Nebbiolo’s Proven Place Here – Winemaker’s Personal Selection

Buongiorno ~

Given the recent honors from Wine Enthusiast, nominating us as the leading American winery of 2023 and naming Octagon 2019 among the year’s Top 100 wines, worldwide, the stunning story of Nebbiolo’s career in our vineyard was reserved for this month, to savor for itself with my first Winemaker Selection of 2024. First planted here in 1995, a full generation after Octagon’s grape varietals were planted in 1976, Nebbiolo has remained the principal proof of how experimental our mission here has always been, and of the heights to which our slopes can raise us.

Gone today, are several illustrious varietals whose experiment here was discontinued – Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Gamay Beaujolais, and Pinot Noir. Among Italian varietals, two from my home province of Piemonte – Barbera and Nebbiolo – have flourished, while Dolcetto was retired after 5 years. On the other hand, of course, the brilliant adaptations of the Italian whites – Pinot Grigio, Moscato (Philéo and Passito), Vermentino, Falanghina, and Fiano – seem almost to have plucked this fortunate place from the country of their origin.

When we turn to Nebbiolo, the character of its coming home to this estate tells an altogether special story. With its 94 Points, Platinum Medal, and Director’s Award in last Fall’s Sommelier International Competition in California, Nebbiolo Reserve 2020 sustains an arc of varietal character revealed through 22 vintages, established by 1998’s Gold Medal at the San Francisco International in 2002 – the only Nebbiolo then to receive that award – a rating then repeated by the 2005 and 2015 vintages.

Of all our regionally pioneering plantings, Nebbiolo’s surpassing success is the historic surprise, the grape which revolutionized expectations for our region. This is partly because it is the premier varietal from one of the most ancient growing regions of the European continent, designated by Italian law and by reverent custom to be grown almost exclusively in one district. The wine’s own character, of nearly incomparable complexity, subtlety, and prodigious stamina at its best, has furnished more than a whiff of elusive mystery. This fame has generated suspicions that Nebbiolo is rather magically dependent upon the soils of specified slopes, the musings of nocturnal fog, and simply may not flourish elsewhere, anyway.

Wine critic Bruce Schoenfeld was the first to highlight this bias, in a genially flabbergasted tasting for Travel and Leisure (2007), embracing our 1999 vintage without reserve. Placing us “on the must-visit list of any adventurous wine traveler,” he focused especially on the Nebbiolo in offering this advice. Eight years later – yet still eight years ago – the Chairman’s Platinum Award of 94 Points for the 2012 vintage at Critics Challenge International Wine Competition was accompanied by this plain observation: “America’s finest Nebbiolo is made in Virginia. Indeed, Barboursville Reserve Nebbiolo could give the finest Barolos a run for their money.” (Robert Whitley, May 26, 2015)

Right from the start, the region’s most brilliant restaurant, The Inn at Little Washington, brought the 1998 Nebbiolo Reserve to their Wine List, a commitment which has continued ever since, so that today they present the most comprehensive vintage offering outside of this estate. At the same time, subscribers to this Note have seen how, year after year, we have contributed to the erosion of misconceptions, while our whole endeavor has been, rather, to vindicate the wonders of this grape.

I gratefully present my Winemaker Selection to you first, three vintages evolving into rewarding maturity — the 2017, 2016, and 2013. This Selection celebrates the seasonal appeal of the wine, which is reflected in the richer menus of the cooler months, from Fall into Spring – the earthy braisings and roastings, the slowly tended soups and risottos of deep palate resonance and texture.

For the Nebbiolo Trio, each of the wines is discounted 10%, a discount we usually reserve for 12 bottles or more. A further discount of 5% more, will apply to two Trios (6 bottles); while a 10% discount will apply to any 12 bottles. Given the wine’s modest production volume, this offer and Library 1821 tastings of it will expire February 15th.

We invite you further, to enjoy a comparison of Nebbiolo 2020 and 2013 in Palladio Restaurant’s Alpine Feast this January 19th, one of our most lavish and savory menus of the year. Reservations are vital, (540) 832-7848

As you know, I grew up surrounded by Nebbiolo vineyards in Piemonte, and I customarily revisit winegrowers at these estates every year (here, with La Morra in the distance). But I live with our Nebbiolo vines every day. Now, Nebbiolo’s place at Barboursville is secure beyond every expectation of the 1990s. This has been a triumph of experience beyond hope, so that by 2014, we had more than doubled our original total planting of 4 acres, to 9. By comparison, several of the most familiar Nebbiolo estates in Italy, like those of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy, consist of no more than 4 to 6 acres, with very few above 15 acres.

It’s been suggested, if our Nebbiolo vineyard were cast off under a different name, the wine would attract greater regard. This advice rests on Nebbiolo’s renown for uniqueness, but it reminds us also of an international Pinot Grigio competition in northern California in 2000, when the senior judge and esteemed critic, the late Dan Berger, telephoned to ask where we obtained our fruit. Our wine had just won the blind tasting, but had to do it twice — because the first win was adjudged erroneous, when it was discovered to come from Virginia. Our vocation is not for style. It is for standards. It is our great pleasure to share them with you.

Cordialmente ~
Luca Paschina Winemaker