My Heart Belongs to Alba via Nebbiolo

(Looking up to the village of La Morra from Bricco Chiesa)

It is a blessing and a curse (a minor one) to do what you love for pay. Something that started as a hobby or a means just to get a few free bottles of wine has morphed into an amazing adventure that has taken me across the world and introduced me to some of the most amazing people. Yet, in the end a job is sometimes a job and can get me down - the strange part is that I love my job and when it gets me down it hurts. How can something I am so passionate about hurt me? That is when I try to seek inspiration. Thank GOD for those moments that re-inspire, that knock me out of my pity party and help me remember how fortunate I am. 

(A colorful concreate tank at Oddero's winery)

One of my favorite people in the wine business paid me a visit this week, Isabella Boffa. Her family's wines were the kick in the pants I needed and reminded me of where my heart longs to be...the rolling hills of Piemonte where Nebbiolo proves time and time again that it IS the best red grape in the world.

(Mariacristina Oddero and her niece Isabella Boffa in their La Morra vineyards)

Isabella Boffa is the granddaughter of Giacomo Oddero and works side by side with her aunt Mariacristina to bring the amazing wines of Oddero to the world. Isabella brought five wines for me to try: the 2008 Barbera d'Alba, 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo, 2007 Barbaresco "Gallina", 2006 Barolo, 2006 Barolo "Rocche di Castiglione" and 2006 Barolo"Villero". All of the wines show the classical style of the winery - long maceration (30 to almost 50 days in the case of the 2006's), aging in huge Slavonian oak casks (these casks do not impart oak flavor but allow for slow oxidation of the wine that help to soften the tannins and integrate the wine) and extended bottle age.

Now most people would rush to the "Cru" (single vineyard) Baroli and marvel at their depth, concentration and aging potential (These wines will be around for a VERY long time), but it was the classic Barolo that got my heart racing. The moment it was poured I was whisked though a worm hole of wine to the hills of the Langhe. When I opened my eyes Isabella was staring at me, along with my fellow sommeliers, thinking there was something wrong with me. "Nope, nothing wrong just remembering my happy place through this wine."

The 2006 Barolo is a combination of vineyards from the communes of La Morra (providing the floral and elegant notes) and Castiglione Falletto (providing the darker aromas and power) creating a combination that is as close to perfect as one can get. The nose is textbook Nebbiolo: sour cherries, roses, worn leather, cola, mixed spices, and earth. The palate is so beautiful it makes my hands shake just typing this: perfect cherries mixed with sweet and savory spices, fine tannins that are firm like a hand shake from John Wayne and not someone scraping sandpaper on your tongue. The greatest part of the wine is the integration between fruit, earth, acidity, power and elegance. It is amazing that this can exist on Earth.

I cannot emphasize enough that you run out to your local wine store and buy a case. Keep three bottles to drink whenever you want, put the rest away and revisit a bottle in 3 years, the next 3 years after that and keep on going till your out. I am going to also buy some in magnums...because when is bigger not better? With my first bottle I am going to slow roast a big hunk of meat, roasted root vegetables and some braised greens with garlic.

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