Substance over Form in Piedmont
This is what happens when I get fresh mountain air
I hope you're all enjoying a lovely and restful summer, filled with great food and wine, and some thoughts toward a busy fall, back-to-school, and cooler evenings.
We have just returned from our annual summer trip to our favorite happy place, way up in the Italian Alps on the south side of Mont Blanc, about an hour on mostly dirt roads from Aosta. This makes 5 years in a row, and we're already programmed for 2025. Why?
Because for us, it's just about perfect, that's why.
We go there for several reasons. Mountain air, check. Relative isolation, check. Alpine hikes, feet in a stream, and games of cribbage on a sunny terrace. Check, check, and check. But topping it all off is Denise, the owner of the place since her father began in 1973. She can cook, man. Like, really, really cook. It is the most delicious, country, family recipe, local food we can hope to be served and enjoy. Thoughtful, delicious, mountain dishes.
But none of what I describe above is precious. The surroundings in the mountains are magnificent, the lodge and terrace are modest, the plates and service ware are rustic, and the food is not Instagrammable. Yet, there we were, again, soaking it all in, and considering it all to be perfect.
Subtance over form. I'll take that any day, and twice on Tuesdays.
Substance over Form in Piedmont
Our vacation got me thinking about the work we do importing wine. In fact, I think this idea could almost have been our motto over the past 20 years. Looking for substance, and caring very little for form, has generally worked for me throughout my career. I joked recently with Sébastien that while prospecting for new wineries, I'm terrible about approaching a winery that looks like it has been ripped from the pages of a travel magazine or architectural review, almost hoping the wines will be terrible so I can gladly say "no thanks."
I think they call that "all hat, no cattle", right?
About 6 years ago I had read somewhere about a young couple that had just started a winery in the frazione of Sorano, a commune of the charming village of Serralunga d'Alba, the heart of Barolo country, and put in a call. They agreed to see me (and the three lucky Cru Deep Divers that accompanied me, two of which have also been to my happy place described above) but warned us that they made very little wine, and didn't speak English.
And here we are today, still buying nearly 20% of everything they make, and having turned on hundreds of our customers to their work. Hands down, Contrada di Sorano is our smallest, least handsome winery. Yet every visit there is filled with wine after wine that brims with bright happy life.
Again. Substance over form.
Today I'd like to offer you a handful of Cristina and Paolo's wines to enjoy in your own home, or to share with friends, and tip a glass to a young couple focusing on what matters most, translating their charming, peaceful, authentic life into the bottle, not into a photo opportunity.
The Piedmont Reds of Contrada di Sorano
Dolcetto and Barbera are what I like to call the "salt & pepper" of Piedmont red grapes. Nebbiolo gets all the press and deserves it. Here today, are four wines from Cristina and Paolo for your enjoyment over this fall and winter.
1. Dolcetto Superiore 'Autin' 2021
It is brimming with blue and black fruit, is succulent to its core, and has what seems like a faint crack of the pepper mill in the finish of each swallow.
2. Barbera Superiore 'Sottosopra' 2020
This is just plain glorious, filled with a jammy presence of raspberry and black cherry, and featuring a little kiss of salinity on the lips, yet more like a rich and concentrated wine with each subsequent sip.
3. Langhe Nebbiolo 2021
Hailing from decade-old vines near Serralunga d'Alba planted by Paolo. It's a wine made in a truly small batch; in old neutral barrels filled with a glorious salad of red fruits and just a hint of dusty tannins ready to drink now, while youthful, bright, and delicious mouthwatering savory aromatics
4. Barolo 2019
When it comes to Barolo, finding a great one can take some work. Finding one under $50 is like searching for a needle in a haystack in the region's infamous fog. This one is the pinnacle of Paolo’s pride. While we were tasting this and furiously scribbling notes, Paolo was grinning from ear to ear. He knows how good it is, and he knows we know too. So here it is for you to find out for yourselves!
To say that Paolo and Cristina produce small quantities is an overstatement. I have just a few cases of each of the above available from about 700 bottles of each produced. And what's more, we are the exclusive importer in the USA for all their wines.