Ceretto
Dateline: 07/25/97
Ceretto is one of Piemonte's major estates, though perhaps the term estate isn't quite adequate. It was founded in the 1930s by Riccardo Ceretto, who passed the torch to his sons Bruno and Marcello in the 1960s. They expanded Riccardo's Casa Vinicola Ceretto into Ceretto Aziende Vitinvincole s.r.l., a collection of small wineries that farm some of the best plots of land in the Barolo and Barbaresco production zones, and also added holdings in other especially good areas, such as Castellinaldo for Arneis.
From
a philosophical standpoint the winery is one of the more down-to-earth and
practical in the region -- if you visit Piemonte and talk with winemakers,
you will realize after about five minutes that the region is torn into two
camps, the traditionalists, who say that vinification techniques
(especially work in the vineyards) have to improved but the wine should be
made following tradition, fermenting the must at the traditional
temperature (27-30 ° C, 80-85 °F) for long enough to extract the
color and substance from the grapes (up to a couple of weeks or more) and
then aging the wine in botti, the huge oaken casks of Italian tradition.
What they aim for is the classic "Fist of Steel in A Velvet Glove,"
a wine of tremendous power and complexity. There are a couple of downsides
to traditional wines, however. First, they are not as easily approachable
as some other wines -- traditional Barolo (and to a lesser degree
Barbaresco) is rather like a fine single-malt Scotch, in that you have to
learn to appreciate its fine points. There is also a practical downside to
the traditional wine -- it can have mind-bending tannins that take years
to round out, and the complexities and nuances can also require years of
bottle age to develop. However, once they do the wine is a treasure second
to none -- this February I had dinner with Nadia and Walter Fissore of
Poggio Petorchino; at the end of the meal Walter broke out a bottle of
1967 Macarini (a Barolo made by his father-in-law, Elvio Cogno). It was
simply spellbinding.
The modernists instead aim for a more easily accessible wine with more fruit and less austerity. Again, there is maniacal care in the vineyards. However, the fermentation is radically different. The must goes into horizontal macerators, drums whose interiors turn like those of washing machines, and is heated to 35 C° (about 100 °F) or even more. The seeds drop into a tray to keep them from surrendering their tannins, the heat extracts everything from the skins in just a few days, and then the wine is transferred into barriques (225 liter (55 gallon) oak barrels) that surrender wood tannins to the wine, thus fixing the color. Of course while they're doing this the barriques also have a tremendous influence on the wine's bouquet, which is generally strongly laced with spice and vanilla, and often has powerful fresh fruit (cherries and red berries) rather than the floral notes of the old-style Barolo. Modern Barolo is a very different wine, and while it can be superb, all but the best lacks (at least for me) the complexity and finesse of the really fine traditional wines. I also wonder how a modern wine that has considerably more rounded tannins and is much softer to begin with will evolve over time.
Some
of the more ardent exponents of the two camps literally cannot stand each
other. At Ceretto they take a more detached view of the whole thing: "The
macerator's just a tool like any other," says Giovanni Gillardi, one
of the estate's managing directors. "You're not required to heat the
must you put in it." They take the same view of barriques -- they're
a tool that can add complexities to bouquet and body, but should be used
sparingly to avoid overpowering the grapes. For all of the estate's
relatively traditional stance (the fermentation of the Barolo and
Barbaresco I tasted lasted ten days at 32 °C, followed by another ten
days of maceration on the skins at 24 °C, then a mixture of barrique
and botte for the aging), they are very open to new things, and have
devoted one of their estates, La Bernardina (where the main offices are)
entirely to allocthonous grapes: Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet, Syrah,
and Pinot Noir.
"It's more difficult for us than it is for the Tuscans," said Mauro Daniele, who oversees the technical aspects of production. "We have to declare the foreign grapes as experimental for five years, and then there are a number of restrictions about what we can say on the label." Even so, he feels the wines are important for two reasons. Since they're made from non-Piemontese grapes they're not associated with any local traditions, and this makes it easier to experiment with them (obviously, the knowledge gained can be applied to the other wines produced on the Ceretto estates). They have also proven extremely useful from a promotional standpoint -- they've garnered much critical acclaim, for example from Wine Spectator, and the people who have tried the alternative wines and liked them have moved on to trying the more traditional wines of the estate. "Success isn't selling a bottle," said Mauro, quoting (I believe) Bruno Ceretto. "Success is when the client comes back for a second one." They're certainly doing lots of things right.
We tasted some, but by no means all of the estate's wines.
We began with Monsordo Bianco 1996, a white wine made from Viognier grapes native to the Cotes du Rhone. One of the experimental wines produced at the Tenuta Bernardina, it's a pale straw yellow, and has a clean, fruity bouquet with honeydew melon and some spicy notes that come from the grapes (there's no wood involved). On the palate the initial sweetness gives way to a pleasant tartness with lots of fruit, in particular a variety of plum poetically known as Sangue di Drago (Dragon's blood). The finish is citrusy and quite persistent. I think it would go quite well with elaborate fish dishes and cream-based pasta sauces, but think it may be a touch too acidic for Oriental foods.
We
moved onto Blangé Arneis 1996, a traditional Piemontese
white with a twist. Arneis produces a wine with very low acidity in good
years and virtually no acidity at all in off years. Italians are not used
to this, and to correct the problem Ceretto ferments the wine in sealed
tanks that capture the CO2 given off. This CO2 is
kept with the wine until bottling, and the wine consequently has a light
sparkle to it that makes it considerably livelier than it would be
otherwise. It's a pale greenish yellow, and has a surprisingly delicate
bouquet, with some pleasant yeasty smells from the sparkle, and also hints
of butterscotch. On the palate it is zesty, with nice fruit, and rather
tart -- an impression produced by the CO2, because once it has
bubbled away the acidity is much reduced. The finish is clean, with faint
butterscotch notes. Again, a wine for fish, though in this case things
that are not quite so elaborate -- say grilled sea bass. I think it would
also go well with vegetable-based dishes.
We next tasted the Nebbiolo d'Alba 1995. The wine is a deep ruby red and has elegant, eye-opening stewed maraschino cherry notes on the nose. On the palate it has delicate fruit and is well rounded, with pronounced dusty tannins that will be better integrated in a year or two. The wine gives an impression of being somewhat restrained, as if there's power lurking off in the shadows somewhere waiting to burst forth. And there certainly is: This is the least structured, least complex Nebbiolo-based wine Ceretto makes. Considering how good it is, the 1995 Barbaresco and Barolo that are still aging in casks are going to be fantastic. This will go well with meat-based pastas, white meats, or also with grilled red meats such as steak.
Barbaresco Bricco Asili 94 is an elegant ruby red and has a nice floral bouquet with delicate hints of rosa canina -- the typical bouquet that Nebbiolo acquires with time, as the fruit of the young wine gives way to the floral notes of age. On the palate, however, the wine is fairly light -- certainly lighter than the Nebbiolo 1995, and this is a function of the vintage, which was "difficult." This is not to say that the wine is not good, because it is, with nice fruit and well rounded smooth tannins and a clean, slightly dusty finish. Simply that the wine is not towering. This is actually positive, because we can't always eat things complex and impressive enough to call for the great vintages of a wine -- this is lighter, more adaptable, and will go wonderfully with a delicate stew.
Barolo Bricco Rocche 1993 is a much more powerful wine than the Barbaresco Bricco Asili, and even though it's a year older it's not as mature as the Barbaresco. The bouquet is powerful, with dusky floral notes and roses and spice (from wood). On the palate it's still obviously young, with nice berry and cherry fruit, well rounded tannins, and a clean, slightly bitter dusty cherry finish. Though it's not as evident as it was with the Barbaresco, we are dealing with a lesser vintage here too. The wine will continue to age well for another few years, and will again be a pleasant, accessible wine of the kind that is a joy to break out at a dinner with friends -- something good to drink in fun, that doesn't require reverence.
A brief aside: I was told that because the vintage was poor, the fate of Ceretto's 1994 Barolo is still somewhat in doubt. They may decide to come out with the crus of the individual vineyards, but they could very well decide to mix all the better wines together and sell them as the basic Barolo. This is, if you think about it, sensible: There's no point in marketing what should be a great wine but isn't because people who try it are going to wonder what the fuss is about and never return. If, on the other hand, they're delighted by an off vintage of a less renowned wine, they'll try its more important siblings.
We closed with Monsordo Rosso 1995, a red wine made from Syrah. Another of the experimental wines produced at the Tenuta Bernardina, it's a deep red, almost purplish black, with a powerful framboise-laced nose with notes of underbrush and game. On the palate it's elegant and delicate, with good fruit, especially cherries, and has clean well rounded tannins. The finish is persistent, with pleasing faint notes of bitter almond. It's an excellent wine, and a very fine interpretation of the grape.
Good Food & Drink,
Elisabetta
