Verduno

Verduno has become an interesting frontier for me. The smallest and least talked about (ok, Roddi, Novello and Grinzane deserve equal time as far as obscurity) of Barolo's zones, as time goes on, it is gradually carving out a reputation for producing Barolo's most elegant wines. It is here where Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo comes closest to crossing paths. Located a few kilometers 'behind' La Morra, it is less protected by it's hill, hence it's cooler but its best vineyards (vineyard, really, as there seems to be the sun-baked undulating curtain of Monvegliero and everything else) actually face La Morra and get plenty ripe although, once one tastes through the wines, you quickly realize that the wines here have more finesse than its neighbors'.

Three of Verduno's best producers, Castello di Verduno, Alessandria Fratelli and Burlotto invited us out to the hamlet's beautiful park for an orientation of the area and to taste through some current releases and some older wines to show that more elegant doesn't necessarily mean shorter-lived. The view from the edge of the park is stunning. You can see just about the entire Barolo and Barbaresco zone although the rolling Brunate cru obscures the town of Barolo itself. The hilltop of La Morra towers over everything while Serralunga shimmers in the far distance.
Though there are some good Verduno vineyards between the park and La Morra, the best are off to the left where the afternoon sun warms them. The best known is Monvegliero and I think all three of these producers farm it. The Verduno 2007s are pretty ripe and maybe don't have the freshness to count them as truly elegant expressions of Nebbiolo but I will let time sort that out. The Nebbiolo in the showcased 2008s, however, was very pretty- all three wines had this sort of cherry-lavender thing going on and the tannins real supple. These are fresh and elegant, reminding me of three Santenays as much as three Baroli.

Where the tasting got very interesting (of course, as a certified wine geek, I enjoyed tasting the wineries' juicy Pelavergas as much as anything) though was when we got to the older wines. The 1988 Burlotto out of a double magnum was creamy, complex and briary- only 75% of the way up the hill- while Alesandria's 1985 was remarkable for its youth (I haven't had any 1985s in a while) and polish. Of great interest was Castello di Verduno's 1989 Monvegliero. This has always been a favorite vintage and I've a lot of wines from the heart of the appellation but none that I can remember from Verduno. It didn't disappoint: all cinnamon, sandalwood and lovely earth. It was one of those wines I hated to see disappear from the glass. This is why we wait.

What I will remember most from the spring afternoon was the fifteen minutes Colorado mate Brad and I spent nearly asleep on the lawn in the warm sunshine. But, if you don't like the weather in Barolo, wait ten minutes! In fact, off to the northwest it was getting very dark and as we boarded the bus from the hotel to go to Nebbiolo Prima's Grand Finale Party, there were tales of hail in Novello. By the time we drove the 15 minutes to the town of Barolo, enormous rain drops were falling from a badly bruised skies and the scramble was on to move a party for 350 with catering and live music into the narrow bowels of Barolo castle from its patio.

Of course the rain almost immediately stopped and when I fled the crowded, hot and steamy conditions downstairs for a glass of Arneis on the patio, I got to see one of those sunsets that will keep me coming back to Barolo forever.

That would be the perfect ending of course, but this year's Nebbiolo Prima added an extra tasting session to compensate for the reduced number of wines per sitting so I've got to get up bright and early tomorrow for that.....if I don't stay up too late with the guys and close down the bar.....again.