Working with Wine: The Nebbiolo Sessions

It’s rare when you leave a large tasting and immediately start thinking about how much wine you can buy. Bu there I was, trawling through Wine Searcher doing the maths in my head.

Simply put, the wines were that good, reminding again that Nebbiolo is the king of grapes. 

Not that most of us didn’t know that already…

Anyway, as with previous Working With Wine seminars, this was nothing if not a great tasting. A great tasting, featuring some very charismatic wines. Kudos Negociants (and their producers) who put on these series of events at great cost – no other distributor in Australia does the same.

(What is Working With Wine? Best start here, here or here).

The gracious (and rather honest) Franco Conterno was a welcome panellist too, giving credit for the highpoints and openly critiquing his own wines. Ditto Joe Grilli who was typically jovial and open. That frankness is more than welcome from both. Nice work Joe and come back any time Franco.

Enough love, time for the wines.

These notes all come from a seminar/masterclass last week, with notes are as written on the day with extra bits in italics. RRPs are approximates based on wholesale prices and the scribblings were done quickly.

Bracket 1 – The building blocks, Piedmont’s supporting players

Prunotto Dolcetto d’Alba 2013 (Piedmont, Italy) $24

Bright purple fruits. Musky juicy and almost gamay like on a light and bright palate. Quite firm tannins for what is a light forest berry palate, acidity high, the finish fresh. Solid and quite brawny for an entry level Dolcetto if not especially serious. 16/20, 87/100

Aldo Conterno Masante Langhe Dolcetto 2011 (Langhe, Piedmont, Italy) $34

A much more ethereal perfume here – ‘tar and roses’ like pangs of something much more sophisticated. Cherry spice and meaty fragrance too. Not sweet but juicy. Really quite delicious with fine pretty tannins. Really enjoyable drink. 17.5/20, 91/100

Prunotto Barbera d’Alba 2012 (Barbera d’Aba, Piedmont, Italy) $24

Rather a deal of extract for this, befitting the maker. It’s a little poey, the tannins rough edged and extractive. Still it’s red fruited and shows its heart of pretty fruit. Good. 16/20, 87/100

Aldo Conterno ‘Conca Tre Pile’ Barbera d’Alba 2010 (Barbera d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy) $50

 ‘Barbera is good for drinking with pasta’ Franco Conterno. 100% new oak looks out of place here.  ‘Barbera doesn’t have a true identity’ Says Franco, largely as the grape is made in so many different styles. Can’t quite agree with him there. Barbera is ‘a hard variety to grow’ says Joe Grilli ‘If you plant it anywhere cool you’ll have a problem with acidity’..
Again the obvious oak makes a mark here, giving a little lead pencils and some tannic chew. 

Lovely fragrance though – high toned pretty red fruit. Fine tannins but where is the prettiness? Character is slightly obscured here behind oak tannin and extract. It will come out, but a slightly dull wine for now. 16.8/20, 89/100+

Sperino Uvaggio Coste della Sesia 2011 (Costa della Sessia, Piedmont, Italy) $51

A blend of 70% Nebbiolo with a nice little Vespolina and Croatina. I slightly preferred this over the 2008.
Ahh some extra complexity. Mint, bacon, blood and bones. Firm tannins and plenty of them gives this weight and a little wildness. A little Brett? Certainly some earth. Has charm too, but it’s wild and a bit meaty style. Has drinkability though. 17/20, 90/100

Bracket 2 Nebbiolo in Australia

Fletcher Minion Nebbiolo 2012  (Pyrenees, King Valley and Yarra Valley) $38

Deli meat, sweet fruit and quite plump – lots of grape sugar here. The balance looks pretty good though, the alcohol integrated and some sappy meatiness at the edges. With more vine age this is going to be a star. Certainly the best balanced of this lot. 17.5/20, 91/100

SC Pannell Nebbiolo 2009 (Adelaide Hills, SA) $49

Looks much older than 09. Varietally true though but feels more like an older Australian wine than a true Nebbiolo with brick dust and coffee beans. Just a little vintage touched up. Good tannins, great extract but just a little caramelised and sweet. Geez it’s well made and respectful, the fruit just not quite up to the task. 16.7/20, 89/100

Primo Joseph Nebbiolo 2006 (McLaren Vale, SA) $75

Shirebbiolo. Dark red colours make more recognisable. Coffeed oak all over this, filling every cranny. Oak tannins too, mixing with meaty spice. Pleasant but not remarkable as a Nebbiolo. If you had this on its own I think this would look much better. Very Aussie and less Neb though. 16.8/20, 89/100

Pizzini Coronamento Nebbiolo 2005 (King Valley, Vic) $110

Looks awfully youthful for a 9 year old. Big and chunky palate, big tannins and quite caramel at the edges. Coffeed/Formic oak and a hint of medicinal edges, the power and tannins look much more flattering and varietal here. Refreshing finish too. Dry and long, it is not Langhe Nebb but such a powerful and genuine representation of Aus Neb. I’ve liked this more previously (an average bottle?), but certainly smart. 17.5/20, 91/100

Arrivo Nebbiolo 2008 (Adelaide Hills, SA) $48

A totally disparate wine from the rest, the vintage making this a little simpler than expected – there’s some glacé fruit but it looks a bit muddled, the tannins the only respite. The winemaking looks very good here, but it looks quite blanched in context. Love to see this in a great vintage, as the winemaking is excellent. Good not great because of it. 17/20, 90/100

Some nice Conterno quotes:

‘Many Australian Nebb more rough tannins like Roero when younger, after 5-6 years they’re much closer to Barolo/barbaresco’ Franco Conterno

‘We drink Dolcetto and Barbera every day. Nebbiolo is for Sundays’ Franco Conterno.

‘Organic is a word that everyone likes. But to my grandfather it was the only way’ Conterno

Bracket 3 Poderi Aldo Conterno ‘Colonello’ vertical

From a plot of vines that lies on the border of Monforte d’Alba and Barolo, with notably more sand than some of the other Aldo Conterno vineyards (and more like the Barolo village commune) with 50% clay and 50% sand.

Average age is 45 years old. The grapes are handpicked and then fermented in tank at 31-32C. Twice daily pump overs in tank, with. 1 month on skins 2 weeks of which are ferment and 2 weeks post ferment maceration. The wine then spends 2 years in ‘clean oak’ (as Franco calls it) which is shaved every 2 years. Barrels are 25 hectoliter Slovenian botte. This spends 28 months in oak.

Interestingly, the barrels are not toasted, just steamed. At Conterno, the cheaper ‘Favot’ is the only Nebbiolo in barriques. Favot spends 1 week in barrel and pressed off before the ferment is finished.

According to Franco ’78 was a great vintage in Brolo. 58 was an amazing vintage, 27 too. 89 a great great vintage.’ he said.

’96 is a great vintage but not exceptional as the tannins are too rich. In La morra maybe, but the 96 is so tannic, 01 is a great vintage. Only a few exceptional vintage’


‘If I had to drink any of them tonight it would be the 05. The 06 I’d prefer to leave’

Aldo Conterno Bussia Colonnello Barolo 2008 (Barolo, Piedmont, Italy) $200

‘Winter was very cold. Ripeness was late. We decided to wait 1 week more, picking in November which is not usual at all. This was a good idea as the eeolution of the grape was now perfect. The grapes were very well ripe(ned)’ Franco Conterno

Dark and quite black. Vanilla bean oak and a lifted fullness – looks very ripe. Like 2008 in South Australia sugar ripe. Coffeed and loads of sweetness, the finish is remarkably fresh for what is a black wine. The tannins feel quite soft and gentle, if punctuated by alcohol. Feels almost flashy. Tasty, but overtly flashy and ripe. Approachable now. 18/20, 93/100

Aldo Conterno Bussia Colonnello Barolo 2007 (Barolo, Piedmont, Italy) $215

‘The warmest wine of these. Very warm and ‘not so classic’. Easier to sell but tannins are much softer. Less acidity and close to 15% alcohol’ Franco Conterno

Caramel chews, dark tannins, a gruff and alcohol wine without the prettiness. still refreshing but it feels forward and quite caramelised. Feels dry and driven by tannins, not fruit, and alcohol. Still quite complete but lacks the grace. 17.7/20, 92/100

Aldo Conterno Bussia Colonnello Barolo 2006 (Barolo, Piedmont, Italy) $215

‘Classic vintage. Winter snow, perfect spring, warm temperatures during summer and great weather in September. Longest life of the four’ Franco Conterno

Very youthful. Surprised to see black currant here, but there is a seam running through the middle, tight, refreshing tannins. Such liveliness! Vital tannins are like a clean sweep. Delicious tannins and power. Looks 5 years younger. Lovely composure and a black wine to come. Yes! Yes! 18.7/20, 95/100+

Aldo Conterno Bussia Colonnello Barolo 2006 (Barolo, Piedmont, Italy) $210

‘Comparable to the 08. More gentle. During the harvest we had to stop for 1 week because of rain. When we came back to harvest we  decided not to keep the rest. After the rain there was some mould’ Franco Conterno

Creme caramel. Looks really open and forward and almost juicy. Already open and affable, rather like an older 08′ though perhaps less overtly ripe. Creamy and delicious. 18.5/20, 94/100

Bracket 4 Great vineyards

Aldo Conterno Bussia Colonnello Barolo 2009 (Barolo, Piedmont, Italy) $210

A vineyard of two halves. Those who picked before the rain and those who picked after.

Caramel fudge/condensed milk. Quite open yet without the flashy ripeness of 08. Tannins are still quite soft, lingering though. Really excellent length. Quite delicious. 18.5/20, 94/100

Aldo Conterno Bussia Cicala Barolo 2009 (Barolo, Piedmont, Italy) $200

80% clay in the Cicala vineyard. Generally more powerful.

Rather more restrained and less powerful on the nose compared to 09 Colonnello. Quite grandiose through the middle and quite sticky tannins. Seems rather more black and darkly tannic and drying and serious though. But refreshing finish. How do they manage to keep it refreshing? Excellent wine. 18.7/20, 95/100

Aldo Conterno Bussia Romirasco Barolo 2009 (Barolo, Piedmont, Italy) $250

‘More minerality’. More sand and higher too. Typically this only gets made in quantity in the years when no ‘Gran Bussia’ (which is effectively the Riserva) is made as Romirasco is the backbone.
It looks prettier and open, slighter and just a bit sullen after the bombastic palate of the Cicala. It’s prettier and complex, long and actually quite svelte but the tannins are sneaky. Hard to separate the Cicala and the romirasco – the latter is deeper, darker, more mysterious, the romirasco prettier, more elegant. Gee hard to pip. Maybe drink the romirasco now, the Cicala later. Romirasco just gets it as it has the more lifted aromatics. What a wine though. Stunning. 18.9/20, 95/100

A Gaja caveat – I’ve never been a massive Gaja fan. A great man and a tireless Piedmont icon, yet I’ve never ‘loved’ the oak driven, super-polished and utterly ‘made’ Gaja style. Give me the quirks of one of the Conterno wines over this. Oh and the price? Madness.

Gaja Langhe Costa Russi 2006 (Langhe, Piedmont, Italy) $750

Oak. Tar and roses and oak. As usual, this tastes more like a heavy, slightly stewed aged red than a classic Barbaresco – a little, skinny. Perhaps the lesser wine in the Gaja lineup, Nice acid though and a definitely more elegant expression than the Barolos before. Still don’t love the slickness of this wine. It will live forever though. 17.8/20, 92/100

Gaja Langhe Sori Tildin 2006 (Langhe, Piedmont, Italy) $750

Creamy texture is a real winner here – still looks really quite open and youthful, A wine for those who love silken wines and gee it’s lush and drinkable. But exceptional? Hardly. A definitive step up on the Costa Russia though, much fresher and less oak drawn. Delicious tannins. Super textural and quite beautiful finish. But still the lingering impression is of homogeneity not terroir. 18/20, 93/100

Gaja Langhe Sori San Lorenzo 2006 (Langhe, Piedmont, Italy) 

Wonderful fragrance here. Black earth, a big grunty palate and some aged red earth and dark plum fruit. I just wish that this wasn’t so smooth – it covers up the expression. Still, superb tannins and very good length means I can’t help but admire this wine. Plus it keeps going and going and going… 18.5/20, 94/100+