ROVELLOTTI
“RONCA AL MASO”
Colline Novaresi, Ghemme, Piedmont 2017
VESPOLINA [VEHS-PO-lina]
“I believe Vespolina to be one of Italy’s best native grape varieties” Ian D’Agata.
Ok, so this one seems a bit more out there considering that there is so little of it planted and where it does succeed, it is most often overshadowed by a little grape called Nebbiolo. But what is wonderful about discovering Italian wine, one grape at a time, is to learn about the amazing potential of something like Vespolina. It has a long history in Piedmont and Lombardy but, as in so many cases, may have lost favor due to growing difficulties. But in the right hands, as it is with the Rovellotti family, and grown in a healthy manner, the wines can be something very special. It’s a grape variety that will be better known in due time, undoubtedly.
Rovellotti makes some of the best examples of this unique grape and they are firm believers in its future. Costa del Salmino is a special site where you’ll find the family’s oldest Nebbiolo vines , replanted by Antonello and Paolo in 1976, as well as their Vespolina. Organically farmed prime property in Ghemme like this is enviable real estate and they keep Vespolina a top priority here. The Rovellotti winery lies within the walls of the Ricetto castle in central Ghemme, a brick structure, with some walls still dated back to the 10th century, that has essentially become the central cantina for the area’s legendary wines.
Plucky with plum and explosive with fuzzy fresh black raspberries on the nose. Vespolina shows it’s very distinct aromatics here. Red Vines licorice and blood orange citrus with a juiciness that kinda hits like Hawaiian punch with altitude. Earthy like Rooibos with some black tea tannins and a touch of that roasted coffee bean thing that so often shows itself in more alpine red wines. An incredible example of just how unique and engaging a wine the Vespolina grape is capable of. More please.
Yes, you will recognize this as the same producer from last month’s Alto Piemonte Nebbiolos. Rovellotti is just so good, and not easy to find, that we just couldn’t resist sharing more!
CORTE SANT'ALDA
“CA FUI” CORVINA
Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy 2019
CORVINA [kohr-VEE-nuh]
Corvina, or ‘little raven’, is one of many grapes in Italy named after a bird. Although it certainly is a sweet target for the winged locals, it may also be attributed to the naturally dark color of the berries. Oddly enough, although the Corvina berries appear dark, there is not a high level of pigment in the skins and there they don’t make inky wines as one would expect. Corvina almost always is the star of the show when it comes to the classic blends in Valpolicella and the famous Amarone wines. It is thick skinned and can remain intact during the traditional drying and sweetening process for ‘Ripasso’ wines.
Marinella Camerani was one of the first of the (now) many growers, between the Valpolicella and Soave regions in Veneto, to have gone Organic. She began to remove the pesticides and herbicides from her farm in the mid-1980s when she took over the family property. She has been a leader in helping troubleshoot the region’s specific growing challenges with Biodynamic principles and solutions ever since. The Ca’ Fiui is one of her thirteen vineyard sites that rests on a sunny hillside in the Val di Mezzane in the hills just northeast of Verona.
Fresh squeezed juice bursting from the glass with gentle wafts of violet. This wine has much more to say beyond its fruit, with allspice, nutmeg and alpine herbs a la Fernet Branca. Alongside the very pronounced pile of ripe red cherries, there are also cocoa nibs and cinnamon red hots. There is a delightful vein of savory sassafras as well, herbaceous like chewing on root beer bark… with very little bite. A scrumptious example of dry Valpo without any need for raisinification.
Is it Corvina Grosso or Corvinone? Both appear to be simply larger clones of Corvina but it turns out Corvinone has its own set of genetics. The Valpolicella growers have yet to acknowledge this officially, but there’s quite a bit of it planted here so they’ll have to sort this out eventually.
FRATELLI ALESSANDRIA 'SPEZIALE'
PELAVERGA
PELAVERGA [pel-ah-VER-gah]
Pelaverga Piccolo is as clandestine a grape variety as it comes. Remarkable anything this good can still be hiding in Piedmont of all places. There is only about 30 acres of it planted today and we in the states import maybe four or five different examples, total. There exists another biotype of the grape, Pelaverga Grosso, but that is designated for adding acidity to blends or at most delivering a thirst quenching rosato. The locals also say that Pelaverga wine is an aphrodisiac… I’ll just leave that out there for you to do with what you please.
The Alessandria family has been in Verduno at the heart of modern day Barolo from the very beginning. Their focus, of course, is Nebbiolo and they have their winemaking approach has more recently shifted to achieve a more finesse than strength. Not that they are eschewing the traditions they long had in the cellar, but more refining the approach to create wines that cut a balance between rustic and modern. Brothers Gian Battista and Alessandro have turned an already important historic winery into what can easily be said to now be a hidden gem of Barolo. And if that’s the case, their Pelaverga is like a Pink Star Diamond in the rough.
Cranberries, strawberries, raspberries. Just a whole lotta berries! But wait… they’re seasoned! Savory spice and aromatic herbs hold an equally important role here. We’ve always described this long time Bergamot fav as a bowl of fresh berries gently tossed on a barbeque and then seasoned with rosemary and white pepper. Don’t know the distinction between white pepper and black pepper? They are surprisingly distinct, grind up some ‘corns and give yourself an olfactory lesson. Then, of course, sprinkle that fresh pepper atop some Tagliatelle ai Funghi for a memorably perfect pairing.
At the very least, this labels color palette will certainly stand out on a shelf (if you are lucky enough to find it!) I adore the families ‘suggestion’ for this wine: ‘to drink in good company.’
UNTI VINEYARDS BARBERA
BARBERA [bar-BEH-rah]
Barbera has been a mainstay of the Piedmontese diet for… well, ever, but it went through a major identity evolution in the late 1970s. The grape variety has got acid and color to make any other grape varieties blush with envy, but it is most often very low in tannin, hence the aforementioned tradition of simple, juicy, and sometimes shrill Barberas. For balance, many producers both in Italy and domestically have played with deepening the structure of their Barberas with extended maceration, longer cellar aging and even blending in other varieties.
Instead of the ubiquitous light and quaffable everyday glou-glou it had happily been, it was created for the first time to be a more refined and serious wine: more tannic and structured, aged in new barrels and built to last.
But buyers be warned when putting Barbera in oak! It has a notorious tendency to suck up every ounce of wood flavor it can and in the blink of an eye can find itself irreparably changed. Unti’s approach to Barbera strives to that same modern approach, bold and robust ripe fruit aged with just enough new french oak to layer in tannin and savoriness.
George and Mick Unti have been verbosely championing Rhône and Italian grapes in the heart of Dry Creek Valley since 1997. While they are fanatical about Italian wines of countless styles, they recognize their estate’s terroir and its hot, continental climate, and so have focused on growing later-ripening varieties that retain acid through the heat of harvest. The Unti property has been organically farmed since 2003 and is still maintained by the patriarch George Unti, who travels annually to Italy and whose family lineage is tied to Lucca, Tuscany.
The Unti estate is planted to 15 different varieties spanning over 60 acres, with six acres of Barbera planted on the valley floor. They have found it to be such a vigorous and productive variety that they are now growing it on low vigor rootstock, and they cut down the crop load by 35-50% to promote ripening and concentration. The Barbera is fermented in both stainless steel and concrete tanks with indigenous yeast and aged for 10 months in Burgundy barrels, with about 20% new French oak for an added depth of tannin.
This royal magenta juice is so flamboyant it would make Prince flounce in this purple rain. This is electrified, amplified acidic punch; bright with a pucker of ruby cranberries and a heaping helping of finger-staining summer blackberries baked right into a buttery rich crust. The brilliant fruit and acid are met with a creamy richness in the finish like a frothy chai tea and black currant scones. This is a California Barbera that Piemontese producers raise a compulsory eyebrow to and can’t hold back their smile in appreciation, even if they try. And of course they do.