PIEMONTE EXTRAVAGANZA

 Michael Palij MW - Wednesday 7 February 2007

Consummate entertainment and the best of the best

Stop Press: Michael Palij struck dumb

The Club’s Piemonte extravaganza tasting on Wednesday 7 February was held in the Pavilion at Radley College, Abingdon, amongst mounting speculation that the entire group might be snowed in and have to survive on wine alone. Thankfully this drastic situation did not occur.

Michael, in fine form and with his enthusiasm for the region showing at every turn, led us through a tasting of two whites and eight reds, ranging from the obscure but pleasurable to the sublime, accompanied by some consummate story telling.

The first two whites were from little-known grape varieties – the Arneis and the Timorasso. The 2005 Arneis, which is exclusively grown in the Roero area, near Barolo, was darker in colour than the marginally older Timorasso. Although not a stellar vintage (Michael assured us the 2006, which he is about to ship, is ‘sensational’) the mid-weight Arneis showed some floral and candied fruit notes on the nose. On the palate, a certain lack of acidity was detectable but Michael assured us this wine would partner well with fish and good value for money at £8. Made with minimal intervention by the third generation to work these vineyards, the wine is left on the skins for about 36 hours and then stainless steel fermented.

The more expensive (£13) and older 2004 Timorasso is made by Walter Massa, a ‘tall, thin and insistent’ 5^th generation winemaker who is one of only two producers working with the Timorasso grape. Harvested at the end of October from a ‘perfect’ vineyard located on steep slopes and made with minimal intervention, the Timorasso showed a buttery complexity on the palate, great length and will be, we are assured, long lived.

The next pair of wines again introduced us to two rare red grape varieties, the Pelaverga and the Rouchet. Not generally available, we were assured we were tasting the only bottles available in the UK.

Grown in the area surrounding Pelaverga, once more in the area around Barolo, the Pelaverga is made by an ‘indomitable’ Signora Burlotto, whose Commadatore grandfather participated in the Italian polar expectation of 1903. Naturally he took some of his own wine with him and on reaching the North Pole, the Italians toasted their success with Pelaverga, rather than champagne. On the nose the wine was fruity, spicy and with some notes of cabbage and cinnamon. Light-bodied, it had fresh acidity and light tannins and was somewhat reminiscent of a Gamay. Designed to be drunk young and an ideal partner for dishes such as duck, ham and the local charcuterie, we were assured the Pelaverga has aphrodisiac qualities. Perhaps other Club members might care to comment on this phenomenon!

Made on one of the oldest estates in Piemonte and one of the most traditional, the Rouchet is grown on steep south-facing slopes in the area of Ruche di Castiglione Monferrato. With a garnet rim and a ruby core, the 1998 vintage was showing some maturity but nevertheless on the palate had fresh acidity, good depth of flavour somewhat reminiscent of stewed prunes and a good length. The fruit, acid and tannins were ‘seamlessly’ integrated.

With wines 5 and 6, we reverted to more traditional Piemonte grape varieties. Both are made in the area south of the town of Barolo, both are examples of a non-traditional treatment being given to a traditional grape. Michael reminded us that the production of Barolo is tiny – half that of Chablis while the production of Barbaresco is half that of Barolo. The area is ringed by mountains whose lower slopes are steeper than the higher ones and, although altitude does not present an issue, the area is higher than Bordeaux. Traditionally, the higher, south-facing sites on the top of the hills, which have the highest limestone content, are reserved for Nebbiolo, the area further down or west facing slopes are planted with Barbera and the worst, bottom sites or sites which are north facing are planted with Dolcetto. 

Made a mere 5 miles from Barolo and within earshot of its church bells, Acillio Pecchenino’s vineyard is nevertheless not within the DOC boundaries. Acillio has given his dolcetto the best sites and treatment, using a combination of barrique and tonneau combined with mirco-oxygenation to help with tannin management. Showing an amazing concentration of colour, with fine ripe tannins and light acidity, the Dolcetto had a rich fruit character that Michael assures us teams well with the local breed of beef.

Wine 6 was a VdT made by Felice Coppo in his converted garage in wide shallow stainless steel vats which are hand-plunged by Felice himself, who sets up a cot next to the vats, waking every three hours to do the deed. His very low yield is about 15 hectolitres per hectare and he selects the grapes meticulously. Felice refuses to call his wine a Barbera, hence the VdT designation, and has ingeniously got around the EU regulations regarding the declaration of a vintage on table wines by making the typeface for the year over 4 times larger than the rest of the detail. With gamey, Bovril notes on the nose and lots of black fruit on the palate, the acidity is notable but not ferocious. The alcohol is well integrated, despite its 14.5%.

How many of us will ever forget Michael’s story of the first meal he shared with Felice? The local speciality apparently is frogs – served whole and deep-fried in batter. Difficult to eat and even more so to digest, looking, we are told, like some sort of bizarre lollipop! Preferring alcohol to the somewhat squidgy frogs, Michael’s monumental hangover was cured by Felice’s mother’s acacia flower fritters. Told by Michael, wearing a frog-green sweater – better than the best of stand-up!

Wines 7, 8 and 9 presented us with a Nebbiolo-fest. Michael compared the grape to the local people – somewhat cool, detached and yielding their qualities slowly. We were reminded too that Piemonte was the region that was home to the methanol scandal of the early ‘80s, and is a region now in flux, with winemakers divided between those preferring a short maceration, stainless steel fermentation and a short period in new oak and those who prefer a longer period on the lees, old oak and the passage of years. Although boundaries are blurring, the debate continues and the three wines provided a startling contrast between treatments. All from the 99 vintage, the supermodern, the middle way and the traditionalist.

As is frequently the case, it was wine 9, the traditional treatment, from the high priest of traditionalism, Mascarello, that shone. Despite his ‘Tre Bicchiere’ reputation, Bruno Rocca’s wine (7) was considered to be a Fiat – at Ferrari prices. Wine 8, from Boroli, showed lots of oak and spice on the nose, lots of concentration and fruit tannins on the palate, but the stainless steel treatment did not prove to its advantage when compared with the Mascarello. On the nose the Mascarello was lighter but on the palate showed riper sweeter fruits and softer tannins, was overall more well-balanced and longer on the finish. 

The Mascarellos recently visited the UK for the first time, to attend one of Michael’s tastings, leaving their vineyard with some trepidation. Michael described them as perfectionists, hoeing their vines by hand, extensively green-harvesting and selecting only perfectly formed grapes in perfect condition, which are left on their skins for one month and in old oak for about 4 years. The wine is capable of ageing for a further 20 years. 

Wine 10, from treasured magnums bought by Michael some years ago in Ireland, dated from 95 – the first of the golden years in Piemonte. This golden age lasted until 2001, with 2002 too cold, 2003 too hot and 2004 ‘perfect’. Parker has allegedly admitted to ‘getting Piemonte wrong’ and over-rating 2000 versus 1999, 1999 was in fact a great vintage, 2000 pretty but not for the long term, We were advised to go long on the 2004!

Michael described Rocche as a grand cru site, with Scavino tending towards modernism in his treatment of the grapes. On the nose, there was a hint of perfume, with a rose character, leathery rich spicy and complex. On the palate, the tannins were well-integrated with the fruit, almost dissolving. Michel, before he was rendered speechless, described the wine as ‘singing’ ‘in a great window’ and with the character of the terroir showing through. And speechless he was – struck dumb by the beauty and pleasure of this truly great wine.

What can I say? This was an extraordinary evening. If you were not there, you should regret it. Thank you to Michael and all those involved with making this one of the best tastings ever.

A review by Hilary Reid Evans