Barolo icon ENRICO RIVETTO returns to Alberta

Barolo winery Rivetto breaks new ground with biodynamic status

—Michaela Morris, Decanter 1/8/2020

Enrico will speak frankly about the difficulties he faced in the early going, when he constantly argued with his father:

When I was young I wanted to smash the old oak casks, introduce barriques, and make hyper-technological Barolos that could be already approachable in their youth. Then I realized that what you can’t see matters more than what you see, and that there must be a reason why all our ancestors, from Italy to Japan, followed the lunar phases in agriculture. Scientists in the last half-century claimed it was all bullshit. The problem is that we lost track of the emotional side of wine.

His approach to vinifying his Nebbiolos is extremely classic – he leaves the wine on the skins for up to 40 days and uses large “botti” for aging. His Langhe Nebbiolo sees a shorter maceration and also goes into large old oak, but we find incredible privilege in these vines literally bordering Serralunga yet asking much less money for lack of the prestigious title. His Barbera is unabashedly opulent while his Barbaresco is elegant with a textbook accuracy. Nascetta, the once nearly extinct white grape of Barolo, is formative, Enrico being the eighth vintner to plant the variety in 2007 when it was rediscovered. His is a textured and dazzling affair done in concrete using indigenous yeasts, as he is wont to do with all of his cuvées. It’s a true gem!

Stylistically speaking, Enrico’s wines are pure and streamlined – you don’t get the sense of quirkiness often associated with biodynamic/natural wines. They are heart-and-soul expressions that provide an unobtrusive window into this revered terroir.

THE WINES

2020 LANGHE NEBBIOLO

2019 ‘BOREA’ NASCETTA

Nascetta is a historical semi-aromatic white grape with excellent cellaring potential. It is said to be the only white grape native to the Langhe. When Enrico started working with this near-extinct grape in 2007, only 7 other producers were using it. The ranks have now grown past 50. From his north facing ‘Borea’ plot, Enrico ferments most of the fruit in concrete, giving it a 72 hour soak on its skins. Meanwhile, a portion of the fruit was sealed in his Italian made terracotta amphora to ferment and age a few months, in contact with its skins the entire time. The result is an unctuously textural experience of pineapple, grapefruit, melon, and herbs. Minerality with a lean waxy structure make it medium bodied without over complicating the palate. A reward for explorers!

Fermentation: Fermentation temperature controlled at 17° C in concrete. MLF does not occur.

Ageing: Concrete tanks and amphorae.

Vineyard & Vine Age: The Borea plot is a cooler north facing slope ideal for white grapes, sandy and calcareous in composition with a sub-alkaline reaction, low in nitrogen.

2019 ‘ZIO NANDO’ BARBERA D’ALBA

This particular vineyard’s west exposure and sandy subsoil allow for a ripe, concentrated expression of Barbera. Deeply coloured, powerfully fruited nose with a deep, almost charcoal undertone. An opulent wine rich in black and red fruit with a lovely dried leaf back note. Peppery, sweet berry finish with a pretty surprising finish. Quite weighty on the palate but carried with a good level of acidity and moderate tannin allowing for an ample aging window as well. A cuvée that holds nothing back, sensual and bold. Named for Enrico’s uncle Nando who planted this plot in 1944 and loved its fruit, farming it no less tenderly than the estate’s Nebbiolo vines.

Fermentation: Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts.

Ageing: The wine is aged for 18 months in 3000L Slavonian, Hungarian, and Swiss oak barrels (botti).

Vineyard & Vine Age: The Zio Nando plot is a west facing slope of sandy-calcareous with sub-alkaline reaction, low in nitrogen but rich in magnesium.



2019 BARBARESCO ‘MARCARINI’

The elegance of Barbaresco with the brawn of a Barolo. This Barbaresco has all the tell-tale roses and dancing nuance in the mid-palate we expect, but in Enrico's hands the fruit has been treated to Barolo's inclination for power and structure. This wine will handsomely reward the patient cellar keeper. That concentration of flavour is, more than anything else, owing to beautiful farming and tight yields. The Marcarini plot is 350m ASL on a SE facing sandy marl slope. The grapes have their seeds removed before macerating 20 days with a native yeast spontaneous ferment, aged thereafter for two years in oak and six months in bottle. Blood orange, cherry, wild strawberry, tellicherry, prosciutto.

Fermentation: After the stalk and grape seeds removal and pressing the fermentation takes place at controlled temperatures of 28-30° C in steel tanks.

Ageing: Slavonian oak for 2 years followed by 6 months in bottle



Vineyard & Vine Age: Marcarini plot is a south-east facing slope characterized by marl with alternating layers of sand.

2018 BAROLO DI SERRALUNGA D’ALBA

A biodynamic certified Barolo is a rare joy. To have fermented with indigenous yeasts only and minimal handling is another rarity still. What is not atypical here is the perfectly accurate expression of both the varietal and the appellation. This is a classically styled Barolo, worthy of decades in the cellar. Fragrant blue flower, rose, new leather, cake spice, and wild berry aromas set the tone. On the full bodied, savoury palate, you’ll find solid tannins wrapping around a juicy cherry-raspberry core while notes of cinnamon and clove give depth.

Fermentation: Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts. Up to 40 days maceration.

Ageing: The wine is aged for 30 months in Slavonian oak 3000L botti, followed by a 1 year in bottle.



Vineyard & Vine Age: A marriage of three estate plots: Serra, Manocino, and San Bernardo. The vines were planted in 1975 or earlier. Soils of serravallian origin, calcareous and clayey with a sub-alkaline reaction. Rich in magnesium, calcium, and iron.