Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
differences into the glass, Nebbiolo's location is
a complex but fascinating discussion that
deserves an entire topic to itself. Names such as
Brunate, Bussia, Cannubi, Cerequio (which no
less an expert than Lorenzo Fantini described
as
sceltissimo,
or top choice), Rocche
dell'Annunziata, Rocche di Castiglione Fall-
etto, and Vigna Rionda are just some of the
names most worth remembering, though there
are others. I will limit myself here to saying
that the best
terroirs
for Barolo can be loosely
defi ned as those to the left and right of a diago-
nal line drawn through the city of Barolo from
northwest to southeast. On the left side, the
soils are of Tortonian origin (a geologic era),
characterized by blue-grey marl, while to the
right the soils are of another geologic era, the
Helvetian (or more accurately, Serravalian),
and are characterized by yellow-grey compacted
sand and clay. In reality, the situation is much
more complex, with nine different geological
formations identifi ed, four of which are espe-
cially capable of producing stellar wines. The
wines born on the left, or Tortonian, are lighter
and develop sooner (but still have forty-plus
years of ageworthiness), while those of the
right, or Serravalian, are hard as nails when
young (these Barolos start being somewhat
ready to drink ten to fi fteen years after the vin-
tage) and last even longer.
Wine styles don't differ that much anymore,
though in the 1980s the modernist and tradi-
tionalist winemakers nearly came to blows.
The former believed in shorter maceration
times (using rotofermentor machines), lower
fermentation temperatures, tighter spacing of
the vines and lower yields, and aging in small
oak barrels (often new) called
barriques;
the lat-
ter thought nothing of fermenting for forty-
plus days at temperatures well in excess of 30°C
and only used old, large oak barrels (and often
not French but Slavonian oak). Today, most
producers walk a common ground, and though
some staunch traditionalists remain, most true
modernists have gone the way of the dodo
(rightfully so, as those wines didn't age well
and failed to develop aromatic complexity, wit-
ness the very disappointing 1990 wines of
many a modernist). Today, there are almost too
many great producers of monovarietal Nebbi-
olo and mainly Nebbiolo-based wines to name,
but I've tried to compile a short list of some
good ones.
Outside Italy there are many thrilling Neb-
biolo wines worth trying. They may not always
remind you of Barolo and Barbaresco, but the
quality they express can be eye-opening.
Granted, much like Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo under-
goes a complete personality change once it
leaves its homeland, and so wines made else-
where are necessarily different from those
made in the grape's native home.
Whereas twenty years ago I would have had
diffi culty advocating for the merits of Nebbiolo
wines made outside Italy, this is no longer true
today, with many at least interesting Nebbiolo
wines to choose from. In California, Nebbiolo
was likely introduced in the nineteenth cen-
tury by Italian immigrants. However, Nebbiolo
was often planted in areas like the upper San
Joaquin Valley, where the hot climate is not
ideal for Nebbiolo; in fact a lot of California
Nebbiolo still grows in the too-hot Central Val-
ley, where a lot of jug wine is made. Around
1972, Montevina Winery in California's Ama-
dor County planted Nebbiolo and produced
several vintages until about 1980; the wines
weren't about to make anybody forget Barolo or
Barbaresco, but they showed that Nebbiolo
could have a future outside its native home.
Unless I am mistaken, Dave Caparone was the
fi rst to identify the coastal vineyards of Paso
Robles as potential high-quality sites for Neb-
biolo: this is where much of California's high-
est quality Nebbiolo wines are made nowadays.
He planted his fi rst Nebbiolo vineyard in 1980
and made his fi rst wine in 1985. Today Califor-
nia Nebbiolo wines of note are also made by
Castelli Vineyards, Harrington, Karmère
Vineyards and Winery, Mahoney Vineyards,
Madrona Estate, Palmina (an especially dedi-
cated New World nebbiolo producer, with fi ve
different bottlings, all excellent), Renwood
(very rich and high in alcohol, given the Lodi
