Every so often, an importer collaborates with a producer to acquire some great back-vintage wine. It’s a “value-added” play on the importer’s part: Their restaurant clients appreciate the opportunity to serve a well-aged wine that was properly stored, and as for us, well, we love it, too! What’s not to love?
Once we learned the incredibly reasonable price of today’s 2006 Roero Riserva from Malvirà, we scrapped for every bottle we could get our hands on: This is an estate that believes so strongly in the longevity of its wines that they reserve thousands of back-vintage bottles in their cellar at any given time. They periodically release wines like today’s in small “tranches,” enabling those of us without wine cellars to revel in the inimitable character of pristinely cellared Nebbiolo. Today’s wine is essentially equivalent to top-tier Barolo, and now that it has enjoyed more than a decade of bottle age, it is just now entering its prime drinking window—that point in its evolution when Nebbiolo goes from expressive to downright operatic. It has all of us thinking ahead to brisk fall and winter nights ahead and the full-body ‘glow’ a great Nebbiolo so generously provides. Make room for some of this, because it’s not only singing now, it’s got at least 10 more years in the tank!
There are subtle differences that distinguish the Roero and Barolo appellations, both of which are DOCGs (the “g” for “guaranteed” denomination of origin). They sit on opposite sides of the Tanaro in similar clay/limestone marls, but Roero’s overall contain a higher percentage of sand. Roero requires a minimum of 95% Nebbiolo for a wine to carry the name, while Barolo, of course, is 100%. Roero’s minimum aging requirements, including the minimum time a wine must be aged in barrels, are shorter as well.
But Malvirà’s “Renesio,” so named for a single
vineyard rooted in clay and limestone, erases all differences and goes head-to-head with its more-famous neighbor. Recognized as a superior single vineyard, or
cru, since the 15th century, it contains Malvirà’s oldest Nebbiolo vines (60 years). The Renesio bottling is 100% Nebbiolo aged 24 months in French oak barrels and 12 months in bottle before release, capturing all the heady aroma and focused power of this noble variety.
The Damonte family established the Malvirà estate in the 1950s, and, operating out of the village of Canale, have expanded their vineyard holdings to an impressive 42 hectares (a good size for this part of the world). Brothers Massimo and Roberto Damonte run the property with the help of their wives and children, and with a restaurant and boutique
hotel on the property, they’ve become the “destination winery” of the Roero zone.
From the moment the bottle is opened, the 2006 “Renesio” announces itself as a wine of impeccable pedigree. In the glass, a deep crimson core leads to a bright copper-pink rim, while a fascinating assortment of aromas leap from the glass: dried cherries, wild strawberries, orange peel, sandalwood, rose petals, leather, tobacco, and damp autumn leaves. Bottle age has sanded the tannins down to a fine grain, while ample freshness keeps Nebbiolo’s higher alcohol in check. Where the maturity of the wine really becomes apparent is on the multi-layered palate and the long, long finish. When you sip this wine, you can’t help but close your eyes in reverie, as if listening to music, and it only gets better with more time open (a good sign for further evolution still to come). Let this rest a bit after you receive it and then let it rip—at this price, no extra-special occasion is required—at 60 degrees in large Burgundy stems. I’d suggest decanting it 45 minutes prior to service (watching out for sediment) and a pairing that highlights the wine’s pretty, perfumed fruit and firm, fat-cutting structure. If you’re in the mood for something highly authentic and a little decadent, get the best beef you can afford for tartare and, ideally, some black or white truffle to shave on top. When you pull it off, let me know: I’d like to shake your hand!
