A region bursting with delights, Private Client Account Manager Aiden Schwarzer, uncovers gems from Piedmont. Reflecting on a memorable evening to the latest Italian En Primeur wines, this region is well worth discovering.
You may have noticed our Italian range has had bit of a glow-up, with a clutch of excellent new producers coming in over the past few years to complement (and fill out) our existing line-up from Piedmont. Last year also saw the inaugural En Primeur offer of Barolo and Barbaresco with the brilliant 2019 vintage - a campaign that proved to be enormously successful, and so in spring of this year we decided to put on a grand yet intimate walk-around tasting at Wyle Cop to show off our new additions, and the variety and quality from this lauded corner of northwest Italy. Here is a recap of that memorable evening!
Whites
For a region so well-known for its powerful red wines, Piedmont is also home to a modest number of fascinating white wines – Gavi, produced from the Cortese grape, is certainly the most well-known and often considered a Chablis alternative albeit with a little more acacia, apple and honey in the mix. Arneis, which is usually found prefixed by its natural home of Roero, is perhaps a contender to Gavi’s (white) crown, and has a similarly stylish, crisp, silky, and mineral personality, a touch more perfume and overlaid with almond, pear and apricot. Both varieties were represented, and we also showed a distinctive Traditional Method sparkling Arneis from Tibaldi, alongside their always well-received, weighty, herb-tinged Favorita (aka Vermentino). Rounding off the table was the Il Fiore from Braida, a blend based on Chardonnay, given a fragrant boost by a third of Nascetta. We also had a pure example of Nascetta from Fratelli Serio e Battista Borgogno, showing this crisp, semi-aromatic variety in all its glory – an almost forgotten grape that is now being more widely planted and sure to capture the imagination of growers and consumers in years to come. The white table was an excellent way to kick off the tasting and a useful stop to revisit later on, to help cleanse and refresh palates. These are smart wines that drink well but really come alive with food – something that rings so true for many of Italy’s great whites.
Dolcetto
Piedmont is synonymous with Nebbiolo/Barolo/Barbaresco but that isn’t the whole story. Dolcetto is incredibly important – as a wine that matures and comes to market more quickly than its bigger siblings, typically with lower alcohols and a more direct, juicy, lighter character. For many growers, this is what they will pour over lunchtime, and in the warmth of the summer months, it can be lightly chilled too! In this respect, we often compare it to the likes of Beaujolais. We showed three examples, and it was so nice to see distinct differences in personality within the framework of ‘lighter’ reds. Fratelli Serio e Battista Dolcetto d’Alba 2022 offered a nicely balanced drop, understated but fruity rather than savoury – with rich red and blueberry notes; Crissante’s 2022 was a touch firmer, spicier with a savoury core and a mix of red and black fruit – possibly one that will open out with a little time; the 2021 Dolcetto d’Alba from Renato Fenocchio showed that while Dolcetto is a wine we’re encouraged to enjoy within a couple of years of bottling, the best producers can craft examples that will flourish in the cellar: it has a lovely weight and breadth, wildness for sure, and density with super lift… yummy stuff!
Barbera
Maintaining a theme of Piedmont’s ‘other’ black varietals, we had a table representing Barbera – a variety that is now proving successful across Australia’s fine wine regions. Barbera can be summarised thusly: it has lots of everything! acidity, aroma, colour, and density. These deeply coloured, enticing wines were all high ABV offerings too – topping at 16% but they carried it incredibly well and to much surprise. Monica and Daniela Tibaldi’s example reflects the lighter soils of their Santa Vittoria vineyard, where they pick late to achieve a sweet succulence yet a relatively mere 14.5% vol and an easy-going, supple and juicy style; the Barbera d'Alba Superiore ‘Priora’ 2020 from Fratelli Alessandria is a newish wine to our range and showed why this producer is so sought-after: combining three vineyards in Verduno and Gramolere each offering something different, and ageing in older large (and enormous) oak casks for a little over a year, and then some months in bottle before release, it showed real elegance and finesse and great complexity of cherry, raspberry and orange fruit. The table also featured an old favourite, Il Bacialé (‘The Matchmaker) from Braida, a blend that features Barbera but also Merlot, Pinot Noir, and the Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc. A little more mature, coming from 2018, it was pleasingly rounded, a full-bodied wine with excellent lift, and a host of herb and gravel-framed rich red and darker fruits, a little cola and chocolate – loads going on! A wine that proved to be a talking point was the La Ginestra Barbera d’Alba 2018 from Paolo Conterno – a superb cru vineyard in Monforte d’Alba better known for (expensive) Barolo – it was powerful and heady, one or two bottles were pretty wild, smoky, savoury, truffle-y – all good things, and one that people kept coming back to! Finally, a star of the Braida stable: Bricco della Bigotta 2018, named after a pious woman who lived close to the vineyard in Rocchetta Tanaro. I’ve always been a fan of this and I was delighted to see it perform so well: dense but superbly elegant, really nicely defined and red-centric in terms of fruit. Spicy in parts, but the wood is better integrated than I recall from a couple of years ago – I’d like to see this snuck into a tasting of quality Napa Cabernets…
Nebbiolo
Of course, we had to represent Piedmont’s great Nebbiolo, but Barolo/Barbaresco doesn’t quite cover it in full. Producers of the two noble appellations, at least by current and historical requirements, must plan ahead: for a wine to be labelled as Barolo, it must be aged for a minimum of 38 months, with 18 of those months in barrel, and for Riserva examples, it becomes 62 months total, 18 of which must be in barrel. Barbaresco is a little easier going at 2 years, with at least 9 months in oak, but growers need to sell something in the meantime – and so eschewing the minimum requirements, or using younger vines, or fruit from ‘the other side of the road’ means stepping back to the broader appellation of ‘Langhe Nebbiolo’. This is a bit of a tip – a label to look out for if you like Barolo (and Barbaresco) but not necessarily the price tag! The Tibaldi sisters have a lovely, forward, and uncomplicated Langhe Nebbiolo sourced from fruit at their Pocapaglia home, which is complimented by a delightful DOCG Roero from the very north of the region, called Roccapalea: fermented with a portion of whole bunches, and aged in lightly toasted oak, it has a gorgeous aromatic intensity and lots of stimulating Nebbiolo structure – it’s a little cracker from the vaunted 2019 vintage! We showed the new 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo from Fratelli Serio e Battista Borgogno, another really nicely balanced, supple and smooth effort that serves as an introduction to the variety; the 2021 from Crissante feels bigger but Alberto has a way of making it feel weightless – really deft stuff, a host of savoury and leafy, crunchy and sweet fruits… should appeal to Cabernet Franc drinkers. There was an anomaly on the table, a pretender from Lombardy, and specifically the alpine Valtellina Superiore 2019 from Mattia Franzina. Up there they call Nebbiolo Chiavennasca and the paleness feels right for somewhere so far north and at such altitude (up to 765m above sea level), but Nebbiolo often lures you into a false sense of security on appearance! Black cherry, a little wood spice, great energy and drive and a mineral tang – something a little bit different and a real treat. Finally, a wine that I’ve long admired and one I was pleased to see receive attention: Roccabella, Langhe Nebbiolo from Eugenio Bocchino. This is a tiny single vineyard in Roddi, east of Verduno in the north of the Barolo region and is raised in stainless steel tank, and very large older casks, offering a certain wildness, a sweet frame and great complexity. This was a superb table to taste but also reflect on – to compare against the grander wines and reveal some serious value options.
Barolo/ Barbaresco
It really was a pleasure to see the less obvious wines get their chance to shine, and they were much appreciated but this was clearly the top table, the one that most of our guests were looking forward to visiting! All showed very well, and expressed their differences too: Barolo del Comune di La Morra 2019 from Crissante is both an inviting wine for those exploring Barolo for the first time, and an eye-opener for those who expect blood and thunder – it’s beautifully perfumed, playful, mellow and deeply complex; the Barolo Cannubi 2019 from Fratelli Serio e Battista Borgogno will benefit from further ageing, a well-structured and impressive more classically styled Barolo that felt like a Riserva to me; Barolo ‘Lu’ 2017 from Eugenio Bocchino had a maturity about it and the producer’s idiosyncratic wild and sweet edge was clear to enjoy – it was certainly conspicuous in the line-up! Crissante’s single vineyard Capalot 2017 sits in a natural south-facing amphitheatre, but Alberto’s plot sees some afternoon shade which helps with a more gradual ripening: perfumed blue/black fruits, sweet and creamy, great volume, and plenty of oomph but also a silkiness, velvety touches and a deep earthiness. Two Barbaresco emphasised a more ‘Burgundian’ expression of Nebbiolo: Rombone 2019 from Renato Fenocchio was among the best of the evening for me, a really open and broad wine that was silky and layered, stimulating and satisfying, red and orange… oooh. The final wine on the list, and I must say our guests were incredibly well-behaved considering the list price: Barbaresco Albesani, Roagna 2016: Roagna is a peerless producer based just to the south of the eponymous town, the wines are strictly allocated and much revered and they’ve earnt it through meticulous attention to detail, regenerative practices and some stunning wines: for me this was all about taking your time to appreciate the depth and length of aroma and flavour, and to appreciate the quality and finesse of texture.
It was an excellent evening and a nice opportunity to gain a better understanding of what vinous delights Piedmont has to offer. We have some brilliant producers and a strong list representing northwest Italy and beyond, and the quality has never been better. We are about to go live with the 2020 Piedmont En Primeur – another fine vintage that leans to the more elegant side, producing wines that will drink well young and make for a gentle introduction to these special wines.
