A hike around Barolo villages

We had been waiting for this trip for 15 years, after that first bottle of Barolo at our anniversary when we were wine dunces and had no idea what to expect. I won’t say that bottle of Barolo changed my life but it certainly opened my eyes to the world of wine.

Our recent holiday in Barolo was an indulgent five days of wine, food and all things good about Italy. The best thing was that this was not a business trip. It was a holiday with my husband only, so no visiting wineries every hour. For me, it was the ideal way to appreciate Barolo and its wine, much better than being shown from winery to winery. We stayed in a small B&B, La Giolitta, in the village of Barolo which only has an 800+ population. The hostess was knowledgeable and arranged for us to visit three great wineries—without anyone knowing that I am from the trade. They were Mascarello Bartolo (fantastic wine, available from BBR in Hong Kong; I had met the owner, Maria Teresa, before, so it was like meeting an old friend), Giuseppe Rinaldi (family owned traditional Barolo, not easy to get hold of), and Gianni Gagliardo (decent wine with a good restaurant, but I would have loved a chat with the winemaker himself). We also dropped by to see Chiara Boschis (Azienda Agricola E. Pira e Figli), a modern Barolo winemaker with vision (wine available from Heritage Wines).

And we made a last minute visit to Marchesi di Gresy in Barbaresco, thanks to arrangements kindly made by its distributor, Roddy from Wellspring Wines. The chief winemaker is Kiwi Jeffrey Chilcott. We had an intensive tasting and lively discussion for over two hours—and it could easily have been a lot longer if not for the football match that he had to watch!

On our first day, we hiked a loop from Barolo to Novello then Monchiero, Monforte and back to Barolo—18km in total, walking through both cru and lesser vineyard areas, as well as the hazelnut plantations and small remaining patches of indigenous woodland. The soil is so different from plot to plot, and by observing the conditions of the vines I could see why one was a cru vineyard and another not (or at least not suitable for Nebbiolo). The sophisticated thing about this hike was that we didn’t need any packed lunch or energy bars. We could take a break at every village for a snack, gelati and ... of course... vino, and we even saw a parade of old motor bikes on their Sunday outing at Montforte. Better still, we felt guilt-free after the long walk and tucked into an absolutely delicious dinner of brasato al Barolo (beef braised in Barolo) with a bottle of ... uuh ... Barolo and more... for dinner that night.

We were there at the end of June, just before the summer crowds, so it was remarkably quiet and everyone was very relaxed. The light at that time of the year is fantastic. We drove around the hilltop villages in the late afternoon from 4:30 to 7pm, capturing the best lighting for photography.

Now, back in Hong Kong with all those fond memories of Barolo and two dozen of its wines not available in Hong Kong. It may be a selfish thought but I do hope these Piemonte villages will not become swamped by ‘wine tourists’. We would love to go back to its tranquility.

More photos here.

Another grape variety for the list

Jancis Robinson’s latest book, 'Wine Grapes', lists 1,368 varieties. You may also have heard of ‘The Wine Century Club’: to qualify, you must have tasted at least 100 different grape varieties. Most of us would struggle to reach 50, so if you are going to set your mind on joining The Wine Century Club, or even on tasting all the varieties in Jancis’s book, here’s one you should try.

Christophe Reynouard, owner of Domaine du Grangeon in Cote du Rhone, proudly presented his hidden secret, the ancient grape Chatus. According to Jancis, Chatus used to be widespread from the Alps to the the Massif Central before the arrival of phylloxera, but it has largely disappeared except in the Ardèche, the western bank of the Rhone. Christophe said that after phylloxera most growers planted the higher yielding Carignan. Chatus, on its own rootstock, has only survived in areas where there is no clay, since phylloxera doesn’t like clay. Today, Chatus is being revived, with about 54 ha in the Ardèche shared by some 35 growers.

Chatus has small berries and produces wine with a deep colour. The wine's high tannin and acid structure and its aroma profile give it a resemblance to Barolo, which is not a big surprise as DNA profiling has linked Chatus to Nebbiolo. Christophe first started making it in 1998 using carbonic maceration because of the high tannin structure. Now, with better vineyard management and knowledge of the grapes, he makes it with 100% destemmed grapes, three to four weeks skin contact and 23 months ageing in new barrels. The high tannin is supported by the good fruit concentration and firm acidity, and it certainly has ageing potential.

Christophe is a prolific winemaker. He makes 15 wines from 17 ha of vineyard planted with some ten varieties. His philosophy? He has only 40 years as a winemaker before he has to hand the cellar key to the next generation. He could just make three wines a year, but he believes that the more he makes the more opportunities he will have to learn from his mistakes. Over a 40 year career he might make 600 wines, a much bigger satisfaction than making only 120.

Christophe's Viognier is a very pleasant wine with a chewy palate and an intense aroma of spices, ginger, and honey. No wonder, since he once worked as a cellar master at Georges Vernay, a famous producer in Condrieu. As well as the Chatus, another unusual wine is his Gamay Vin de Paille, made from dried Gamay grapes. A powerful sweet wine of red fruits and chocolate notes, it would make a good dessert on its own.

Christophe, rightly, is concerned about climate change. His Gamay is being harvested about seven days earlier now than in 1998 when he took over the domaine from his father. Growers in warm regions everywhere are searching for later-ripening grapes. Chatus, a mid to late ripener with high acidity, could well be the answer for growers in the Rhone.

Domaine du Grangeon is available from Cottage Vineyards.

Flagship wine: ambassador or juggernaut?

What is the wine or grape that first springs to mind when someone mentions France, Spain, Argentina or New Zealand? Bordeaux, Tempranillo, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc? These are considered the flagship wines of those countries, the ambassadors. But do they really bring value to their motherland's wine industry? Or do they shine so bright that they stultify it?

You can argue it either way.

Start with Italy. It has over 350 indigenous grapes, but the one variety that is its claim to fame is Sangiovese, used in so many great wines from Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino to the Super Tuscans. Sangiovese brought the world’s drinkers to Italy and introduced them to its many siblings—Nebbiolo, Aglianico, Pinot Grigio and more. Today, consumers everywhere appreciate the diversity of Italian wines, but they still pay respect to Sangiovese.

Like Italy, Portugal has over 300 native grapes, but it does not promote any particular variety in the international arena. The fact that one grape often has different names depending on where it is grown (north, centre or south) doesn’t help. As a result, perhaps, Portuguese wine has little recognition outside Portugal even today (except Port and Mateus Rosé). A few years ago, ViniPortugal decided to start marketing Touriga Nacional as the national grape, hoping it would achieve similar status to Sangiovese and bring the world to its many other wines. We are still waiting to see the results.

Most will agree that Tempranillo is Spain’s flagship grape. But what about Grenache (Garnacha)? It is an important variety in Rioja where Tempranillo gained its fame, and produces the expressive and concentrated wines of Priorat and the south. In fact, Grenache has more characters than Tempranillo as a varietal, yet it always seems a few steps behind.

Sauvignon Blanc, specifically from Marlborough, put New Zealand on the world wine map. Now every wine region outside New Zealand wants to produce a similar style of Sauvignon Blanc. However, this flagship grape has been so successful that all other great New Zealand wines are living under its shadow. The average consumer—and I am referring to the average, not those in the wine circle—is not even aware of Otago Pinot Noir, let alone the wines of other regions.

Chile is known for offering the best value in several international grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay. Yet it struggles to establish an identity. Conversely, its neighbour Argentina is, in a sense, better positioned in the world wine market because of its flagship grape, Malbec.

So, is having a flagship wine or varietal a good or a bad thing?

South Africa - Variety is in our Nature

I have always had a soft spot for South Africa. My first time there was in 1996. After a few weeks on the road driving around the canyons, Kruger and the Garden Route, we finally arrived at Stellenbosch where we spent a week tasting wine every day, duly starting at 9:00am when the cellar doors opened. Since then, I have been back to the Stellenbosch area five times and have had the privilege of doing vintages at Ashanti and Thelema.


Therefore it was great news that Wines of South Africa (WOSA), was finally organising a long overdue South African wine tasting in Hong Kong recently. 29 wines from Cap Classique and Chenin Blanc to Bordeaux blends and Pinotage were presented to packed audiences in two sessions: the trade masterclass with tutored tasting in the afternoon and a consumer walk-around tasting in the evening.

A Nebbiolo encounter

There are only eleven villages in Piedmont making Barolo but they all have different identities. Some producers respect tradition and make Barolo the way it has been made for generations, resulting in bold and powerful wines with ageing potential. At the same time, there are producers now experimenting with modern techniques such as shorter maceration time and ageing in 100% new French barriques to make Barolo more approachable when released. And there are yet others in between who believe a combination of tradition and modernity is the way forward. Whatever the techniques, they all believe in one thing: it is the soil in which the Nebbiolo vines are grown that gives the backbone character of any Barolo.

Five Piedmont producers were in town recently to present their Barolos and Barbarescos, the king and queen of wines. Their wines represent the different styles from the traditional to the modern, with varying combinations of boldness, power, elegance and finesse, all different but equally perfect in their own right. Regardless of wine style, these winemakers have two things in common: they are passionate about their wines, and they are excited about Hong Kong.

The Barolo style may be more akin to Bordeaux but Davide, one of the winemakers, prefers to compare Barolo with Burgundy – both are from a single varietal, most are from small producers and terroir plays a major role. Barolo, source of the finest, long-lived Italian wine, only has a vineyard area totalling about 1% that of Bordeaux and 15% that of Burgundy. Will its scarcity drive up the price when investors (especially the Chinese) discover them?

Hong Kong distributors: Berry Bros & Rudd