We tried last night (12/2/15) Some Nebbiolo Wines:
1. PizzulliFamilyWnry Nebbiolo (14.08%; pizzulliwinery.com) Camarillo 2007: Med.light color; attractive bit perfumed
floral/Nebb/lilacs light smokey/oak slight tarry rather Gattinara-like/earthy nose; fairly tart/lean some
understated floral/lilacs/Nebb bit tarry very attractive flavor w/ light bitey tannins; long some floral/Nebb/
lilacs light tarry/earthy/pungent finish w/ light bitey tannins; resembles a good Gattinara and speaks strongly
of Nebbiolo; quite an attractive rendition of Calif Nebb. $30.00 (WE)
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2. BarboursvilleVnyds Nebbiolo Virginia Reserve (13.5%; www.BarboursvilleWine.com) 2009: Med.light color; quite
herbal/rosemary/CabFranc-like rather toasty/charred/oak slight floral rather unusual nose; soft rather herbal/
rosemaryCabFranc-like quite toasty/charred/oak some earthy flavor w/ some hard/astringent tannins; very long
quite herbal/rosemary/thyme earthy/dusty rather charred/toasty/oak finish w/ some hard tannins; pretty atypical
of Nebb and resembles CabFranc more than anything; a rather interesting if atypical wine. $33.50 (CB)
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3. Ettore Germano DOC: Langhe Nebbiolo (14%; www.GermanoEttore.com; www.OMWines.com) Serralunga d'Alba
2011: Med.light color; beautiful floral/lilacs/violets/Nebb/spicy wonderfully aromatic nose; lightly tart
very floral/violets/lilacs/Nebb brighht/spicy/nervy lovely pure Nebb flavor w/ light gentle tannins; very long/
lingering bright/spicy/floral/violets/lilacs/high-toned pure Nebb fruit w/ light smooth tannins; a beautifully
perfumed pure expression of Nebb that you can find; maybe the best Langhe Nebb I've yet tried; spectacular
expression of Nebb & exactly why I love this grape. $27.00 (WH)
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4. MatteoCorreggia Roche d'Ampsej DOCG: RoeroRiserva (100% Nebbiolo; GiulianaImports; 14.5%) Canale 2007: Med.dark
color; bit volatile/alcoholic/EA some lilacs/Nebb/ripe fruit some toasty/oak nose; soft rich/lush very ripe/
lilacs/Nebb slight pungent/tarry bit alcoholic fair toasty/oak flavor w/ light ripe/soft tannins; very long
soft/rich/lush slight alcoholic very ripe/floral/lilacs/Nebb slight tarry rather toasty/oak finish w/ light ripe
tannins; on the overripe side and lots of toasty oak and atypical of Piemonte Nebb but a good-drink wine;
on the pricey side at $54.00 (BWM)
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5. Balgera DOCG: ValtellinaSuperiore Inferno (12.5%; www.ViniBalgera.com) Chiuro 2007: Light color; bit earthy/dusty
slight funky/cellar very perfumed/fragrant lilacs/violets/Nebb/floral very complex nose; some earthy/dusty
slight cellar/funky light/delicate violets/lilacs/floral lovely flavor w/ light smooth/gentle tannins; very long/
lingering slight fusty/cellary light/delicate floral/lilacs/violets bit earthy/dusty finish w/ light velvety/
graceful tannins; has a very slight hint of the Balgera cellar but just enough to bring back some fond
memories; a beautiful old-time Veltelline Nebb at a great price. $25.00 (WEx)
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6. Balgera DOCG: ValtellinaSuperiore Sassella (12.5%) 2004: Light color; cleaner very perfumed/fragrant light
earthy/dusty light lilacs/violets/floral/Nebb delicate very complex nose; very perfumed lilacs/violets/floral/Nebb
bit earthy/dusty very complex delicate flavor w/ light/delicate slightly bitey tannins; very long/lingering
slight earthy/dusty/truffly light/delicate violets/lilacs/floral very complex finish w/ light delicate tannins;
a beautiful complex delicate fully mature Nebb at a great price. $30.00 (WEx)
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7. Balgera DOCG: ValtellinaSuperiore Valgella (12.5%) 2001: Light color; very perfumed/fragrant light floral/lilacs/
violets/Nebb slight dusty/earthy very spicy/cinammon/celery seed slight herbal clean/bright very complex nose;
lightly tart rather floral/violets/Nebb slight earthy/dusty smooth/velvety flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very
long bright/fragrant/delicate Nebb/violets/lilacs/rose petal slight earthy/dusty/herbal very smooth/velvety/
polished finish w/ light velvety tannins; a bit more intense/interesting than the Sassella w/ graceful/soaring
aromatics at a great price. $30.00 (WEx)
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8. Balgera ca'fracia DOCG: ValtellinaSuperiore Fracia Valgella (12.5%) 2000: Light color w/ slight bricking; very
slight volatile/EA very strong/perfumed Nebb/floral/violets/rose petal spicy very aromatic complex nose; tart
bit tight/lean light floral/violets/rose petal/Nebb slight dusty delicate very complex flavor w/ light velvety
tannins; very long/lingering perfumed/violets/rose petal/Nebb delicate lightly tart/lean very complex finish
w/ light gentle/smooth/silky tannins; slight volatility in the nose give a bit of an aromatic lift; a beautiful
delicate/elegant very complex old-timey fully mature Valtelline Nebb at a very good price. $40.00 (WEx)
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9. Torraccia del Piantavigna DOCG: Ghemme (90% Nebbiolo/10% Vespolina; 14%; NF; www.TorracciaDelPiantavigna.it;
FrancoliImprts) Ghemme 2008: Med.color; very perfumed/aromatic very floral/lilacs/Nebb/violets/rose petal slight
tarry/pungent light toasty/oak bit earthy/mineral classic Nebb lovely nose w/ soaring aromatics; rather tart/
lean/austere some floral/violets/Nebb bit earthy Gattinara-like slight toasty/oak flavor w/ light bitey tannins;
very long/lingering lovely Nebb/violets/lilacs/floral/cherry slight earthy/mineral light toasty/oak finish w/
light hard tannins; a lovely Gehmme w/ great perfume and a bit of a tannic bite on the palate; needs 3-5 yrs;
quite a good Gehmme at a very good price. $30.00 (WEx)
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10. ARPEPE Sassella UltimiRaggi DOCG: Valtellina Superiore (14%; 50 yr old vines; 100% Chiavennasca;
Hrvstd: 14 Nov @ 30 hl/ha; 4526 btls; www.ArPePe.com) Sondrio 2007: Med.light color; slight volatile/EA very
perfumed violets/Nebb/floral very spicy/bright/clean rather modern-style lovely nose; bit tart bright/very
spicy/Nebb/floral/violets/lilacs clean/bright very light toasty/oak flavor w/ light bitey tannins; very long/
lingering very spicy/floral/Nebb/violets slight earthy bright/clean/nervy light toasty/oak finish w/ light
bitey tannins; needs 3-6 yrs yet; a lovely bright modern rendition of Valtelline Nebb at a very good
price (in Sondrio). Euros 28.00/$100.00
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11. Cavatappi Maddalena Nebbiolo RedWillowVnyds/YakimaVlly/WashState (U&U; 14%) WallaWalla 2008: Med.color;
some toasty/oak rather ripe/plummy/lilacs/floral/Nebb bit earthy/loamy slight tarry/pungent attractive
nose; slightly tart rather strong plummy/ripe some floral/lilacs/Nebb some toasty/oak slight pungent/licorice/
tarry flavor w/ light hard tannins; long plummy/ripe/floral/lilacs/Nebb bit earthy/loamy/tarry/licorice some
toasty/oak finish w/ light hard/firm tannins; speaks strongly of WashState and quietly of Nebb; a very
good expression of WashState Nebb & needs another 3-6 yrs. $28.00 (vSC)
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12. g.CuneoCllrs Nebbiolo ColumbiaVlly (13.9%; www.GCuneoCellars.com) GinoCuneo/WallaWalla 2011: Med.light color;
lovely very floral/lilacs/Nebb/rose petal very perfumed/aromatic slight tarry/licorice quite interesting nose;
fairly tart rather floral/Nebb/lilacs slight licorice/tarry/mineral flavor w/ light gentle tannins; very long
some Nebb/lilacs/floral light licorice/tarry/mineral/stony fairly big/rich structured bit complex finish w/
light smooth tannins; speaks strongly of Nebbiolo and little of WashState; resembles much some of the Nebbs
from the CollineNovarese; maybe the best WashState Nebb I've tried. $30.00 (vSC)
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The usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Pizzulli: My first try of a wine from Cosimo Pizzulli, artist & designer. I was quite favorably impressed.
He planted his first grapes in 2003, Sangiovese, on his estate in PacificPalisades. He makes a standard range
of Italian varietals. The wnry is located in Camarillo. The grapes come from LosAlamos, presumably from
LouieLucas' vnyd there. I should try more of his wines.
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2. Balgera: This is a new wine that OliverMcCrum brought in for the first time into the US last Sept. When we
were in the Valtelline in Oct, Balgera was at the top of my list for a visit. We had an extrordinary visit
spanning two days w/ PaoloBalgera and his sister, Daniela. I was impressed by the wines there. When I returned,
I wanted to show them to my group and tracked these four down at WineExchange/SantaAna.
My group was quite impressed by them. Balgera is a very traditional Valtelline producer, aging his wines
in old large oak ovals for several yrs so they are relatively drinkable upon release. The wines are clean/
delicate/graceful and very complex, speaking strongly of Valtelline Nebb. They are pretty old-timey and remind
me a lot of the A.Pelizzatti's I fell in love with in the '70's.Best of all, they're quite reasonably priced.
Worth tracking down.
The underground cellars at Balgera are quite impressive. Very old and walls covered w/ grungey mold; filled
w/ these large old oak ovals. They have a certain moldy/cellary/Kansas root cellar smell to them that I found
in a number of old Italian cellars we visited. But the wines are amazingly clean I thought. The Inferno was the
the only one to show any cellar smells and it was at a very low level. The regular Valgella was my (slight)
favorite of this foursome.
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3. Germano: Another wine of OliverMcCrum's. The WebSite (www.GermanoEttore.com) is worth looking at. Looks like
a really neat family w/ two neat/goofy-looking kids. The are located in Serralunga in the heart of the Barolo
district.
I had tried a RieslingRenano from Germano several yrs ago that mightly impressed me. Easily the best Piemonte
Riesling I've tried. The simple Langhe was probably the best Langhe I've yet had. Absolutely pure Nebb perfume,
though none of that tarry component one often finds. The tannins are very smooth & graceful..something you
don't always find in a Langhe. I must try more of the Germano wines.
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4. Cavatappi: I have, of course, followed this wine from the very start. It was the first Nebb made in WashState
many yrs ago by PeterDow of CafeJuanita in Kirkland. WA. I did a visit w/ Peter a long time ago (early '80's)
when he was making his wines down in the basement at CafeJuanita. Ate at the restaurant several times and
was mightly impressed. He sold his restaurant in 2000 to Holly Smith, a chef w/ a TomDouglas background. She
hails from....get this...Monkton, MD!!! Finally someone from Monktown goes on to fame & fortune. Interesting
that Peter is not mentioned on the CafeJuanita WebSite.
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5. CuneoCllrs: This is the first wine I've tried from this wnry. Specializes in Italian varietals. I was quite
impressed by this Nebb and should try more of Gino's wines.
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6. Torraccia: This is a producer I'd not heard of until I stumbled upon it on the WineExchange website when I
was assembling my Balgera order. I was fairly impressed w/ this wine. They make a fairly large range of
wines from Gattinara/Gehmme and I must seek more of them out.
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7. ArPePe: This is, of course, Arturo Pelezzatti-Perego. Run by Isabella P-P and her two brothers. The A.Pelezzatti
wines I discovered back in the '70's and caused me to fall in love w/ Valtelline Nebbiolo. The A.Pelezzatti
label is now owned by NinoNegri. I regard Isabella's Nebbs as about the best in the Valtelline. Quite modern
in style. This was a btl I bought at the wnry when I was there and brought back in my luggage. A pretty
vast difference in price there in Sondrio from what they are in the USofA.
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8. Tannins: I've been accused of not being a true Nebbiolo lover because I'm not a tannin pig. I liken drinking
Piemonte Nebb to "stuffing rose petals up one nostril, violet petals up the other nostril, sealing both
nostrils w/ a plug of hot tar; sticking your tongue out between the jaws of a vise and torquing that sucker
down. There's some pleasurable things...but there's a lot of pain involved".
What I love about Nebbiolo is the soaring floral aromatics the wines can have, but I have difficulty dealing
with the hard/bitey/harsh tannins the wines often show. My complaints are usually dismissed because of my
ignorance of true Nebb and I just don't give them enough time to age. Baloney to that I say. I was struck by
a number of the Nebbs in this tasting (Cuneo/Balgera/Germano) that had tannins that didn't take my head off.
Those wines showed a very skillful hand at the tannin management I thought.
Tom