Indigena World Tour Day 1: Monferrato
@ Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, NYC (6/4/2018)


Day One of a three-day educational tasting event organized by Ian D'Agata's Indigena.

See my main page for this event for background, overview, and links to the other two days.


Indigena Tasting Day 1: Monferrato

Day One focused on Monferrato. The two sessions in the morning were all Barbera. Session 1 on Barbera d'Asti and Session 2 on Nizza. The two sessions in the afternoon focused on other grapes including Grignolino, Freisa, and Ruché.

Links to each flight:
Click on an image with a border for a much larger view of that image which may contain additional image.

Ian d'Agata readies his presentation introducing Indigena and Flight One, while Jeff Porter gives us some background:


Monferrato Flight One: Barbera d'Asti
A selection of mostly recent Barbera d'Asti from some of the better producers in Monferrato.
Barbera d'Asti received DOCG status in 2008. It must contain a minimum of 90% Barbera.
The remaining 10% may be either Freisa, Grignolino, or Dolcetto.
  1. 2016 Cascina Castlet Barbera d'Asti Vespa - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti
    Sweet red fruit nose. Soft on the palate. Long and delicious. A touch of vanilla. Bright, fresh, and very tasty. A great way to start the morning. (92 points)
  2. 2016 Tenuta Olim Bauda Barbera d'Asti La Villa - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti
    Sweet chocolate nose. Lots of chocolate and appealing sour cherry fruit. Jeff says no new oak used here. Hard to believe given all the chocolate and vanilla. Anyway, quite tasty. (90 points)
  3. 2015 Agostino Pavia & Figli Barbera d'Asti Bricco Blina - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti
    Smoky black fruit nose. Quite tart in the mouth. Needs to calm down. Could be good with another year or two. (86 points)
  4. 2015 Cascina Castlet Barbera d'Asti Superiore Litina - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti Superiore
    More tart than #1 (the 2016 Cascina Castlet Barbera d'Asti Vespa). Aged in large oak barrels to soften the acidity. Has good balance and fresh red fruit. Should be served with food. (91 points)
  5. 2015 Pico Maccario Barbera d'Asti Superiore Epico - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti Superiore
    [Aged in small oak barrels for 18 months.] Vanilla nose. Smoky, mellow, red fruit in the mouth. Good acid balance. (91 points)
  6. 2009 Bava Barbera d'Asti Superiore Stradivario - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti Superiore
    [Aged in small and large oak barrels.] Dirty in the nose and mouth. Unpleasant. An off bottle? Others don't seem to think so. A dirty glass?
    A fresh glass shows much better: Rich, lovely. Has mellowed nicely and fully absorbed the new oak. Great to taste one with some age on it. (91 points)


Ian starts the 2nd flight while Giulia Corino (Assistant Director of Indigena) and Jeff Porter look on:

Monferrato Flight Two: Nizza DOCG
For many years, Nizza was a sub-zone of the Barbera d'Asti DOCG. In 2014, it was made into its own DOCG zone. Unlike Barbera d'Asti, Nizza must be 100% Barbera and contain 13% (13.5% if a single vineyard is named on the label). It must be aged for at least 18 months (30 for Riserva), with at least 6 months in barrel (12 for Riserva). Note that the last two wines in this flight are pre-2014, so these are labeled "Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza", while the first three are just labeled "Nizza".
  1. 2015 Tenuta Garetto Nizza Fava - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Nizza
    Smoky vanilla nose. Charming with bright red fruit in the mouth. Long, tart cherry finish. Very appealing. (92 points)
  2. 2014 Tenuta Olim Bauda Nizza - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Nizza
    [30 months in large oak.] Tart red fruit nose. Bright, nuanced, tasty. (92 points)
  3. 2014 Michele Chiarlo Nizza Cipressi - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Nizza
    [12 months in oak.] Similar nose to the first two, but flatter, less bright and complex. (88 points)
  4. 2011 Bava Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza Piano Alto - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza
    Huge nose. Earthy, oaky. Good finish. Appealing, but lacks the pizzazz of #1 and #2 in this flight. (89 points)
  5. 2011 Bersano Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza Generala - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza
    [6 in months large oak, 6 in months small oak, 6 months in bottle.] Bright raspberry nose. Full and rich in the moth. More like #1 and #2. (91 points)

Lunch
Lunch was served, with the wines from the tasting, outside on the patio. See my main page for this event for photos of the lunches, which were similarly terrific across the three days.


Monferrato Flight Three: A Rare White & 3 Grignolinos
We started the afternoon sessions with an interesting white from a rare grape and three wines from Grignolino d'Asti.
  1. 2016 Marenco Monferrato Carialoso - Italy, Piedmont, Monferrato
    [This wine is 100% Caricalasino, a rare white grape. "Caricalasino" means "load up the donkey". This wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks for 15 days, then aged 6 months in stainless steel tanks and large oak barrels plus 3 months in the bottle before the release.] Bright citrusy nose. Crisp and flavorful in the mouth with hints of ripe cherries. Interesting and appealing. (88 points)
  2. 2017 Agostino Pavia & Figli Grignolino - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Grignolino d'Asti
    Nose of cherries and hay. No attack, but long appealing finish of grass, cherries, and tannin. I like it a lot. (92 points)
  3. 2017 Montalbera Grignolino d'Asti Grignè - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Grignolino d'Asti
    Interesting nose similar to #2. Light in the mouth, but with some notable tannin. Like a Nebbiolo rosé. Quite appealing. (91 points)
  4. 2017 Tenuta Garetto Grignolino d'Asti - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Grignolino d'Asti
    Bright light red fruit nose. Appealing. Similar to the 2 above but with a shorter finish. If I owned all 3, I would drink this one tonight and lay the other two down for a few years. (88 points)

Monferrato Flight Four: Albarossa, Freisa, Ruché, Malvasia di Castelnuovo
Four somewhat more esoteric grape varieties makes for an interesting last flight of the day.
  1. 2014 Marenco Albarossa Piemonte - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
    [According to Ian d'Agata, Albarossa is a red grape variety that was created in 1938 by Giovanni Dalmasso in Conegliano. He thought he created the grape from a crossing of Nebbiolo and Barbera but DNA analysis in 2009 showed that the "Nebbiolo" vine used was a French wine grape called Chatus, which is also known as Nebbiolo di Dronero.] Inky black color. Nose of ripe black fruits. Big and tannic. Quite intense. Reminds me a bit of Petite Sirah, which I like very much. (88 points)
  2. 2015 Cascina Gilli Freisa d'Asti Arvele - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Freisa d'Asti
    Another dark black color and nose of black fruit. Soft and sweet strawberries in the mouth, but has plenty of tannin and acidity under the fruit. Appealing. Ian says this is one of the best producers of Freisa. (89 points)
  3. 2016 Montalbera Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato La Tradizione - Italy, Piedmont, Monferrato, Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato
    [Aged in steel tanks.] Lighter color. Floral nose. Complex, expansive. I love this wine. My favorite wine of the whole day. Should improve for at least a decade. (93 points)
  4. 2016 Bersano Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato - Italy, Piedmont, Monferrato, Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato
    Spicy red & black fruit nose. Has a lot of sweet fruit on the finish. More extracted and more tannic than the 2016 Montalbera Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato La Tradizione above, but not as complex at this point. Try again in 3-5 years. (89 points)
  5. 2017 Cascina Gilli Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco - Italy, Piedmont, Monferrato, Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco
    [Served chilled. Only 5.5% alcohol. Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco is a DOC wine produced in Asti from the Malvasia di Schierano grape with the optional addition of up to 15% Freisa. However, this one is 100% Malvasia di Schierano.] A refreshing end to the day. A lovely, frizzante red wine. Sweet, fruity nose. Appealing. Sweet but balanced. Similar to a Brachetto, but thicker in the mouth. (88 points)

Summary

A terrific day of tasting and learning about a range of non-Nebbiolo wines of Piemonte.

Notes posted from CellarTracker.

 

 

 

All original content © Ken Vastola