Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Barolo Trip, Episode 1, Luca Roagna, Mad Genius.

Twisting and turning among the crisp fresh air of the Langhe evening, the crunching of the Fiat punto tires on the gravel crackle like shattering ice, their sound a metaphor for the cold freshness of the air. We dart down a small road, following the rusted out sign pointing to Roagna, Zigging, Zagging and abruptly stopping in front of a traditional aged Langhe farmhouse/winery. A sliver of light emerges from the parting of large cellar doors, the madman cracks his head through, capped in beanie standing 5’6’’ his shadow makes him appear larger.

We enter the orange light of the madmans lair, tentatively placing one foot ahead of the other as steel fermentation tanks tower above like monsters. We turn into the bottle storage room to a small table lined with a dozen unlabeled bottles and spreads of raw filet (carne cruda), Salsiccia (raw veal sausage), bresaola, prosciutto, tomme and gorgonzola. At least if the madman takes me captive I will not go for wanting in the wine and food department.

Luca Roagna is the madmans name. In attendance are Niccolo Drocco, Francesco Reva and myself. I was warned about the amount of alcohol that would be consumed on this night. This is boys night, Barbaresco style, and there would be no stopping the forward momentum once I stepped into the lair. Luca darts around the cellar lining up cases of wine for chairs. The orchestra commences and the wine flows, ravenous men dive into the raw and primal food. Dolcetto, Barbera, Barbaresco……

Luca races through the barbera and dolcetto with breakneck pace, perhaps a metaphor for the role of barbera and dolcetto in the area. For the most part simple wines drank with food, leaving the focus to the people and atmosphere rather than the wine itself.

Luca views wine bottles differently than most. For Luca a 750ml represents a half bottle, a magnum a full bottle and so on. His glass pours reflect that. The echoing words, just one more glass, suddenly strike terror into me as I realize the quantity of wine being consumed. After all I have to be somewhat responsible. I have some serious appointments tomorrow…How do I stop the madness? We aren’t even into the Barbarescos yet….Do I want to stop the madness? I give in, ill figure it out on the fly. Luca also pours wine differently than most, his calloused thumb caps the bottle as it is flipped inverted, the thumb taken away, the sound of rushing wine splashing into a pinot glass like Victoria falls. “Basta Luca, Basta!!!!” The wine continues into the glass until a third of the 750 is gone…im not sure Luca even considers this a glass.

As we proceed I begin to speak with Luca about the wine and I begin to see a stroke of genious through the insanity that is his external veneer. He has passion and reasoning for everything he does even if the atmosphere does not make it feel so. His answers are clear, precise and illuminating even through the gallons of wine flowing in all directions. They are interspersed with boys night metaphors about monte fico, and what he called the mountain of pussy, a sexual reference which I am still struggling to comprehend, yet all I can recall is how absolutely hilarious it was in the moment…im sure it made sense with the clarity that wine can bring.

Luca darts from the table yelling, “palate cleanser.” Luca returns with Francois Boulard Mailly Brut Nature. He pulls out a flimsy black steak knife, you know, the cheap kind you get in applebees…..pow, Luca sabers the bottle. Im thinking it could be magic, but then again the night before I saw a bottle of sparkling arneis sabred with the base of a wine glass…I decide to believe what I see. We begin to speak of his passions outside of Piedmont. Luca has a passion for natural producers, female producers and those who bring elegance to a wine. Often one can tell a lot about a winemaker by what they drink from other regions and why they drink it…I am beginning to see with more clarity the genius of Luca Roagna. The champagne, wonderful, texture, crispness, aromatics…fantastic…just a glass…

The next wine was a bit of a revelation for me 2009 La Guerrerie by Thierry puzelet. Malbec (cot) and gamay from the Touraine section of the Loire. As Luca describes Thierry he seems to have a bit of reverence for the man, he uses the word crazy and madman, but for Luca this is a compliment. I want to meet this man, I struggle to imagine someone who Luca views crazy. Perhaps Luca thinks im crazy for traveling all the way from America to drink his wine? Who knows. I want to hang out with Luca and Theirry TOGETHER. Theirry pioneers against the French authorities and uses very little sulfur in his wines…This wine is insanely good. 93pts. ( For more on Thierry Puzelet, http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/20080224_1 )

Next in line, Occhipinti il Frappato, from Sicily, a land as wild and untamed as Luca himself. Now we see Luca’s passion for the elegance a female touch can bring to a wine… this is made by a female winemaker he tells me. The grape is Frappato. which does well on the sun baked hillsides. High elevations, volcanic soils and a female touch make an undeniably sexy and elegant wine…With a translucency reminiscent of pinot noir I raise the wine to my lips, it is sweet baked red fruits, herbs, flowers, wild game, pepper, and a refreshing acidity to balance it all. This reminds me of the rhone and parts of it even remind me of musar, and I love it. For more on Occupinti, http://personalwinebuyer.com/2009/07/03/arianna-occhipinti-il-frappato-sicilia-igt-2006/

Forward we march, and by this point I am gravely concerned for our ability to survive let alone get back to Alba. Luca made a strict rule, no dumping barbaresco, barbera and dolcetto sure, but now its after the fact….. I start waiting until Luca turns away or leaves the room…I don’t dump the wine out, I simply transfer it to his glass J He doesn’t seem to notice and if he does he doesn’t seem to mind.

2001 Crichet Paje, this is a monopole vineyard for Luca, entirely owned and entirely and expression of his family. This wine spends 8 years in big barrels before it is released and it is gorgeous. This wine has gorgeous sweet tannins, loads of fruit and layers of complexity with only 1200 bottles produced. Incredible. 94pts. I drink all of the wine…I ask Luca how these wines age and before I can blink he high hurdles 6 cases of wine into a dusty corner of the cellar. He emerges with a dusty bottle and says 1988. I scream, “bastardo!” “Che cazzo fai!” In a good way of course. This wine hits the glass, it is soft gentle fruit, truffle, rose, and earth…there is only a hint of oxidation which blows off within 5 minutes. The best +20 year old nebbiolo I have had. 95pts.

Lucas eyes light up as he has an audience, I glance at Niccola scared for my life but strangely ok with the direction this mad genius is taking me…Niccola screams, “Luca, Basta” but to closed ears.

1966 de Bartoli Passito from sicily. almond, caramel, nuts, spice, meats, stink, volatility…layer after layer of neverending flavor. WOW. 96 pts.

More, More, More….. Basta, Luca, Basta! 2003 infantido vintage port, Luca pours, and I physically stop him from pouring more….he relinquishes….thank god. I sip my port that needs to sit open for another two weeks…

Francesco suggests it is time for an initiation…to what you might ask? Alcol-gym is a pretty major thing in the Alba region. Almost everyone I spoke with recognized it. Alcol-gym is exactly what it sounds like, drunk people working out. This is only a metaphor, a symbolic act that represents the fact that good life is staying in shape, playing sports and enjoying alcohol….whether you enjoy them at the same time or apart is up to you.

Buried amongst cardboard shipping containers and bottles was an old bench press bar and two flimsy racks holding it up..The alcol-gym session was beginning, rep after rep of manly benchpress was pushed out fueled by the sheer power of barbaresco. Niccola, who is also a skeleton athlete on the Italian team, set the mark at 50 kgs for 54 reps, I followed with 60 reps at 50 kgs….after all I had a reputation to keep up. After this intense and very random bench press session I was inducted into alcol-gym and the crazy but genius night had come to a close..to the shattering sounds of lucas glass against a weight plate….no one seemed to care or barely notice besides a few chuckles.

Luca invited me to stay to pop more corks, as the other two guys had to get back for work the next morning. I was tempted to stay but thought about the consequences. If this was my last night in Barbaresco, perhaps, but I had two more days. The next morning I awoke fresh as ever ready for a 900 am Barolo breakfast at Bartolo Mascarello. Im pretty sure there is the magical genius in the wines of the madman, Luca Roagna.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Caleb,

You owe us two more days! Great stuff

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hi Caleb!!
Great experience for us!!!
Your article is so real... I hope to see you soon in Barbaresco... bench press is waiting for you!

Cesco

www.alcolgym.com