Castello di Luzzano “Romeo” Gutturnio Riserva Colli Piacentini 2003
Castello di Luzzano is located in Emilia-Romagna, a small region located in middle/northern Italy and bordering the Adriatic Sea. The region has a long history of producing lightly quaffable reds. But in the past couple of decades a number of DOCs have sprung up throughout the region, and with them a collection of varying styles and expressions of wine, from sparkling to white to red. Thus, while the region lacks a clear sense of identity, there is a lot of room for good producers to experiment and try out new ideas, and to create great wines in the process.
The Azienda Agricola Castello di Luzzano is one of those wineries. The winery is located inland in the hills that rise up along the border of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia, and makes a collection of wines under both the Oltrepo Pavese DOC (Lombardia) and the Colli Piacentini DOC (Emilia-Romagna). In fact, their website lists 15 different wines that they make, 7 from Oltrepo Pavese and 8 from Colli Piacentini. Along with the Sangiovese di Romagna and Colli Bolognesi DOCs, the Colli Piacentini is one of the DOCs that have helped the wines from Emilia-Romagna get back on the map in recent years. In the Sangiovese di Romagna DOC the wines are made from 85-100% Sangiovese, and in Colli Bolognesi producers have been finding success with “new world” varietals, most notably Cabernet Sauvignon. But in Colli Piacentini, a wide variety of mostly traditional varietals are used to make a perhaps even wider array of wines.
The Colli Piacentini is composed of the four river valleys of the Tidone, Trebbia, Nure, and Arda rivers. Each of these river valleys has its own subzone designation. Gutturnio (Tidone River valley), Trebbiano Val Trebbia (Trebbia River valley), Val Nure (Nure River valley), and Monterosso Val d’Arda (Arda River valley). The number of grapes that can be used in different compositions to make up these subzone designated wines is dizzying. I stopped counting at twenty…
This wine from Castello di Luzzano is from the Gutturnio subzone of Colli Piacentini. The regulations for this DOC classification call for 55-70% Barbera, 30-45% Croatina (also known as Bonarda locally), and a minimum of 9 months of aging. Riserva wines must be aged for at least 2 years, with a minimum of 3 months of wood aging.
In the case of this bottle, the blend of grapes includes 60% Barbera and 40% Bonarda. The grapes, which were grown at an altitude of 270 meters, are vinified traditionally, with the skins remaining in contact with the wine until fermentation is completed. After this the wine was racked to new containers where it rests through the winter until all of the sediment has dropped out. The wine is then transferred to oak casks where it rests for a year before bottling, after which it spends an additional year aging in bottle before being released.
The is a deep, dark red, lightening only slightly at the edges. The nose is port-like, with dark plums, black cherries, and cinnamon. The palate continues the port theme, with deep, red-fruit flavors. Black raspberries, black cherries, a thread of creme de cassis, and a hint of smoke.. The tannins are strong and gripping and are accompanied by a very soft acidity. Despite the port flavors, the wine is medium-weight on the palate, velvety textured but not overwhelming. The finish is a bit brighter than the palate, with sugared strawberries and raspberries coming into the fold, along with a black raspberry reduction and a prickling of acidity.
This is an interesting wine, very big and pretty powerful. Lots of depth and a good amount of concentration. The flavors are not spellbinding, but they give the wine some definite character and make it a real satisfying wine to drink. I think it would be best suited to serving alongside a winter meal, it seems to need something equally big to stand up to it. Perhaps a nice porterhouse with a side of roasted root vegetables. Or perhaps an early-spring or late-fall barbecue, with a nice smoky barbecue sauce on grilled pork. Mmmmm…
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