2009 Nebbiolo
(nehb-byoh-lo)
$45 per bottle / $486 per
case
$38.25 per bottle / $432 per case
(Members)
We’ve been toiling in the Nebbiolo fields for some years, and it
could be argued that its single-minded pursuit is perhaps even more
quixotic than crippling Pinot noir-lust. For many years, we
struggled to ripen the Nebbiolo grapes in the late, great Ca’ del
Solo vineyard, and resorted to airdrying a portion of them (usually
35-40%) to concentrate their ripeness, and would always just barely
eke out a balanced, ripe wine. In ’09, possibly as a result of the
warmer season, lower crop and general vitality of the vines, we
elected to not dry any of the fruit, but likewise substantially
thinned the vines to achieve evenness of ripening.
We went with a rather long
cuvaison for this wine (30 days
and thirty nights) but were very gentle with our extraction—you
really have to watch it with Nebbiolo to avoid picking up
bitterness. The wine was aged in a 1000 liter wood upright tank,
which is just about perfect for Nebbiolo. (If the wine sees too
much oxygen, the tannins will dry out—the kiss of death for
Nebbiolo.)
The ’09, our last Nebs (at least for the indeterminate future) is
arguably the finest Nebbiolo we have ever produced. Incredibly
bright in the nose (not always the first descriptor that comes to
mind with Nebbiolo), the wine is just bursting with
fruit—raspberry, blackberry, cherry, sloe plum, and the classic
suggestions of tobacco and menthol. In the mouth, you will find
firm but not foreboding tannins, again that BDV savoriness, and a
sense of just remarkable depth and that lovely saline/mineral
quality for which I live. There are so many things about this wine
that I love, but chiefest among them is the fact that the wine
moves; in the glass (or better, decanter), it continues to evolve
over an evening. Nebbiolo is along with Pinot noir and Syrah, one
of the true genius grape varieties; there is a remarkable
soulfulness to the best examples of the variety, and this
particular one, I submit, stands among the very best. It will
confound everything that you know or imagine you know about
Nebbiolo and California. Even if you are not a Barolo person—I’m so
sorry if that might be the case—this wine will be an opportunity
for you to behold this grape in all of its nebbiolous glory.
Vital Statistics
Blend: 100% Biodynamic
® nebbiolo
Vineyard: Ca’ del Solo Estate
Appellation: Monterey
Production: 508 cases
TA: 7.5 g/L
pH: 3.40
Alcohol by Volume: 14.4%
Serving Temperature: 55-60ºF
Optimal drinkability: Drink now-2025
Certified Biodynamic
®