Get ready for a real blockbuster today! This bottle checks off every prerequisite on your list: A best-in-region family property, painfully limited production, the generously young-drinking 2009 vintage, a compelling origin story, and a great price (which, by the way, hasn’t increased in years).
If that’s still not enough, how about eight years of maturity delivering a wine that is drinking gorgeously right now? All together, this makes for an ideal, remorse-free holiday gift for coworkers, loved ones—and yourself! We’ve long since learned that SommSelect’s customers love everything Antonello Rovellotti puts in bottle. We only wish he made more of it! Collectors and sommeliers who wish to relive the glory of 1960s-’70s Barolo and Barbaresco need look no further than these hauntingly aromatic, dark fruited, extremely rare reds. While there’s not much inventory to offer today, you can trust that this wine is absolutely screaming and its provenance is second to none. Our small allocation is in immaculate, mint++ condition, having never once left the same frigid New York cellar in which it first landed upon release. Life offers few “sure thing” opportunities, but we’re certain you’re going to love today’s wine! But please note: Due to limited stock, we must limit each customer to six bottles.
We’ve grown accustomed to receiving frantically enthusiastic response each year when we offer Antonello Rovelletti’s Nebbiolo-based reds from the northern Piedmontese appellation of Ghemme. A few days after these bottles (and increasingly, six-packs) land at friends’ and customers’ doors, a torrent of text messages, emails and social media posts follow. People cherish these wines and, given the paucity of inventory, there’s always a bit of a rush to vacuum up every last bottle. And I totally get it—in a market flooded with expensive, and sometimes disappointing, young-release Barolo and Barbaresco, Rovellotti is a monument of value, tradition, and undeniable quality. I think of Rovellotti as part of a dying breed, a rare glimpse into a bygone era. Over the years, I’ve pulled the cork on many memorably delicious 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s reds from this region. Today’s wine is one of the few contemporary examples that comes close to approximating their unique character and spirit. But regardless of historical context, this 2009 Ghemme strikes me as equal, if not superior, to many of today’s most prestigious Barolos. It is a powerful and thought-provoking red that has just entered its optimal drinking window and will only continue to improve across the next decade in your cellar.
Antonello Rovellotti lives in the small village of Ghemme, which is centered around a sprawling castle built in the 1100s; Antonello is the only winemaker still permitted to work in the original structure. His “winery” is little more than a collection of trap doors, lofts, and crawl spaces hidden all over the castle. Despite the miniscule production volume here, it takes numerous key rings and an hour of exploring and climbing ladders to see the entire operation. And while Antonello is a gifted and experienced winemaker, and his vines are among the village’s oldest and most prized, for me the real story with Rovellotti is his vinification. Antonello is not afraid of making wine the hard (and long) way. His grapes are macerated on their skins for longer than any other property I’ve visited in Piedmont and the wines are released after a minimum of seven years in barrel and bottle—seven years! Most modern wine producers—even in top-dollar regions like Burgundy or Barolo—aren’t willing to defer profits for that long. Rovellotti is crafting Piedmontese Nebbiolo much like it was in the 1960s.
You can probably tell by now that I’m a Rovellotti believer, and a huge fan of his 2009 Ghemme “Chioso dei Pomi.” I’ll admit that not only one, but two of these bottles met a swift demise at the Cauble household last Friday! I had intended to nurse a glass while preparing
porchetta (an ideal companion to this wine, by the way) with my fiancé, but that glass turned to three and soon there was a second Rovellotti cork on my counter! I expect you’ll face a similarly tough time resisting this wine’s deep black cherry and currant fruit. Still, this is not a “fruit-forward” red: it is a true “terroir” wine that purely expresses its glacial soils and northerly latitude. There is cigar tobacco, ginger bread, truffles, violets and wet roses—the distinct scent of
“alto Piemonte” (“upper Piedmont”) Nebbiolo. If drinking now (a brilliant idea, given this wine’s maturity), pull the cork a few hours prior to serving at 60-65 degrees in large Burgundy stems. For collectors, today’s wine also offers a surprisingly affordable way to improve the breadth and power of your Italian library. 2009 is a young-drinking vintage, so while I don’t necessarily expect it to age many decades (like some Rovellotti reds), I’m confident it will remain in its sweet spot for at least another 7-10 years. Now, fire up the oven and get to work!
