This week we were thrilled to host Martina Zola at Graileys for an exceptional flight of perfectly aged Piedmont wines… I’ve been looking forward to this tasting all week… Martina is the owner of legendary Scarpa winery in Barolo and they have been making amazing wines for over 150 years now! Scarpa was a founding member of both Barolo and Barbaresco and these traditionally crafted wines were the inspiration for the great Nebbiolos crafted by Angelo Gaja and Bruno Giacosa over the last 30 years! This winery is known as a King of Nebbiolo in Italy but the wines are just now getting exported into the USA this year. Lucky for us they are coming direct to Texas!
We tasted through 6 excellent wines starting with their single vineyard Barbera La Bogliona, the benchmark for Barbera in the entire region. We also tasted through the Barbaresco Tettineive and Barolo Tettimorra; within each category, Martina was generous to bring an aged bottle from her library collection and a more youthful bottlings for a killer comparison and vintage reflection. For me the 1999 Scarpa Barolo “Tettimorra” stole the show to me! At 17 years of age this powerful wine was full of the exotic aromatics that make Barolo so great: dried roses, truffles, black currant, leather and cigar. On the palate the wine was still big and mouth-coating with flavors of black cherry, cassis, dried roses, grilled herbs, smoke and tar with a stunning and complex finish that just wouldn’t quit! I came in today and there were still a few ounces in the bottle. I am drinking it now as I write this and the wine is even better the second day after sitting out all night! I have just a few bottles of this ridiculously good wine left after the tasting and I had to offer it in the Graileys Blog! The wine is $129.95 per bottle, an absolute steal!! Grab this aged beauty while you can!!
The 2001 Scarpa Barbaresco “Tettineive” was the star of the night! They told me they had a small stash in the ancient cellars at the winery and my ears perked up! We are thrilled to get 10 six pack wooden cases of this stunning wine released to us exclusively for Graileys clientele! They are shipping them direct from Italy and they arrive in 6 weeks. At 15 years of age this beautiful wine is full of the exotic and explosive aromatics that make Barbaresco so great: wild roses, bing cherry, red currant, saddle leather, truffles, and crushed rocks. On the palate the wine is elegant and alive with seamless flavors of raspberry, red cherry, cranberry, wild red roses, dried herbs, smoke, potpourri and stony minerality with a stunning and complex finish that just wouldn’t quit! This beauty has the elegance of Burgundy with the soul of Barolo!
Graileys Price: $129.95 per bottle | $779 per 6 pack OWC I cannot praise this wine more highly!! Secure your six-pack today!! kim@graileys.com
