My introduction to Brezza was a bottle of Castellero 2011 that Avi Feldstein brought five years ago. Its lithe, floral beauty stayed with me for a long time and I longed for a chance to visit and taste more.
Be careful what you wish for, boy. The visit came complete with an ankle injury that occurred while walking around Barolo before the tasting.
Totally worth it!
Brezza is a venerable name, with historic premises on the edge of town. They're certified
organic and the production is100K bottles, 30% of which are Barolo. They show up on every "Who's Who" list of Barolo producers.
The runup to the Barolo flight was less consistent than parallel wines I'd tasted chez Burlotto earlier that day. But, I admit I was there for the Barolos, so who cares?
Chardonnay, 2020
This is made from 40
year old vines (which means what, that they are among the earliest Chardonnay vines planted in Piedmont?). Brezza generally avoid malolactic fermentation with this wine, which was the case in 2020 (2019 did go through malo). Floral and fresh with a trace of mineral, but not very special in my opinion.
Dolcetto d’Alba, 2020
Lovely, fruity, easy to like, spicy, but much beyond a good drink.
Langhe, Nebbiolo, 2020
Aged in cement and sold under a glass closure. Floral, not as expressive as other Nebbiolos I’ve
tried - not a mini-Barolo.
Freisa, 2020
Freisa is Nebbiolo's country cousin. Fresh,
floral, earthy, more interesting than the Langhe Nebbiolo. Good grip on the
finish.
Barbera d’Alba, 2019
Matured
in stainless steel. Elegant and fruity. Not as interesting as the Freisa.
Barbera d’Alba, Superiore, 2017
Aged for 12
months in foudres. Finally the Piedmont spices and tar show up!
Nebbiolo d’Alba, 2019
Aged for 12 months in foudres. Good expression of the grape here. Again, not a mini-Barolo, but
expresses some sense of Piedmont terroir and not just the grape.
The Brezza family fought the forces in town bent on expanding the borders of the Cannubi cru. After tasting the 2014 and 2016, I can understand why they are so protective of their jewels and anxious that their reputation not be sullied. They are fairly priced, by the way, around 100 dollars these days in New York, which is expensive, but not excruciatingly so in Barolo terms.
Barolo, Cannubi, 2014
An intoxicating
and complex nose: red fruit and new leather cloaked with sage. Long, a bit linear and in need of more time.
2014 was an underrated year. Sure, it was cold and wet, but it's the kind of lousy weather the growers are used to managing and I've tasted lovely samples so far and no duds. 2016, on the other hand, was a perfect year, a year so great that any bad wine has to be the result of sabotage or colossal ineptitude.
Barolo, Cannubi, 2016
For
a great vintage, 2016 is easy to read. Many nuances are still buried, but I
get a clear sense of harmony of deep fruit and fine tannins, as well as understated power.
Barolo, Sarmassa, 2017
Despite
the hot year, the wine is not ripe or drying, but the nose is more blunt than the Cannubis, the
tannins even more so.
Barolo, Sarmassa, Riserva, 2015
Cannubi
is the household name, but this is the flagship wine. Balanced, big at the same
time, hard to read. Definitely a wine to bury in a time vault.
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