Chardonnay lovers - listen up! I have a Chardonnay from, of all places, Piedmont, Italy, and from a producer of Italy’s “Royal Reds” - Barolo and Barbaresco. One would think that a Chardonnay from a Barolo producer would rival any blockbuster fruit-and-oak Californian Chardonnay. In fact, plain “oak-blockbuster” precisely describes the $65 Gaya 1988 Gaia & Rey Piedmontese “cult” Chardonnay, which I ended up pouring down the drain, as undrinkable, in 1993. So having learned the hard way, I approached, with a jaundiced eye, the Barale ‘03 Langhe, Bussia Chardonnay, offered to me by a salesman.
Langhe, is the name given to the hills, around the Piedmontese town of Alba, on which are the vineyards that produce Barolo and Barbaresco. Bussia is the name of one of the most prestigious of those hills. Expecting the worst, I decided not to ask the price until I had tasted. To my surprise and joy, I found lovely, pristine Chardonnay fruit, alive and bright in my mouth, unencumbered with oak and the heavy, “butteriness”, which comes largely from secondary malolactic fermentation. I fell instantly in love with the wine, imagining how beautifully it will go with almost any light food.
So what does it cost? A mere $14.99/13.49! Phenomenal value. Join the gold-rush.
Another white Piedmontese gem - a Gavi, discovered last October and now on our shelves - Cascina degli Ulvi ‘03, $16.99/15.29. Gavi is Italy’s fashionable white wine, and Gavi di Gavi is even more fashionable. Both come from the appellation by that name surrounding the town of Gavi. I have found much of it, both in Italy and here, to be uninspiring - this, the first I have carried in years, is not. It offers an unusual nutty note in the nose and in the palate, and it finishes cleanly and crisply. Great balance. The grape is Cortese, of which we have another non-Gavi example - Bersano ‘02 Piemonte Cortese, $9.99/8.99, with delicate almond flavor, a creamy texture and a crisp finish. Both wines go well with seafood.
More Italy - Corte Marzago ”Le Bugne” ‘01, Veronese IGT, $19.99/17.99. The IGT stands for Indicazione Geografica Tipica or “[Wine] Typical of the Geographic Region”, which in this case is Verona. This wine, made of Cabernet and Corvina grapes, does not meet the requirements for a DOC (“controlled appellation”) wine, hence the IGT designation. Here is a wine with unusual, stunning black fruit, beautifully balanced with tannin and acid and perhaps a smidgin of wood.
An aside - you will be seeing more Italian wines with the IGT designation. The story goes back about twenty-five years when the first so-called “Super Tuscan” wines appeared on the market. Until quite recently, in order to qualify as DOC Chianti, a wine, among other requirements, had to be made of three grape varietals - Sangiovese and Canaiola, both red, and Malvasia, a white. Chianti producers who experimented with all Sangiovese or Sangiovese and Cabernet, could not claim DOC status, so the wines were labeled “Table Wine from Tuscany” or something similar, but the popular nickname became Super Tuscan. Today they would be labeled IGT, but for some, the nickname will no doubt persist.
Since the early eighties the prices of Super Tuscans soared from around twenty dollars to, in many instances, well over a hundred dollars - prices rarely obtained for Chianti. The producers realized that they had shot themselves in their Chianti foot, so to speak. Consequently, a few years ago they changed the rules. Chianti now must be at least 85% Sangiovese but the remaining 15% can be any varietal including Sangiovese.
Malvasia is used widely in Italian white wines, but whatever will happen to poor little Canaiolo?
Until early in December, when I was offered Rignana’03 Rosado, a Tuscana IGT, I had never seen straight Canialo, nor did I know what it tasted like, although I understand that its use in Chianti is to soften the Sangiovese. My first reaction - who needs a Rosè in December? But, happily, I never pass-up an opportunity to taste wine. I found a gem! - pale bronze in color, light zesty fruit that reminds me of persimmon - or is it the tannin that reminds me of persimmon? Never mind. This wine, at room temperature or slightly chilled, will make any meal, winter or summer, memorable. Innovative, inspired wine-making for just $13.99/14.59 - it makes my spirit soar!.
Inspired by the Barale Chardonnay hailed above, I am working my way through sampling Barale reds - first up, the ‘01 Barbaresco. Sitting at my computer as we speak, I am reveling in a just-opened bottle. Unlike so many of its tribe of Piedmontese “royals”, Barolo and Barbaresco, fashioned from Nebbiola, this wine, at the tender age of but three years, is open and irresistible. A rich perfume and earthy bouquet - no wood. The bouquet is echoed in the mouth in perfect balance with the fairly ripe tannins - again I detect little trace of wood in a lovely lingering finish Planning to do more than just sip tomorrow night with a hearty beef stew. Yours for $39.99/35.99.
2000 Vintage Barolo is Hot - or is it Hype?
The Wine Spectator (I think of it as the Wine Speculator) has touted the entire 2000 vintage of Barolo with a score of 100. Ridiculous! But many disciples take that to mean “go out and buy any and every Barolo you can lay your hands on”. Well, watch out! I have tasted a number of 2000 Barolo’s finding many too tannic to evaluate on a quick taste immediately after opening, which is the case at most trade tastings. So I am in the process of buying bottles of selected producers wines and evaluating them over a period of days. I do not need to taste the entire vintage - I need only to find a handful, or even one that rings my bell without breaking the bank.
Stay tuned.
The Madison Wine Shop is Not Moving
Finally, for those of you who have not heard the news - the Madison Wine Shop is staying put. It would have been fun to design and layout a new Madison Wine Shop from scratch, but would it have outweighed the headaches of moving? I am happy we will not know
Rick Lewis
Visit madisonwineshop.com | Questions or comments? Email info@madisonwineshop.com
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
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