Quisine.
Wine
INTRICATELY RED
Seemingly subtle yet resolutely bold,
nebbiolo is a classic, complex Italian.
THERE’S a lot of fuss about nebbiolo wine right now
and with good reason. Its delicate flavours and medium
body make it very drinkable (give it a light chill to make
it dangerously so!). Everyday versions are immediately
appealing yet topnotch nebbiolo can live for decades.
Nebbiolo has the sweet fruit and elegance of pinot
noir with a firmer profile and a deep, savoury finish.
It appears light-bodied yet has decisive tannins – the
key to the legendary longevity of its elite appellations
(Barolo and Barbaresco).
In its Italian homeland, it’s almost exclusively grown
in the high, cool Piedmont region bordering the RhôneAlpes in France. The name nebbiolo is derived from the
Italian word for fog: nebbia. (Visit the mist-laden valleys
of Piedmont in autumn to fully appreciate the name.)
Nebbiolo vines arrived in Australia only 30 years ago
but finding appropriate cool, continental sites proved
frustrating for local winegrowers; with only King Valley
and Beechworth in Victoria and the Adelaide Hills in
South Australia proving worthy.
The search continues. It’s a capricious grape. Ask any
winemaker and you’ll get a tirade about colour extraction
(nebbiolo can be paler than pinot) and difficult tannin
extraction. Nebbiolo needs some oak but can easily be
overdone with Piedmont’s traditional large-format vats,
called botti, an increasingly adopted option.
Barolo and its alter ego, Barbaresco, can be expensive;
single-vineyard nebbiolos from winemaker Angelo Gaja
(the modern protagonist of Piedmont) sell for more
than $500 per bottle. The good news is that the region’s
everyday examples of nebbiolo – labelled Langhe, d’Asti
or d’Alba – go for a 10th of that.
Nebbiolo is never cheap,
though (another characteristic
it shares with pinot noir). Most
local “nebbs” – as the variety is
nicknamed here – sell for $30
Buy these wines
to
$60. A few reserve nebbiolos
and more at
qantasepiqure.com.au.
sneak above $100, while the
2005 Pizzini Coronamento is
a hefty $135 – still well short of Piedmontese prices.
Nebbiolo is shy, only revealing its charms with time
in the glass. An open bottle will improve over several
days. It’s both intriguing and enticing – delicate perfumes
of fading rose petals vie with heady peony aromas and
fine, silken tannins tango with an energising acidity.
Gentle flavours fill the mouth then surge to a potent,
powerful finish.
S TO RY BY
PETER BOURNE
PH OTO G R A PH Y BY
178 E D WA R D U R R U T I A
QANTAS | May 2016
2014 Fletcher The Minion
Nebbiolo
Vic, $37
2012 Brezza Vigna Santa
Rosalia Nebbiolo d’Alba
Piedmont, Italy, $57
Dave Fletcher makes this
regional blend using fruit
from Victoria's Pyrenees
and King and Yarra valleys.
Think aromas of violets
and ripe plums with soft,
red-fruit flavours and
gracious tannins.
Fourth-generation
winemaker Enzo Brezza
crafts this slurpable drop
to allow the delicate fruit
to shine. Exotic spice, redberry fruits and sweet and
savoury flavours combine
with pumice-like tannins.
Wine snob
PAOLO SACCONE
Head sommelier,
Flying Fish, Sydney
2012 Roberto Voerzio
Langhe Nebbiolo
Piedmont, Italy, $72
2013 Casa Freschi
Nebbiolo
Langhorne Creek, SA, $55
Grace and power unite
in this highly perfumed
beauty. Raspberry and
pressed rose petals mingle
with scents of star anise.
Its fruit flavours are
tamed by a swathe of
gently persuasive tannins.
David Freschi has crafted
a textbook nebbiolo
with a pale garnet colour,
exotic perfumes, delicate
flavours and abundant yet
mildly mannered tannins.
His entry-level Ragazzi
Nebbiolo is a snip at $28.
2012 Pizzini Nebbiolo
King Valley, Vic, $55
Fred Pizzini is a nebbiolo
zealot who fervently
explores its clones,
its viticulture and its
winemaking. Raspberry,
rose garden and fresh
aniseed aromas and ripe
fruit flavours precede
a sturdy tannin finale.
You’ve got $20 to spend.
What wine would you buy?
A New Zealand pinot gris,
an Adelaide Hills sauvignon
blanc or even a Victorian
chardonnay.
And if you had $50?
An expressive AOC
[appellation d’origine
contrôlée] wine or Chablis
premier cru from Burgundy.
What hot new varieties of
grape should we be trying?
Grüner veltliner, chenin
blanc, tempranillo, viognier,
zinfandel, arneis, marsanne
and torrontés.
What’s the best wine in
Australia right now?
I especially love the 2005
Torbreck RunRig, a shiraz
from the Barossa Valley.
And your favourite wine?
The 2006 Amarone della
Valpolicella from Veneto. It
has great notes of chocolate,
is full-bodied and smooth.
Which country is producing
the best wines?
I’m Italian so I have to say
Italy, followed by France.
What’s your cellaring
philosophy?
Buy strategically; research
the best vintage and how
long you can cellar it. Keep
the temperature of red
and white wines between
five and 18°C.
What’s your best
hangover cure?
A great bloody Mary!
May 2016 | QANTAS
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