Bruna Grimaldi: Nebbiolo and More from Grinzane Cavour

The last day of Nebbiolo Prima, I paid a visit to Bruna Grimaldi, who has a small winery in Grinzane Cavour, with vineyards in Serralunga, Diano D'Alba and Cornegliano as well. It was a very nice way to finish up an extremely busy week.

Bruna Grimaldi Valscura Langhe Chardonnay 2009
This is fermented in steel and then spends a brief time in steel, with battonage. Pale brassy green with brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is fresh, with lively citric fruit supported by greenish accents and a fair amount of berry fruit acidity. Quite fresh, and as it opens savory notes also emerge. On the palate it's rich, with powerful honeydew melon and loquat fruit supported by some sweetness and fairly brisk acidity that flow into a clean bright loquat and honeydew melon finish with honeydew melon sweetness that is fairly long. Pleasant, and will drink quite nicely as an aperitif, or with cheeses and with cheese based dishes, including spicier herbal cheeses along the lines of gorgonzola, perhaps more in a dish (penne al gorgonzola) than by itself.
2 stars

Bruna Grimaldi San Martino Dolcetto D'Alba 2008
This is bottled in July, after several months in a mixture of steel and cement. With the 2009 the malolactic fermentation took off immediately. The 2008 wasn't quite as quick, but was early, and spontaneous. The wine is lively cherry ruby with brilliant reflections and cherry rim paling to white. The bouquet is fresh, with rich cherry fruit laced with floral accents and deft almond blossoms mingled with bitter almond acidity. Quite fresh, and very pleasant to sniff. On the palate it's medium bodied, with rich berry fruit supported by moderately intense acidity and by smooth sweet tannins that flow into a clean fresh prune finish that's fairly sweet with almond accents. Quite pleasant, a lark of a wine that will drink very well with cold cuts or simple grilled meats, and also be nice with simple meat based pasta dishes, or even with pizza. It's a bit softer than some -- less biting tannins -- and as a result comes across as a bit sweeter; this is something to keep in mind if you prefer a more tannic Dolcetto, but it is quite pleasant and the sweetness is frankly seductive.
2 stars

Bruna Grimaldi Scassa Barbera D'Alba Superiore 2007
This spent 14 months in a mixture of large botti and older tonneaux. Deep black cherry ruby with black reflections and cherry ruby rim. The bouquet is closed at the outset, though swishing brings up lively cherry and forest berry fruit supported by brisk dusky acidity and clean greenish accents; it's quite pleasant, and though Bruna told me that it was oaked it's not as oaky as many oaked Barbere are. In other words, next to a wine in steel one will note a difference, but oak supports rather than take center stage. On the palate it's ample and smooth with rich cherry fruit supported by clean smooth tannins and by clean bright acidity; the oak is more apparent on the palate, in the sense of a softness and a polish that one doesn't find in unoaked Barbera, but is quite pleasant. It will drink very well with grilled meats or light stews, and also has the capacity to age nicely for 4-5 years.
2 stars

Bruna Grimaldi Briccola Nebbiolo d'Alba 2008
Recently bottled; the vineyards are in Diano D'alba, and it spent 14 months in tonneaux (not new) followed by a couple of months in tank. It's elegant almandine with black reflections and almandine rim paling to orange. The bouquet is elegant, with rich floral accents mingled with rosa canina and bright cherry acidity supported by cherry fruit and some greenish accents and some brambles. It's quite young, but pleasant to sniff. On the palate it's bright, with lively sour cherry fruit supported by greenish accents and bright acidity, and by sweet tannins that have a slight burr and flow into a clean bright cherry finish with slight underlying sweetness (the wine is dry). Very pleasant, and will drink quite well with simple grilled meats or light stews, and also with roasts; because of the sweetness in the finish it will also work well with more highly spiced dishes that might choke at a wine without the sweetness. A goulash, for example, or ribs in bbq sauce. Expect it to go quickly.
2 stars

Bruna Grimaldi Barolo Camilla DOCG 2006
This is from Grinzane Cavour, and is from a vineyard that's 8 years old. The wine is named indirectly after Camilla, one of Cavour's sisters -- he had several poderi and named each after a sister. It was bottled in November, and is deep almandine with black reflections and almandine rim paling to orange. The bouquet is fresh, and quite young, with greenish accents and cedar mingled with rosa canina and some berry fruit. It's deft, but -- having been told -- does reveal a certain youth of the vineyard, which will have more to offer in the future. On the palate it's ample, with rich cherry fruit supported by smooth sweet tannins and by deft berry fruit acidity that flow into a clean slightly sour, slightly greenish berry fruit finish. Pleasant, and though quite young displays considerable depth; it will drink well now with grilled meats or light stews, and will also age nicely for a number of years, though I don't think it will be tremendously long-lived -- the vineyard contributes what maturity it can but can only go so far. But I did enjoy it.
2 stars

Bruna Grimaldi Badarina Barolo DOCG 2006
Bottled in August. It's deeper black almandine ruby with black reflections and more charged rim than the Camilla; it's from an older vineyard at the end of the Serralunga area whose elevation ranges from 370 to 420 m ASL. The bouquet is intense, with dusky berry fruit supported by a fair amount of spice and some greenish accents laced with cedar, and also some graphite shaving bitterness. Very young, and needs time. On the palate it's ample, with rich berry fruit supported by smooth sweet tannins and by fairly bright berry fruit acidity, while the tannins flow onto a clean berry fruit finish with some sacalded milk bitterness that is due to the youth of the wine. It's quite pleasant but needs at least a couple of years to get its bearings and will age nicely for a decade or more. Expect it to do interesting things with time.
2 stars

Bruna Grimaldi Badarina Barolo DOCG 2004
Deep almandine with black reflections and almandine nail; by comparison with the 2006 it's similar, but the nail is more pronounced. The bouquet is powerful, and still very young, with berry fruit laced with leaf tobacco and some hints of white truffle, and also savory spice. It gives an impression of austere distance coupled with power. On the palate it's ample, with rich cherry fruit supported by sweet berry fruit acidity and by mentholated tannins that are ample and smooth, and flow into a clean savory berry fruit finish that has some pleasant greenish notes, and reveals hints of plums as the acidity fades. Pleasant and still in mid stride; one could open it now but doing so is close to committing an infanticide; it give much more of itself in the future if you have the patience to wait. 10 or even 15 years.
88-90