I popped this open on a bit of a whim to enjoy with dinner (chestnut and wild mushroom pasta with Pecorino- a wonderful pairing). I wrote a tasting note (to follow below), but then looked up the wine just to find out more information and was saddened to learn that the winemaker Renato Vacca passed away last year. I actually met him once here in Connecticut! Somehow, my local shop arranged for him to host an in store tasting and he was offering a lineup of a few of his wines. I asked him what his favorite was and he said, without any hesitation, “Ovello”. He added that though top quality Barbaresco can age for a long time, he thought the best time to enjoy them was with 15 years of age. So I went online and tracked down this beauty. I was not disappointed! Here is the tasting note:
Decanted for about an hour and then back in the bottle for dining al fresco. Very fine sediment that is a pain to separate, but I manage well enough. The wine looks wonderfully youthful: transparent, ruby colored, not a hint of bricking.
It is incredibly fragrant- pouring it into the decanter just filled the room with a lovely bouquet of raspberries, cherries, and flowers. There’s a deep earthy note to the aroma, as well as some pleasant dustiness, though they are in the background. The aroma overall comes off as quite young.
In the mouth, the wine enters silky and smooth, the texture is just lovely. But then the lively acidity asserts itself, and you can feel the tannins stick the tongue to the roof of the mouth. They aren’t unpleasant at all, but the tannins still have some fire to them. The fruits that were present on the nose are also present in the mouth, but they take a bit of a backseat to other flavors that for some reason are difficult to pin down; earthiness for sure, perhaps that classic tar, and then quite a strong herbal type bitterness that I find quite pleasant and refreshing. I struggle to pin it down- dried bay leaf?, cocktail bitters?, quinine? anyway, something along those lines. The finish is nice and long, and the fruit comes back to the front, mostly cherries.
What a fascinating wine with such a wonderful interplay of fruit, earth, and that beguiling bitterness. I can see why of all his wines, Renato Vacca’s favorite is Ovello with 15 yrs of age. Beautiful.