Giovanni Almondo Roero Bric Valdiana 2007
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Robert
Parker
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Serve with ripe cheese, meat dishes.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Roero Bric Valdiana Monta emerges from the glass with gorgeous dark red fruit, minerals, licorice, violets and French oak. This sleek, refined Roero impresses for its exceptional balance and fabulous pedigree. With time in the glass, the wine grows in depth and overall expressiveness. The tannins are a touch firm, but the Valdiana should be even better with another year or two of bottle age. This is a fabulous effort from Almondo. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019.
The Roero wine-producing region, on the other bank of the Tanaro river from the famous Barolo and Barbaresco appellations, is one every wine lover should know. Arneis, an extremely useful mid-weight white wine, is grown here, as are some of the most drinkable everyday wines made from Nebbiolo. Domenico Almondo and his sons Stefano and Federico make some of the best in the region. The best Nebbiolos from the Roero have the same relationship to the wines of Barolo and Barbaresco, which is to say they don't reach the same exalted heights as their more famous neighbors, but are a lot less expensive and can be drunk much earlier. Their sandier Roero soils give generous, red-fruited Nebbiolos that are drinkable on release and can age for five years or more.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
Even to this day, the Roero folklore lives on about witchcraft lurking behind its dramatic contours and obscure woods—but these stories only add to the region’s allure and charm. Actually today Roero winemakers are some of the most astute and motivated in Piedmont. While the white Arneis has attracted global attention for some time, now Roero Nebbiolo wines (elevated to the same DOCG status as Barolo and Barbaresco) are making a name for themselves. Keep an eye on any labeled with the vineyard, Valmaggiore, as Barolo producers have been investing here for years. If you’re looking for hidden gems, this is your region!