A Wine with 152 Grape Varieties
That’s 95 more than Heinz’s 57! And in one bottle no less!
Through the generosity of Tom Reagan (our reigning champ with 426 varieties) I was able to try the 2005 Giribaldi Cento Uve Lange DOC a wine that our sole Indian member, sommelier Subhash Arora, has written about.
Obviously this wine poses a problem for the Wine Century Club. Since we allow all the grapes in a blend to count towards our totals, it makes things far too easy – one sip and Bob’s your uncle – wham-bam welcome to the club. Where’s the adventure in that? Something must be done!
I convened an emergency executive committee meeting where we came up with a ruling: the 2005 Giribaldi Cento Uve Lange DOC can not count for initial membership in the club but the grape varieties in it can count towards higher levels of membership (ie Doppel).
Whew!
So how was the wine?
It’s about 50% Nebbiolo which is interesting since Nebbiolo is rarely blended with other grapes and some would say that, like Pinot Noir, it’s a grape that shouldn’t be blended. Initially it was fairly closed and not very interesting, but opened up into a very aromatic and enjoyable wine – floral, roses and violets along with a big splash of Dr. Pepper with cocoa and cherries coming out on the palate. The tannins were abundant and chewy but also drying which would usually indicate that it needs a few more years in the cellar, however in other ways it already seems fully matured. I wouldn’t wait, especially if you’re working on your Doppel level! It was perfect with grilled sirloin.
So, where can one find this wonder? Google doesn’t seem to turn up any results.
Hi Thomas, the only place in the world – at least according to wine-searcher.com – is in Spain: http://www.deblancoatinto.com/control/product/~product_id=10260
Alternatively, you can contact the winemaker, Giribaldi http://www.vinigiribaldi.it/contenuti.aspx?ID=1&lang=en
Thanks. I guess the next step is to go through the list of varieties and see what impact it would have on my list. A quick glance showed a number that are already there, but there must be quite a few I don’t have too. I am at 159 varieties and 176 cultivars at this point.
Steve, I see our question has already been answered in the above questions and answers. Thus you do not need to duplicate a response. You have started a world-wide phenomenon in discovering interesting new and special varietals! Congratulations. Mark and Diane Freeland, Baltimore, MD
We have finally managed to get this wine into the states. If anyone is interested contact:
The Vineyard Wine Shop
Rich Richter
303-355-8324
He will be retailing it, over the next couple of weeks, bought in directly from our importer in Colorado.
Katie