Piedmont automatically equates to modernism. Vajra’s Langhe Rosso, though, is far from a “Super Piemontese” red. Instead, plain and simple, it’s the most basic, casual wine produced at the estate. A young vine cuvée destined for youthful drinking (although it does age surprisingly well), its blend varies from year-to-year based on the natural production cycle of any given vintage. The 2006 Langhe Rosso is a blend of Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera, plus very small amounts – about 5% each – of Pinot Noir, Freisa and Albarossa. The latter vine, Albarossa, was originally created by Professor Giovanni Dalmasso when, in 1938, he crossed Barbera with a local mutation of Nebbiolo called Chatus. Albarossa turned out to give less elegant wines than hoped for on its own but serves as a useful blending agent, providing violet color and crispy texture. The wine? Full of bright red, punchy fruit. Lively mouthfeel and a slightly sweet/tart/tropical nose. Delicate tannins, refreshing acidity and easygoing light-to-medium body make it a versatile pour.

Dolcetto d’Alba, G. D. Vajra 2007 (13.5% alcohol)
Radiantly violet/purple in the glass. Giuseppe thinks of it as blue. Lovely, crunchy tannins follow a mouthful of dark red cherries, plums and inky minerality. One of the most fruit-forward expressions of Dolcetto I’ve had from Vajra, although it almost always does start out fruity in its youth and then develops subtlety with age. In the winery, it is put through a very quick cold stabilization to fix its vibrant colors and to partially forestall Dolcetto’s tendency to throw high quantities of sediment. If you’re a Loire Valley Cabernet Franc fan, you owe it to yourself to try this.

Barbera d’Alba Superiore, G. D. Vajra 2006 (14% alcohol)
Bottled just a week before Giuseppe’s trip, this is a brooding, muscular style of Barbera, with tannic extract playing against Barbera’s natural acidity and showing off the vine’s balancing act between rusticity and refinement. Tautly wrapped blueberry and blackberry fruit, touched by a bit of wood spice. Aged in old tonneau and 2500-liter casks. Giuseppe described it as less juicy than the 2007 and less classic than the 2004 but perfectly balanced. At seven to ten years of age, he thinks this will become more mineral, floral and herbal in character. For now, it’s a mouthful of intensity that would pair well with braised meat dishes or perhaps a dish of beef cheek ravioli.

Langhe Nebbiolo, G. D. Vajra 2006 (13.5% alcohol)
This was Giuseppe’s go-to “college wine” during the past year, what he poured for his roommates at University to help compensate for his lack of cooking abilities. A great food wine it is. Although in my experience this wine can age better than most “basic” Langhe Nebbiolo, G. recommends drinking it in its first three-to-four years for maximum enjoyment. This is Nebbiolo fermented and aged only in steel, produced primarily from fruit grown in a southwest-facing parcel called “Gesso” located at the foot of Bricco delle Viole and from the young vines in the Vajra’s recently acquired property in Sinio, just outside of the Barolo zone on the outskirts of Serralunga d’Alba. The wine is in a great spot right now, full of violet, rose petal and red licorice aromas. Finely detailed and long on the palate. No lack of nuance. Every bit a fine example of a “poor man’s Barolo.”

Barolo “Albe,” G. D. Vajra 2004 (14% alcohol)
“Albe” is Vajra’s young vine Barolo, produced from 20 year-old vines in the vineyards La Volta, Coste and Fossati, all on the hillsides in Vergne, perched above the town of Barolo itself. After a 20-day fermentation and maceration, the wine is aged in traditional botte of Slovanian oak along with a small amount of tonneau and 50-hectoliter barrels. Bottled only two months ago, it’s very tight, with a firm tannic structure and a nose full of tar and black earth. It needs about a year before it starts to show its real stuff. This and their Freisa called “Kyè” are the two wines, Giuseppe feels, that change the most from year to year.

Barolo “Bricco delle Viole,” G. D. Vajra 2004 (14% alcohol)
The Bricco delle Viole vineyard was planted by Aldo’s grandfather (Giuseppe’s great-grandfather) in 1949. 1978 was Aldo’s first vintage. His 2004 is already beautiful wine, showing more forward, elegant aromas than “Albe” but with much greater structural intensity, balance and finesse on the palate. Really beautiful wine. Drink it now for contemplative study if you will, but better to save it for a rainy day some year in the future. The ’04 Bricco delle Viole went through a 30-day fermentation and maceration, followed by aging primarily in 2500-liter casks. 8700 bottles produced.

Moscato d’Asti, G. D. Vajra 2007 (5.5% alcohol)
What better way to refresh after tasting a bunch of tannic, high-acid reds? Beer maybe? I’m not so sure. Vajra’s Moscato is a benchmark – joyously fruity and damn delicious year in and year out. In 2007, it was Giuseppe’s baby to tend to in the winery. It’s the quickest job start to finish but the most labor intensive in terms of the amount of attention required. Giuseppe spent at least one night in the winery after staying so late that he was inadvertently locked out of the house. I’m betting he drank some for breakfast the next morning, maybe with a little zabaglione.

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Wines at the Bistro

Friends and I headed out to Bistro on the Brandywine for dinner a few nights ago. Taking advantage of their BYOB policy, which continues in spite of the recent approval of their liquor license, we carried along a few bottles with a view to ensuring enough versatility to suit the restaurant’s French bistro influenced menu.

Cheverny, Le Petit Chambord (François Cazin) 2006
François Cazin’s low-yield farming shows through in spades in the richly concentrated fruit and slightly unctuous texture of his 2006 Cheverny Blanc, a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Chardonnay. Given its high alcohol (14.5%) and marked residual sugar, I can’t help but consider this atypical for Cheverny. The herbaceous and mineral edge I expect from the AOC are missing and subdued respectively, replaced by round, ripe lemon and tangerine fruit and aromas of white tree blossoms. Cazin was obviously working with some pretty ripe raw materials in this vintage. The wine stops just short of being fully honeyed. On the up side, its alcohol is not at all apparent. There’s a chalky acidity that stands out on the mid-palate. In spite of all the concentration, its purity of fruit, along with that high-toned acidity, helped to make this pretty satisfying as an aperitif. It also worked well with the daily salad special of field greens, goat cheese and roasted golden beets. $16. 14.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.

Irouléguy Blanc “Ilori" ("Les Jonquilles"), Domaine Brana 2004
When I learned a few years back that the shop where I spend my days would be dropping the Wine Traditions portfolio, I was dismayed. Importer Ed Addiss brings in a book of characterful wines from a cadre of small estates, with particular strength in SW France. I made sure to snag a couple bottles each of a few of my favorites before they’d no longer be easily accessible. This is one, especially tasting it now, which I wish I’d gone long on.

“Ilori” is Basque, “Les Jonquilles” French, for Narcissus jonquilla, the yellow wildflowers native to southern Europe that grow widely on the terraced hillsides in Irouléguy. This is Domaine Brana’s “basic” white, a blend of Gros Manseng and Petit Courbu, vinified without wood influence. At first sniff, it gave off a cheesy pungency that I’ve noticed before in Jurançon Sec and other Pyrenéean whites. With air, that funk transformed into a much fresher expression of lime pith, kumquat and hay, with mountain meadow floral and herbaceous notes evocative of the wine’s name. Although it’s a tad lower alcohol than typical for Irouléguy Blanc, it still shows the area’s savage power and dryness via its combination of visceral acidity and intense persistence. Lip smackingly good even at first, it just kept getting better right up to the last drop. Spot on with the saffron cream sauce in which our mussels were cooked. $14 on release. 13.5% alcohol. Composite cork. Importer: Wine Traditions, Falls Church, VA.

Barbera d’Alba “Cascina Francia,” Giacomo Conterno 2005
What can I say about this that hasn’t been said before? The wines of the Giacomo Conterno estate are a benchmark for the traditionalist style in Piedmont. They are widely considered to have few if any peers, particularly in the context of their famous Barolo Riserva, “Monfortino.” Though the winery is located in Monforte d’Alba, this Barbera is sourced from the estate’s 16-hectare vineyard, Cascina Francia, located high on the hillsides of Serralunga d’Alba. This is wine that somehow manages to capture the innately rustic personality of Barbera yet express it with elegance, structure and fine balance. The characteristic muscle of Serralunga fruit is all there. Plum and mulberry fruit and dense earthiness are followed by a hint of cocoa-driven opulence and restrained spiciness, the influence of a two-year aging regimen in old botti of Slovonian oak. Hardly every day Barbera, this is profound, a real vino di meditazione. There may not be a better pairing out there for the short ribs and gorgonzola gnocchi served at the Bistro. $30. 14% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, NY.

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Marc de Grazia Grand Tour 2008 Tasting

I’ve been struggling for several days now as to whether or not to post this. As you’re now reading it, my decision should be obvious. However, it wasn’t reached easily. It took encouragement and inspiration from a few friends. Really, it wasn’t until I saw Jeremy Parzen’s video of his recent visit to the Gambero Rosso tasting in San Diego and, subsequently, Brooklynguy’s reluctant report on the Gambero Rosso event in New York that I made up my mind. Even then, coming to a decision took a little more self-inflicted torture. The reasons are many. First and foremost, the tasting occurred in the middle of a busy workday. I tasted fairly but did not have the time to sample all of the wines present or to take notes in as much detail as I’d usually like. Second, I found little to like among what I did manage to taste. Even after years in the trade and a year-plus of blogging, I still feel a tug of self-conflict when griping about something for which I didn’t pay.

It’s time to get over it, McDuff.

The whites:
The only producer whose wines I enjoyed across the board, white or red, was Gini, an estate located in Monforte d’Alpone at the heart of the Soave Classico zone. Their 2006 Soave Classico “normale,” done all in stainless and unusual in its claim of being 100% Garganega, was pure and well-balanced, with golden pear fruit and mouth watering acidity. The 2004 Recioto di Soave Classico “Col Foscarin” was simple but lovely for its honeyed fruit and, again, good acidity. More compelling was their botrytis affected cuvée, Recioto di Soave Classico “Renobilis” 2003. The extra concentration provided by the noble rot lent the wine more aromatic depth and a longer, spice-tinged finish.

Overall, the whites in the de Grazia portfolio fared better than the reds, though mainly by dubious virtue of falling in the neutral zone, that undistinguished, middle of the road, neither bad nor characterful part of spectrum. This, of course, is an issue that many critics have pointed out with all too many Italian white wines in general. One such pundit, Terry Hughes at Mondosapore, has been digging for the exceptions to that rule lately (see here and here). Along with him, I’ve been looking to Campania in search of some of those exceptions. The wines I tasted today, though, didn’t quite raise the bar.

The 2006 Falanghina from Cantina del Taburno was corked, so I’ll withhold judgment (aside from the fact that they were pouring it). Their Greco from the same vintage was perfectly acceptable for its fruitiness yet was boring. But then, I’ve yet to find a Greco I have liked much… any recommendations out there? On the flipside of the simple yet fruity coin was the 2006 Fiano di Avellino from Collio di Lapio; it showed intense structure, with both acidity and apparent extract on the palate, yet it was nearly bereft of fruit.

Moving up the boot to Umbria, the Orvieto-based estate Palazzone was showing three of their whites. Their 2006 Orvieto Classico Superiore “Terre Vineate” fell very much into the same camp as the Greco from Cantina del Taburno, perfectly nice yet ultimately uninspiring. More interesting and soundly up there in the “wines I liked” category was their vineyard designated 2004 Orvieto Classico Superiore “Campo del Guardiano.” Fourteen months of bottle aging prior to release, along with what would appear to be better quality fruit, had give it firmer texture and a savory, herbaceous and nutty character. Falling totally flat, however, was Palazzone’s 2005 Umbria Bianco IGT “L’Ultima Spiaggia,” a barrel fermented, varietal Viognier. De Grazia’s signature barrique stamp had robbed the wine of any varietal character, with wood dominating the fruit profile, aroma and texture of the wine. The idea of a “de Grazia signature” moves me right along to…

The reds:
As mentioned earlier, I was a touch pressed for time. So rather than letting my brain lead me to the southern Italian reds with which I’m slightly less familiar, I let my heart lead me right to the region of Italy to which I feel the strongest affinity – Piemonte.

I so wanted to like the wines from Cavallotto Fratelli. I’ve enjoyed their Freisa on occasion and have particularly fond memories of drinking a bottle of their 1996 Barolo “Bricco Boschis” Riserva more or less in situ, over lunch at the fantastic restaurant Le Torri in the town center of Castiglione Falletto. Relatively speaking, I did find at least a little to like. A 2004 Barbera d’Alba “Bricco Boschis Vigna del Cuculo” was still tightly wound and loaded with plump yet structured Barbera fruit. The 2003 version of their Barolo “Bricco Boschis” showed some character, especially for the vintage, on both the nose and palate. Both wines, however, were marred by an overzealous use of oak and were lacking, respectively, in juiciness and nerve.

It was with the line-up from Domenico Clerico that I really hit the wall. Across the board, the wines were over-extracted, over-oaked, inky black and lacking in a clear expression of place. Their 2005 Dolcetto d’Alba “Visadi” was missing both the aromatic nuance and fruity charm of which Dolcetto is capable, instead clamping down on the palate with aggressive tannins and closed, over-saturated fruit. One de Grazia rep called it “not your father’s Dolcetto” (I doubt my father ever drank Dolcetto but that’s beside the point). Another boasted that the wine had somehow gained nuance by being aged in barriques formerly inhabited by the estate’s Barolo…. Ahem. Next. A similar fate befell the Barbera d’Alba “Trevigne” from 2004 that was just plain overblown. Worst of all was the estate’s 2004 Langhe Rosso “Arte,” a blend of 90% Nebbiolo and 10% Barbera done in 100% new barriques. I look to Nebbiolo for nuance, for structure, for delicacy intertwined with sinew; this was loaded with oak and tannins but had nothing else to say.

Clerico’s 2002 Barolo smelled great, with lots of spice, tar and wild red fruits. Yet it turned out to be unpalatable, marred by an apparently dogmatic insistence on using all new barrels in spite of the difficult, slightly dilute nature of the 2002 vintage. Only in the 2003 Barolo “Ginestra Ciabot Mentin” was there enough natural substance for the resulting wine to stand up to the oak and vinification techniques that were thrown at it. Even then, this is Barolo designed for lovers of the overtly modernist style – big fruit, dark color and lavish oak.

A couple of my coworkers who ventured over to the tasting later in the day assured me that I hadn’t missed much with the Tuscan and southern Italian reds. Their essential summation: “Everything tasted the same.”

It may seem unfair to judge de Grazia’s portfolio after going through only a subset of his producers. But my experience at the tasting is backed up by similar past experiences with wines from other estates in his Piemonte cadre alone, such as Paolo Scavino and, in particular, La Spinetta. Like them or not, it’s hard to argue that they don’t fall into a very narrow extreme of the stylistic spectrum.

This brings me full circle to the main message and inspiration of the posts from my fellow bloggers. The Gambero Rosso awards, as with most of the points-based systems used by major print critics, have come to favor high alcohol, high extract, in your face, drink me now wines. That’s just too many extremes to balance, even if a real, honest and truly good wine does occasionally sneak into the fray.

It also brings me to my final discomfit. The dominant trend over the last 15-odd years to reward high alcohol, overtly modern wines that end up lacking a sense of place – fueled by the Gambero Rosso and similar systems – is irksome enough. A portfolio of wines from an importer that, from what I’m given to understand, pushes its producers to make wines to appeal directly to those systems – via the promotion of roto-fermenters and required new barrel aging regimes, for instance – is even harder for me to swallow.

* * *
Related links, aka, flame off:

For a very thoughtful essay on the topic of modernist vs. traditionalist Barolo, see Craig Camp’s 2003 article on the Barolo wars.

A fair-handed piece on the pros and cons of roto-fermenters:
Fast and furious: rotary fermenters have fans and skeptics
from Wines & Vines, April, 2005, by Tim Teichgraeber

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Vino Rosso di Langa e dell’Alto Piemonte

When one of my ODPs (occasional dining partners) Philadining asked what I’d be drinking to celebrate the first anniversary of this obsessive venture earlier this week, I hadn’t even stopped to think about it. Even though I hate to consider sparkling wines only in the context of celebratory events, my first thought went to the bottle of Vouvray Pétillant Brut from Huët that has been whiling its time away in my wine fridge, waiting for a suitable moment. As it turns out, it was not yet the Vouvray’s time. Instead, a spur of the moment invitation from a pal who stopped by the shop turned the evening into an opportunity to share some leftovers and taste a few reds from the Langhe and Alto Piemonte.

Coste della Sesia “Orbello,” Aziende Agricole Sella 2004
I’d been looking forward to trying more from Sella ever since the last time I tasted their regular Lessona bottling. “Orbello” is a simpler, more jovial wine that falls under the more flexible Coste della Sesia DOC. It’s a blend of 50% Barbera, 25% Nebbiolo and 20% Cabernet Franc, with 5% Vespolina rounding out the pack. Pale ruby with the tinge of orange around the rim that seems typical to wines, both reds and rosés, of the region. Bright, lithe, juicy and refreshing, this could be a solid choice for a versatile, every day pour. In spite of its modest percentage in the blend, Nebbiolo asserts itself on the nose, which is dominated by early season raspberries and a touch of red licorice. With aeration, a leafy, slightly earthier element emerged. $16. 12.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Imported by Selected Estates of Europe, Mamaroneck, NY.

Dolcetto d’Alba, G.D. Vajra 2006
Plummy, with bing cherry and blueberry fruit in spades, followed by a hint of cocoa. This is as forward a vintage of Aldo Vajra’s Dolcetto as I’ve tasted in some years. Its tannins are so fresh and grapey that they impart a feeling of actually holding just-crushed grape skins against your teeth. If only we’d had some carne cruda to complete the picture. If there’s a downside to the simple beauty of this wine, it’s a recent move in its price point. For years, it hovered in the mid-teens, making it one of my favorite characterful, food-friendly reds for regular drinking. The current strength of the Euro has pushed this Dolcetto’s price point into the low $20s, making it somewhat less casual in application. $21. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Imported by Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.

Langhe Nebbiolo, G.D. Vajra 2006
Vajra’s Nebbiolo can often be extremely tightly wound when first released. Aromatically, this 2006 is no exception to that rule. However, it is already open-knit and unfurling wonderfully on the palate. Fresh, soft raspberry fruit, with nuances of rose petals, five spice and cinnamon. Firm acid lends a slight tanginess that is followed by delicate yet firm grip and excellent persistence, suitable for mid-term cellaring. I visited Vajra’s estate, located on the hillside above the hamlet of Barolo, two years ago. I’m so far behind on writing up winery profiles, which I’m trying to do chronologically, that for now I’ll have to fall back on the occasional tasting note. $27. 13.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Imported by Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.

Lessona “Omaggio a Quintino Sella,” Aziende Agricole Sella 1999
This is Sella’s top wine, made only in strong vintages from a selection of the estate’s best barrels of Lessona. A blend of 80% Nebbiolo and 20% Vespolina, it spends a full three years in large barrels of old wood before bottling. When first opened, it reminded me immediately of a slightly sterner, more brooding version of the regular Lessona from 2001 (see link in the “Orbello” note above). Dried cherries and rosemary aromas hovered above an integrated wood-driven structure. Leather and wild cherry fruit followed in the mouth, with supple tannins, a rather narrow mid-palate and somewhat short finish. First impressions changed quickly with a bit of time in the glass, as the wine took on greater breadth and body, with a much rounder, purer mid-palate. Fuzzy red berry fruit and a little dusty attic kicked in on the finish. There’s plenty of life left here. Decanting would certainly be appropriate. $50. 12.5 % alcohol. Natural cork. Imported by Selected Estates of Europe, Mamaroneck, NY.

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