Paitin Nebbiolo Ca Veja 2011

Paitin 2010 Ca Veja Nebbiolo d’Alba, Piedmont | 14% | In our world where luxury seems to have lost its luster, Nebbiolo still takes us places no other wines know. First impressions are of scents that evoke a bygone time of masculine gentility: dusty earthen cherries and that telltale camphor that to my bulb is the distinct note revealing Nebbiolo –that penetrating scent between damp jasmine and rosemary that almost reads as something akin to menthol –as a low note with a heady wisp of wintergreen. All these open onto oakmoss and other such fragrant charms of the forest: pine duff, ferns draped in dew, that warm and resinous woodsy scent of myrrh. Bright off the bat with a tannic grip, a pomegranate, cranberry, red cherry poultice engages all the senses on the palate where flavors and textures weave as one and serve as the balm to Nebbiolo’s especially dry and chirping astringency. It is a handsome wine and ever fragrant keeping to the warm low register until its finish lifts to bridle leather and sweet hay. Nebbiolo here from Alba may not reach the floral heights of Barbaresco or the sapid verve of Barolo but it is certainly a muscular marvel and an affordable luxury ready for foraged mushrooms, wild game, and the savory dishes of its Piemontese hills.
Wine review by Nicholas Livingston, April 8, 2014 (Flower –at least at the morning hour I tasted this. ;) )

Food Pairings

Meats including hooved game and particularly savoury dishes like stews and braises. Pasta with rich, meaty sauces.