Crush Course: Nebbiolo
A grape worth playing the long game
Wine Ideas Crush Course is here to simplify your favorite (and my favorite) wine grapes.
We’ll be diving deep into a specific grape once a month. If you have a grape you want featured in this series, leave a comment and let me know, or argue in the comments with someone else about why your grape is better than their grape. Go crazy!
The grape of the month is: Nebbiolo
TLDR on Nebbiolo:
Nebbiolo is a red grape that produces dry and full-bodied wines with high acidity and high tannins.
It can taste like red and black fruits, like dark cherries and currants, plus dried flowers, rose petals, and black tea.
Most Nebbiolo is aged at least a little bit before release, in barrel or in bottle, with some bottles showing best 5-10 years old, and some showing their best well beyond that.
Nebbiolo is indigenous to Northern Italy, and now finds its true home in Piedmont, in the Northwestern corner of the boot, right at the base of the Italian Alps.
The name Nebbiolo comes from nebbia, the Italian word for “fog.” I notably saw absolutely zero fog when I was there last March (just some low hanging clouds), though everyone promises me that there is a lot of fog in this region.
Much like Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo is an incredibly challenging variety to grow. It flowers early, ripens late, and can struggle to ripen fully. Also like Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo can taste wildly different depending on where it’s grown. It is considered to be a “terroir-expressive” variety, in that it picks up more of the earth, soil, and climate characteristics versus other grapes.
This makes it nerdy, challenging to study, fun to sell, and always an adventure to taste.
Nebbiolo is most famous (and most expensive) in 2 places within Piedmont: Barolo and Barbaresco. People will spend too much time trying to distinguish between Barolo and Barbaresco in the glass. I’m here to say it’s beyond unnecessary. Both places produce elegant, delicious, and age worthy styles of Nebbiolo. The nuances between the two should not concern you.
There are exceptions to every wine rule, but these are my general Nebbiolo rules, that are meant to be broken and proven wrong and are totally open to interpretation.
Serve it just below room temperature if possible. Room temp is OK, just below room temp is optimal.
Drink it from a wide wine glass if possible. At The Modern, I serve Nebbiolo in a Burgundy glass. If you don’t have those (I, personally, do not), any wine glass will do.
You might want to decant it! Giving a Nebbiolo some air is often a good idea. For your extremely special ultra old bottles, maybe don’t. They’re too delicate and a lot of the nuance can be lost. But anything under 30 years of age, you probably won’t ruin by decanting.
You might want to age it! Nebbiolo is a grape that produces wines with strong bones: high acidity and high tannin. For that reason, it can age a long time in bottle.
Barolo
I know we are totally beyond gendered language in the world of wine, but back in my day (lol) we learned Barolo was the king and Barbaresco was the queen of Piedmont.
This meant that Barolo made structured, powerful, and masculine examples of Nebbiolo, while Barbaresco made softer, more elegant, more feminine examples of Nebbiolo. It’s clear to me now, it depends much more on the style of your producer than it does on which region the wine comes from. One can easily make structured and powerful Barbaresco and one can just as easily make elegant and soft Barolo.
G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe 2022 $34.99 G.D Vajra (pronounced Vaira) makes some of the best and most accessible examples of Barolo. This may not be the most complex and ethereal example, but it is an excellent introduction into the ever growing world of Barolo.
Guido Porro Vigna Santa Caterina Barolo 2020 $55 An excellent Barolo for youthful drinking. No need to wait 30 years for it to be ready, this guy is ready to drink today.
Giacomo Conterno Barolo Arione 2020 $349.99 Some wineries are rustic and smelly, with floors sticky with wine residue and cobwebs covering the bottles in the cellar. These wineries make fantastic wine and can be extremely charming. Others are Conterno: immaculate, state of the art and flawlessly clean. The wines reflect this sense of precision. Nothing is guess work and the proof is in the pudding. Wait 10 years+ to open this one for full pay-off.
Barbaresco
What are we paying for with expensive Nebbiolo?
We’re mostly paying for the wine that bottle has the potential to become. This Giacosa here, for example, at $278 retail for the 2021 vintage, isn’t worth that much in terms of value if opened today.
In my opinion, it doesn’t offer $278 worth of deliciousness today. If opened 10, 20, or 30 years from now, the value of the wine will increase tremendously. It will have the potential to offer 3x or 4x the retail price worth of deliciousness! A great investment.
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Ovello Riserva 2020 $80.99 One of the last remaining high quality co-ops left in Italy, and in the world, Produttori is THE name of Barbaresco when it comes to single vineyards, made into accessible wines.
Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabaja 2021 $278 I love Giacosa. The wines are transportive. The examples I’ve tasted are best with 20 or so years on them. The white labels are great, but the red labels, made only in the best years, are truly worth seeking on special occasions. Though, opening these wines truly is the occasion.
Langhe
The wines of the Langhe offer incredible value for Nebbiolo lovers. They may not say “Barolo” or “Barbaresco” on the label, and they may not be aged as long in barrel or bottle, so the wines still offer freshness, nerve, and vitality. Drink them young.
I also think of the Langhe like I would think of “village” level Burgundy: a great way to introduce yourself to the style of the region, maybe even find a favorite producer, without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Oddero Langhe Nebbiolo 2023 $30.97
E. Pira e Figli Langhe Nebbiolo 2023 $53.99
Roagna Langhe Rosso 2020 $53.99
Other
Nebbiolo grows outside of Piedmont, too!
Ar. Pe. Pe. Valtellina Superiore Grumello Buon Consiglio Riserva 2016 $121 I bet this wine is in a gorgeous spot right now, at 10 years old. Valtellina, a region within Lombardy, just East of Piedmont. A touch more rustic, rough around the edges, earthier and wilder than Piedmontese examples.
Timo Mayer Yarra Valley Nebbiolo 2022 $89.99 Australian Nebbiolo for $90 is a hard sell. I get it. I’m just excited to see Nebbiolo grown outside of its homeland. There are very few wine laws in Australia, so winemakers have the opportunity to get creative, take risks, and explore. This wine is the product of that freedom. I want to support risk taking winemakers, creative growers, and celebrate that freedom.
If you love Nebbiolo, you might also love Sangiovese. Both offer dreamy Italian food pairings, high acidity and high tannins. Look for Brunello di Montalcino or Chianti Classico. You might also love Tempranillo from Spain, from Rioja or Ribera Del Duero.
What else do you want featured on Crush Course? Maybe I’ll do one wonky grape you guys haven’t drank much of… maybe Assyrtiko? Nerello Mascalese? Merlot! Give me suggestions in the comments.
I once heard someone describe Barolo as "Weightless power". My favourite tasting note of all time
The Giacosa sounds quite enticing