I find these wines to be beautiful and inexpensive expressions of Nebbiolo. While they age gracefully, they also can be enjoyed early in their life while the bigger Barolo and Barbaresco wines mature in the cellar.
Chef/owner Mario Carlino prepared a fantastic dinner for us to enjoy with the wines.
Soft Polenta with Wild Mushroom Ragu. I love this rustic peasant dish. The creamy Polenta is the perfect setting for the tender mushrooms that lie atop it. Nary a morsel was left on anyone’s plate.
Rigatoni Al Forno. This is the traditional pasta dish made in Italy for La Pasquetta, the Monday after Easter. Rigatoni pasta is mixed with tiny meatballs, salami, hard-boiled eggs and tomato sauce and then topped with bits of fresh Mozzarella and baked in the oven. Mario’s preparation of this classic is spectacular.
While German in origin, Mario’s version of Veal Holstein had all of us licking our chops. The combination of the runny egg yolks atop the fried Veal Cutlet is a remarkable combination.
We began the evening with two wines from the Carema. Although not technically in Alto Piemonte, Carema is in the Canavese, bordering the Vallee d’Aoste. Its close proximity is apparent in the stylistic similarities of the wines, which are bright, acidic and wonderful to drink early on and yet have the ability to age effortlessly for decades.
All the wines I served tonight were opened at least 90 minutes prior to serving and double decanted.
2009 Produttori dei Carema Riserva DOC (Carema). I have written about this terrific wine in a previous post, Wines of Cooperation. This wine is aged for not less than 4 years of which at least 30 months is in large oak barrels and one year in bottle before release. The initial sip displayed remarkable freshness and elegance with each subsequent sip taking on depth and focus. It was a wonderful wine to begin the tasting with and at $27 a bottle is an incredible value. Be sure and allow this wine at least an hour to breathe before drinking to really appreciate it. 56º Wine.
1964 Rosotto Carema Riserva DOC (Carema). I found two bottles of this wine at Chambers Street Wines a couple of months ago. I thought it would be a good addition to the tasting, especially to verify how well wines from the Carema age. I am happy to report that they age very well. At 51 years of age this is doing just fine. While the wine has browned a bit, it had a nice translucency and the fruit was still apparent. Bouquet and palate of worn leather and smoke that I find in many old Nebbiolo wines. The wine improved over the evening and was quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, I could not find out any information on the estate and am fairly certain that it no longer exists, which is a shame given the quality here.
2008 Proprieta Sperino "Lessona" DOC (Lessona). While Paolo de Marchi’s family origins are from Northern Piedmont, Paolo founded Isole é Olena in the 1970s in Tuscany. The estate produces some of Italy’s most exciting Chiantis. His single vineyard Chianti, Cepparello, is one of Italy’s most widely regarded wines.
In 1999, along with his son Luca, he decided to return to Lessona and make wines from Nebbiolo. Lessona is located just to the west of Gattinara, in soils that are much more iron-rich and gravelly. Here he took the reins of the historic family estate, at the Castle of Lessona that was originally owned by de Marchi relatives, the Sperino family. The estate stopped producing wine in the 1960’s for a number of economic & labor reasons. The first vintage of Proprieta Sperino "Lessona" was 2004. The 2008 we drank tonight was gorgeous. On the palate it was pure with wonderfully ripe fruit, smooth and well integrated tannins, lending energy and finesse to each sip. The wine finished with great length and elegance. A wine with lots of soul. It vied for wine of the evening. $74. Wine-Searcher.
2004 Vallana Gattinara DOCG (Gattinara). Gattinara is the best known of the Alto Piemonte wines. Its warmer climate than the other Alto Piemonte areas produces bigger wines. It is often called the “Barolo” of Alto Piemonte. It is more accessible than Barolo when young, yet it is capable of long and graceful aging. Previous bottles of the 2004 that I have had displayed a beautiful expression of fruit and soil with great complexity, acidity and elegance. Unfortunately that was not the case tonight, as the wine was extremely tight. It began to wake up after an hour in the glass suggesting the wine, at least at the moment, needs 3+ hours in the decanter to really appreciate. The grapes are handpicked and vinified in large cement tanks. The wine is then aged for at least 2 years in large oak barrels. It takes a few years in the bottle to fully develop its potential. At $30 a bottle this is a stunning bargain for lovers of old-world Nebbiolo wines. Wine-Searcher.
2006 Ar.Pe.Pe. Grumello Rocca De Piro DOCG (Valtellina/Grumello). Ar.Pe.Pe is an historic and well-regarded traditional cooperative estate in the Valtellina, a mountainous region of northwestern Italy that borders Switzerland. A beautifully restrained style of Nebbiolo, the wine is fermented in stainless steel and aged in old chestnut barrels for 2 years, followed by 6 months in the bottle before release. While more open than the Vallana, a bit more breathing time would have helped this also. After 30 minutes in the glass, this medium-bodied Nebbiolo began to exhibit a delicate, earthy and graceful palate. $50. Wine-Searcher.
The evening’s final wine, 2005 Ferrando Carema Etichetta Nera DOC (Carema) is one of the most sought after wines in Carema. Luigi Ferrando has long been the leading winemaker of the Canvese, where his family's winemaking tradition goes back to 1900. His Nebbiolo wines, Etichetta Bianca (white label) and Etichetta Nera (black label), are renown for their finesse, complexity and longevity. The wines are aged for a minimum of four years, of which at least two are spent in barrel (a combination of large and small). The Carema "Etichetta Nera" is vinified and aged in similar fashion, but is only produced in exceptional years, and is exposed to a touch more small barrel aging (some new).
Tonight’s wine lived up to its reputation in spades. It was clearly the WON for all of us. It was a superb expression of Nebbiolo on the nose and the palate. It was harmony in a glass with pure and focused fruit, impeccable finish and a monster finish. A simply a round and delicious wine with a long life ahead. As production is small, the wine is highly allocated and very difficult to find. $98. Wine-Searcher.
Saluté
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