Wine Jabber

More Cavallotto

Alfio Cavallotto, with whom I visited last week and whose wines are the subject of the previous post, was back in town the Thursday before the holidays. We met with his importer at Sushi Sasa in downtown Denver for lunch. Funny - my fist meeting with Alfio was several years ago when our mutual friend Silvia Altare decided we were all going to drive to Liguria from Barolo for a dinner of ... drumroll please ... raw fish. In the coastal areas of Italy, fish is often served uncooked, just dressed with a bit of olive oil and salt, and sometimes a bit of lemon juice. The restaurant, Buco di Bacco in Pietre Ligure, was fabulous, not least of which was the amazing list of champagne, as well as the owner, who sized us up the moment we walked in and then brought us, without consulting anyone in the group, the bottle of Champagne he thought we would enjoy the most. It was a great meal - the antipasti of raw and slightly cooked seafood and fish ran to about 15 plates, and so we just split a single pasta afterwards and skipped the secondi entirely. In any case, Alfio was great company at that dinner, and we've kept up contact since. He's a most interesting and really intelligent guy - I like people who, when they decide they are interested in something, dive into the deep end, head first. He's like that.

Sorry for the Radio Silence.

It's been a little over a year since I posted. Apologies for to those of you who have told me how tired you are of the "Floor Drains" entry. It was a year of changes: I moved to Denver, sold off most of my businesses, and have re-purposed my professional activities toward consulting, education and writing.

Had lunch with Alfio Cavallotto on Monday in Boulder at the relatively new place Radda, just north of downtown - he's in for a visit from Castiglione Falletto in the Barolo. I've known him for a few years; we were introduced by a mutual friend. Alfio and his siblings are slowly taking over their family winery from their parents. The wines are, in a word, sensational - this is one of those flies-under-the-radar wineries that gets decent scores from all the big wine rags but somehow never seems to take off in the public imagination. Go figure. If your taste is for traditionally styled wines, this is an amazing buy.

Briefly, the wines: 2008 Dolcetto was pleasant but nothing special - it lacked plumpness in the mid-palate, but was quite drinkable (2.5-nb). Kudos for the 2005 Barbera - a lovely pure nose of fresh plums and dried berries. On the palate, good balance, dark fruits, tobacco and very fresh acidity. Many other producers are currently selling their 2008 and 2007 barbera - this one, with a few years of bottle age, is drinking beautifully. 3.0nb

The 2005 Barolo Bricco Boschis, from a beautifully exposed site just north of the village of Castiglione, is delicious. It shows the vintage's characteristics of forward evolution and fruit. There are aromas of black cherry, rose petals, and earth. This is not a modern-style wine with loads of oak - it sees only large botti for its wood ageing. On the palate, it has good fruit, nicely tight tannins and good length. It shows some of 2005's typical tannins but these will soften with 4-5 years patience. Drink 2013-2018. 3.5+nb

Kudos to Cavallotto for making such good wines. I also tasted the 2004 Riservas on a recent trip to Barolo and loved them - grab whatever you can find. They will be released next year.