Fantastic wines from Produttori del Barbaresco

We had a tasting in the store last night of multiple single-vineyard Barbarescos (Barbaresci?) with help from Chris Zimmerman of Vias Imports. I have been a fan of the Vias portfolio for quite some time now, and this tasting was no exception. We tasted through 01, 04, and 05 wines, and I was blown away by the elegance and structure of all of them. We tasted 01 Ovello at the store, and had a bottle of 01 Rio Sordo at Red Feather during dinner after the tasting, and they were both utterly beautiful. They had enough structure to be cellared further, but were drinking so beautifully I’d be hard pressed not to drink them right away. The 04’s were also remarkably open, and overall seemed a bit more focussed and elegant as a vintage. The 05’s were surprisingly approachable, but I’d say definitely want at least a few more years before they really hit their peak.

Other honorable mentions for the evening go to the 2009 Chateau Mourges du Gres “Les Galets Rosés” Costieres de Nimes Rosé, and the 2007 Sottimano Dolcetto, both of which came off of the Red Feather menu, and were fantastic (and cheap! Both under $30 on the bottle list!).  We also tried a Belgian-style ale from Piedmont, the name of which I’m going to have to go look up.

2007 Marco Cecchini Tove

I’ve been a big fan of this wine for a long time, but this was the first time I’d had it in a while, and the first time I’ve tried this vintage. Having started my wine education at inoteca, I have a deep and abiding love for obscure Italian wines in general.

The Cecchini Tove is a blend of the grape formerly known as Tocai (now called Friuliano) and Verduzzo, both grapes rarely found outside their native Friuli, in northeastern Italy. I drank this tonight with pasta; linguine with shrimp and onions in a  white wine reduction. The wine worked fantastically well with the food, and I’m still enjoying the last of it on it’s own. The nose is very expressive, with orange, lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, and huckleberry. It’s medium-bodied in the mouth, with fleshy citrus and great acidity.

This is one of those wines that makes me wish the general public respected white wines as much as they do red wines. Working in retail, I see pretty consistently that most people are willing to spend about two thirds to half as much on white wines as they’re willing to spend on reds. This Tove retails right about $20, and in my opinion is quite thoroughly worth it, but I know for certain that I would have an easier time selling a red wine that nobody’s ever heard of for the same price.

If you’re looking for a white around $20 that’s new and interesting, I absolutely recommend this wine.