Yes. Serralunga. Like in the 2006 vintage, 2007 was very good here. It's an area that definitely performs well in warmer vintages as it ripens later and tends to produce wines with brighter acidity. In leaner years they can be hard, austere and long term propositions but in vintages 2007, Serralunga is, literally I guess, the sweet spot of Barolo. In any tasting of this many wines, as I mentioned previously, I look for a benchmark- a wine against which to measure the attributes of them all and in 2007, it was the Rivetto brother's *** Serralunga Barolo. Here is Barolo's trademark 'tar and roses' nose with strawberry candy, crumbled red earth and cinnamon aromas in high relief. It's rare that my favorite wine in a tasting is also that benchmark but the Rivetto was pretty close. Here is my list of standouts:
2007 Rivetto 'Del commune di Serralunga d'Alba ***
2007 Bruna Grimaldi Badarina ***(-) All her wines performed very well this week
2007 Pio Cesare Ornato *** yes, oaky and unabashedly modern but even though it's no benchmark for Nebbiolo, it tastes pretty good!
2007 Paolo Manzone Meriame *** This is the best ever from this producer.
2007 Vietti Lazzarito *** Another wine destined for massive pointage!
2007 Luigi Pira Margheria ***? Reduced nose gave way to massive and sexy fruit underneath. Shows the breed of this good vineyard.
2007 Ceretto Bricco Rocche Prapo *** Impeccable balance.
2007 Germano Ettore Prapo *** This famous wine is all class!
The week's tasting ends with a decidedly mixed bag of 2005 Barolo Riservae that ranged from big, sweet and OTT to high strung and tannic. I had my share of favorites, of course, but will refrain from making any sort of blanket judgement on either the current state of 2005 or Barolo Riservae because it was impossible for me to get any sort of clear read. I did like.....
2005 Castello di Verduno Monvigliero Riserva *** No, not surprised. Verduno.
2005 Franco Molina Cascina Rocca Villero Riserva *** Falletto
2005 Cordero di Montezemolo Gorette Riserva *** from Magnum....actually this is the sun-side of Gattera (La Morra) and a winery-only deal. Massive wine and lots of fun.
2005 Rivetto Leon Riserva *** From Serralunga. What's up with Rivetto and why do their wines keep appearing in my best-of lists?
2005 Palladino San Bernardo Riserva *** From Serralunga. Nope...never heard of it either.
2005 Germano Ettore Lazzarito *** Serralunga...Another producer I have to get back into the habit of watching....great producer, great vineyard...any questions?
2005 Massolino Vigna Rionda ***+ Serralunga...why not save the best for last? Noble wine with about 1000 years of cellar life ahead of it. Another blue chip.
Good-bye all. It's time to fire up the Punto and head for Alto Adige.
In bright sunshine with the new i-pad pumping music through Punto's teeny-weeny speakers, it's off to Bolzano,about a three-hour journey. About half the trip is nondescript autostrada but when you turn north before Trento, the amazing dolomitic cliffs of the Valle Adige rise seemingly out of nowhere to create one of the most dramatic drives in Italy. It was impossible to keep my eyes on the road while doing 80 through one-lane construction zones surrounded by enormous Polish and Czech big rigs AND properly pay homage to the incredible cliffs on either side, at the top of each crag is perched the ruins of a medieval castle. Once you pass the Ferrari sparkling wine facility on the left, the trip goes to the next level. No, this ain't the River Po anymore!
I've been to Bolzano before but I remember arriving late and leaving early after a very long night at Lageder. That would not be the case this time. I was checked into the (recommended) Hotel Alpi downtown and was eating pretzels and drinking local Bolzan beer by about three in the afternoon.
A couple of observations. This is Italy but, thanks to its proximity to Austria, is, technically bilingual. Well, bilingual exclusively in German, I should say. Though every street sign, package and menu is written in both Italian and German, no one really uses Italian here. That was sort of a relief actually as I found my years of high school German actually useful (as opposed to my pitiful Italian) but, I am ashamed to say, English works better here than anywhere else I've ever been in Italy and that worked just fine for me.
Bolzano must be the base of any trip you take to this part of Northern Italy. It's a little convoluted to get into the old Centro from the spaghetti tangle of roads leading in, but it's sure worth it. The rococo architecture against the backdrop of those amazing cliffs will take your breath away and the riverside park a must-visit as it offers glimpses into the hardcore Heidi Country just a few kilometers away.
Peter rolled in from Palermo, Sicily (luggage-less of course) just in time to catch the last of the day light and scope out one of the restaurants-cum-breweries right in the center of the city for dinner. We got our Schnitzel on for the rest of the evening as we compared our respective trip notes, ordered bottle after bottle of wine and devoured everything on the menu as Bolzano heated up for its surprising night life.
