Piedmont Wine Tasting at Lower Falls Wine Co.

Back on June 5, I and a few members of the North Shore Winers made the journey to the Lower Falls Wine Co. for a special Piedmont wine tasting.

Kerri and Phil from Lower Falls spent a week this past April in Piedmont visiting numerous wineries and came away highly impressed. They wanted to showcase some of their finds at this tasting. The tasting presented eight special wines and plenty of people showed up to taste them.

We began the evening with the 2006 Conterno-Fantino Barbera d'Alba Vignota ($31.99). This wine is 100% Barbera d'Alba. It is fermented in stainless steel and then aged for ten months in small French oak barrels. It has a rich red color with a subtle nose of black cherry. On the palate, the dark cherry flavors are more dominant, as well as tastes of a bit of licorice and almost chocolate. The tannins are well integrated making this a smooth wine. It has good acidity with a nice, long finish. A very good wine, perfect with food.

Next up was a 2005 Vietti Nebbiolo Perbacco ($19.99). The wine is oak aged for about 23 months and aged only a few months afterwards in the bottle. This wine had a lighter red color than the Barbera though its nose was subtle as well. On the palate, it had some rich cherry flavors with a thread of spice. It was a bit more tannic than the Barbera but still not overwhelming. Plenty of acidity, a long finish and an impressive complexity for this price point. Kerri suggested that this wine paired well with sushi! That certainly would not be a pairing I would have considered but it is worth a try.

The third wine was a 2004 Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate ($78). I should note that this wine, as well as the others to come, are still very young wines so they have not yet reached their full potential. 2004 was an excellent vintage and these wines should become incredible over time. This Barolo was a light red in color with a mild nose of dark fruit and a touch of herbal notes. On the palate, it was a dry wine with smooth tannins. The fruit seemed to peek out a bit, mixed with touches of leather, spice and almost licorice, A long, lingering finish is very satisfying. It shows much potential and I would love to see who this would take in ten years.

The 2004 Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo ($74) is aged in French and Slovenian oak. Like the previous Barolo, it has a light red color and a muted nose. On the palate though, the cherry flavors in this wine are bolder, more predominant. There are also touches of leather and spice in the flavor. It has a nice, long finish and seems more approachable right now than the prior Barolo. Though I think this wine would age very well too.

The 2001 Cavallotto Barolo Vignolo Riserva ($89) was more intriguing to me. Its flavors were more dark cherry, smoke and leather, though they were more subtle. A complex melange of tastes. It was a bit more tannic than the other Barolos but still not overwhelming. A lingering finish of dark spice and ripe plum. I very much enjoyed this wine.

The 2004 L. Pira Barolo Vigna Margheria ($85) was a bolder Barolo with an intriguing mix of dark fruit, spice and a touch of chocolate. A well balanced wine with prominent tannins and a very long finish. An impressive wine that shows much potential. Another wine that I would love to taste in about ten years.

The 2004 Sottimano Pajore Barbaresco ($69) presents a different style than the prior Barolos. The Barbareso has more dominant fruit flavors, is not as tannic, and is a bit fuller in body. Yet it is also a complex wine with a long finish. There seem to be a bit more minerality in this wine.

We finished up with the 2004 Gaja Barbaresco DOCG ($225). This is from a famed producer and it well lives up to its reputation. The wine is very complex on the palate, with a melange of flavors, including dark cherry, spice, leather, and some herbal notes. It was a smooth wine, with well integrated tannins. The finish was very long and made you yearn for more. It drank very well for its age and I think it would be simply incredible with more aging. It may not be a wine at a price point I usually purchase, but it is still a real pleasure to taste it.

After the tasting, I did buy some intriguing Rose wines, including a Txacoli Rosado, and a rose from Saintsbury (one of my favorite Pinot Noir producers). Reviews of those wines will come in the near future.

Once again, I must recommend that you sign up for the Lower Falls mailing list and learn all about their upcoming wine tastings. They often have some incredible tastings and you won't want to miss them.

Lower Falls Wine Co.
2366 Washington Street (Rt. 16)
Newton Lower Falls, MA
Phone: (617) 332-3000