Old-School Barolo from Scarpa Winery
Unlike in Tuscany, where wineries are frequently 600-700 years old or more, in Piedmont you’re old if it’s been 100 years. Scarpa is one of those that counts as ancient in Piedmont, founded by Antonio Scarpa in 1854 then sold to Mario Pesce in 1949. It was in the 1960s and early 1970s that Scarpa became a player by buying multiple properties and producing single-vineyard wines, which was not common in those days. Now Scarpa has more than 70 acres under vine and produces a myriad of wines.
For me this winery has always been an “old school” producer, whose wines remind me of the style from the 1960s and 1970s—a more rustic character with more evident tannins and higher acidities than many modern wines. The 2021 Scarpa "Casa Scarpa" Barbera d'Asti $19.99 is the winery’s flagship bottling and is no exception. The nose shows lots of earth, leather, ferrous soil, and dried flowers. On the palate there’s a vibrant acidity followed by a slight grip and a long finish carrying through the earth and leather components.
One of my favorite varieties is Ruche—I told you there would be few new grapes in this series—and in Piedmontese, it is Rouchet. The grape shows a lot of wild cherry fruit and has a penetrating personality. The 2018 Scarpa "Rouchet" Monferrato Rosso (Ruche) $39.99 is a wine with structure and delicacy, aromatic and earthy all at once. I like it with a creamy, mushroom pasta.
Thanks to climate change we’ve seen a growth in the production of the Pelaverga variety in the village of Verduno. It’s aromatic, showing a lot of strawberry notes, pale in color and just a delight to drink. I like them slightly chilled. The 2021 Scarpa Verduno Pelaverga $29.99 is a bolder version, with a little more grip and rusticity but very dynamic.
The 2020 Scarpa "Bric du Nota" Nebbiolo d'Alba $29.99 is more than just a young Nebbiolo, this wine is powerful and needs a big glass with a hearty meal!
The 2018 Scarpa "Tettimorra" Barolo $79.99 is as old school as it gets, aged in 50hl barrels of both Slavonian and Allier oak for 36 months. I usually don’t talk about color but sometimes folks equate darkness with quality—not so with Nebbiolo, and this is a classic example. The nose is full of rose, violet, and leather notes, while on the palate there is a tannic grip and then layers of earth and spice. A bold wine capable of aging for 20-30 years. This will require a bold dish to accompany it if you wish to drink it now.