Amid around 500 Barolo and Barbaresco wines I tasted at last week’s Nebbiolo Prima tastings, I was fortunate to be sat with Mario Andrion, winemaker at Castello di Verduno. He seemed a thoughtful guy to me from the offset, bringing a wine along that was the red polar opposite of the nebbiolo wines we’d been tasting all day.
It was a wine from a fairly obscure but utterly delicious indigenous grape called Pelaverga. With the DOC established in just 1995 within the commune of Verduno, it is still a fairly rare thing to encounter but, looking at the appetite around the world for juicy, young and vibrant red wine, there’s a ready-made place for Pelaverga in wine bars the world over.
The variety produces small berries and delivers a wine that has the juicy succulence and tang of a good gamay, matched with the spice, pepper and punch of syrah. It’s a wine that has much to offer in terms of food compatibility thanks to fine tannins, plenty of fruit and spices.
In the regional context it sits right around the Dolcetto zone in terms of style and weight but delivers this pronounced pepper and spice thread that Dolcetto doesn’t have. Here are three good examples I found whilst there.
2013 Castello di Verduno Basadone Verduno Pelaverga
Bright light blue fruits, a good dusting of white pepper, maraschino cherries and plenty of spices on offer. Bright and juicy, the palate is bathed in red fruit flavors, while the tannins are smoothly sheeted and give a bright-cherry-pip tang to the finish. At a good place with a little age. Drink now. 91 points
2013 Burlotto Gian Carlo Cascina Massara Verduno Pelaverga
A young and fresh-smelling red packed with raspberry fruits and a distinct, white-pepper edge. Juicy, supple and easy, bright tannins. The attractive acid and red fruit flavors make this very approachable, and the smooth finish closes things out. Drink now. 90 points
2014 Bel Colle Verduno Pelaverga
Young and wild red fruits with the trademark peppery edge, some brambly blue fruits and an assertive, spicy thread. This has a supple, fleshy and brambly palate with glossy ripe blue fruit flavors, fine-sheeted tannins and a tangy, saffron-tinged finish. Drink now. 91 points
Contributing Editor Nick Stock is a renowned Australian wine writer, author, presenter and filmmaker who reports on his worldwide wine tasting experiences for JamesSuckling.com.
