Brovia 2007 (And Re-Inventing the Wheel)

10/26/11 -

(Barolo vines in the steep and chalky Ca'Mia)

Perhaps it’s just a failure of imagination – after all most wine shills (this one included) really aren’t writers – but how to re-invent the wheel? Combine genuine enthusiasm and a desire to sell some wine, and the result is very often a sales pitch that makes the claim, “one of the greatest…”, or even, “the greatest…”. 

I visited Brovia last May in the distinguished and highly expert company of Levi Dalton and Gregory Dal Piaz, along with some other accomplished wine pros. In short: we left blown-away. A great many 2007 Piedmont wines show over-extracted, roasted fruit and high alcohol; at Brovia the wines show finesse, transparent terroir from cru-to-cru, great balance; they brought to mind the old saw about the DRC – “an iron fist in a velvet glove”.

The wines have been outstanding for a very long time, but they seem to be getting better and better; it’s an exciting time at Brovia as the younger generation builds on the foundation of quality and integrity established many years ago. Vineyard work is now entirely organic; fermentation is with indigenous yeasts, and SO2 is minimized; the aging of the wines is very old school. The 2007 Brovia wines are fantastic (and when you compare them to their peers in Barolo - the Mascarellos, G. Conterno, G. Rinaldi – still very well-priced). We have not found a better way to say it – Brovia must be counted as one of the greatest winemakers in Piedmont. JW