Sunday 5 May 2024

09.50 A full train – and Clapham was busy, with trains taking people to the coast…. Nonetheless we arrived three hours ahead of flight and enjoyed a leisurely summer lunch (avocados are only for breakfast) in Wagamama’s before moving to the departure gate to catch an on-time BA airbus, taking off shortly before 15.15 (BST)  and arriving in Torino at 18.00. Maggiore provided the filing cabinet grey Fiat Panda and off we sped anti-clockwise round the Tangienziale towards the southbound E17 towards Savona. We left the motorway at Carmagnola as google instructed, and used strangely rural but largely straight roads through the sandy soils of lower south west part of Roero. 

Finding our apartment was straight forward (always an advantage to be visiting familiar places) and after negotiating cancello and key safe successfully, we were in the cool apartment by 20.15 and on our way to dinner by 20.30, bumping into Paola of Sordo, with her boyfriend Marco leaving the sushi place near il Museo. She plans to attend David’s presentation at Albeisa tomorrow. 

Alba was quite busy with the end of a Vinum event, but several eateries were closed. We settled for Conterosso eating one large meal between us; a huge salad, and some fassona to start, followed by a delicious potato and mushroom side for me, and lamb ribs for David. We finished by sharing a nougat semi-freddo (hazelnuts of course!) 

Monday 6 May 

We had struggled to activate the heating last night but having succeeded, the apartment warmed up. This morning the apartment felt cooler, and we left at 08.00 in pursuit of vegetables for breakfast, finding a small corner shop nearby to purchase avocado, oranges, bananas and endive.

09.00 Prunotto, in Bussia

The views were fantastic; the wine maker friendly, arriving as we did, at an intriguing smallish set of historic buildings, whose mixed history David had explained. The house style was understated, and our hostess quiet and diffident, while Gian Luca Torrengo (winemaker of long-standing) was unsophisticated, warm and straight forward. The winery proper is on the edge of Alba, off the via Europa, just south of Ceretto but here the famous huge Bussia vineyard stretches all around. 

We tasted the erbaluce/sauvignon blanc blend; a rosato (which tasted a little confected) and then a string of Dolcetto, Barbaras, two Barbarescos 2021: Bric Turot, and Secondine, made identically but very different; and then the Barolos 2020: Bussia, and Serra. 

Our hosts, who we had thought had other business at 10.30, had settled into a relaxed and friendly style, and by 12.30, as their minds turned to lunch, invited us to join them at La Posta just beyond nearby Monforte, where we ate extremely well, as well as being in the presence of Roberto Conterno, to whom David spoke briefly, who was also hosting guests. 

We had to make our excuses to drive quickly back to Alba to prepare for the presentation. Fortunately the nearby car park had a space, and we made it to the Albeisa offices by 16.00 ! 

The young women who were setting up the sala were not only ‘cute’ (Marina’s word) but also efficient and technically competent, and David’s powerpoint was safely installed via We Transfer well before Maurizio Gily arrived. He is a local journalist and agronomist who freelances and teaches at the Alba Wine School. (Alessandra from the Torino presentation had suggested him to host)

There were perhaps thirty people at the presentation, including Chiara Boschis, Marie-Therese Mascarello, Giovanni Negro, Fabio from Comm. Burlotto, Paola Sordo, Maurizio Rosso, Monica Rocca, Marco Piacentino from Socrè, someone from Vietti, and Sergio Germano’s daughter, … It was very good of them to show support. This was the event about which we had been very anxious only a week ago, as we awaited some response from Marina (of Punset), who is the president of Albeisa. 

We ate at Il Trittico, Chiara’s only clients. Mondays are usually quiet, but we felt for her. X is heavily into low temperature, long cooking, and produced two incredibly rich secondi (one sort of belly pork, the other beef – perhaps brisket) which despite their small size, nearly finished us off! 

Tuesday 7 May 2024

Cloudy in Alba, as we packed up and left our Martiré apartment in light rain as we drove up through the low cloud to La Morra, via Roddi and Verduno to Agricola Brandini where Serena greeted us, and Oliver showed us around this recently established winery. 

Piero bought the site in 2007 and with investment from american businesses he has created a fine ristorante, and seven rooms, as well as discreet, well furnished cellars beneath the modest swim pool and elaborate small garden. The orto is furnished by a fine greenhouse, and grows flowers for the rooms and produce for the ristorante.  (Piero, Serena’s father, started adult life as a flower grower and seller and clearly maintains a keen interest)

Ollie, formerly a sommelier in London, now living in Italy with an italian wife, and very recently employed here as exports manager, showed us around and led the tasting, with Serena present, which must have been a pressure for him! 

We stayed until after 12.30, and finally drove into La Morra for a quick lunch at More e Macina  of asparagus risotto (and a soft egg, creamy cheese, and asparagus first) A very popular, trendy spot on a damp and misty day

At 14.30 we were greeted by Tiziana, daughter of Aurelio Settimo, who died in 2007 and whose parents had farmed land around the Rocche di Annunziata since 1943, just below La Morra. From 1962 Aurelio had specialised in ‘wine-growing’ selling some grapes each year to generate income alongside his own early wine—making. Tiziana’s son and daughter were at work in the vineyard, cleaning up the vines and folding in the main shoots, and the alternate rows were heaving with legumes and ground cover.

Tiziana treated us to a vertical tasting of Barolos ‘20, ‘19, ‘18, ‘17 and the riserva ‘16  having first served their Dolcetto, all the while rehearsing the particular strains and stresses that she and her business are experiencing; largely around shortage of staff. Another person joined us in the tasting room, and quickly the conversation turned to new outlets for her in Lombardia. She is another force of nature, and unlike so many other wineries we visit, her place has not lent on outside investment, but rather has been created from very little by three generations of hard graft. 

I took courage and drove from La Morra to Tenuta La Cova, just outside Calamandrana in Monferrato where we were to stay with two youngish (but well-heeled) winemakers whose winery also has a rather grand Tenuta attached, which they have converted into a very niche B and B. The route along the SP3 past Alba, and via Barbaresco and Nieve, is well known to me, and from there on to Monferrato. 

Roberta nervously greeted us, as I parked the car, and once Alessandro Vargnolo arrived home a discussion about the evening began. The property was very grand, having been owned for many years by a couple very keen and able to restore it to its former glory. They hope to make it a go-to destination…

We were relieved when he invited themselves to join us for dinner, and made the booking at a bistro, Anime, in another grandly made-over cascina, in the Relais Almaranto. The rain before we set off was torrential, and Tenuta la Cova is well off the beaten track. I fear I chose badly from a menu made up of sheets of contemporary takes on both trendy and traditional dishes. It all felt a little gauche! We slept well in a very grand bedroom whose bathroom was extraordinary – all the work of their predecessors…