TN: Nebbiolos

Tasting notes from a blind tasting of Nebbiolo based wines.

I wondered if anyone would have the chutzpah to offer up a Nebbiolo from anywhere but Italy – and they didn’t. We started out with two starter wines:

2018 Angelo Negro Roero Arneis – this was a special batch made for the US importer The Piedmont Guy, and it was bottled unfiltered so was slightly cloudy. Nice lemony nose that developed some mint after awhile, and a ripe pear element. Very nice.

2017 Proprietà Sperino Rosa del Rosa – this is a rose made from 85% Nebbiolo and 15% Vespolina and it is a knock out Rose! Orange-salmon coloured with a floral nose with some strawberry, and a beautifully balanced wine on palate with a smooth lengthy finish that accentuated the citrus flavours. A real stand out!

2016 Arpepe Il Pettirosso Nebbiolo – This wine was wisely offered ahead of the heavier Piedmont wines. It was pale garnet colour and the nose had cherry with an undercurrent of forest floor and mushroom that was in a way almost Burgundian. Nice showing.

1989 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato – this one was from my cellar, purchase on release back in the early 1990s. Still fairly dark in colour, with a clear rim with a nose that included leather notes, roses and some subtle spices. Good length and very good wine. Glad I still have more.

1996 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato – still dark with a tar and dark cherry nose, a fair bit of acidity but all in all well balanced and the tannins smoothing out.

1999 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Ovello – dark, with earthy notes and hints of tar. Well balanced with a savoury finish. I probably am holding 10 cases of Produttori spanning 35 years or so and needless to say it is one of my favourite producers.

2001 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra – quite traditional floral based nose with hints of mint, lots of oak showing, and a fair bit of tannin, this picked up some strawberry and herbal elements with time. Needs more ageing.

2010 Elio Sandri Barolo Perno – another wine with marked wood in the nose, but also a well balanced wine with lots of sweet fruit notes. I was pleased at this showing as I have 2010 and 2012 quietly sitting in the cellar – no rush!

We had finished the main event but still had cheese to go so I hit the cellar for a bottle of:

1994 Azienda Agricola Taurino Patriglione – showed a dry plummy nose with some heat and plummy fruit – went well with cheese.

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[David M. Bueker]

But did you think the Produttori was "ready"?

The 09 Produttori was very drinkable now but I prefer to wait a bit longer, I have the 1999 regulare in magnums and have no idea when they will be ready.

Do you like your Barbarescos young or well aged?

Nice notes.
I'm a person who likes Nebbiolo very mature, and have no problem holding Produttori- even normale- for decades.

Nice notes.
I'm a person who likes Nebbiolo very mature, and have no problem holding Produttori- even normale- for decades.

I have yet to finish my 89s.and 90s, so I agree!

[Jenise]

And of all times to miss a tasting I had to miss this one! Not only would I have enjoyed those wines, I had a '64 Gattinara Della Valle to share. Also a '96 Parusso.

But the Parusso wasn't my first choice. Per my inventory I had a choice of Parusso and Paolo Scavino from 96, 97, 00 and 01, five altogether and also an 07 Marcarini which we opened a bottle of within the last year and found it PERFECTION. And beyond that, I also had an outlier. Young but delicious, a nebbiolo made in Baja California by the grandson of one of Scassicaia's winemakers from back in the '70's or 80's, a Mexican national named Gomez or Gonzales. In doing the research on that one this week, though, and with only vague recollection of the young wine when I bought it two years ago, I learned that a lot of so-called nebbiolos in Baja have been recently found to be lambrusco, that got there the way carmenere got to Chile. Some Baja vintners have managed to get their vineyards certified as authentic nebbiolo, but the one that I own hasn't or hasn't yet, not sure which applies, so knowing the company the wine would be in I decided that now that I owned this truth I couldn't risk bringing an imposter. Otherwise, especially with the Scassicaia connection, I thought it would be fun and informative. The wines coming out of Baja are surprisingly good.

And then it turned out that all the other options that were still on my inventory weren't in my cellar, just the one. So there you are. I'm especially sorry, though, not to have shown up with that '64.

[David M. Bueker]

The 09 Produttori was very drinkable now but I prefer to wait a bit longer, I have the 1999 regulare in magnums and have no idea when they will be ready.

Do you like your Barbarescos young or well aged?

Both.

[David M. Bueker]

Nice notes.
I'm a person who likes Nebbiolo very mature, and have no problem holding Produttori- even normale- for decades.

If you have 2009s be careful. When I was at the winery in 2018 the ‘09 vineyard designates were shockingly mature.

Jenise, the theme met with such delight that I'm sure we would have no objections if we did another one some time next summer!

David, I only have one 2009, the Einaudi Terlo and while I agree that the wine will probably be early maturing, I figured it was good for anther 5 years. It showed as maturing but certainly not prematurely senescent when I tasted it before ordering. Thanks for the heads up though.

Yes, I thought it was a great tasting, with all wines really showing well. All the barolos and the one barbaresco were ready now I thought, but you could certainly wait many years too. It was hard to pick a favourite, but I particularly enjoyed trying the two Pio Cesare Ornato wines back to back. Both were very classic Barolos.

The food was excellent too, with the great baked pasta dish really working well with the robust wines. Jenise, sorry I missed you and Bob!