From: Piedmont, Italy
Varietal: Pelaverga
Taste: The 2021 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Verduno Pelaverga has a light, ruby red color and a nose of ripe red fruits, wild flowers, white pepper, and spices. On the palate, this wine is light and bright, with flavors of red cherry, raspberry, dried herbs, and a hint of spice. The finish is smooth and refreshing, with a lingering minerality.
Overall, the 2021 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Verduno Pelaverga is a delightful wine that is sure to please. Its unique flavor profile is sure to tantalize the taste buds and make for an enjoyable drinking experience. Whether enjoyed on its own or paired with food, this wine is sure to be a hit.
Pairing: This delightful red should be served slightly chilled, as it is a light, earthy red wine. When pairing this wine with food, it is best to choose dishes that are light and delicate. This wine pairs well with dishes that have earthy flavors, such as mushrooms and truffles. It also pairs well with lighter meats, such as those found in antipasti, chicken and pork, as well as heartier seafood, like salmon or tuna. For a vegetarian option, this wine pairs nicely with grilled vegetables, such as eggplant, zucchini, and bell peppers. The light tannins and acidity help to bring out the flavors of the vegetables.
About. Burlotto is the flagship producer from Barolo’s Verduno area. This is a property of enormous historic importance, fabulously delicious wines, and outstanding value.
The Commendatore Giovan Battista Burlotto, one of Barolo's great characters, founded the estate back in 1850. The labels still commemorate the royal house of Savoy’s fondness for Burlotto wines, as well as the winery’s exclusive presence on Duke Luigi Amedeo's 1899 North Pole expedition. The Duke lost two fingers to frostbite, but wrote to the Commendatore a year and a half into the trip that “[t]he wine has been conserved in perfect condition.” G.B. Burlotto was also a pioneer of selling wine in bottle (rather than in cask or demijohn), as well as a champion of a now-rare but still-ravishing grape, Pelaverga Piccolo.
Four generations later, G.B.’s great-great-nephew, Fabio Alessandria, has changed little at the winery, doing some of the crush by foot, fermenting the wine in upright wooden vats, using indigenous yeast and little temperature control. We love these wines for their history, but even more for their diversity, their pure fruit, delicate structure, and signature Verduno floral aromatics and spicy palate.
The family's single-vineyard Barolos, especially the culty Monvigliero, are some of Piedmont's most lauded wines, critical and collector favorites year-in and year-out. But they continue to make extraordinary wines for Piedmont's more humble grapes (including Dolcetto, Barbera and of course, that Pelaverga), wines that don't attempt to turn those grapes into Nebbiolo blockbusters but rather that show their unique charms and terroir transparency. The sheer drinkability of these "lesser" wines is is tremendous, and the pricing for such special bottles from such top-rank grower, is shockingly accessible.
Vinification: the harvest is carried out by hand, in order to preserve the integrity of the fruit and to allow for, when necessary, a selection of the grapes which are then transported to the cellar in 20 kg boxes. The bunches are de-stemmed and the must moved by gravity into open French oak vats and open stainless steel tanks where alcoholic fermentation takes place. During the maceration, delicate pumping over and punching down are carried out daily. Temperature control to preserve the typical aromaticity of the grape.
Maturation: malolactic fermentation and subsequent maturation in stainless steel tanks until late spring, when the wine is bottled. In some vintages we may opt for a short period of aging in large wooden barrels
