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MORE PIEMONTESE WINES
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- FRATELLI PONTE
 The
Ponte winery is well below the radar of most Italian wine
connoisseurs.
They don't make fancy wines.
They don't make wines with silly price tags.
They're not on the beaten path, either.
The winery was founded in 1950 and in 1965 they moved a few miles to their
present location in a small town called Gorzano. Good luck on finding
this place!
I asked at a local gas station and the attendant did not
know the road to Gorzano. A fellow having coffee in a bar sent me in a
totally wrong direction and when I stopped to ask a shop-keeper, they sent
me in the general direction, but not quite "there". I
thought I might be on the wrong road, so I stopped (again) and asked,
finally finding someone who knew precisely how to get to Gorzano (about 2
kilometers from where I'd been asking for help, since no road signs pointed
me to this obscure place!).
There are three fratelli and these fellows are in their 30s and
looking to make good wines at attractive prices. -
- They currently have 15 hectares planted in Gorzano (this is close to
Priocca and San Damiano d'Asti in case you know these towns...about 15
minutes' drive north of Alba and 30 minutes south and west of Asti).
They're going to be planting 8 more hectares, having literally moved a hill
to accommodate more vineyards.
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Massimo Ponte shows off their vineyards in Gorzano.
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There's not much wood in this cellar...
Much of their production is sold in these rather large, uh, bottles.
As you might imagine, the idea of selling wine in 25-ounce glass bottles
with a cork closure is a bit of a novelty for the Ponte brothers.
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- Winemaker Renato Ponte pours his delightful Barbera d'Asti.
The locals actually prefer the Ponte's fizzy and young "Barbera
Piemonte" by a 15 to one margin! Of course, price has something
to do with this preference.
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- They make a wine known as "Barbera Levi" as the label is one
designed by the late, famous grappa producer Romano Levi of the little town of
Neive. There's actually a book someone put together of Levi's label
art...he sold his grappa (if he liked the look of you) and each bottle had
an original label on it! Talk about work!
The wine carries the appellation of "Barbera d'Asti
Superiore." It's matured for about 6 months in "botte"
(those large casks depicted above) and then given a bit of bottle
aging. The wine is a medium-bodied red which lacks the oak of Barberas
which receive 90-point scores in various journals and which cost $30-$80 a
bottle. It sells for a mere thirteen bucks and it's a great accompaniment
to pizzas, sausages or a big plate of spaghetti & meatballs.
The 2006 Barbera is terrific. I had a bottle in my bag for New year's
eve...along with an older bottle of Gaja Barbaresco. The Ponte wine
was SO good, we never did open the Gaja.
*****
Periodically, a customer will come in and say "I'm looking for a good
Barolo to serve at dinner tonight which costs less than thirty
dollars." For about the past five years my reply has been
"So am I."
That's because the price of a bottle of a typical Barolo starts around fifty
bucks and goes on up from there.
I am delighted to report, though, that the Ponte brothers bought some fruit
in Barolo in the 2004 vintage and they made a very nice wine. As
they're a value-oriented estate, we're actually able to offer a good example
of Barolo from a top vintage for thirty dollars. The wine shows the
classic earthy notes of Nebbiolo with a hint of a tarry tone. It's a
bit precocious and serving it tonight or over the next five years is
probably about right.
Bravo!
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- Currently in stock: FRATELLI PONTE 2006 BARBERA D'ASTI Superiore
$12.99
FRATELLI PONTE 2004 BAROLO $29.99
Massimo, Dad and Renato...
Dad was the one working in the vineyard when we visited in May of 2010...
For years, most of the Ponte wines were sold in demijohns.
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CASCINA MORASSINO
 We
first became acquainted with the wines of this little Barbaresco producer
back in the early 1990s. The fruit, as I recall, used to be sold to a
local grower's cooperative before Roberto Bianco started vinifying his own
production.
A friend from Piemonte (who works in Tuscany these days) knows
every square inch of the Barolo and Barbaresco region since he grew up
there. He's an agronomist and does vineyard work.
- I saw him in the Spring of 2006 on an Italian
excursion. We compared notes on various wines and I mentioned I'd
visited the Bianco estate the previous summer. "Oh, Robert Bianco
has some outstanding vineyards. Some of the best in Barbaresco, in
fact!" he told me.
Tasting the wines back in the early days, it was apparent to me that Bianco
didn't quite have a handle on managing the tannins in his Barbaresco
wines. We really enjoyed wine from some so-called "lesser"
vintages, finding the wines to be tannic, but balanced. Our impression
of the supposedly "better" vintages was that Bianco's wines were
hugely tannic. In fact, we remember finding one vintage which really
was an assault on the palate!
With time, one can learn how to craft a Nebbiolo-based wine so that it may
actually be drinkable sometime during one's lifetime. This seems to be
the case with the Cascina Morassino wines. Happily.
New in stock is a good example of Nebbiolo, a wine from vineyards within the
Barbaresco zone. This is designated as "Nebbiolo
Langhe." The 2005 vintage is currently available, having passed
muster from the three tough cookies here. The wine has some of
the dusty tannins of Barolo or Barbaresco, but it's not
off-the-charts-astringent. In fact, with food, this is very
drinkable. Give it an hour or two in a decanter to open up and it
blossoms into a wine far more deep than one expects of Nebbiolo in this
price category.
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The 2003 Barbaresco "normale" is excellent and it is a fine bottle
now and it'll be even more complex with bottle aging. Roberto told us
he thinks the much-maligned 2002 vintage is "better balanced than the
2003," but the 2003 is the more intense and complex wine.
Remember, 2003 was a hot summer in Europe, so it was a challenge for many
winemakers. Obviously, this fellow was up to the challenge, because
his 2003 is very fine and "fine" is not a word many vintners
associate with hot vintages.
Their 2006 Dolcetto d'Alba is a lovely, balanced example with an emphasis on
the berry-like fruit. It is not a tannic, harsh wine, so we usually
serve it lightly cooled to cellar temp. It pairs with a wide variety
of foods, from simple pastas to roasted chicken, sausages, etc.
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- Currently in stock: 2005 Nebbiolo Langhe $19.99
2003 BARBARESCO (list $45) SALE $39.99
2006 DOLCETTO D'ALBA $15.99
CASTELLO DI VERDUNO
- There's a curious little Piemontese grape variety that's particular to
the Barolo region village of Verduno. It's called Pelaverga and
we've long been a fan of this curious grape variety.
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There are two clones of Pelaverga....one originates in
Saluzzo, a bit off-the-radar for wine. Then we have Pelaverga Piccolo
from Verduno, an obscure wine found mainly in this little town. There
are said to be small plantings in La Morra and Roddi.
The Castello di Verduno is one of the major sources of this minor
wine. Some will tell you the wine of Pelaverga is an
aphrodisiac. It does have a certain amount of charm. You'll get
a sense of the character of this wine if you think about a good cru
Beaujolais enhanced with a touch of spice and pepper.
Some friends made a batch of this one vintage...very nice and spicy,
reminding me of a fruity/spicy wine I'd had from Friuli...Schioppettino.
We brown-bagged my friend's wine from Piemonte and the bottle I'd brought
from Friuli and they tasted nearly the same!
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- Visit Verduno and you MUST order a bottle of Pelaverga. It's
typically served cooled to cellar temperature. Pair it with a plate
of tajarin (Piemontese tagliatelle) and you'll be delighted.
The wine from Castello di Verduno (they have agriturismo rooms for
rent if you reserve ahead of time and a small ristorante if you'd
like to enjoy a bottle of Pelaverga right at the source) is a gem.
It's fresh, fruity, berryish and mildly spicy. Their special name
for their Pelaverga is "Basadone" which is sort of
Piemontese-speak for "kiss a woman." Maybe there's some
truth to the aphrodisiac assertion!
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Currently in stock: 2008 CASTELLO DI VERDUNO
PELAVERGA $23.99
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- MASSOLINO (Vigna Rionda)
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- Just to keep us on our toes, this estate goes by either the
family name, Massolino or the name of a vineyard site, Vigna Rionda.
In addition, you'll see the Vigna Rionda name, in one form or another,
on bottlings from other competing vintners.
In fact, the Massolino family has been cultivating vines in the Serralunga
Valley since the late 1890s. At one time they rented vineyards to
other winemakers...years ago both Michele Chiarlo and Cappellano made wine
from Massolino vines.
Today, however, they cultivate and make their own, offering a terrific range
of wines.
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The Serralunga valley tends to produce well-structured Barolo wines and
most of the Massolino vineyards are in this little area.
In the distance is the town of Monforte d'Alba...
The cellar has cooperage of various dimensions.
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- They currently have about 18 hectares and produce a nice range of
wines. Dolcetto is deliciously fruity as is a basic, entry-level
bottling of Barbera d'Alba. They dabble in Chardonnay...and actually
make a good wine (much to my surprise).
But Serralunga is a land of Nebbiolo and Barolo is the pride of the
winery.
In addition to their normale bottling of Barolo, several
single vineyard wines are made.
We currently have their 2001 "Parafada" Barolo. This comes
from vines planted, I believe, in the 1960s. It's fermented at an
elevated temperature with a fairly brief skin contact. After
fermentation it's racked into small barrels and seems to be a more modern
interpretation of Barolo compared to their other
bottlings. The 2001 is lovely now and it's capable of
cellaring another decade or two. You'll find it to be more
complex with cellaring than it is today as a young wine.
The 2004s are new arrivals. The Parafada seemed slightly more
accessible but still young and with good potential. It is aged in a
combination of different types of cooperage, including French oak, but the
wine doesn't, to me, show evidence of oak. It's a good bottle of
wine and one which should start to blossom over the next 5-12 years.
Perhaps a tad backwards at this stage is the Margheria bottling.
This Barolo displays nice cherry fruit notes and it's got a bit more
"grip" on the palate...tannic, but balanced for cellaring.
It's a really fine expression of Barolo from the Serralunga
valley.
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Currently in stock: 2001 MASSOLINO BAROLO "Parafada"
SALE $69.99
2004 MASSOLINO BAROLO "Parafada" $89.99
2004 MASSOLINO BAROLO "Margheria" $89.99
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 RIVETTI (LA SPINETTA)
Located a tad north of Barbaresco towards Asti is the
"modest" facility of the Rivetti family. When we first became
acquainted with Giorgio Rivetti, he was regarded as an up-and-coming producer of fizzy
Moscato d'Asti wines. Ask anyone in the Langhe who's making top Moscato wines and
they'd always have Rivetti on their short list of producers.
Move on to the 1990s and then things changed. Oh, Rivetti still makes some of
Piemonte's best fizzy Moscato wines (Biancospino, Bricco Quaglia, Bric Lapasot, San Rumu
and Muscatel Vej). If you see them while traveling around Italy, don't hesitate to
order these after dinner as they are really "fun" wines.
But I suppose "fun" was enough for Giorgio. All his pals were
getting a great deal of attention and adulation for their more profound wines: red
wines of Barbera and Nebbiolo. So he's vying with his buddies and,
frankly, having the better of it! Now he's suddenly (well, it only seems like
suddenly) become a "superstar" in the realm of red wines.
 Photo: Giorgio Rivetti.
I need to become reacquainted with the current line-up.
In tasting the 2004 Barbaresco wines in 2007, I was a bit disappointed, finding
vegetal and herbal notes. In comparing my notes with various journalists,
I can say our perspectives must be quite different! In tasting Rivetti's
2005s, I found a similar herbal element.
Several months later, I tasted the wines again and this time they were very good
and I did not find the herbal notes I'd encountered earlier. Perhaps this
is simply a normal cycle in the maturation or development of Rivetti's wines?
Currently in stock: RIVETTI 1998 Barbaresco "Vigneto Gallina" $99.99
- BRUNO GIACOSA
 One
of the first wines of Italy which really struck me as being something truly extraordinary
was a 1967 Barolo from Signor Giacosa. I recall tasting it at some big trade event
and being stunned to find something of such amazing depth and complexity. Most
everything else that evening was as though it was in "black and white," while
Giacosa's was in full, living color!
Over the years I've stopped in the winery a number of times. The main office is more
of a shipping facility, while the real winery is a block away.
 Bruno Giacosa is a very quiet fellow. I don't know if
he ever cracks a smile. He is sometimes described as preferring to allow his wines
to speak for him (and themselves). I suspect he is somewhat curious to see how
people react when they taste his wines, though at the same time, I'd bet to a certain
degree he doesn't really care.
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- Photos: (Above) the Master.
(Right) 1982 Vintage Giacosas...a Barolo and Barbaresco, both
"normale" bottlings. Tasted in January of 2001, the Barbaresco was
actually the more vibrant wine.
He has vineyards which he owns and long-standing agreements with growers from
whom he's been buying fruit for many years. There are two
"labels," though most people can't tell the
difference. One label features their "estate grown"
wines and is offered as "Azienda Agricola FALLETTO"– di Bruno
Giacosa.
The other label comes from purchased fruit and is labeled
"Casa Vinicola BRUNO GIACOSA." Qualitatively you'll find
some grand and compelling wines, whether they grow the grapes themselves or
buy fruit.
The winemaking here in traditional. I'd be shocked were I to find
small French oak
barrels here. Giacosa, though, does use French oak, but you'd be
hard-pressed to identify one of his wines as having wood since the cooperage
is used to develop and mature the wines, rather than to add aromatics or
flavor.
Arneis from Giacosa is almost always good. I used to think it
was usually the very best example of this white wine but now other estates
give the old boy a run for the money. There are some who claim Bruno
Giacosa was the first to vinify Arneis, while others assert it was Alfredo
Currado of Vietti who made the first. Both are good! We have the
2007 from Giacosa presently and it's a delightful aperitif wine.
There's a touch of fruit and a slight minerality to the wine which works so
well with seafood starters at the dinner table.
Dolcetto and Barbera are also produced here. We tasted a
dynamite 2006 Barbera made from purchased fruit. What a wine!
It's a traditionally-styled Barbera, so if you're more a fan of the
heavily-wooded Barberas from Vietti or Coppo, this won't float your
boat. If you appreciate a wine displaying the classic black fruit of
Barbera, you will find this to be exceptional.
The 2007 Nebbiolo is a lovely, youthful wine...not that it's made to
age. But this is a nice rendition that's quite drinkable now.
You won't mistake this for a mature bottle of Giacosa Barolo and you
shouldn't--it's meant to drink with less complicated foods. Best
now-2013, or so...
Barolo and Barbaresco can reach great heights in this cellar. Prices
for the more scarce bottles are dizzying, too.
Giacosa had health issues and missed vinifying the 2006 vintage.
There had been some problems in the cellar and the long-time staff members
departed for one reason or another.
When Giacosa was able to regain his health, he tasted the Barolo and
Barbaresco wines and was quite dismayed to find they did not measure up.
Though most winemakers in the Langhe speak highly of the vintage, Giacosa
made headlines when he decided that he wouldn't be bottling and selling 2006
"heavy hitter" wines.
A new winemaker has come on board, Giorgio Lavagna. He spent 20 years,
give or take, working at the Batasiolo facility near La Morra.
Signor Lavagna pours a flute of Giacosa's famed Brut Spumante.
Bruna Giacosa.
Some observers have wondered how the wines
will be, given the change in cellar managers. Batasiolo, for example,
produces credible wines, but few tasters would put them in the same league as
Giacosa.
The 2005s we tasted in 2009 were quite good. And the
prices at which they are offered here in the US market lend credence to the
notion of Barolo being "the king of wines and the wine of
kings." One must have deep pockets to successfully "ransom"
a bottle from the importer.
They have a cellar full of bottle-fermented spumante.
So...the story continues.
Currently in stock:
Bruno Giacosa 2007 Roero Arneis $32.99
Bruno Giacosa 2006 Barbera d'Alba $37.99
Bruno Giacosa 2007 Nebbiolo $39.99
1999 Barolo "normale" SALE $119.99
CERETTO
 The
Ceretto brothers are major wine "barons" in the Langhe region. They make
the full range of wines, producing everything from bubbly to Arneis, Chardonnay and
Riesling in whites to traditional reds such as Dolcetto, Barbaresco and Barolo, as well as
Cabernet and Pinot Nero and Syrah.
With several facilities in the region, the main headquarters is an encampment atop
a hill just south of Alba. Though they're world famous, there is but a small sign
with the family name out on the main road. Blink and you'll miss the long driveway.
Over the years, the Ceretto brothers have purchased many hectares of vineyards.
They started by merely purchasing fruit. Driven to improve quality, they
bought the vineyards to have more control. This has proved to be a wise investment.
The azienda now comprises some 80 hectares.
This firm was amongst the first to realize some sort of refinement was needed to
change the traditional winemaking. They sought to make less harsh, bitter and
exceptionally tannic wines. Give them credit for being willing to take
a look at how the wines had been made, typically, and for pushing to
re-think the classic vinification and maturation of Langhe wines.
They had been amongst the first to ask exceptionally
high prices for their "art."
I recall some tastings many years ago where we included the "Bricco
Rocche" Barolo and marveled as to what we were missing in tasting a wine of such
exceptional price. Are the vineyards being pushed for quantity at the
expense of quality? Is the vinification process such that they
"miss" making the most complex or compelling wines?
Is it simply me who's missing the boat? ((I routinely see great
reviews of Ceretto wines by wine critics...))
I find this estate to have a low batting average, especially given their
vineyard holdings and price tags. They're masters at marketing,
though.
Once in a while I find a wine that seems to have some 'soul' and character,
but not as often as one might expect given the fame of the Ceretto name.
Currently in stock:
2001 BARBARESCO "Bricco Asili" Bernardot Sale $49.99 (4
bottles remaining)
Available by Special Order (Updated Spring
2009--Availability is subject to change)
2004 Monsordo Rosso $35.99
2004 Barolo "Zonchera" $43.99
2004 Barolo "Prapo" $74.99
2003 Barbaresco "Bricco Asili" $119.99
2003 Barolo "Brunate" $74.99
2001 Barolo "Bricco Rocche" $190
2004 Barolo "Bricco Rocche" $190
2007 Arneis $28.99
GIANNI VOERZIO
 I suppose
Gianni is not quite as prestigious as his brother Roberto, since his wines are
actually somewhat sensibly priced!
I've often found this winery to have some good wines. The current
line-up is very nice.
The local importer found a few cases of the exceptional 2001 in the warehouse
and we're able to offer this wine for a remarkable price. I tasted this
wine in the Spring of 2009 and it's still young and a bit
backwards.
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- Currently in stock: 2001 BAROLO "La Serra" (List
$135) SALE $74.99
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ROBERTO VOERZIO
 There is no
denying the quality of Roberto Voerzio's wines. It is too bad the
minuscule supply and demand have caused prices to escalate to "cult
status" levels.
- I can't imagine people paying the stratospheric prices (hundreds of dollars
for magnums)...
Let me know if you'd like to splurge and we'll see what's currently available.
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- Currently in stock: Special order...please inquire.
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