An old northern Nebbiolo: Ferrando Carema 1964

[Saina Nieminen]

Ferrando Carema (White Label) 1964

This was very pretty. It needed a couple hours in a decanter to get rid of some weird aromas, but good old Nebbiolo almost always requires quite a lengthy contact with air. It has those wonderful smells that rained upon soil gets and is aromatically very obviously Nebbiolo instead of just "old wine". It isn't a hugely powerful wine but it has bright acidity and a savoury finish and it seems more vibrant and awesome in every way than almost all mature Nebbiolo I have tried of supposedly better pedigree. It should have come in a magnum.

 

[SFJoe]

Good for you. I have had worse experiences with younger bottles, but you could always see good wine through the wrinkles and age.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

Excellent.

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

Nice photo, notes. Thank you.

 

[maureen]

OMG. This is the first red wine i ever bought multiple bottles of - the 64 carema! I probably drank at least a half dozen of these. Now you might say what's the big deal but up until this wine, i hadn't really learned to like red wine yet.

I don't want to say how many years ago this was.

 

[Levi Dalton]

originally posted by SFJoe:
Good for you. I have had worse experiences with younger bottles, but you could always see good wine through the wrinkles and age.

Really?

Back through and including the 1990 Black Label, I haven't seen any wrinkles at all. Rather the opposite. The wall of youth stays seemingly as a permanent fixture.

 

[SFJoe]

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

originally posted by SFJoe:
Good for you. I have had worse experiences with younger bottles, but you could always see good wine through the wrinkles and age.

Really?

Back through and including the 1990 Black Label, I haven't seen any wrinkles at all. Rather the opposite. The wall of youth stays seemingly as a permanent fixture.

Older, '70s.

Of course, many variables in bark closures, storage. I don't have a statistical sample of any wine that would satisfy the vlm.

 

[Levi Dalton]

originally posted by SFJoe:

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

originally posted by SFJoe:
Good for you. I have had worse experiences with younger bottles, but you could always see good wine through the wrinkles and age.

Really?

Back through and including the 1990 Black Label, I haven't seen any wrinkles at all. Rather the opposite. The wall of youth stays seemingly as a permanent fixture.

Older, '70s.

Of course, many variables in bark closures, storage. I don't have a statistical sample of any wine that would satisfy the vlm.

Heat damage is the bane of old Italy.

 

[SFJoe]

That, and short corks.

 

[Levi Dalton]

originally posted by SFJoe:
That, and short corks.

There's no need to starting insulting the people, Joe.

 

[Saina Nieminen]

I haven't had any other Caremas. But for my next order, are there other producers there that I should look for? And has Ferrando kept up the good work in recent years? Is it safe to order recent years?

 

[Levi Dalton]

originally posted by Otto Nieminen:
I haven't had any other Caremas. But for my next order, are there other producers there that I should look for? And has Ferrando kept up the good work in recent years? Is it safe to order recent years?

As far as I know, there is Ferrando and there is the cooperative. The coop is decent enough. Some of the older 60s & 70s wines from the coop can be very wonderful, bottle variation of course being what it is. Ferrando is excellent today, although of the Ferrando Carema I prefer the White Label for drinking, usually.

 

[David Witkowsky]

I believe there is another producer, Orsolani, though I do not know the wines well.