What's Pressoir Drinking? An Italian Interlude

Raj Vaidya

March 12, 2024

Over a lovely lunch filled with pasta and laughter, accompanied by dear friends and vignerons Luca and Elena Currado (formerly of Vietti Winery in Barolo), I made a cool discovery. Nebbiolo is well known to be a pretty tannic variety, indeed those wineries that hold to the rustic winemaking style of long macerations tend to be undrinkable when young, and always needed 10+ years of aging before becoming interesting. Because the grape itself has such a high level of tannin in the skins, it has been historically very rare to introduce whole cluster fermentation here in Piedmont. Not only does the additional tannin from the stems add to the rustic palate in the juice, the stems are also much higher in water content than the same vegetal matter in, say, Pinot Noir or Syrah where whole cluster is more common. Luca explained to me that the added tannin is exacerbated by this additional water content when whole cluster fermentation is used, because the water dilutes the acid levels which usually offer a balancing effect to the tannins.

That said, the appeal of the aromatic complexity of whole cluster fermentation, plus the added lift it can give to wines in warm vintages (which are, as everywhere else across Europe, more the norm than the exception these days) has led to more experimentation. In the region, there is one cru which is particularly well suited for such experiments, that of Monvigliero in Verduno; an excellent example would be the wines from this cru made by Burlotto with some whole cluster fermentation. Experiencing Burlotto’s Monvigliero for the first time inspired the young winemaker Alberto Crissante, of his family estate Crissante Alessandria, to begin experimenting with the technique. Today, he ferments all his Barolo with some percentage of whole clusters, and in the recent warm vintages has had some excellent success.

Alberto Crissante of Crissante Alessandria in Barolo.

We drank his 2018 Gallina (from the commune of La Morra), and I found it superbly balanced, without any overtly hard tannins. A very typical Nebbiolo nose of dried rose petals was enhanced by a peppery note and smokiness I attributed to the whole clusters. Indeed, for such a young wine it was super drinkable! The subsoil is calcareous and though the region is generally not thought to be suited for whole cluster, the balance was pretty wonderful.

A lovely discovery.

Luca Currado explaining the effects of whole cluster fermentation in Nebbiolo.

What's Pressoir Drinking

by Edouard Bourgeois
October 7, 2021

Nebbiolo under the radar

During La Paulée, we set up a wine dinner entitled “Les Petits des Grands” where we poured the most modest, lowest ranked appellations, from the very best producers. The idea was to highlight the importance of the producer and their ability to produce superior wines, even from vineyards that don’t get the same recognition as Grands Crus and Premiers Crus. Some of these fruits may be planted “on the wrong side of the road”, on a slope that doesn’t receive as much sunlight as its neighbor, or from a spot that is geographically just outside but next to the star studded strip of the Côte d’Or.

Last week, I opened this bottle from one of my favorite Italian producers, Produttori, a true legend of Piedmont with an incredibly heritage and history.

The wine was absolutely wonderful. I love the Langhe wines. In Piedmont, the northern Italian region that borders French Alps, Barolo and Barbaresco reign suprême but the underdog appellation Langhe may provide an irresistible pleasure of crunchy ripe cherries that I adore. Tannins are gentler in Langhe also. That means a younger vintage offers more charm than a sturdier Barolo in its teenage years. Produttori has been making wine since. Mostly Barbaresco and a specialist in single vineyards. I have been impressed by the superb finesse of both old and young wines from that esteemed producer. Another thing I want to share as a sommelier secret, although I guess I’m not the first one to spill the beans, is the relative affordability of these wines. Now, of course when Produttori makes a Langhe, it’s with the same level of care, passion and nurturing they would give their famous Barbaresco cuvées, and it shows. 

What's Pressoir Drinking?

Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco 1978, in magnum

by Edouard Bourgeois

October 13, 2020

We pair wine with food, with friends. I even like to push the envelope further by trying to find the right music to play when I sip on a particular cuvée. But what about matching wine and mood?

This morning, I woke up to a rainy, apparently uninviting Tuesday, cold and gloomy. Looking around my apartment, an empty magnum I opened last week and saved as a trophy caught my eye. When I pulled the cork from this 42 year old Nebbiolo, the wine initially seemed ugly, almost limping, and certainly the opposite of a “fruit bomb”. As often with old Nebbiolo, the initial funk character you may smell should not discourage you. The magic rule? Decant, and wait, a long time. The wine does change over the course of a few hours as oxygen seems to be Barolo and Barbaresco’s best friend. I’m also convinced the drinker should also adapt to this metamorphosis. It is a true intellectual exercise where the taster has to be willing to make an effort to understand the wine, just like the first time you heard the curious music of Thelonious Monk, not immediately being able to capture the beauty and humor in his choppy piano strides.

1978 blessed the Piedmont with grapes able to produce ideal, age-worthy wines. It was also the last vintage of the first cellar master at Produttori del Barbaresco Giorgio Boffa. This wine evolved so much, it felt like tasting multiple wines as each layer unveiled as time went by.

So, did I manage to pair the wine and mood? Yes. As the wine unfolded, the mood of the people who shared this magnum with me also evolved to eventually harmonize with the profile of the wine.