Ahead by a nose
Producing aromatic, tannin-rich nebbiolo means finding the right site and the right winemaker. By Jane Faulkner.
IN THE glass, it can look orange-hued or even rusty, sometimes a wishy-washy red, or a deep garnet - proof in part that colour is no indication of wine quality. And just when you think it'll be a lightweight, those feisty tannins kick in with a fair amount of acid as back-up that sends an electrifying shiver down your spine.
Welcome to the allure of Italian-variety nebbiolo, especially if it's from its heartland of Piedmont.
Of course, what really distinguishes this variety, apart from those tannins, is its aromatics. A bit like pinot noir, nebbiolo is incredibly perfumed with a cornucopia of fruit notes - maybe black and red cherries, bramble berries and plums, then the floral nuances of roses and violets. It also has the more earthy tones of damp earth, tobacco and tar, cedar and liquorice or truffles, which makes sense considering this is the area for the incomparable, heady white truffle of Alba, and mushrooms, then hints of spice such as pepper, cloves, cinnamon. All this and more from just a sniff.
And just like grandcru burgundy, nebbiolo often needs time for those tannins to mellow, melt and become velvety. In exemplary vintages the ageing potential for such wines is anywhere from 10 to 40-plus years.
In little over a decade, nebbiolo has attracted a cult following thanks to barolo and barbaresco. (Both are DOCG wines - Denominazione D'Origine Controllata e Garantita - the highest legal designation that confers cachet on such wines.) Nebbiolo is native to Piedmont and references to it have been recorded as early as 1303AD but its slow rise to prominence can be traced from around the mid-19th century onwards. And although they are the same grape variety, barolo has enjoyed a certain prestige over barbaresco.
The winemaker, acknowledged for catapulting barbaresco and Italian wine generally on to the world stage is Angelo Gaja. Gaja says his father, Giovanni, had foresight and believed nebbiolo, especially barbaresco, was very, very special.
"He had faith in nebbiolo; that it was a unique variety," Gaja says. "He had no obligation to produce the best wine in the world, but he wanted to produce something different. He believed it was important to protect this difference and enhance (the variety's) different characters."
Giovanni understood implicitly the French concept of terroir, Gaja says. And he realised that to produce distinguished wine, owning vineyards, rather than buying fruit from growers, was the key.
"My father had built a map in his head of the best sites and then he started to buy," says Gaja. Changes in land ownership laws meant Giovanni began acquiring vineyards in the early 1960s - Gaja now owns substantial, exquisite sites in Barbaresco and Barolo.
These days, every wine producer realises vineyard siting is all-important. Franco Massolino is a fourth-generation winemaker based in Serralunga, whose vinous heritage began in 1896 when his grandfather set up the winery. While Massolino produces an excellent barolo, the three cru (top growth) sites - Margheria, Parafada and Vigna Rionda, amounting to barely five hectares - result in distinctive, individual wines.
"Every vintage is born with a different style," Massolino says. "2004 was a great, great vintage. The weather was perfect, the quantity was high, but the quality was, too, and it is definitely one of the best vintages from our cellar."
Now, back to those tannins. Stephen Pannell, who has worked several vintages at Vajra in Barolo and makes a very smart nebbiolo sourced from Adelaide Hills fruit, says Australians are tannin-phobic. Apart from being the backbone to nebbiolo, tannins are important with food - and that's how Italians enjoy their wine.
Nebbiolo is not an aperitif style. Partner it with meaty dishes, fragrant with mushrooms, or pasta with ragu.
Italian reds are not fruit-driven wines, as the varieties often are in Australia. There's a savouriness, even a minerality - it's as much about terroir as anything else and winemaking has a profound influence.
Several years back, the distinction between so-called traditionalist and modernist winemakers, the latter spearheaded by prominent barolo producer Elio Altare, was quite pronounced. For Altare, the idea that anyone had to wait 20 years to drink barolo was ridiculous.
Much influenced by winemaking in Burgundy, Altare started experimenting in the late 1970s with French barriques rather than old Slovenian oak foudres, different and more stable maceration times, plus an attitude that the winery must be pristine to reduce any microbial or yeast spoilage problems, such as brettanomyces.
Essentially, what Altare and the other modernists recognised was that reducing yields and fine tuning in the vineyard was a recipe for higher quality wine.
Recently, Sommeliers Australia held a tasting of '04 barolo and '05 barbaresco and apart from obvious winemaking influences, the sub-regional differences were apparent. Aficionados (as fanatical as Burgundy-buffs may I add) seek these subtleties by following key producers. And that's the most enjoyable part about wine - tasting them to discover the ones you love.
Barolo, Barbaresco and Nebbiolo are available at Prince Wine Store, South Melbourne, City Wine Shop, Europa Cellars, East Melbourne and Enoteca Sileno, Carlton. From $50 to $650.
Outstanding producers
Massolino
Vajra
E Pira & Figli Chiara Boschis
Bruno Giacosa
Vietti
Macarini
Mauro Veglio
Cavallotto
Elio Altare
Domenico Clerico
Renato Ratti
Elio Grasso
Gaja
Marchesi di Gresy
Sottimano