Azienda Agricola Cà Richeta: A Nebbiolo from a Small Winery in Piemonte

Enrico Orlando is a consulting enoligist who also has a small winery, Cà Richeta, which he named after his grandmother Enrichetta, who was widowed at a young age and raised a family while continuing the family tradition of making wine. He has about 4 hectares under vine, 2 1/2 planted to white varietals in Castiglione Tinella, which he uses to make passiti, and another 1 1/2 in the Comune of Diano D'Alba that are planted to reds, Nebbiolo for Nebbiolo D'Alba and Pinot Nero for Langhe DOC. Production of the reds is about 3000 bottles each. He ages the reds for 18-24 months in a mixture of barriques and tonneaux, and does not filter them.

He chose to send me a 2007 Nebbiolo D'Alba:

Enrico Orlando Crussi Nebbiolo D'Alba DOC 2007
Lot 2007
Pale dark cherry ruby with black brick reflections and hints of almandine in the rim. The bouquet is fairly intense, with savory cherry fruit supported by spice from grapes and slight greenish accents with hints of sea salt as well. Pleasant to sniff. On the palate it's fairly rich, with intense cherry fruit supported by bracing bitterness and sufficient acidity to keep it on its toes, while the tannins are still fresh and young, with a cedar-laced burr that flows into a clean bitter finish. Quote pleasant to drink, and will work very well with simple grilled or roasted meats, and also with hearty legume-based dishes -- Northern Piemonte's Panissa comes to mind, as do Fagiolata and Tuscany's Fagioli all'uccelletto. Expect the bottle to go quickly, and you may well want another.
2 stars

Bottom line: Another small, interesting Piemontese winery that is well worth looking out for. Want to know more? Their site.