So, anyway, back to the trip... after Braida, it was back to the hotel as Bruno Giacosa had to cancel at the last minute (sad about that one... as I love the wines) - or as close as one would get while being lost for 2 1/2 hours because there is not an exit on the autostrade for Alba... So after a nice drive to Torino (!), and a jaunt down a few back roads through the commune of Roero (beautiful - really pretty terrain, perfect for Nebbiolo and Arneis that are permitted in the DOCG). Went to the gym for an hour so the legs don't get out of shape...
Toward La Morra from the valley floor...
What followed this evening was one of the great wine evenings of my life... though the wines were mostly unfamiliar to me, it was just one of those gastronimic experiences I'll never forget. We were picked up by Michele Martinetti, the son of owner Franco Martinetti and took a drive Southwest from the town of Alba in the hills of the Barolo DOCG... driving into the valley floor was very surreal... the hills and vineyards of Barolo surround you like you're in an ampitheater of wine... to the south, on the hill is the town of Barolo, to the east, the village of power - Serralunga d'Alba, to the west, the soft and supple La Morra... to the north-east, Castiglione Falletto, and in the hills far beyond, Novello and Monforte d'Alba...
First, we went to the winery. It's more of a rented space that other winemakers use as well to produce small quanities of wines (full of very nice equipment...). The Martinetti wines come only from purchased grapes... Franco Martinetti got his start when the Bologna family (see Braida from before) gave him grapes to make his own wine. As a side note, one thing I noticed among the great wine familys of Europe is that they all are very close... Angelo Gaja gives a 3 Liter of Barbaresco (of the baby's birth year) when a son is born to a wine family... The facility was very modern, but Martinetti is more of an old-styled wine producer, which is fabulous to see. We did some barrel tastings... They use primarily Boutes barriques (225L), paper filter, and do not fine the reds. They are topping up once/month and source Nebbiolo from several vineyards in Barolo. The first sample was the 2003 Boschetti Vineyard Barolo... Boschetti is a West and Southwest facing slope behind the village of Barolo planted to Dolcetto (Marchesi di Barolo) and Nebbiolo. This wine was going to be bottled in the beginning of July, so be sold in October... This wine matures in 60% New French Oak and 40% 1yr old barrels. On the nose, the wine was full of tared-rose petals with notes of black cherries, dried currants, with a hint of alcohol on the nose... on the palate a little more fruit with less earth, with not quite the cedary-oaky taste sometimes found in young Barolo. Next to it was the barrel sample of the 2003 Serralunga d'Alba-sourced Barolo... 14.6% alcohol, which wasn't too bad considering the hot and dry vintage... this was was much darker in color, very full bodied on the nose, with loads of black fruits, sweet fruit, anise and cinnamon candy. On the palate, this wine was pure power - with just a hint of suppleness. At this point he mentioned that they have sometimes experimented with Italian, Sardinian, and Turkish oak as well as French... very different than the large Slovinean oak barrels traditionally used in Barolo and Barbaresco production... I'm getting off track. The next barrel was the 2004 Serralunga d'Alba Barolo (didn't reveal the vineyard) from Boutes French Oak Barrels... this wine was completely shut, with just hints of spice, sweet cherries, roses and hefty tannins. We also tried the 2004 Serralunga d'Alba Barolo from a Pierre Danaque Barrel... more open than the other, with more roses, cherry Jolly-Rancher, black plums, and a beautiful freshness. The tannis were not quite as high with 1/2% less alcohol. A beautiful Barolo... we then did a few sample blends... the 2004's are very, very good and I look forward to tasting them in bottle. A tour of the winemaking side of the winery revealed an autovinificator (72-84 hours), a destemmer (destemming done on all wines), and stainless tanks (all malo done in stainless)... We tasted a 2006 Barolo in from tank (just finishing malo) which was full of fruit, and very rich in cherries and roses... beautiful... long, long finish on this one as well... saw a demijohn as well, used to top barrels up - traditional to the Piedmont.
After the tasting, we took a drive through the vineyards... here you can see his vineyard has a bit more limestone than the preferred clay...
I believe this is looking back towards Barlo from near Serralunga d'Alba... this does the region justice as to just how hilly and what a spectacle Barolo is...
The view from the restaurant (Whose name completely escapes me...)... incredible...
I can't recall all of the courses, except we started with local salami, had a pasta course (angnolotti), pork and lamb and all sorts of delicious goodness... We did not order, rather our host chose the courses for us... The 2003 Methodo Classico from Lombardy was a nice sparkler to begin the evening... crisp and dry. The 2006 Gavi was stunning... without question the best Gavi I've ever tasted... loads of floral notes with melon and citrus notes. Very good. The 2006 Martin (made entirely from the local Timorasso grape was another beauty - full-bodied. - almost a cross between a great Condrieu and Corton-Charlemagne. Honeyed Granny Smith Apples... would love to find a bottle of this for my cellar. On to the reds... The 2006 Bric dei Banditi Barbera d'Asti was fun - an easy to drink pizza and pasta wine. Almost has a carbonic maceration-type feel... fruity (red and black berries) with a hint of pepper. Great! The 2005 Siccis Omnia Dura Deus Proposuit Langhe Nebbiolo was good, but not noteworthy. A touch fruity with hints of cinnamon and violets.
The 2000 Montirus Barbera d'Asti is a winner... people are always amazed that these little wines hang on and improve so well... touch of Sotto Bosco, with black pepper and cedar. The 1999 Sul Bric (top of the hill) is a blend of 50% Barbera, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon... a powerful wine that I don't think knows which was to go... Fruity, but with tannin... The 2002 Moresco Barolo shows what a great producer can do in a very poor vintage... though not a fabulous wine, it was very good and drinking well now. Lots of roses and earth, with just a hint of spice. Not very concentrated (though that's all relative with Nebbiolo anyway...). Then, my first Freisa! The 2004 Lauren Da Uve Freisa was a big, powerful tannic monster... The grapes are cryo-frozen and the color and flavor extraction is incredible... not you everyday drinking wine, and make sure you have a good dentist to whiten your teeth! For dessert, a non-vintage passito Timorasso called Alcadro - uva vino di stiganetta... nice, sweet and perfect!!! Had one of the great Gelato's I've ever had... just simple vanilla, but incredible... Went home and went to bed... oh yeah, dinner was 4 hours...
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