Etichetta Bianca (White Label) Carema Nebbiolo

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2013 “Etichetta Bianca” pours a garnet color with a translucent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with fascinating notes of ripe and desiccated fruits: black cherry, pomegranate, red flowers, roasted beef, cedar chest, alpine herbs and rocky earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. Ferrando’s Carema (both white and black labels) are never short on personality and always such a joy to share with others. Drink now through 2043. 

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple hours. The 2011 pours a pale, hazy garnet with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with desiccated strawberry, oiled leather ball glove, braised beef stew, freshly pulled espresso, licorice, mint, fresh basil, eastern spices, and a mix of rocky and decomposing organic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is long and savory. A wine with soul. Drink now.

Cherry aromas give way to soy sauce, musty leather, rose, mushroom, dank earth. Nose is more mature than the palate. Palate is autumnal, transitional, the most captivating phase in the life of a Nebbiolo. Still plenty of rich fruit and tannin to hold things together.

Popped and poured; consumed over a three hour period. No formal notes. The 2015 Ferrando “Etichetta Bianca” pours a striking transparent garnet moving towards an iron oxide rim. It almost looks advanced…but Nebbiolo has a tendency to do that. On the nose, a lovely mix of red and black fruits, both ripe and desiccated. There is also tar, dried roses and leather and dried spices. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with significant structure. Confirming the notes on the nose. The warmth of 2015 shines through with the ripeness of of the fruits nearly coming across a bit stewed (but not overblown). It’s complex and already starting to show some secondary characteristics. Drink now through 2035.

Holy guacamole this is good! So pure and fresh. Alpine like! Herbs and bright red fruit. Why did I open this so young? Holy crap

Barnyard notes along with some poached tart red fruits and chestnut. Red clay, rock candy, dried savory. Good development.

A couple of weeks back, I opened a bottle of the 2017 that was supposed to be my first impression of the latest release. Ferrando’s Carema “Etichetta Bianca” is one of my favorite wines in Piemonte and, well, it was a false start. It was brown, tasted like it was 30 years old, full of secondary characteristics and lacking any of the elegance or structure I’ve come to expect from these wines year in and year out. The cork appeared to be perfect; not sure what happened. It was just, flat. So, I opened another one of my bottles this weekend to see if I was dealing with a much broader issue. Much to my delight, this bottle was proper.

Tonight, the wine poured a striking, garnet color with a transparent core and a slightly watery rim. No staining of the tears. No signs of sediment. The wine is intense, woodsy, and has the smell of strong BO, spicy but in a good way? Like someone put on a fancy cologne to cover the fact that they haven’t showered in a week. Weird…I know…but trust me. You’ll smell it and then you’ll like it. Red flowers, red fruits like dried cherries and porchini too. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Long finish. Dried cherries, exotic spices and dried herbs. Overall, I got the impression of a round but rustic wine; unique in a way I have come to expect from these wines over the years. I had a little bit left in the bottle that I held over until the next day and it became even more fresh on Day 2. Based off my experience, you can certainly open these now and enjoy with some patience but I think these will benefit from some time in the cellar. Next bottle after 2027.

This wine is striking the moment it’s poured. The color surprises with its “pinkness”; the lightest ruby color I have ever seen in Nebbiolo! The nose is spectacular. Roses and mixed with raspberries and alpine herbs and wild flowers. Basically every vision of what I would imagine the flora in Carema to be is represented on the bouquet. I want to smell this all the time! On the palate, this is very primary with crunchy red raspberries and cherries, herbs, and minerals. The structure is firm but deftly hidden at such a young age. A wine of balance. I have a feeling this will grow to be an absolute classic. I went deep on these 2016’s and look forward to checking in on them for years and decades to come.

Still a baby. Still glorious. There is a reason this wine blows me away every single time. Needs pasta.

Fragrant, alluring, delicate. Nose is sous bois, alpine herbs, tar, rose water, Ceylon cinnamon, dried wild berries. Palate fruity upfront, juicy mixed berries then moving towards spices, potpourri, cinnamon and forest floor. Beautiful wine to me that it drinking really great right now. Lengthy with plenty of nerve, graceful yet powerful tannins add textural complexity