Pelaverga

J

Jeff Pinhey

Jeffrey Pinhey
On a trip to Piedmont this fall we ate at Osteria Murivecchi, a restaurant that is part of the Ascheri Winery in Bra. There was a simple red wine available that was only 7 Euros a bottle (they don't seem to mark up the wines in the winery if you buy their wine)that we tried and liked.

This was made from a grape called Pelaverga. It was pretty good stuff, especially at that price. I was not into wine geek mode, only enough to decide that it reminded me somewhat of a Cru Beaujolais.

The next day, I emailed an acquaintance who is a fairly recent MW graduate whose specialty happens to be Italian wine. He told me to seek out one Pelaverga in particular. The G.B. Comm. Burlotto bottling.

I found some of the 07 at the Regional Enoteca at Grinzane Cavour (thanks Mark) and picked up two bottles for 12 or 14 Euro each. One we drank that evening, and I paid more careful attention to it, but, as I had decided for this trip, I'd take no geek notes. Again, this wine reminded me quite strongly of a Cru Beaujolais, of the Chenas/Morgon world (at least the ones I've had). Good acidity, rustic character and tannins, but nice fruit, if a little jammy.

A couple of days ago, I pulled the second bottle out of my cellar into a blind tasting of mainly medium priced Pinot Noirs from all over. We do all our tastings blind (anyone who remembers me from the WLDG and Therapy may recall my bias in that regard).

Here is a slightly more detailed note.

Wine 9 was clear, with a light violet hue and clear rim. Nose of strawberry, cherry, slight carbonic, red nibs, violets, Gamay-like? Spicy, earthy, even some meatiness, dry, peppery, good acidity, Gamay-like simple fruit. Very nice. Turns out it was the 2007 G.B. Comm. Burlotto I hand carried back from Italy this fall.

I thought it very much like a Cru Beaujolais again, and so did several people at this table, although there were a couple guesses of Passetoutgrains.

Now here is some "fun", I was told that the name can be translated as "foreskin", as the grape has a kind of roll around the base when you look down at it, from which the name cometh. This may be someone giving me a line, but it was given as one reason why the wine is not marketed too much outside Piedmont, and also why it is presumed to have aphrodisiac powers by the locals.
 
Regional Enoteca at Gravine Cavour
Click to expand...

That's probably Grinzane Cavour

but it was given as one reason why the wine is not marketed too much outside Piedmont, and also why it is presumed to have aphrodisiac powers by the locals
Click to expand...

It isn't sold much outside of Piemonte because very little is grown. I have never heard locals speak of its powers. Most would rather drink dolcetto, barbera or nebbiolo rather than pelaverga, though.
 
I had one recently. I was told at the time that it was rumored amongst the Piemontese to have aphrodisiac powers. A Colombian friend of mine said at the time that the name Pelaverga was basically the same as a certain Spanish slang innuendo as well.
 
One other thing I learned about on this trip was the disagreement between the Dolcetto d'Alba producers and the Dolcetto di Dogliani producers over the latter's use of oak.

I had one older DdD that was pretty interesting, the 2000 Ursula and Marcello Reichmuth, Crsta that was oaked, but not hugely, and still very much alive and happy, with some class, I thought. www.reichmuth.it

The DdA were more traditional, fruit driven wines for early drinking, and better with food compared to the Barberas I had on this trip. But the day in day out values there were, for me, anyway, the 12-15 Euro level Langhe Nebbiolos.
 
The Burlotto Peleverga is a wonderful drop. There aren't too many floating around. I'm always interested to try them when I run into them.

I guess Beaujolais is a decent comparison, but the variety is so unique that it almost defies them.

The mention of foreskin made me gag a bit.

Note: Corrected to avoid unseemly refernces using the Edit function.
 
Nice post. I've had the exact same bottling and I'm pleased our impressions match so closely. I recently passed on a six pack of the Burlotto, and within hours regretted not picking them up. The Burlotto Pelaverga is one of those wines very few have even heard of, but I imagine most would like.

Which Langhe Nebbiolo did you like?
 
I just called Mario Andron, the winemaker at the Castello di Verduno (one of the few producers of Pelaverga, which is indigenous to the village of Verduno), and he said that as far as he knows Pelaverga doesn't mean anything, it's just a name. He says that given that 'verga' is slang for 'dick' jokes are inevitable but that isn't the meaning of the word.
 
originally posted by Jeff Pinhey, Halifax:
One other thing I learned about on this trip was the disagreement between the Dolcetto d'Alba producers and the Dolcetto di Dogliani producers over the latter's use of oak.

I had one older DdD that was pretty interesting, the 2000 Ursula and Marcello Reichmuth, Crsta that was oaked, but not hugely, and still very much alive and happy, with some class, I thought. www.reichmuth.it

The DdA were more traditional, fruit driven wines for early drinking, and better with food compared to the Barberas I had on this trip. But the day in day out values there were, for me, anyway, the 12-15 Euro level Langhe Nebbiolos.
Click to expand...

There has been some experimentation with oak in Dogliani, but almost all Dolcetto di Dogliani is still aged in steel.
 
Zul introduced me to a bottle of Pelaverga from Vigna di Terre Rosse a few years ago. Apparently it is grown in the area of Saluzzo which is higher altitude than the Pelaverga grown in Piedmonte near Verduno. The Vigna Terre Rosse bottle was really good, fragrant and feminine in style, despite its slang name. Supposedly the Saluzza Pelaverga makes a lighter alcohol version then the ones from Verduno, but from your description it doesn't sound like the Burlotto was big or hot at all. It would be interesting to try them side by side.
 
originally posted by Oliver McCrum:

There has been some experimentation with oak in Dogliani, but almost all Dolcetto di Dogliani is still aged in steel.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Well I had to listen to an Alban winemaker rail against how the Dogliani Dolcetto makers are ruining their wine for about 10 minutes... "We would never do that here."

I guess he was generalizing.
 
originally posted by Jeff Pinhey, Halifax:
originally posted by Oliver McCrum:

There has been some experimentation with oak in Dogliani, but almost all Dolcetto di Dogliani is still aged in steel.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Well I had to listen to an Alban winemaker rail against how the Dogliani Dolcetto makers are ruining their wine for about 10 minutes... "We would never do that here."

I guess he was generalizing.
Click to expand...

Well there is Pecchenino. Pretty well known for oak use in Dogliani.
 
originally posted by jack hott:

Which Langhe Nebbiolo did you like?
Click to expand...

I was with five other people, and we bought a lot of wine. But for value at price points, say a 7 bottle, or a 20 bottle, the basic Nebbiolo gave you the most for your . (he said, having finally figured out how to make a Euro symbol on his computer).

I liked the Giuseppe Mascarello the best. But that was on a private tour and the circumstances may have altered my perception. A small bottle of Canadian Icewine had just gotten me a bottle of Monprivato in trade... A Fratelli Revello, I recall as being above average as well. But I was not with geeks, and they bought a lot of supermarket wines. That said, I'd take most of the Nebbiolos any time.

We also tried wines made from Timorasso (the Derthona from Massa seemed to be the best); Fresia (I thought the best were the cheapest, with some fruit left in them); Ruch from Scarpa was probably the best but also liked 06 Cantine Sant' Agata's Pro Nobis Ruch di Castagnole Monferrato; Grignolino (I liked Pio Cesare's though that may have been the only one we tried); Favorita (mostly boring, no wonder Arneis has pretty well replaced it); Brachetto (fun as d'Aqui); Arneis (lovely, from the better producers, I buy it now for home); and different versions of different Moscatos, including the Loazzolo Vendemmia tardiva version from Borgo Maragliano which was substantial.

And of course we had some Barolos and Barbarescos, though not so many (not enough others interested in sharing the $$). An aged Ascheri at the Osteria was fairly priced and wonderful with the meal.

One particular thing that really impressed us all was sparkling Arneis. Never seen it here, probably never will, but there was this nice underlying woodiness, and tannin that gave it a structure and weight, allowing for comparison to things much more expensive. I'd buy it if I could get it.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Well there is Pecchenino. Pretty well known for oak use in Dogliani.
Click to expand...

Yes, Orlando Pecchenino would be one of the exceptions to 'almost all,' although that's still only one of his wines (and that one he announces as oak-aged on the label).

I shouldn't have said 'experimenting,' though; I should have said that there are a handful of producers who make oak-influenced cuvees of D di D, more who have experimented with it, and the rest do things the old way. Thank heavens.
 
originally posted by Jeff Pinhey, Halifax:
originally posted by Oliver McCrum:

There has been some experimentation with oak in Dogliani, but almost all Dolcetto di Dogliani is still aged in steel.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Well I had to listen to an Alban winemaker rail against how the Dogliani Dolcetto makers are ruining their wine for about 10 minutes... "We would never do that here."

I guess he was generalizing.
Click to expand...

Then you can drive down to Dogliani and listen to winemakers talking about how Albese Dolcetto is crap, all they care about is their Nebbiolo.

Both areas make a few good wines; given that it's the main event in Dogliani, I would say that their overall quality is somewhat higher, but some of the most interesting Dolcettos are Albese; Vajra's Coste & Fossati, for example.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top