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What We Say 2004 Ghemme DOCG Nebbiolo
EXCLUSIVE WINE ALERT:
Today’s beautiful Nebbiolo from the famed Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo is truly a remarkable wine that could easliy be mistaken for a lighter Barolo, but at half the cost. If you are a fan of the exceptional wines of the Piedmont, then be sure to pick up a few bottles of this Ghemme Gem!
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Mission Codename: The Ghemme Gem
Operative: Agent White
Objective: Secure a fantastic designated Nebbiolo from Italy’s Piedmont
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo
Wine Subject: 2004 Ghemme DOCG Nebbiolo
Backgrounder:
The wines of Ghemme DOCG, located in the Piedmont, are predominently Nebbiolo based. The region located to the north and west of Milan and just across the river from Gattinara. In addition to Nebbiolo, the local grapes of Vespolina and Bonarda may be used in the wines.
Today’s wine is mostly Nebbiolo and was aged for 20 months in oak and then an additional 9 months in the bottle.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Dark and deep ruby red and a dark but clear core. Along the edges the color brickish tints as it becomes more pale at the very meniscus. When swirled, slow medium and randomly spaced legs ring the glass.
Smell – Red and black earthy fruit including red plum, blackberry and even some strawberry meld with black licorice and, toasted oak and notes of savory leather and dried autumn herbs. Floral violets and some smoke also reveal as the nose opens.
Feel – Finely textured tannins and etched minerality lead off the attack on this medium-to-full bodied dry wine. Lively and crisp acidity frames the fruit as the texture dries the palate and lingers into the finish.
Taste – More restrained on the palate but not at all austere, with dried berries being added to the mix of both rip and tart red plum, blackberry and other red and black fruits. Balanced earthy and licorice notes, a touch of the floral violet, complex musk and leather and some mushroom too makes this a wine to take your time exploring.
Finish – Long in length with the textured mouthfeel and crisp acidity and mineral feel lasting long as the ripe and earthy fruit lingers. The other complex flavors make their appearances in successive sips.
Conclusion – The 2004 Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Ghemme DOCG Nebbiolo is a fantastic wine that could easily pass for a lighter Barolo of the same vintage. Great complexity and depth on the nose; a fantastic structure with its sturdy tannins, vibrant acid and textured minerality harmoniously holding the black and red fruit long into the finish as the other complex flavors of earth, spice, floral and savory leather all mingle. We paired this wine with a beef, lamb and pork meat ragu. Be sure to decant or let this wine open for at least an hour and enjoy it now or for the next several years.
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The approximate location of the Ghemme DOCG can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo
About This Wine:
The wine has significant organoleptic characteristics: a good ruby red colour with garnet reflections; an enveloping bouquet with notes of liquorice, red brushwood fruits, hints of violet and spices; the taste has a characteristic fine, persistent sapidity and an elegant sensation of fullness enriched by rounded tannins which merge with its vibrant structure.
Excellent with meat and game dishes as well as strong flavoured cheeses.
A wine aged for long periods, with a longevity of over 15 years, Ghemme should be served at a temperature of 18-20°C.
About The Ghemme DOCG: Ghemme wine takes its name from the town of the same name in Piedmont. It’s the top denomination of the Novara hills and is produced in the hilly part of the towns of Ghemme and Romagnano Sesia.
Ghemme was recognised a DOCG wine, (denomination of origin controlled and guaranteed) by decree on 29 May 1997; having already been declared DOC, (denomination of origin controlled) by decree on 18 September 1969.
Ghemme is produced in the hilly area of the boroughs of Ghemme and Romagnano Sesia, in the province of Novara. The vineyards rise up on a series of hills of morainic, alluvial origin which extend from the mouth of the Valsesia to the Novara plain. These high areas have been formed from deposits washed down to the valley from the Monte Rosa glacier.
Ghemme wine undergoes a period of ageing of at least three years, 20 months of which is spent in oak casks and 9 in the bottle.
About The Winery:
Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo is situated in Ghemme, in the upper part of Piedmont, an area which for over two thousand years has had a vocation for wine making.
The company is owned by the Arlunno family and today covers a total area of over 100 hectares, of which 34 are covered in vineyards divided into different areas: Breclema, Carella, Livelli, Valera, Baraggiola, Rossini, Roccolo della Valle del tordo and Ronco di San Pietro situated between 250 and 300 metres above sea level and facing south, south-east.
The morainic, alluvial hills today covered by vineyards were formed in ancient times as the great Monte Rosa glacier receded.
The soil is rich in easily fragmented pebbles providing the vines with a quantity of minerals as well as microelements which help to give the wines their organoleptic features.
Cantalupo production can be identified mainly with the Nebbiolo vine species (80% of the area covered in vines) locally known as Spanna, Pliny’s uva spinea. However the native Vespolina and Uva Rara are also valorised, as is Greco blended with Arneis and Chardonnay.
All the main activities connected with cultivation (pruning, tying down, leaf stripping, thinning out of bunches) are done manually. Harvesting too is performed by hand at different times for each plot and each type of vine species so as to guarantee the perfect degree of ripeness of the grapes.
The wines are aged both in traditional Slavonian oak barrels and in small French oak casks kept in the picturesque terraced cellar cut into the hillside.
The character of Cantalupo wines has been perfected over the years through continual research and innovation in tune with the company’s culture, history and accumulated technical experience.
Technical Analysis:
Alcohol: 13%
Varietals: Nebbiolo with some Vespolina and Uva Rare (jointly or separately is permitted up to a maximum of 25%)
Aging: 20 months in oak casks, 9 months in bottle
