Tasting panel’s pick of the week
2015 VIETTI LANGHE NEBBIOLO PERBACCO
Overall score: 19 (9 for quality, 10 for value) Our tasters: Gave it a unanimous recommendation with a high score of 9.3 and five scores of at least 9. “Black currants and black pepper. Fine acidity and bracing tannins.” My score 9: Who says serious nebbiolo has to be expensive? Kudos to Luca Corrado for this brilliant “baby” Barolo.
Vineyards/winemaking: Most of the grapes come from Vietti properties in Barolo and Barbaresco. Fermentation lasted three to four weeks with fruit from each property being processed and aged separately (the best goes into the single-vineyard Barolo Castiglione). After malolactic fermentation, the wine is aged for about two years in oak barriques and the large Slavonian casks that remain ubiquitous in the region. The final blending is done in steel tanks before bottling. Winemaker’s notes: “It offers up generous fruit along with menthol, spices and hard candy, showing notable intensity while retaining an essentially midweight style. Strong, intense and powerful while young, complex and elegant with the aging.” Winery: Located on the steep slopes below the hill town of Castiglione Falletto between Barolo and Alba, Vietti’s grape-growing dates to 1873, but the Vietti name didn’t appear on bottles until Mario Vietti released his first vintage in 1919. The modern business took root in 1952 when Alfredo Currado, who had married Mario’s daughter Luciana, became the winemaker. Alfredo’s son Luca, who represents a fifth generation of Currado vintners, presides over the cellar operation today, although Vietti was sold in 2016 to American Kyle Krause, the owner of some 400 Kum & Go convenience stores mostly in the Midwest. But Corrado insists he has retained “200 percent freedom” to make all the critical winemaking decisions. His father was a visionary in multiple ways, being one of the first in the Piemonte to release single-vineyard wines and to embrace the U.S. market. In the mid-1960s, he also invested considerably in the neighboring Roero to revive the arneis grape. Dying out at the time, it’s now the region’s leading white varietal. Pairings: Hearty stews, wild game, roasted red meats and sharp, aged cheeses Price: $23.99 (The 2017 Vietti Roero Arneis also received a unanimous recommendation with four scores of 9 or higher. I gave it an 8.9. Wine.com’s price is $21.99.)