Fontannafredda's new yet traditional sizes for Barolo

The first taste of good Nebbiolo is like a clarion call to the palate. It’s a jolt of something racy and powerfully elegant, yet it takes time to fully unfold and tell its story. With that in mind, a casual dinner with friends may not usually be the best setting to fully savor the energy of a young Barolo. But after receiving a unique one liter bottle as a Christmas gift, I was compelled to share.

Fontanafredda is an historic estate in Piedmont dating back to 1878. More recently, winemaker Danilo Drocco has led initiatives to modernize the winery and to become fully sustainable in the vineyards. New ownership in 2008 has helped these initiatives to become fully realized.

The changes have also led to innovations in packaging. Fontannafredda’s Barolo Serralunga d’Alba is now being released in what is called the Volumi Bollati series. Bottles are made from 85% recycled glass with sizes based on the classic Italian osteria system for serving wine by the glass – a half liter (2 people), liter (4 people) and 1.5 liter (6 people).

My bottle was a one liter of the 2006 Fontannafredda Barolo Serralunga d’Alba. The wine comes from Fontannafredda’s estate vineyards in the famous Serralunga commune. The sites are south/southwest facing and on the medium and upper slopes (985-1300 feet elevation); with soils of limestone, marl and sand. Aging of the wines takes place in both barrique and large oak casks, both from Allier.

Dinner was at Root 246 in the Santa Ynez Valley, and the wine pared with a variety of small plates and cheeses. The most notable parings were with a duck sausage with beans, cress, IPA and compote, as well as dates with violet mustard, bacon and molasses. The wine needed about an hour to start hitting its stride, opening up with a mélange of red florals, berries, mineral and earth notes. It was silky and elegant on the palate, with firm and fine tannins and the sharpness of its acidity. It was certainly not mature, but was totally enjoyable with great food and company. I’d buy again and hold.

Aside from the novelty of the size, the one liter bottle is perfect for dinner with friends. The Fontannafredda along with a bottle of Sandhi 2011 Santa Barbara Chardonnay (featured in the previous post) were a fun couple of wines for a group of four and a variety of small plates!