Metamorphosis of Piedmont

8/8/2019 Metamorphosis of Piedmont

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MetamorphosisOf Piedmont:The

Rapidly-Evolving

ExpressionOf

NebbioloCURTIS MARSH REPORTS ON MODERN-DAY BAROLO AND

BARBARESCO WHERE A PROGRESSIVE BALANCE OF CONTEMPORARY

AND TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES HAVE TRANSFORMED AN

OTHERWISE UNYIELDING STYLE OF RED.


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Like many o the Old World wine regions, there was an inheritedresistance to change in Piedmont, with the old guard Baroloand Barbaresco winemakers obstinately adhering to time-honoured

traditions and techniques. Indeed, Barolo was seemingly cemented in

time with little variance rom the winemaking methods introduced in

the early 1800s by French oenologist Louis Oudert. Most vineyards hereare amily-run, where successive generations o sons or daughters have

dutiully taken over the reins, abiding by the methods their parents

handed down and maintaining the status quo with the Barolo merchant

houses that have long dominated the market with an indierence

to evolving trends o wine consumption. For the uninitiated, these

ormidable red wines were ercely tannic coupled with pronounced,

angular acidity and high alcohol levels requiring some 20 years o

bottle age to be approachable, and a urther 30 or 40 years to reach

optimum maturity. Whilst possessing prouse tannins, the thin skins

o the Nebbiolo grape actually have very low colour pigmentation,

which lead to the sel-deeating method o prolonged maceration on

skins ater ermentation, up to 40 days or more to extract suitable

saturation o colour yet a sureit o tannins, in turn necessitatinglengthy sojourns o seven or more years in large chestnut oak barrels

to tame the excessive phenolics. The combination o these practices

promoted premature oxidisation and volatile acidity, stripping the wine

o its ruit and instilling an old leathery, tarry character with a dried out,

over-savoury palate and an unyielding astringent rusticity. Odd as it

may be, Barolo devotees never questioned these faws. To the contrary,

they cherished these characteristics and deended them as unique and

authentic qualities o denitive terroir. Their reasoning was the very

best aged Barolo or Barbaresco can possess a bouquet o unparalleled

complexity with a hedonistic perume o antique woods and dried

bark, cedar orest and pine needles, damp orest foor along with all

number o wild mushrooms and trufes, earthy-musty undertones,

hung game and animal scents, dried Provencal herbs, dried fowers

and briar-underbrush, clove and oriental spices, dark soy, black teas,

liquorice and that much lauded cigar-box aroma; a compelling potion

or the wine cognoscenti notwithstanding the perect complement to

trufe and wild mushroom dishes.

Savouring a glass of Barolo is like drinking

a cigar.It was not until the early 1960s that circumstances would change and

the rst to dey his lineage was Angelo Gaja, succeeding his staunch

traditionalist ather who had prevailed over Barbarescos largest vineyard

holdings as a long-established conservative producer. In deance o a

disconcerted Gaja senior, the young Angelo Gaja introduced stainless

steel tanks and temperature-controlled ermentation, malolactic

ermentation and maturation in French barrique (225-litre Bordeaux

oak barrels), all methods that are commonplace now yet, were

truly avant garde in Piedmont at the time. Sure, the wines rom

around here are ancient, but until recently, so was the winemaking,

criticised Angelo Gaja, who is now lionised throughout Italy and the

winemaking world.

It was also around this time that Beppe Colla o Prunotto inaugurated

the concept o single vineyard Barolos, eectually the harbinger

o Barolos revitalised status and embodiment o deining the

distinguished sub-regions and individual vineyards rather than

the dilution o nondescript blends. This also coincided with Italys

introduction o the Denominazione di Origine Controlllata or DOC,

with the same aspirations as the Appellation Controlee classication

o France, although equally plagued by bureaucracy, convoluted wine

laws and dissention. The accession o a more cosmopolitan generation

X propelled a sea o change in Piedmont with a new wave o young and

enthusiastic sons and daughters questioning their patrimonial training

and also ar more in tune with the changing demands o the wine

consuming public. Not all was positive with this wave o modernisation,

The very best aged Barolo or Barbaresco can possess abouquet o unparalleled complexity with a hedonisticperume o antique woods and dried bark... earthy-mustyundertones... dried owers... clove and oriental spices...

a compelling potion or the wine cognoscenti.

WWW.ASIACUISINE.COM


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with a xation on wine styles that would have immediate appeal to

a broader market, particularly America and catering to the taste o

the omnipotent wine critic Robert Parker. An overzealousness to be

part o the revolution resulted in an overshoot o applying the latest

techniques that were unpractised on the indigenous varieties Nebbiolo

and Barbera, engendering the two contrasting actions o winemakers the traditionalists and the modernists.

Initially, this segregation appeared to have a positive impression on

wine consumers, at the very least instilling a distinction between styles

that they could use to decipher a bewildering myriad o wines. The wine

press latched on with equal gusto, not only giving them something

topical to write about but also chance to proclaim their allegiance to

a particular action, notwithstanding the opportunity to grandstand,

as i they had an axe to grind, and much to bemusement o Piedmonte

winemakers, yet sanctioned under the ecacious adage, All press is

good press. Ironically, the precedent had already been set urther south

in Tuscany and one can draw the same comparisons and consequences

where winemakers were too quick to appease the American palate,

seduced by this bourgeoning market. In this case it was the emergence

o the so-called Super-Tuscan producers that introduced Merlot and

Cabernet Sauvignon in to the equation, along with small French oak,

invariably high-toast and making soter, plusher more New World

style wines, subsequently diluting the unique qualities o indigenous

and venerable Sangiovese grape. Whilst enjoying a period o adoration,

these IGT wines (Indicazione Geograca Tipica) are now losing avour

to pure Sangiovese, aptly rationalised by Memo Zaldi, who has run

restaurants in Chianti or over 28 years, Sangiovese is like Pinot

Noir, it expresses its soil, its place. Throwing his hands in the air,

Would you blend Burgundy (Pinot Noir) with Pomerol (Merlot)? As

it transpired, Piedmonte suered the same addiction to French oak

as Tuscany. However, it would be the radical changes in ermentation

techniques and vessels that would have greater repercussions with theintroduction o rotary-ermenters o varying types, some resembling

a concrete mixer where the whole tank rotates, others with blades

and plungers that gyrate inside o the tank during the ermentation

process. Regardless, the primary objective was to achieve the desired

colour extraction in the minimum amount o time, in the extreme as

little as our and ve days at alarmingly high temperatures, but with

little or no cold-maceration on skins, thus avoiding the over-extraction

o tannins, ergo acilitating a much shorter maturation period in wood

with an accent on soter more firtatious French oak.

Protagonist modernist, Elio Altara, who makes some o Piedmonts most

evocative wines, is adamant that the longer the maceration period on

skins, the more the colour destabilise through oxidisation along withincreased extraction o bitter tannins. In contrast to the traditionalists

who believe tannin is essential or Nebbiolo to have longevity, Altara

is insistent, Its not the acids and tannins that make a great wine;

its the balance.

It is obvious that many o the modernists overindulged both in technique

and the lavish use o new French oak, masking much o Nebbiolos

unique characters and eectively internationalising the wines. However,

the producers o Barolo and Barbaresco have been rapidly regenerating

over the last ve or six years with the divergence between traditionalist

and modernist diminished to the point o irrelevance, in no small part

due to the succession o generation Y winemakers. Indeed, it is quite

Angelo Gaja

In defance o a disconcerted Gaja senior,the young Angelo Gaja introduced stainlesssteel tanks and temperature-controlledermentation, malolactic ermentation andmaturation in French barrique (225-litreBordeaux oak barrels).


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likely these modern-day artisans have attained a university degree in

oenology or chemistry, perhaps specialised in viticulture or geology

and more than likely undergone their ormative vintages in Oregon,

Caliornia, Australia or New Zealand. This much-needed correction

comes rom both actions, with modernists prescribing to gradual,

gentler ermentations and more importantly cutting back on the use

o new wood, in act reducing their dependence on barriques and

using 500 or 600 litres tonneaux with minimal toast (ring o the

barrel). There is even a revival o the botti, the large oak barrels that

range rom ten to 30 hectolitres o wine, the modernists conceding it

is advantageous or Nebbiolo to evolve in unobtrusive wood although

avoiding the old-ashion chestnut in avour o Slovenian oak, or evenexperimenting with dierent French, German and Russian oaks. Ironic

as it may seem, this new generation is keen to rediscover their roots,

and what was old is now new.

Correspondingly, the traditionalists have relinquished drawn out

ermentations and macerations and most are updating their wineries

with a sweeping awareness that meticulous hygiene in the winery

and clean, less oxidative winemaking are an imperative, as is

uncontaminated maturation replacing old dirty casks with new botti

or tonneaux with the wines spending signicantly less time in wood.

Even the staunchest o traditionalists, Giacomo Brezza & Fils, who

have been making Barolo since 1885 have reduced macerations to

around 15 days, depending on the vineyard and condition o the grapes(as opposed to 40 plus). I had singled out Brezza on my recent tour

o Piedmont as the litmus test o resistance to change, expecting to

encounter a bastion o tradition. Appearances can be deceiving and

the old Brezza cellars below the legendary Hotel Barolo, which they

have run since 1910, exude an aura o heritage that conveniently

camoufages the insightul approach o ourth generation winemaker

Enzo Brezza. In actuality, this could well be the model example o

contemporary Barolo, where wisdom and astuteness take the best

rom both (modern and traditional) worlds distilling it to a fawless

simplicity. I had an illuminating tasting o juicy, succulent ruit-laden

reds, deceptively approachable yet brooding with rm tannins. Enzo

revealed that he had recently been to Australia visiting his riend Joe

Grilli at Primo Estate, subtly establishing his amiliarity with the big

wide world o wine. With a poker ace he declares he might bottle his

Dolcetto and Barbera in screwcap next year, his expression changing

to a devious grin at the prospect o a purported conservative stirring

up the establishment. Suddenly I eel like I am simultaneously in the

past, present and uture o Barolo.

All this said, there are many producers that believe it is the changes in

the vineyard that are more signicant to the metamorphosis o Barolo

and Barbaresco than in the winery with ve dening actors; green

harvesting, progress in clone selection, sustainable arming (organicand biodynamic practices), global warming and most importantly

the comprehensive move towards producing and labelling individual

vineyard wines, all encompassing the age-old reality: that truly great

wines are made in the vineyard. Whilst the trend towards sub-regional

or individual commune wines has been evolving or some time now,

there are a myriad o unique single-vineyard sites, or cru as they are

sometimes reerred to, within the amous subzones that are now

recognised or their individual and sometimes distinguished qualities

and deservedly treated exclusively. Sanctioning this concept as the

way o the uture, the Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco has recently

announced the ocial approval o 65 individual vineyard sites or

recognised micro-areas that can be legally stated in labelling as

added geographic mentions. Green harvest is a relatively new practicewhere young berries are selectively removed beore veraison (colour

change, hence the term green) in order to reduce yields, subsequently

diverting the vines energies to the remaining grapes and achieving

riper and more intense favour compounds. The relationship between

reducing yields and increasing quality is accepted however, this is a

very labour-intensive process and the reduction o crop levels equally

nancially painul.

I shall not bore you with clones, besides it is the subject o global

warming that is ar more topical, aecting many vineyards regions

around the world, equivocally benetting some and burdening others.

Enzo revealed that he had recently been toAustralia visiting his riend Joe Grilli at PrimoEstate, subtly establishing his amiliarity withthe big wide world o wine.

Brezza ather and son-Enzo (right) ourth generation winemaker.


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New Zealander Curtis Marsh is known to many as

T h e W a n d e r i n g P a l a t e w h o b e l i e v e s t h a t a

meal without wine could only be breakfast! To read

more of Marshs wine and travel articles, click on to

www.thewanderingpalate.com, where he shares a

selection of his many journalistic exploits.

Nebbiolo ripens later than any other red variety, ordinarily being picked

in mid to late October, even as late as early November, by which time

the autumnal morning clouds and thick mist blankets the region, hence

the association between the grapes name and nebbia (og). Needless to

say, Nebbiolo needs extended hang-time to ripen suciently, preerably

with warm, dry late summer conditions yet, in the past Barolo andBarbaresco producers would be lucky i there were two vintages in a

decade that achieved ully ripe grapes, leading to comparisons with

Burgundies similarly unreliable vintages.

When I visited Barolo and Barbaresco regions in the last week o

September 2007, the weather was warm and dry with a little mist

however harvest had all but nished with the exception o some rows

o Nebbiolo in Serralunga dAlba and Monorte dAlba. Every producer

I spoke to agreed that the changing weather patterns contributed

signicantly to the quality and style o their wines. Whilst some

were non-committal on the theories o global warming all admitted

that they have been picking their grapes successively earlier over the

last ten years, and were achieving much more phenolic ripeness, less

astringent tannins and increased dry extract. This is substantiated by

an unprecedented run o very good to excellent vintages (underlined);

1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003 albeit controversial,

2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, with 2002 being the only o-year.

Clearly it is time to redene our impression o Nebbiolo and the wines

rom Barolo and Barbaresco and accept there are undamental changes.

At the same one should not be lured in to the misconception these

are unsubstantial wines and whilst generally ar more accessible than

the past, there is no escaping the natural core o tannins intrinsic

to Nebbiolos personality. Furthermore, Barolo and Barbaresco will

never be straight orward, the complex mosaic o single vineyards

and kaleidoscope o wines equalling the idiosyncrasies o the Pinot

Noir grape and abstruse realms Burgundy. Barolo or Barbaresco isunquestionably an exceptional terroir as the wines truly unique and

nowhere else in the world has yet to replicate the complexities that

Nebbiolo achieves in the hills o Piedmont. Above all, there has never

been a better time to buy these wines, with the superb 2004 vintage

now rolling out to markets. The 2003 wines might be atypical however

there are some stunning wines to be ound. The excellent 2001s are

still easily sourced and there is the bevy o good vintages o the last

decade to source on the secondary market. Looking ahead, 2005 is

not without its problems but still considered a good medium-term

vintage, whilst 2006 is already being touted as equally brilliant as

2004 and 2001. Last but not least, and addressing the misimpression

that Barolo and Barbaresco wines do not pair well with Asian ood, a

misleading assumption based on the clash o tannins with chilli. Well,without stating the obvious, not all Asian cuisines are dominated by

chilli. Personally, I think these wines pair wonderully with Chinese

barbecued pigeon, roasted duck and pork, braised bee and pork clay-

pot, Sichuan bee and sublime with bee rendang, to mention just a

ew combinations. CM

Clearly it is time to redefne our impressiono Nebbiolo and the wines rom Baroloand Barbaresco and accept there areundamental changes.

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Metamorphosis of Piedmont