2003 Dessilani Piemonte Nebbiolo Spanna Riserva

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  10/24/2007, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (SPANNA Riserva Dessilani) Barolo Dear Friends, This wine drinks like a baby Barolo - it’s just not possible that the price is this low. I’m serious. When I found out the wine was so well-priced, I was basically at a loss for words (which, as most of you know, is not the norm). Spanna used to to be considered a noble wine, made from 100% Nebbiolo and an equal to Barolo in the 1940s and 1950s, it fell out of favor as the much cooler climate Colline Novaresi (at the foot of the Alps) often turned out wines that were was too piqued and acidic. Enter a vintage like 2003 to level the playing field in quite a wonderful way. The Spanna Riserva is one of those one-off wonders like Dexy’s Midnight Runners, it was just in the right place at the right time but the result in the bottle - is as serious, tannic and layered as many Barolo’. In all fairness, this wine reminds me more of a 2001 Barolo than a 2003 and it’s tannins should allow it to age for quite a while - at this price, the experiment of aging is certainly worth the investment. I actually chose to drink this over a bottle of 2003 Scavino Barolo Carobric that was opened on the same night - enough said. This is a wine I wish we had an endless pipeline of but we could only get a few dozen cases HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ONE SHIPMENT ONLY at this price with perfect provenance: 2003 Dessilani Spanna “Riserva” (Colline Novaresi) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy7470