Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/49393
VINE ARTS BEAUTIFUL T 132 WYNN THE BOLD AND THE Taking a peek at Piedmont for the beating red heart of Italy's best reds BY AMY ZAVATTO he bountiful pleasures of northern Italy's three B's— Barolo, Barbaresco, and Barbera—are as myriad as they are mouthwatering. After all, despite the notion that Barolo and Barbaresco share the same grape (Nebbiolo), and their wild-child cousin Barbera hails from soils a stone's throw from the other two, the charms of these three iconic Italian quaffs can range from beautiful or brambly, brainy to boastful—and so many other savory surprises for your palate in between. Think of Barbaresco and Barolo as fraternal twins. They share many qualities—cherry fruit influences, a pronounced needs-taming tannic nature, an intensely rewarding complexity that boggles the mind—but they each have their own personality. While both are very powerful reds, Barolos must be aged for a minimum of one year in the barrel, and three years total before being released into the world. This makes for wines with great body, lots of complexity, and brawny power. Barbarescos, on the other hand, require a little less time aging by law (two years minimum, split between the barrel and the bottle), and tend to be a bit lighter in body and a little more elegant. Unlike its double-B cousins, Barbera is actually the name of the grape (the second-most widely planted red varietal in the country next to Sangiovese), and it's much less expensive. Barberas tend to be brambly and rustic, ripe, and rich, with lots of great, juicy, charming black cherry and plum fruit. And while Barolos and Barbarescos are unequivocally special-occasion wines, Barberas are the kind of bottles you don't hesi- tate to pop open with a Neapolitan pizza or a rustic meat sauce. They are wines that Wynn general wine buyer Mark Thomas loves. So much so, he finds it nearly impossible to pick favorites. "I love how dif- ferent they can be," he says. The name Nebbiolo is traced to nebbia, Italian for "fog," because of the misty nature of the hilly Langhe lands around Alba in northwestern Italy's Piedmont region. Here, in the towns of Barolo and Barbaresco, are the vineyards where the Nebbiolo grape thrives. But it's a varietal that needs patience. Both wines need time: in the barrel, in the bottle, and even to open up in the decanter and the glass. They are meant to age and are meant to be drunk with an equally great meal—which is why they tend to work so well with the menu at spots like chef Paul Bartolotta's namesake Italian eatery at Wynn. But, adds Thomas, there are some new faces in Piedmont who are shaking things up with a more modern take on winemaking. "There's definitely a modern style. They are fruit-driven, color-driven, a little bit Italy's Barolo and Barbaresco wines are the perfect pairing for the menu at Wynn's Bartolotta restaurant. less of the classic style. Well… maybe a lot less of the classic style! They don't have the heavy tannins, or have that rustic spunky flavor that comes along with old Barolos [and Barbarescos] of the '70s and '80s. In my mind, their place is opening up the wines to new drinkers. Certain producers are coming up and making wines that will appeal to a whole new genera- tion of people. It won't change [the wines] completely. But it will provide an extra balance to what's out there already, and a whole new enjoyment and customer of Piemontese wines." What it all adds up to in the end, though, factors in at the table. "The Nebbiolo grape can make a very full and powerful style of red wine," says Thomas. "Given the time of the year, dishes are becoming a little bit heavier. We crave more meat dishes, more traditional, fuller, flavorful sauces; dark and dried fruits enter into the picture. These wines tend to pair up very well with cuisines of this nature." Which makes for some pretty spectacular dining, especially at Bartolotta, which carries a bevy of Barbaresco and Barolo selections, with many notable producers that oenophiles often seek out at auction. "You can't talk about Barolo or Barbaresco without talking about Angelo Gaja. We try to carry any and as much of Gaja's wines as we can because he's so consistent year upon year. But we also carry many of the other biggest names in Piedmont: Giuseppe Mascarello, Aldo Conterno, Giacomo Borgogno, Oddero, Giuseppe Rinaldi…" Thomas takes a breath, happily overwhelmed by the options and the sense memory of how uniquely delicious each of these producer's wines can be. "There are a lot of different dishes that you can pair up with the Nebbiolo and Barbera grapes—it's a pretty broad range of enjoyment," he offers. " I love how different they can be." n PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEX KARVOUNIS