A Sampling of Piemonte
Hi there all, hope all is well and all the Mother’s out there very much enjoyed their weekend and were treated well to celebrate all you do. In response to my love and obsession with Italian wine I have decided a great way to share this would be to share my thoughts on the wines that I am fortunate enough to work with at SPQR Restaurant in San Francisco. Our list is 99% Italian (we have a couple Champagne selections right now) and we get to showcase some very rare and unique wines. While not all of these wines may be familiar or easy to source, they should be out there since I am getting to try them.
My hope is to build a database of tasting notes for Italian wines which can be beneficial to many.
Today’s post will compare 2 Barbera wines and 2 Nebbiolo wines.
Cheers!
Wine #1 Braida ‘Montebruna’ Barbera d’Asti, 2010
Giacomo Bologna was the Barbera pioneer. Plantings in better sites to yield more intense wines, using new French barrique in aging of some of his wines, he was at the forefront to bring the grape to such fame. The Montebruna bottling comes from a single estate in Asti and is of DOCG status.
The wine is bright in ruby red color with a moderate concentration. Tart red cherries and plums mingle with violet flowers and subtle herbal notes. The 12 months in large barrels with the palate a soft round finish while preserving the bright acidity.
Wine #2 Ca’Rome Barbera d’Alba ‘La Gamberaja’ 2006
A classic style producer, Romano Marengo (hence Ca’Rome the house of Romano) this Barbera showcases the denser complexities that the soils of Alba deliver to Barbera. Also given the aging in the bottle more of the secondary qualities were able to emerge.
Slightly darker and denser in color, with more deep ruby and magenta. The use of smaller barrels, including barriques, deepened the flavors to more of an intense cherry and some anise spices. Also the subtle sweetness of the vanillin oak spice mingled with the juicy qualities of this wine on the palate. Medium tannins on a long finish.
Wine #3 Sottimano ‘Curra’ Barbaresco 2005
From the 2 different bottling I have had from Sottimano I can say that their style is that of the more modern approach. The influence of oak in both the bottlings of this wine I have tried, along with a 2001 from another Cru they bottle showed that to me.
Warm fleshy cherry skins mixed with the toasty oak spice elements showed for an intense wine with only moderate complexity. Some dried dark tobacco leaf and black liquorice notes emerged, but the tannins were still a little austere for me.
Wine #4 Giacomo Grimaldi ‘Le Coste’ Barolo 2001
A very heady wine and a nice treat to get to try, the 2001 vintage is a classic, and while it is just past that 10 year mark, these wines still have much grip left ‘.Le Coste’ is a vineyard site in the town of Barolo in the famed Brunate Cru.
The flavors are very mineral driven with a lot of tart black cherry and black liquorice, with aromas developing hours after being opened. Greta finesse and integration, while still being a big robust wine.
