Backfill & Diversify Vol. 2
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N.B. We continue with our series of single wine
offers. Each offer will be live for only a short period; no
more than 2 weeks.
Here we find one of the greatest names in Piemonte, itself the greatest
of Italian wine regions. The history of the estate
starts with a failed dream, in that the grandfather
of the current owner - Giorgio Rivetti - emigrated to Argentina in the
late 19th century, intending to return to Italy at a
later date laden down with the riches he amassed
during his self-imposed expat posting. It wasn't to
be. The land of silver simply didn't put out.
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But his dream of repatriation was instilled in his
son Giuseppe, who started La Spinetta in 1977. The name of
the estate means "top of the hill": the situation of
their first winery.
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The estate was at the forefront of modernising wine
making practices in Piemonte and was among the
first to use small, new oak barrels for ageing their
wine. La Spinetta makes
just one Barolo. Always among the top wines of the
region, from a vintage like 2004 it makes for a noble
bottle indeed. The Campé vineyards were
added in 2000, so this is a new-ish addition to the Piemontese
firmament.
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The greatest wines of Italy - the Baroli and Barbereschi - are
mono-varietals, made entirely from Nebbiolo. It is one of a very
short list of grapes that are capable of standing
alone in bottle and producing truly great wines.
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Click on the Notes icon to read Caspar’s tasting note.
Here's the Wine Spectator magazine on this wine:
"Slightly earthy, with mushroom and very ripe fruit.
Almost pruny. Transforms
to gorgeous fruit. Full-bodied, with spicy, meaty and
superripe fruit flavors. Chewy and tannic. Big
and rich. Turns exotic. This is massive, with
impressive structure. 95/100."
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