TN: Brovia, Produttori, Oddero, Fontanafredda and more with age

I hosted a Langhe-themed dinner Saturday for some wine-loving friends.

While the Barolos and Barbarescos with some age were all good, I confess I was more excited by the offbeat current release wines, white and red. They gave me more joy.

The themes of the flights and food parings are listed below.

Indigenous grapes grown in very small areas
Salame and olives

2015 Malvirà – Roero Arneis: A little low on acid, not very exciting. $23

2016 Cogno - Nascetta di Novello - “Anas-cëtta”: Full bodied, with lots of minerality (in the old sense of crushed rocks) and a distinct saltiness. Complex, deep wine. This really sustained my interest. 90+
Like arneis, nascetta is local white grape that was almost abandoned. I’d never heard of it until I tasted it at Germano and Cogno a year ago. It is grown primarily around the village of Novello, at the southwestern edge of the Barolo appellation. Anas-cëtta is the dialect name. Cogno’s ’15 was excellent, so I was eager to try the ’16. Nadia Cogno said she prefers this with about 10 years of age, so I’m stashing away a few bottles of the ’15 and ’16. Worth seeking out if you like esoterica. $30

2015 Fratelli Alessandria – Pelaverga di Verduno: Many in the group shrugged – too light and insubstantial, they said, probably thrown off by the extremely pale, almost rosé hue. Me, I loved this. Glorious strawberry and floral notes on the nose. Medium bodied, notwithstanding the color. It fit better with the whites than the reds that followed, but it’s not short on flavor. Just don’t let the power of suggestion and that color skew your expectations. 88+ -ish for me. What a pleasure this would be with salame – and a break from the humdrum. $23


Indigenous reds with grip
Antipasti: crudités served with a mountain gorgonzola dip)

Popped and poured:

2012 Giuseppe Rinaldi – Vino Rosso “Rosae” (Ruche): I couldn’t resist buying this. Ruche (also ruchet) is mostly grown somewhat east of Barolo and Barbaresco, and is often bottled slightly sweet, sometimes sparkling, to offset its tannins. From the alcohol on the label and the fact that Rinaldi is a serious Barolo producer, I assumed this would be dry and it was.
It had some of the characteristic bitter scent I’ve smelled in sweet ruches – sort of like what you get in some amaro – plus something like red cherry jam aroma. Good body and fruit, and a decent whack of softish tannins plus acidity to hold it together. A nice discovery. I have no idea how long this will age, but I might put away a bottle out of curiosity. At $38, this is only for those serious about their Langhe arcana.

2015 G.B. Burlotto – Langhe Freisa: I was amazed and surprised by the first Burlotto freisa I tasted on a visit in 2011 (an 2009, I believe). Unlike the austere, brutally tannic versions I’d had up to then, this was grapy/sappy – more like a serious cru Beaujolais or a Dolcetto di Dogliani than any freisa I’d known. I asked Fabio Alessandria what his trick was and he said he harvests quite late. It’s got lots of tannin, but they won’t strip the lining of your mouth.
Not surprisingly, this wine is particularly good in an excellent year like ’15. I could gulp this down with a pasta with tomato sauce, or a stew or red meat. 89. A great deal at $22.

2009 Giacomo Conterno – Barbera d’Alba – Cascina Francia: This wine is always a bit sui generis, and I usually like it (though I stopped buying when it soared past $40 a bottle). To me it’s to barbera what the Burlotto freisa is to freisa – in a class by itself.
The ’09 had an intense earthy nose. “Burnt earth” came to mind as a descriptor, though I’m not sure what that means – maybe clay soil baking under a hot sun? Substantially darker in color than the other two in this flight. I liked it better than the rest of the group, perhaps because it wasn’t as obviously fruity at this stage. But it wasn’t up to the level of the ’04 and ’05 I’ve had in the last year. Maybe it’s the vintage, or maybe it’s at an awkward stage. The alcohol stood out a little as it warmed up, so I’m not betting on this one improving. Still, pleasurable for me. 89-ish.


Produttori del Barbaresco – Barbaresco normale vertical
With walnut spinach tortellini with sage butter

Decanted about four hours ahead. None offered a lot in the way of aromatics or secondary evolution yet.

2001: This was more giving on the nose at decanting than it was later. Still quite taut, with a healthy dose of tannin, it’s well balanced and has good depth. Everything seems to be there for the future, and in alignment. I suspect it’s just a bit shut down now. It probably needs another five years or so, so I’ll sit on mine. 88-90?? for now.

2004: This was the most immediately appealing of the trio – the most forthcoming on the nose and somewhat less astringent, though there’s no shortage of structure. Drinks well now with food, but needs a few more years. 90-ish for now.

2006: I thought this was a step up in depth, though it’s more backward and tannic than the other two. Others liked it much less. It wasn’t up to the stunning showing of another bottle from this case that I had a couple of months ago (I rated that 93+ and posted notes here), but I’m glad I’ve got lots of this left. Dense, concentrated, with a long finish and lots of tightly wound fruit there for the long haul. This is a tour de force for the normale bottling. 91-ish for now, with a lot of upside potential.


1995 horizontal
Pork tenderloin medallions with turkey-like herbed bread dressing and Piemontese ratatuia

Decanted about four and a half hours ahead. The Brovias were purchased from Royal Wine Merchants in 2012, the Oddero from Chambers Street in recent years.

1995 Oddero – Barolo: Lovely, drinkable and just a tad past its prime for my tastes. Good structure, but the fruit seemed to be thinning a bit. 87.
Today this bottling is a blend of La Morra and Castiglione vineyards, but the property was split between different branches of the family in the 2000s, so I don’t know what this blend was.

1995 Brovia – Barolo – Villero: Lots of celery on the nose (which I like), and it slowly opens up. It’s a tad thin at the back, and there aren’t a lot of classic nebbiolo elements here. I was a bit disappointed by this. 89-90??
Perhaps this would have been better with less decanting or popped and poured, though with all the wines, there wouldn’t have been have time for it to open in the glass if we’d just P&P’ed.

1995 Brovia – Barolo – Rocche di Castiglione: Similar overall impression to the Villero, but with less on the nose and more on the mid-palate. “Strength and elegance,” I wrote. But I had a hard time getting a bead on this. Neither was as good as a bottle I had four years ago, which showed more on the nose, so maybe it’s just shut down. Not nearly as good as a couple of other ‘95s I’ve had more recently (e.g., F. Giuseppe – Cannubbio and Burlotto –Monvigliero). 90+??


Mature Barolo
Cheeses: Castelrosso (Toma Brusca), Toma Piemontese, Toma Walser, Rocchetta

Decanted about two hours ahead. Both purchased from Chambers Street in recent years.

1974 Fontanafredda – Barolo - Vigna La Rosa (Serralunga): Conspicious oxidation when first decanted, but most of that cleared up. Very smooth in the mouth, but nothing very distinct. “Malty,” some said, and that pegged that generic mature scent perfectly. A very pleasant, balanced old nebbiolo a little lacking in character. I prefer them before they hit the malt/coffee stage. 89
1974 Francesco Sobrero – Barolo: [Deleted erroneous reference to vineyards owned by another Sobrero.]
This bottle was still quite fresh, with good structure. “Middle aged,” I wrote. Much less advanced than the Fontanafredda but, like it, a little lacking in specific character. 90-91-ish.

Wasn’t in Filippo Sobrero who had vines in Monprivato? That’s what I recall reading.

You’re right. I just checked Sheldon Wasserman’s old book.

The Monprivato part was owned by two brothers, but one died. I thought the surviving brother was Francesco, but it was Filippo, who sold the Monprivato plots to Mascarello in 1985.

I believe it was actually Violante Sobrero who sold the plots to Mauro Mascarello.

Nice notes as always, John. At reasonable prices, I’ve backfilled a bit of Fontanafredda from vintages I thought might play to their hand: 1964, 1979, 1971, 1974, 1985. I’m planning to drink them each with an interesting meal, not at a tasting, so they can generate the most excitement and enjoyment for what they are.

Cheers,
Warren

You may be right. Rereading Wasserman, he doesn’t use the first name of the proprietor he visited in 1982 at Sobrero Filippo & Figli and just refers to him as “he.” (Did he not know the name?) I guess Violante was Filippo’s son?

Great stuff. Jives with my experience that even the normale de Produttori needs beaucoup time to peak.

Thanks for the notes. That’s a nerdy (in a good way) line up, and a tasty sounding menu!

There was about an inch of wine left in the pelaverga, ruche and freisa bottles, which had been refrigerated since Saturday, and all three were still drinking well tonight. I was pretty amazed at how good the remains were.

Some can be drunk sooner. The '05 is pretty approachable now, with somewhat less concentration than these three vintages. And the '99 showed very well already 10 or 11 years out from the vintage.

Ruche and Freisa (and Grignolino and Erbaluce and Vespolina and …) are definitely grapes I’m keen to further explore. I’m as guilty as anyone for having a Nebbiolo focus when in Piemonte, ignoring lots of interesting wines. My last trip to Torino (to buy ‘groceries’) helped redress that with a much more varied selection of wines, but I’m happy to continue that exploration.

I’d recommend to anyone a tasting theme similar to a London meal/tasting ran last year, Piemonte excluding Barolo and Barbaresco. So if you wanted nebbiolo you could have a Roero, Ghemme, Boca etc. but apart from that a real exploration of grapes that may have been a first encounter for many. One of the more enjoyable tastings I’ve been to, offering me more enjoyment and interest than ‘Piemonte’ tastings that were Barolo & Barbaresco dominant, with wines double and more the price.

Have you ever had a pure or mostly vespolina wine? I haven’t but would be curious to try one if it exists.

I see from Wikipedia that it is closely related to nebbiolo genetically, which I hadn’t realized.

Sounds like a great idea! Next time you do it, be sure to track down a nascetta and tell us what you think.

Hi John
I think I had a glass of Nascetta a few years ago when on holiday in the Langhe. IIRC enjoyable but not exciting, but I really can’t be sure. Nothing to stop me trying again!

Vespolina, yes there are a number of pure Vespolina wines and it seems it is a growing trend in Ghemme. I have two bottles in the cellar, a 2009 Mirù Vespolina and a 2015 Rovellotti Vespolina Colline Novaresi Ronco al Maso.

The Mirù last tasted 18 months ago, and cellared on a hunch this modest (€6 at the winery) wine might blossom in the cellar, and indeed it did. Similar structure to Nebbiolo, albeit lacks a little of the aromatic impact, but had developed very nicely indeed. This is not a fancy winery, but an utterly charming family run affair which was a joy to visit.

The Rovellotti is not one I’ve tried yet, though I’ve had their Ghemme and dessert wine. Based in the historic part of the small town. I picked up this bottle in a rather glossy new wine shop on via Lagrange, Torino. Not too much to interest in the shop for the prices, but nice that the shop assistant showed delight at me picking up that particular bottle - it’s not a well known grape and he was genuinely happy that someone had sought it out, and a foreigner at that!

We’re hoping to return to Ghemme late next year. Not really a tourist destination and oddly no greenery in the town, but a place that has beneath the surface charm, that is very much a product of the people there. Included in that is the lady who runs the gelateria, who is as happy running that shop as you might hope/expect for a business that offers such pleasure to its customers. Also some great walking/cycling paths and truly exceptional risotto - a basil risotto at Il Cavenago agriturismo had me grinning like an idiot. Also some wonderfully tasty braised Donkey at Al Gufo Nero - I hadn’t expected to like it, but it was really tasty.

Regards
Ian