A NEB Get-Together w/ JaRue Manning at UC/Davis (6/15)

Jarue (Jim) Manning had invited me several times to come visit him at Davis and he'd arrange a tour
for me of the MondaviInstitute winery when we've been at some of the NEB get-togethers. So I thought
it would be a good opportunity for me to do so on my drive over to Sac. Unable to briddle his passion for
Nebbiolo, Jim seized the opportunity to organize a Nebbiolo tasting, NEB#6a, there and invited a group
of Nebb producers to join us. He solicited from many of those producers samples of their Nebbs for this
tasting. Joining us was Sacramento grocer DarrellCorti, who provided the two older Italian Nebbs below.
To start off, AndyWaterhouse, along w/ Asst Winemaker Melissa Pellini, gave us a 30 min tour of the
MondaviInstitute winery. It is a mightly impressive experimental winery. Although RobertMondavi donated
the funds for the building, the equipping of it relied on funds from others in the wine industry. The
entire operation is very water conserving and energy efficient...very/very "green". We then adjourned
to the adjacent tasting room to work our way thru the Nebbs that Jim had accrued.
Darrell talked some about the character of Nebbiolo and it's growing character. He notes that Nebbiolo
likes to have "wet feet"..contrary to most other grapes. The two Piemonte Nebbiolos were his contributions.
The Marchesi di Gresy was interesting in that they can sell only so much Barbaresco in a year, so the
remainder they declasify to Nebb Langhe and sell it at a reduced price. The Conterno '70 was a particular
treat and a classic example of a fully mature Barolo. Darrel argues that Calif Nebb producers should
should not try to replicate Barolo/Barbaresco, but make the best Calif Nebb that they can and let it
stand on its own merits. He likens the current state of American Nebb to PinotNoir back in the
'60's-'70's when everyone thought PinotNoir should taste like RedBurg and faulted it if it didn't.
Now wine drinkers have learned to accept American Pinot on its own merits. The same should happen to
US Nebbiolos.
JimManning spoke a bit on his clonal trials that he is conducting. He has brought in (legally) some
Piemonte Nebbiolo clones and they are being planted, own-rooted, in KenMusso's ElDoradoCnty vnyd. It will
be an interesting project to follow.
Freisa is one of the parents of Nebbiolo. LouisLucas just "happened" to have a btl each of his
Freisas in his car, so retrieved them for us to try. His 40 yr old planting is (probably) the oldest
of all too few Freisa plantings in Calf.

My brief notes on the Nebbs we tasted:
1. Marchesi di Gresy Nebbiolo Langhe (14.5%; declassified Barbaresco) 2007: Med.light some bricking;
very fragrant classiv Nebb light violets/floral rather tarry slight fumey/alcoholic complex nose;
pungent light floral/lilacs bit tart/tangy some tarry/pungent complex flavor w/ light bit bitey
tannins; a pretty straightforward Nebb that needs age; nice balance of floral & tar.
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2. Conterno Barolo Riserva Speciale (14%) 1970: Med.light rather bricked color; very smokey/tarry/
pungent/road tar very light floral/violets/dried rose petal beautiful fragrant/complex classic
aged Nebb nose; bit tangy/grapefruity/metallic lightly floral/dried rose petal very pungent/smokey/
road tar very complex flavor w/ light bit drying/bitey tannins; a very complex smokey/tarry old Barolo;
classic aged Barolo that's starting to dry out a bit on the palate but amazing aromatics.
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3. Harrington Nebbiolo PasoRobles (LunaMatta+JohnBernardo vnyds) 2014: Med.light color;quite floral/lilacs/
Nebb aromatic nose; lightly tart/tannic very strong floral/lilacs/Nebb flavor w/ some bitey tannins;
very attractive youthful Nebb that veers to the ripe floral side.
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4. Harrington Nebbiolo PasoRobles (14.1%) 2009: Light color; strong floral/lilacs bit smokey/pungent some
complex nose; quite tart some smokey/pungent less floral/lilacs complex flavor w/ light bitey tannins; shows
less floral and more smokey/pungent character; still needs some age
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5. Palmina Nebbiolo RanchoSisquoc (14.5%) 2004: Med.color w/ slight bricking; smokey/pungent/Nebb/tarry light
floral/violets quite complex nose much like an older Barolo; quite tart smokey/pungent/road tar slight floral/
violets flavor w/ light grippy tannins; any lover of old Barolo would like this wine.
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6. Palmina Nebbiolo RanchoSisquoc (14.9%) 2008: Med.light color; light tarry/road tar stronger floral/violets
quite perfumed nose; somewhat tart/lean some tarry/pungent some floral/lilacs/violets w/ some smoother
tannins; a bit more aromatic and should develop further.
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7. Idlewild Nebbiolo FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty 2013: Light toasty/oak some berry-like very light floral nose;
lightly tart berry/blackberry/floral bit toasty/oak flavor w/ light/soft tannins; speaks quietly of
Nebbiolo but a very attractive red in its own right.
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8. Jacuzzi Nebbiolo (11% AlicanteBouschet) 2012[/b]: Rather floral/violets spicy/cloves some smokey/toasty/oak
nose; lightly tart fairly floral/lilacs some toasty/oak/smokey flavor w/ light bit hard tannins.
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9. Jacuzzi Nebbiolo (14.5%) 2013: Bit stronger toasty/oak some floral/lilacs nose; bit stronger toasty/oak
strong floral/lilacs/violets some smokey/oak flavor w/ light bitey tannins; bot veer towards the floral
side of Nebbiolo.
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10. Barboursville Nebbiolo Virginia 2012: Light color; very smokey/pungent/oak rather earthy/loamy/dusty
complex nose; light fairly tart smokey/pungent rather earthy/loamy/dusty flavor w/ light bitey tannins;
lots of pungent character but not quite road tar of Nebb; resembles some Nebbs from Val d'Aosta.
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11. Toccata Nebbiolo 2013: Light color; rather perfumed floral/lilacs slight earthy nose; elegant floral/
lilacs/Nebb flavor w/ light bitey tannins; strong floral Nebb character.
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12. Toccata Nebbiolo DonMiguelVnyd/LosAlamos 2014: Light color; light toasty/oak quite fragrant floral/lilacs
nose; softer/riper quite floral/lilacs w/ lighter/softer tannins; my favorite of the Toccatas.
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13. Toccata Nebbiolo (barrel sample) 2015: Light color; rather lighter/closed light floral/lilacs perfumed
nose; light floral/lilacs flavor w/ bit harder tannins.
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14. Toccata Nebbiolo 2011: Rather fragrant floral/lilacs/violets rather spicy light toasty/oak some complex
nose; bit soft very floral/lilacs/Nebb flavor w/ light smooth tannins; really quite drinkable.
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15. Karmere Nebbiolo AmadorCnty 2011: Light color; somewhat ripe/berry/Amador very light floral/Nebb nose;
light slightly tired light floral/lilacs flavor w/ bit drying tannins; starting to show some age.
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16. Karmere Nebbiolo AmadorCnty 2014: Light color; light floral/Nebb some briary/Amador bit toasty/smokey/
oak nose; light floral/Nebb/lilacs bit briary/Amador light toasty/oak flavor w/ light angular tannins;
speaks quietly of Nebb & more of AmadorCnty.
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17. Karmere Nebbiolo 2003: Slightly bricked/brown color; rather overripe/raisened/pruney nose; soft ripe/
raisened/pruney flavor w/ light drying tannins; little Nebb character that I can pick up.
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18. Karmere Nebbiolo 2010: Slightly bricked color; light floral/lilacs/Nebb slight tarry/pungent nose;
lightly tart some pungent/tarry light floral/lilacs Nebb flavor w/ light bitey tannins; speaks of
Nebbiolo and my favorite of the Karmeres.
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19. Madrona Nebbiolo ElDoradoCnty 2002: Rather bricked color; some smokey/pungent/light tarry complex nose;
light tarry/pungent pencilly/oldRed flavor w/ light gentle tannins; showing some oldRed flavors and little
Nebb character.
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20. Madrona Nebbiolo ElDoradoCnty 2007: Bit alcoholic some pungent/earthy bit berry complex nose; rather
tart/lean earthy light pungent/tarry fairly complex flavor w/ light tannins; not a lot of classic Nebb
character but an interesting mature red.
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21. Madrona Nebbiolo ElDoradoCnty 2011: Bit alcoholic lightly floral/lilacs/violets perfumed nose; some
soft/lush/ripe lightly floral earthy/mushroomy flavor w/ light gentle tannins; speaks strongly of
ElDoradoCnty and quietly of Nebb; my favorite of the Madronas.
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22. Rosa d'Oro Nebbiolo 2012: Med.light color; light pungent/tarry slight floral some oak nose; lightly
tart slight woody/overripe light tarry/floral flavor w/ light tannins; a bit on the ripe side but
speaks of Nebb.
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23. Rosa d'Oro Nebbiolo Riserva 2009+2008: Pale bit bricked color; slight metallic somewhat herbal/dried
Italian spices lightly floral/violets perfumed nose; lightly floral/rose petal bit herbal/metallic flavor
w/ light bitey tannins; rather interesting herbal character.
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24. Prima Materia Nebbiolo (Pietro Buttita's new venture) 2014: Very strong grapey/floral/lilacs/youthful
bit smokey/pungent slightly overripe nose; soft/lush grapey floral/lilacs/Nebb flavor w/ light firm
tannins; lots of youthful grapey character but speaks of Nebb.
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25. Toccata Freisa Secco (40 yr old vines) 2012: Med.dark color; rather pungent/tarry quite Nebb-like
lightly floral/violets rather perfumed nose; light rather pungent/tarry lightly floral/violets flavor
w/ light soft tannins; quite perfumey and much like the Toccata Nebbs.
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26. Toccata Freisa Dolce 2012: Quite grapey/ripe lightly floral/rose petal nose; quite sweet soft/ripe/lush
very grapey/ripe slight licorice lightly floral/rose petal flavor w/ light soft tannins; very much on
the ripe/grapey side and not a lot of the perfume you'd get from Freisa.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Darrell noted that he thought the Calif Nebbs had made marked improvements since he'd tasted them at NEB#4,
to which I would concur. By & large, the seem to capture the floral/violets/rose petal character of Nebb
and occasionally the road tar aspects. They typically have more of the fruity aspects of Calif but not
that ethereal perfume Nebb from Italy can show. And the hard/bitey/edgy tannins seem more under control.
As I concluded from out NEB#7 tasting, SteveClifton is making some exceptional Nebbs under his Palmina
label that age extremely well. Not Barola/Barbaresco, obviously, but very fine Nebbs in their own right.
Tom