Barbaresco Bric Balin, Moccagatta, 1999

Bright deep scarlet. Very oaky first impressions on the nose, underlying smoky plumy fruit. Oak also apparent throughout the palate. Firm, somewhat astringent fruit is made more astringent by wood tannins. Under the fruit and wood tannins ripe plumy fruit struggle to keep up. Not a good first impression. I would prefer to see less oaky astringency overlying the already tannic nebbiolo from a fine vintage. Still overall a first class serious effort at the modern style. Not recommended for barrique haters.

Barbaresco Palazzina, Montaribaldi, 2000

Amazingly generous for such a young wine. Bright ruby with garnet hints. Round and ripe in the nose. Deep plums, with and underlying bitter wild cherry and a hint of orange. Underneath is a clear earthy nebbiolo varietal note. Rich and lean at the same time. Start out big and sweet then implodes into tannin. The finish is long and complex and although this wine is not nearly ready paired with intensely flavor foods like fatty, charred American steak it can be consumed now with pleasure

Barbaresco Roncoglie, Poderi Colla, 2000

Ruby with garnet hints. Translucent. Quite ripe even a hint overripe. Sweet plum, spicy with earthy hints. Floral with violet hints. Round and ripe on the palate with quite a tinge of very ripe fruit. Dark canned cherries and raspberries followed by very apparent but well integrated tannins. Should mature somewhat more quickly than usual.

Prunotto Nebbiolo d'Alba, Occhetti, 2001

Brilliant ruby, quite translucent with just a hint of garnet at the edge. Lively smoky plum with bittersweet cherry aromas open into light porcini and tar. Floral, open and expansive with a bite. Firm, but very drinkable now with good complexity and balance. Spiced burnt oranges with sweet cherry fruit flavors carry the firm, but well integrated tannins. Delicious and ready to drink now.

Pinot Nero, Campo Romano, Pinot Nero, 2002

Bright scarlet/ruby with just a touch of garnet. Layered complex nose. Ripe spiced plums and strawberry aromas broaden into dark plum notes. Racy and complex on the palate with wave after wave of flavor. Ripe cherry, wild strawberry expand into complex tar, porcini and oak flavors. Still a bit lean and closed on the mouth and nose but very promising. The finish is long and spicy with apparent but well integrated tannins. A fine effort that reminds me of Pousse d’Or Volnay in years past.

Nebbiolo d'Alba, Poderi Colla, 2001

Bright ruby/scarlet with garnet hints. Just translucent. Closed at first but opens into floral, rose dust, firm ripe plum aromas. Firm on the palate the tight flavors slowly grow to a delicious layered intensity. Tarry, bitter cherry flavors grow into warm ripe raspberries on the palate. The finish is extremely long, tarry bitter cherry flavors fade into firm but well rounded tannin. Perfect for drinking now and over the next several years.

Nebbiolo d'Alba, PIra, Bricco dell'Asino, 2001

Brilliant scarlet, hints of ruby and a touch of garnet. Just translucent. Spicy ripe plums with layered sweet vanilla oak. Smoky, charcoal aromas add complexity. Firm and structured on the palate. Loaded with ripe plums and cherries with a distinctive tang of chewing tobacco. Starts out medium bodied, but then expands magically in the mouth into an explosion of tannins, tobacco and wild dark fruit flavors. A really exciting wine to drink. With short term aging - 1 or 2 years - you will have a great bottle.

DOCG

Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. It sounds grand. It sounds like it should be wearing a sash with the colors of the Italian flag like the mayor did at our wedding. Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita or D.O.C.G. was designed to be the ultimate level of wine law in Italy. In English it means that the place of origin is controlled and guaranteed for quality. In Italian it means another good idea sinks into bureaucratic hell.

I was contemplating this the other day on an AlItalia flight as I broke the D.O.C.G. strip stuck over the screw-cap on a 187 ml.  bottle of basic industrial Chianti that came with my dinner. So much for the glory and the sash.

It was just 1963 when the Italian government implemented the D.O.C. (Denominazioni di Origine Controllata) to protect and promote Italian wines — and to better compete with the French. Only 17 years later they were forced to introduce the D.O.C.G. concept because the D.O.C. laws had lost all of their credibility as thousands of poor wines sported the designation.

The D.O.C.G. was to change all of this by protecting the great names of Italian wine. So the government selected five of the most important, world famous vineyard areas of Italy to be crowned in 1987 with the D.O.C.G. title. Those five were: Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Albana di Romagna.

Whoa … wait a second. Albana di Romagna you’re asking, what’s that? For those who care, Albana di Romagna is an average quality white wine and there was no reason in the world to include it with this elite group. To select this wine as the first white D.O.C.G. destroyed the credibility of the new classification from the start. Bureaucrats 1; Consumers 0.

Italy is blessed and cursed by its own diversity. Nowhere is there a country that produces a broader range of high quality wine styles from such a confusing number of grape varieties. This diversity makes for interesting drinking but bad wine law. The Italians wanted to compete with the French system of Appellation Controleé (AOC), but the sheer numbers of wine growing regions, varietals, and growers make the establishment of a definitive law impossible.

To add to the confusion the wide variety of styles being produced makes D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. more a simple geographical address instead of any kind of indication of quality. For instance, having a D.O.C. Riccardo Cotarella (the superstar consulting winemaker) would be more a more accurate indicator of  style than the current geographical designations.

Take a D.O.C.G. like Barolo — clear cut, right? Exact laws, clearly defined vineyards, very specific wine making regulations, and only one allowed grape variety. What could the confusion be here? Just taste a Barolo by Elio Altare next to the Barolo produced by Giacomo Conterno and you will be mystified. They taste nothing alike. How can this happen with all those rules and the lofty D.O.C.G. designation protecting the name? It can happen because wine making is a complicated process offering the winemaker a myriad of choices that affect the final style of the wine — even in an environment with supposedly stringent regulation. In this glorious maze of wines the name of the producer is the only reliable indicator of quality.

Le Colline Gattinara, 1978

Brilliant translucent scarlet with just a touch of orange at the edge. The aromas are explosive and delicate at the same time, full of the smell of fresh leather and dark wild cherries. The combination of silky and astringent flavors in the mouth are amazing. The delicious round, warm dark bitter cherry and cassis fruit flavors are mixed with a strong backbone of rich tannin. The complexity of this wine in the nose and on the palate is wonderful. The long finish sums up all the complexities of the aromas and flavors and lasts almost forever.

Le Colline Gattinara, 1982

What a pleasure to drink a fine nebbiolo at its peak. Still rich in color (in a nebbiolo sort of way) it is a sparking bright scarlet with almost no brown except at the edges. After 20 minutes in the glass the nose was explosive. Full of dark wild fruits, leather and even a hint of roses. With this kind of wine it is hard to take your nose out of the glass. Full and rich in the mouth with only the right hint of austerity left this wine seems to be at its peak now.

Dessilani Gattinara, 1997

Very bright scarlet with both ruby and garnet hints. Quite translucent. Full of round sweet spiced plum with bitter cherry hints with an underlying bitter chocolate and dried flowers. Starts with full ripe deep plum and bitter cherry fruit that quickly goes into multi-layered spices and leather and very dark chocolate. The finish is ripe and firmly tannic at the same moment. While big this is in no way a soft wine. Shows a bit of hotness at the finish, but it’s more warming than burning.

Dessilani Caramino Fara, 1999

Very bright scarlet with both ruby and garnet hints. Very firm and still slightly closed on the nose although the coming power and complexity is very evident already. Ripe plums and bitter chocolate mix with leather and bitter cherries. A very complex wine. The finish is long but richly and firmly tannin. Needs at least 4 or 5 years to show its best. Excellent potential.

Dessilani Ghemme, 1999

Bright medium scarlet with garnet hints. Quite translucent. Ripe smoky plums and spices grow into earthy and dried porcini aromas. Rich spiced sweet plum fruit is balanced by leather, fresh mushroom and bitter cherry flavors. The finish is long with sweet fruit held in check by the firm and gripping tannins.

Bricco Mondolino Grignolino, del Monferrato Casalese, 2003

Brilliant light ruby, quite translucent. Gorgeous fruit filled nose with layers of raspberries, wild strawberries, tart cherries and a firm cranberry touch. Racy and bright on the palate with fresh strawberry and raspberries dancing on crisp acids and a firm mineral componet. The finish is literally mouthwatering. Just delicious.

Bricco Mondolino Barbera d'Asti, Il Bergantino, 2002

Bright medium ruby, just translucent. Very complex nose filled with tobacco, menthol, blood oranges and firm raspberry and burnt cherry fruit with a warm earthiness throughout. Firm and multi-layered on the palate with tobacco mixing with smoky dark cherry and blackberry flavors with a bitter tart cherry highlight. The finish is a blend of wild earthy flavors, ripe fruit, zesty acidity, cigars and a touch of tannin. Very nice Barbera.