If you happen to like high quality traditional Nebbiolo with some age for very little money (relatively speaking) then this here is a killer option. I don’t much care for points but the 88.8 average on CT is way off the mark if one only is a fan of this style. Will only improve from here too as despite the powerful tannins it is well balanced.
2006 Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Ghemme Anno Primo - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Ghemme (30.12.2022)
Very savory, dusty and sour-fruited on the nose with red cherry, wild strawberry, leather, rose petals and hints of mushroom and tar. Despite its developed profile the nose is markedly vivid, detailed and attractive. On the palate this is wonderfully harmonious and together. Somewhere between medium and full bodied with a firm mouthfeel and appropriate ripe tannins. I can imagine this having been painfully structured in its younger years and as such probably not much fun at all. By now it has arrived in a place where it still is admirably structured but it is well enjoyable with food (beef carpaccio in this case), providing the sort of high quality teenage Nebbiolo experience that one nowadays usually doesn’t get this cheaply. This is clearly a very traditional and a very serious wine. It is by no means peaking yet and it is probably not a good idea to open it for casual sipping as without food the tannic grip on the finish is considerable. However for the table - which is obviously where Nebbiolo thrives - I can happily recommend it already.
I had the 2013 of the “Collis Breclemae” from the same producer recently. I really wanted to love it, but it just didn’t move me. There was a very distinctive olive-like note that I wasn’t in love with. I should definitely try more from them, but their wines are not in my market
I have the 03 and 04 Breclemaes in the cellar but have never tasted the wine. I’ve understood, based mostly but not only on CT, that the 03 is approachable now but the 04 still needs a lot of time sideways. This would lead me to think that the 13 cannot be nowhere near ready right now bur instead should be buried deep. Of course if you dislike the flavor profile now it could be that it will still be there after a decade or two.
It wasn’t that closed to me. There was certainly plenty of structure present and I’m sure it can age nicely for another decade plus. These wines are not that expensive in the scheme of things. Worth giving them another shot.