Discovering the wines of Piedmont is a wonderful shock of recognition. Diversity, complexity and a sense of awe are predictably the first thoughts after tasting a new vintage from yet another incredible winemaker.
The Piedmont is something uniquely its own from all the other wine regions of Italy. The region has its own character but the Nebbiolo grape is startingly different from DOC to DOC, and from hillside to hillside, and often from one winemaker to another on adjacent vineyards.
Boca is a tiny DOC in the province of Novara in the northern part of the Piedmont. The appellation mandates a blended red wine with a minimum of 45% and a maximum of 70% Nebbiolo grapes and the remaining composed mainly of Vespolina and small portions of Uva Rara.
The region, mostly limestone and clay imparts a crisp acidity to the grape which carries the flavor and lets the bottle age and change and improve in the cellar for decades. Drink now and cellar forever is the motto for the wines from Boca.
The Castello Conti vineyard tells its own unique story through this bottle of ‘rosso dell donne’ or ‘the women’s red”. The vineyard was established in 1969 by the father, Ermanno, and in the late 90s, he gave it to his three daughters: Paola, Anna and Elena to run the vineyards and the winery. This winery and the wonderful Occhipinti winery in Sicily are the only two Italian vineyards I know of that are 100% under the control of women winemakers. Can I taste the difference? I choose to believe I can in both cases.
The daughters have continued the family tradition of living wines. Only indigenous yeasts are used. No wines are filtered. Underplanting is observed to reduce production per acre. And the winery uses no pesticides, observing the practice of planting wild fava beans amongst vines, a natural pest deterrent and a source of organic nutrients to the soil.
The Conti ‘05 Boca Il Rosso Delle Donne is really a delicious and rich and tempered bottle of wine. After sipping through a couple of bottles this week and taste testing against other Nebbiolos from Piedmont, I am now able to isolate and taste the spiciness of the Vespolina grape.
With food or just sipping while blogging or hanging out, this is a wine for every part of the evening…or even a warm spring afternoon. It’s easy to drink but constantly letting out new flavors as it opens up. Decanting is a great way to help the flavors come out more quickly.
I’m a believer in this bottle and will stay a fan of this vineyard.
Available from Chambers Street Wines in TriBeCa NYC for $39.99.
