Within the “blue-chip,” or “collectible,” categories of wine, there are certain producers whose prices remain almost stubbornly low given the quality of their product – even as their neighbors in these in-demand precincts raise prices all around them.
In Burgundy, a place where you’ll spend a lot of money in a hurry, we think of domaines like Joseph Roty in Gevrey-Chambertin; in Champagne, there’s the venerable Pol Roger; in Napa Valley, Heitz. In Barolo – which remains an under-valued region as a whole, despite its proven greatness – there’s Bovio. What this venerable winery puts on the table for less than $50 is simply astonishing: a complex, elegant, exquisitely perfumed Barolo you can either drink now or re-discover ten or even twenty years down the line. I’ve already set aside a case for myself, but we’ve secured a healthy allocation of this 2011, to share with you.
The Bovio family is one of the stalwarts of the beautiful village of La Morra, one of the key towns in the Barolo DOCG. Gianfranco Bovio, who sadly passed away earlier this year, was a legendary restaurateur whose ‘Belvedere’ ristorante (now called ‘Bovio’) was a La Morra landmark. Back in the 1970s, Gianfranco began revitalizing his family’s vineyards, releasing Bovio’s first commercial vintage in ’76. Today, his daughter Alessandra helms the winery, with help from famed consultant Beppe Caviola, and theirs remain textbook examples of Barolo from La Morra – a village known for a more delicate, perfumed take on Barolo’s Nebbiolo grape.
Whereas villages on the eastern side of the Barolo zone – communes such as Serralunga d’Alba and Monforte, where soils are richer in sandstone – are known for brooding, more tannic expressions of Barolo, La Morra vineyards, a little richer in clays, tend to produce gentler, more fruit-forward styles. Nevertheless, this is Nebbiolo we’re talking about, so even in those instances when it starts to act like Pinot Noir – showing off some sappy, cherry-red fruit, bright acid, and rosy aromatics – there’s always a more tannic, earthy, resolutely masculine component that renders a comparison to red Burgundy inadequate.
This bottling comes from a La Morra vineyard called Gattera, of which the Bovio family owns a small portion. They also bottle a wine from what is perhaps La Morra’s most-famous cru, Arborina, but while that wine is quintessential “La Morra” – more silken, fruit-driven – the Gattera has a touch more edge. And what it has above all else is a stunningly complex aroma – that classic Nebbiolo jumble of sweet and savory that exits the glass like a vapor. There’s red currant, rose, leather, dried orange peel, tomato leaf…I was sold at the very first whiff, but this is the kind of wine you swirl in big balloon stems and just smell over and over as it reveals more and more each time. And while it is clean and polished, it is also elegant and restrained, neither a “modern” (i.e. oaky, extracted) or “traditional” (i.e. funky, austere) Barolo archetype but something deliciously in-between. It’s eminently drinkable now with its five years of bottle age, but there’s more than enough tension and structure to allow you to lose this in the cellar for a while. I guarantee it will knock your socks off when you dust it off a decade from now.
To summarize: blue-chip Barolo, absolutely smoking right now, less than $50. Should you decide to open it now, I will not dissuade you – after about a half-hour in a decanter it opens up beautifully, its tannins silty and well-integrated, the overall impression one of great balance. How can a wine with such finesse also be so commanding? I urge you to find out for yourself, ideally with a simple risotto or pasta with a little shaved white truffle on top, Piedmont-style. That season fast approaches, as does the time when the Bovios and their neighbors will be harvesting their 2016 Nebbiolo. It’s Barolo time. Get some!
