Before the end of the year I wanted to highlight the
Lombardy wine region and share a wine dinner I
attended a couple months back in Boston sponsored by the Oltrepo Pavese
Consorzio and wine friend Susannah of Vigneto Communications. You may remember me highlighting some wines
from the Oltrepo in Lombardy awhile back, which I will also rehighlight at the
bottom of this article. It was a
splendid evening in the North End of Boston, the Italian section of Boston, at
Forcella with great food and wine pairings, great conversation and a reminder
of interesting and diverse this region really is.
Susannah (Vigneto Communicatiaons), myself, Carlo (Consorzio), David (Cooking Chat) and Alison (Artisan Wine Group)
The Oltrepo Pavese, pronounced ol-tray-po pah-vay-say, sits
in the southern part of the Lombardy about 25 miles outside of Milan. It’s
uniquely shaped within Lombardy looking like a cluster of grapes. The vineyards cover 32,000 acres across 7 denominations
with the flagship DOCG, and only DOCG, being the Oltrepo Pavese Metodo Classico
Pinot Nero DOCG. The Oltrepo receives a Mediterranean climate
from the nearby influence of the Ligurian Sea and has more of a continental
climate with the Po Valley. Due to these
factors, and others, there is a large diversity in the styles of wines produced
in the Oltrepo.
Whether you have heard of the Oltrepo or not you may be
surprised to learn that this wine area actually accounts for 65% of the wine
production within Lombardy. So much of
the Oltrepo has changed over the years.
In 1884 the Oltrepo had 224 native vines with 59 grapes. Today this area has 10 native vines with a
much more limited amount of grapes. It’s
primary grapes grown and what it is known for are Barbara, Riseling, Croatina
and especially Pinot Nero. The Oltrepo
Pavese is actually 3rd in the world, besides Champagne and Burgundy
France, for the production of their Pinot Noir.
Other grapes also produced within the Oltrepo Pavese include Uva Rara,
Pinot Bianco, Cortese Bianco, Vespolina, Moscato, Pinot Grigio, Malvasia and
Mueller Thurgau.
There are 4 valleys in the Oltrepo from west to east
including Valle Straffora, Valle Coppa, Valle Scuropasso and Valle Versa. Pinot Nero is frequently grown in the Valle
Scuropasso. Barbera you will find mostly
within Valle Straffora and Valle Coppa.
Riesling does well in the calcareous soils of Valle Coppa. Croatina is found in the central valleys
eastward.
We opened
the evening with the lovely Ca’ di Frara T4 Brut Nature. The 2022 Bruno Verdi Pinot Grigio was
surprising as I never would’ve pinned that wine if tasted blind, although I’m
far from an expert. The texture and
fruit profile in the wine reminded me of a Riesling.
Although I didn’t take specific notes on these wines during
my dinner with the Consorzio I have to say that some of the pairings that we
had complemented one another very well.The
star pairing was the La Travaglina Rugiade Oltrepo Pavese Riesling DOC paired
with a cacio e pepe dish.
Also, the
Castello di Luzzano Sommossa Bonarda Frizzante with the pasta Bolognese surprisingly
paired nicely with a slight frizzante.
Have you enjoyed wines from the Oltrepo?
Here are some of my previous articles on other wines of the Oltrepo Pavese.
After a couple week hiatus due to wonderful family vacation
on a Disney cruise of the western Caribbean, I'm ready to share a recent
tasting I had a couple months back including sparkling wines from Borgo
Maragliano.This winery is located in
the sparkling wine area of Piedmont in northwestern Italy known as the Alta Langa. They are based in Loazzolo, close to Asti.We tasted through 6 sparkling winesmostly based on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and
one from the Riesling grape.Let's
explore!
The winery – Borgo Maragliano
The husband and wife owners, Carlo and Silvia Galliano, run Borgo
Maragliano along with 2 of their 3 sons. Carlo is also the winemaker and his wife handles the hospitality portion
of their business.They own about 108
acres in the Alta Langa, which is close to the seaside and therefore has the
Ligurian Sea influence and winds over their vineyards.The winery is situated at about 1,475 feet on
steep Langhe hills with the vineyards at about 2,000 feet above sea level.Their focus is on 4 grapes in particular,
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Moscato.The Moscato grape Carlo shared is the king grape of this particular area
in the Alta Langa.
Galliano family
The Alta Langa is an area of southern Piedmont known for
producing sparkling wines made in the traditional method style, known as the
traditional method, with the second fermentation taking place in the
bottle.This is the way in which Borgo
Maragliano produces their wines.Canelli,
a municipality in the Asti province of Piedmont, was the first in Italy to use this popular
methodology and experiment with it.Specifically
the producers, Carlo Gancia and Conterno, were influential in the beginnings of
using the classic style method.
Carlo explained how they use selected yeasts from France and
use organic practices in their
vineyards.Their soil is meager and poor
that gives great acidity to their wines allowing them to stay fresh and be
ageworthy.He discussed what he calls
the “pedoclima” as a major factor in the influences of their wines.This pedoclima is a combination of their altitude,
soils and climate.They have large
diurnal temperature swings of 23-24 degrees.
The wines
I'll share the wines I tasted in order of my personal
preference.Most of these wines are
named after members of the family.I
didn't find the bubbles to be too bright and bubbly, which for me was great
since I'm not a huge sparkling wine fan.
The 2018 Borgo Maragliano Dogma Blanc de Noirs Bruit Nature
Millesime is made from 100% Pinot Noir.The wine matured for 48 months on the yeast.They explained this vineyard as a difficult one
and Carlo chose the name “dogma” as a strong word to represent the passion and
determination to make these wines.Aromas of butter and vanilla along with some stone fruit.This wine was rounder on the palate and
fuller bodied than the others with a touch of salinity on the finish. SRP $72
The 2018 Borgo Maragliano Giuseppe Galliano Brut Nature
Millesime was the first sparkling wine they made in 1987 that is dedicated to Carlo's
father.They started making 1,400
bottles with the 1st vintage and today make about 8,000-9,000
bottles.Made from 80% Pinot Noir for
body and 20% Chardonnay for elegance from 35 year old vines.This wine spends 4 years in the bottle and
has 0% sugar.Yeasty aromas with a
slight toastiness.It's dry on the
palate with lemon pith and salinity on the finish. SRP $55
The Borgo MaraglianoGermana Beltrame Brut Nature
S.A. IV Editione is named after Carlo's mamma.Made from 100% Chardonnay from single
vineyards across 6 vintages between 2013 and 2018.This is their only non-vintage cuvee.Fresh apples with a slight buttery aroma with
soft bubbles on the palate. SRP $69
The 2019 Borgo Maragliano Federico Galiano Blanc de Blancs
Brut Alta Langa DOCG is made from 100% Riesling, a clone of the Rheingau.This is named after another of the sons.The soils of these vineyards are about 85-90%
limestone, which Carlo described as these wines showing an intensive mandarin
nose and producing a wine that is clean and direct.This wine did have intense aromas of petrol
and pear.The bubbles were small and
quickly dissipated. SRP $72
The 2019 Borgo Maragliano Francesco Galliano Blanc de
Blancs Brut Alta Langa DOCG is made from 100% Chardonnay named after their
2nd child.The grapes come
from a single vineyard planted in 1983.The soils contains 40% limestone, a white soil that absorbs the
water.This wine spends 34 months maturing
on the yeasts.This wine showed notes of
grapefruit pith showing a slight bitterness along with yellow flowers. SRP $50
Have you tried the sparkling wines of the Alta Langa?
*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.
As we round out these last couple weeks of November, this week I'm focusing on the Piedmont wine region and one of its great white grapes, Cortese, specifically the wines produced from the Gavi area. You can find this area located in the southeastern corner of Piedmont where Piedmont merges with the region of Liguria within the provinces of Monferrato and Alessandria. The landscape of this area not only has hills and valleys with the Ligurian Apennines nearby, but it’s only about 30 miles north of Genoa with the Ligurian Sea influences.
Wineshave shown up in documents within the area of Gavi since 972 AD, but this region had historically been based on red wines. By the 17th century documentation shows that the vineyards had completely converted over to the Cortese grape. After phylloxera had hit the area, producers chose to replant their vineyards with the Cortese grape over the Dolcetto grape. Much success and attention was drawn to the Cortese grape driven by the producer La Scolca.
In 1974 Gavi earned the DOC certification. In the 80’s Cortese’s quality declined due to its high yields and production of neutral, acidic wines. Into the 90’s Cortese’s quality recovered earning the Gavi DOCG certification in 1998.The Gavi DOCG wines hail from 11 communes within the Alessandria province produced from 100% Cortese. You may also see the wines labeled as Gavi di Gavi and those are wines that come specifically come from the Gavi commune.
Legend has it that these wines were named after Princess Gavia. In 528 she fled the wrath of her father, Clodomiro the King of France, due to her love for a young page that he disapproved of. She fled to the hills of Gavi to seek refuge from the troops and hence this area was named after her. Not sure of how much truth there are in these legends of these names come about, but it is always a fun read.
The area in which Gavi is grown has a moderately continental climate with cold winters and warm summers. There is great air circulation with such close proximity to the Ligurian Sea. The wines of Gavi will show better in warmer vintages as they will have more body and flavors than those in cold vintages that tend to be more lean. Cortese tends to be a grape that has nice crisp acidity with subtle aromas showing notes of citrus, almond and minerality. It’s a wine that is meant to be drunk in its youth. The Consorzio Tutela del Gavi descibes the Cortese grape as “elegant and a delicate bouquet, with hints of fresh fruit and white flowers, with notes of citrus and bitter almonds, enriched with age by mineral scents and complexity”.
I don’t have a particular wine to share with you today with the chaos of the holidays and preparation for my family vacation coming up, but you can check out some of my prior blogs on Gavi wines.
I’ve written a number of times about Michele Chiarlo’s wines here including my feature last week on the Michele Chiarlo Barbera, the Gavi featured above and others. It’s unfortunate to hearing of his passing November 18th at the age of 88. It’s beautiful to see his sons carry on the family’s traditions and Michele’s love and passion for wine.
You can find other Cortese and Gavi wines at Wine.com.
Information and pictures sourced from the Consorzio Tutela del Gavi.
*I may receive commissions if any wines are purchased directly from the above site to support the operations of Vino Travels.
