SommSelect’s resident Italophile, David Lynch, returns to wax rhapsodic about one of the modern legends of Barolo.
One of the greatest vineyard panoramas in all the world is the one seen from the windows at Ristorante Bovio, the landmark restaurant in the Barolo-making village of La Morra. Close to 20 years ago, when I first ate there—when it was known as Ristorante Belvedere—it was the late Gianfranco Bovio himself who hand-wrote the bill for our dinner, while seated at a little antique table in the front of the room—a bill which, like the Bovio wines, was eminently reasonable for a meal that included the best beef tartare of my life (the white truffles on top surely didn’t hurt). I was already a fan of Bovio wines, and that dinner perfectly captured the spirit of Gianfranco’s 'Baroli': They are always elegant and evocative, reliably delivering the aromatic panorama we expect from the Nebbiolo grape. It’s not just sentiment that made Bovio Barolo a staple of every restaurant wine list I ever wrote: The consistency, authenticity, and value these wines offer is such that I buy them sight-unseen—not that I was going to pass up the chance to taste this melodious 2006 from the “Gattera” vineyard in La Morra, which Bovio’s importer brought in just for us. When maturing Barolo is “on,” like this one, there’s nothing in wine like it. You need to get your hands on some; it will move you now and for many years to come.
The Bovios were restaurateurs first and farmers second, but in the mid-1970s, Gianfranco Bovio started putting serious time and effort into revitalizing his family’s small collection of vineyards, the majority of which were (and are) in La Morra. Their first commercial vintage was 1976, and their twin pillars have long been the single-vineyard bottlings from the Gattera and Arborina vineyards. For me, these two cru bottlings have always been quite distinct. The Arborina vineyard is more east-facing in aspect, and produces wines which are a more quintessentially “La Morra” in terms of style: perfumed, finessed, almost Pinot Noir-like in their bright cherry fruit expression. Gattera, so named for a massive cedar tree that crowns its summit at about 300 meters, has a more south/southwest orientation and produces a more brooding, savory style of Barolo. It is not, however, as intense and tannic an expression as is found in more sandstone-rich Barolo communes like Serralunga or Monforte; Gattera still has the La Morra finesse. The best way I can put it is this: Arborina is pretty. Gattera is handsome. (I know it’s gender stereotyping…I’ll take my chances.)
These days Bovio’s winery and 6.5 hectares of vineyards are overseen by Gianfranco’s daughter, Alessandra, whose husband, Marco Boschiazzo, runs the Bovio ristorante. Alessandra continues to work with the famed winemaking consultant Beppe Caviola, who respects the family’s desire to make traditionally style Baroli aged in large, used oak botti. This 2006 spent two years in large oak before being transferred to concrete tanks for six months before bottling. Since then, it’s been resting untouched in Bovio’s old, cold cellars.
This 2006 was shipped directly from the Bovio cellars to the importer’s warehouse in California in March of 2017, and it is in perfect condition—thanks in part to the balanced character of the 2006 vintage. Many Barolo wines of this age start to feel a little hot and varnish-y, as they lose some of their youthful fruit/acid and the always-substantial Nebbiolo alcohol (typically 14.5%) starts to burn through. This is not one of those wines—it has terrific perfume, energy, and balance while offering all the beguiling “secondary” aromatics that come with maturity. In the glass it is a bright garnet-red with the classic Nebbiolo bricking at the rim (Gattera is a light-colored, mature-looking wine even in its youth). The nose, of course, is why we’re here: dried cherry, red currant, tobacco, dried rose petals, blood orange peel, sandalwood, and, as is typical of Gattera, an earthy, mineral savor. The tannins have matured to become more fine-grained, still present but more of an accent note now. The texture is velvety and rich, and it finishes with a heady aromatic flourish. It still has 5-10 years of peak drinking ahead of it, and it’s the kind of wine that immediately fills the room with its perfume after decanting. Give this about 45 minutes in said decanter before serving in large Burgundy bowls at around 60 degrees (I like it cooler to keep the alcohol heat in check). While I’m loath to call this wine ‘Burgundian,’ it’s awfully hard not to (it would be a fun exercise to serve it side-by-side with a similarly aged red Burgundy to assess similarities/differences). We’ve shared recipes for red wine risotto before, but this wine begs for us to revisit it. I promise you I will, and soon.
— David Lynch
