Even a casual Nebbiolo drinker knows that when it comes to elite DOCG status, two regions dominate the airwaves: Barolo and Barbaresco. But in this flooded and costly market, sage minds have increasingly looked to the secretive, sommelier-luring Ghemme DOCG in the remote limits of Piedmont. Still, the shrewdness doesn’t end there: The smartest collectors, especially those who wish to relive the classically styled glory days of 1960s Barolo/Barbaresco, take one more giant step by seeking out the artisanal Nebbiolos of Antonello Rovellotti. This staunchly traditional producer crafts hauntingly aromatic, elegant, extremely limited reds that also serve as a towering monument to value, pedigree, and heritage.
The Rovellotti legacy in Ghemme is simply unbelievable: Not only do they estimate 20 generations spanning 600 years, but they also claim that of the ~200 people in the world currently holding their surname, one in three still lives in this tiny village! So yes, the Rovellotti family lives and breathes this prized DOCG terroir. Taste today’s “Chioso dei Pomi” and you’ll understand this is not a wine made overnight but rather a soft, complex, genuinely hand-crafted Nebbiolo that’s centuries in the making; the antithesis of their rushed-to-market, rigidly structured competition. Case in point: While Barolo and Barbaresco are gearing up to ship their respective 2018s and 2019s, today’s 2014 is current for Rovellotti, and its massive drinking window is just starting to open. All that for about $50? Come on!!
Ghemme belongs to the greater Alto Piemonte, the more northerly part of Italy’s Piedmont region, not far from the Monte Rosa Massif. Clustered around the Sesia River north of the city of Novara, the assorted wine appellations of the Alto Piemonte are prime hunting grounds for extreme Nebbiolo values, and Ghemme has proved especially fertile. But there just isn’t much to be had: The geographic boundaries of the appellation are already quite small, but the number of planted acres here is shockingly low (there’s a reason this wine is so hard to obtain!) Further, like Barolo and Barbaresco, Ghemme is classified as a DOCG—the “G” standing for garantita, or guaranteed—which is the highest “quality indicator” in the Italian appellation system.
Antonello Rovellotti lives in the idyllic comune 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 minuscule 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. He ferments spontaneously, and after three years of maturation in neutral Swiss botti and a few decade-old barrels, along with heaps of additional time in bottle without fining, at least six years pass before the final product arrives on our shores! Most modern wine producers—even in top-dollar regions like Burgundy or Barolo—aren’t willing to defer profits for that long.
Rovellotti’s 2014 “Chioso dei Pomi” is a gorgeous, deeply elegant representation of alpine Nebbiolo that shines with a dark ruby core and a hazy brick orange band on the rim. If consuming before its 10th birthday, I suggest 60 minutes in a decanter and savoring slowly over the course of two days in Burgundy stems. Enticing aromas of rose petal, damp strawberry, charred plum, blood orange peel, crushed black rock, underbrush, tobacco, licorice, and leather fill the senses, and delicate red-fruited flavors greet you on the medium-plus-bodied palate. Again, this is not a dark, brawny Nebbiolo with an impenetrable wall of tannin—it’s all about grace, perfume, and balance from start to finish. A note for collectors: Rovellotti always offers an affordable way to improve the breadth and power of your wine library, and this 2014 will comfortably age alongside your $100+ Burgundy and Barolo for the next 15 years. Cheers!
