wUst Fine Wine Imports
wines U should try!
Podere Gagliassi
My main focus is finding expressive and terroir-driven wines that are a pure expression of both the grape varietal and where the vineyards are located. I also focus on very food-friendly wines (as I also like to cook!) but there is also another fun part of the discovery process which is...is the wine also a particularly fun and interesting expression of a wine from an appellation or region. Unfortunately, there are way too many wines that effectively almost all taste the same from a variety or region. Such wines may be ok overall but there really isn't anything interesting about them.
But, when I visited Podere Gagliassi near Montforte d'Alba in the Barolo region, everything I tasted was really fun and expressive...and almost dangerous in a way as maybe I found a new category which is "Chuggable Barolo!" The same qualities also extended to their superb Barbera d'Alba and Nebbiolo d'Alba as well. All three were what I call "disappearing bottles" which is that the bottles disappear pretty quickly after being opened! There were also some fun similarities to the Chablis that I import from Vignoble Angst. With the Chablis wines, there are some "purists" and "wine experts" who have bluntly told me that those wines "are not Chablis" (although Chablis is on the label!) but the wines have been very popular and apparently there are some customers of my clients who are addicted to them.
The "Podere" (which means farm in Italian) is about two miles to the east of Monforte d'Alba and has spectacular hillside settings for its vineyards. The site itself was that of a long established historic winery in the area that was purchased by the father and son team of Roberto and Eugenio Forno in 2015. They immediately worked to implement the highest quality vineyard management, including becoming certified as organic in 2020.
The vineyards are in an area rich in limestone which has transformed over time into layers of silty marls, sand, and stones. The hillside location also promotes great drainage and the circulating winds provide a very healthy environment for the development of fresh and expressive fruit. The wines from the site definitely express the elegance, aromatics, and complexity that one would expect from such terroir.
The "crown jewel" in the estate's vineyards, however, is a parcel in the Badarina MGA which is about three miles to the north in the southern part of Serralunga d'Alba. This is another hillside location with deep limestone deposits which produces Barolos of exceptional balance and complexity. And, with the really high quality and expressive fruit grown through organic farming, the result is "chuggable Barolo!"
The Barbera d'Alba and Nebbiolo d'Alba from the main estate are also spectacular. In an industry where a lot of appellations and regions are not really completely understood, both of these wines are also a lot better than the better known wines in the area such as Langhe Nebbiolo (which only has to be 85% Nebbiolo by the way) and Barbera d'Asti, which produces ten times as much wine as the Barbera d'Alba appellation.
Looking north towards Serralungs d'Alba
Looking west towards Monforte d'Alba
The Wines
Barbera d'Alba DOC 2022 (OC, NF)
Aromas include dark cherries, dark plums, boysenberries, blueberries, and nectarines. Flavors include black cherries, blackberries, blueberries, red peaches, and pomegranate. There is a medium to full body, perfect balance and acidity, and a really long medium to full finish.
Food pairings would include Filet Mignon, New York Steak, Roast Beef, short ribs, beef stew, lamb chops, veal chops and roast veal, pork chops and tenderloin, grilled chicken, grilled sausages, pasta with meat sauce and baked pasta dishes, swordfish, tuna, clams, mussels, robust seafood stews with red sauces, Asian and Mexican beef, pork, and chicken dishes, lamb curries, pork verde, tamales, tacos, charcuterie, and mild, medium, and creamy cheeses.
Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC 2023 (OC, NF)
Aromas include cherries, raspberries, ripe strawberries, red peaches, and apricots. Flavors include raspberries, cherries, nectarines, and red peaches. There is a really elegant medium body, perfect balance and acidity, and a really long and minerally medium finish.
Food pairings would include Filet Mignon, short ribs, rack of lamb, veal chops, pork chops, tenderloin, and shoulder, grilled chicken, pasta with light meat sauces, shrimp, crab, swordfish, tuna, clams, mussels, seafood pasta and risotto, Asian and Mexican beef, pork, and chicken dishes, lamb curries and Tandoori dishes, enchiladas, tacos, tapas, charcuterie, and mild, medium, and creamy cheeses.
Barolo Badarina DOCG 2020 (OC, NF)
This is from the Badarina MGA that is in the southern part of Serralunga d’Alba and which is about three miles northeast of Monforte d’Alba. Aromas include black cherries, dark plums, blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries, red peaches, ripe strawberries, raspberries, and apricots. Flavors include black cherries, blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries, nectarines, and apricots. There is a medium to full body, perfect balance and acidity, and a really long and refreshing medium to full finish.
Food pairings would include Filet Mignon, New York Steak, Rib Eye, Roast Beef, short ribs, beef stew, lamb chops and rack of lamb, veal chops and roast veal, pork chops, tenderloin, and roast pork, wild boar, chicken, duck, cassoulet, coq au vin, pasta with a range of light tomato sauces to rich meat sauces, salmon, shrimp, swordfish, tuna, clams, mussels, calamari, seafood risotto, paella, Asian and Mexican beef, pork, and chicken dishes, lamb curries, Tandoori dishes, beef and pork enchiladas, pork verde, anything with mole sauces, tacos, tapas, charcuterie, and mild, medium, rich, and creamy cheeses.
