Tasting précis by John on Monday, December 21, 2009.
The Basics
The Grape
Nebbiolo. Nebbiolo is a very temperamental grape. It does not like the cold, wine or wet weather. After the grapes have set on the vine, growers in Barolo do their best to shield the grape from adverse weather conditions during harvest in September and October. Nebbiolo often yields dark, tannic wines that need some time to develop in cask and bottle.
The Place
Barolo. Located within the Piedmont region in Northwest Italy, Piedmont his home to many of the most well known wines in Italy - Barolo, Barbaresco and wines from Alba and Asti. Five communes are recognized for production within Barolo - Barolo, La Morra, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba and Monforte d'Alba. The Ca'Mia is sourced from Serralunga d'Alba which is comprised mainly of clay and limestone soil.
The Vintage
2000. One of the greatest vintages in a generation. Near perfect growing conditions yielded wines with staying power that should last for decades.
The Goods
Without notes (I had this during a night out last night, see below), this wine jumped out of the glass upon decanting. It still had a dark cherry color at its core with tinges of light brown along the rim. The nose had a generous amount of cherries, cedar and smoke. All notes were concetrated and developed throughout the meal, but this wine could be left in the cellar and forgotten about for another ten years. Texturally, the wine had round tannins and lasting acidity as the sour cherry fruit was complemented by chocolate and cedar-box notes. The finish had inredible length. By the end of the bottle, I was sad that we opened it, not because it was a mistake, but because it was gone.
What's For Dinner?
Last night we ventured into New York and had a couple of pizzas and sides at Otto on Fifth Avenue. The most casual and free-spirited of Mario Batali's restaurants, Otto is dear to my heart as a great place to have a quartino of wine with a thin-crust pizza. Since it was the holidays, we splurged a bit on the Ca'Mia but it went very well with our roasted peppers and capers (perfect smokey compliment to the wine), Spicy Rabe with Ricotta Salata and our two pizzas - the balsamic onion and goat cheese and the Pana Frattau (tomato, pecorino and egg).
What's the Price?
Restaurant
$120-$150.
