Tre Bicchieri Winner: 2007 Cascina Ca’ Rossa Roero Mompissano Riserva
Roero lies on the Tanaro River, across from Barolo and Barbaresco in Italy’s Piedmont region. Like its noble cousins to the East, Roero is blanketed in Nebbiolo vines which make up 98% of the plantings there. Arneis makes up the remaining two percent, and produces a highly useful white wine, but it is Nebbiolo, Italy’s answer to Pinot Noir, which yields Roero’s best wines.
Click here to buy now: 2007 Cascina Ca’ Rossa Roero Mompissano Riserva ($37.99)
It wasn’t that long ago when Roero was mostly unknown in the U.S. The zone was only recently upgraded to DOCG status, and no matter how hard it tries, Roero will always play second fiddle to the ultra-famous wines of Barolo and Barbaresco. However, a few notable producers have been making headway with American consumers such as Matteo Correggia and the Cascina Ca’ Rossa estate of Angelo Ferrio.
Ferrio produces a full range of Piedmontese wines at Cascina Ca’ Rossa, including Arneis and an absolutely delicious fizzy-sweet Brachetto, but his heart and soul goes into one wine, the Mompissano Riserva. Mompissano is Roero’s most prestigious vineyard, and of its five owners, Ferrio owns the “bricco,” the most-coveted top section of the hill. Its marl and sandstone soils are more reminiscent of the great Barolo cru of Cannubi than the rest of Roero, which is mostly sand. Over a recent lunch, we asked Angelo if Mompissano could be called the Cannubi of Roero, to which he replied with a wide grin, “No . . . that would be disrespectful.”
The 100% Nebbiolo 2007 Cascina Ca’ Rossa Mompissano Riserva was lovingly aged for 30 months in 2,500 liter traditional wooden casks known as botte. It is exotically perfumed with desiccated rose petals, incense, and yellow curry. Layers of crushed fennel seed, sweet tobacco, and sandalwood rise to the top of the glass and seemingly dance above the core of sweet cherry fruit. This 2011 Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri winner is loaded with broad tannins and a firm acid core, suggesting this wine is in the early stage of its drinking window, begging you to drink it and to pair it with food.
The landlocked region of Piedmont draws its flavors from the earth, with such regional specialties as chestnuts, root vegetables, mushrooms, and tartufi bianchi. It’s also the home of Italy’s ultimate comfort food, risotto, making one think Piedmont’s red wines are more of a cold weather affair. We tend to agree, except Nebbiolo makes an ideal partner with summer grilling. Start your evening with a cool glass of Arneis and some slightly charred asparagus. Then enjoy your steak with Mompissano. Drink now or cellar for the next decade.
