Etichetta Bianca (White Label) Carema Nebbiolo

The 2019 Carema Etichetta Bianca is laced with sweet pipe tobacco, cedar, mint, dried flowers, crushed rocks and Alpine herbs. This is an especially floral, savory vintage for the Etichetta Bianca, a wine that impresses with its energy, verve and class. The only thing missing here is a bit of freshness and depth. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, February 2024)

Popped and poured; enjoyed over two days. Best on Day 1 as it started to lose balance on Day 2. As such, these notes describe Day 1. The 2014 “Etichetta Bianca” pours a pale, slightly hazy garnet color with a translucent core. Medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of bright, funky red fruits: cherries, raspberries, strawberries, with red flowers, leather, mushroom and a pleasant whiff of barnyard. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish long and full of zippy, tangy fruit. This is hitting right and showing remarkable character. 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.

Popped and poured. The 2018 Ferrando Carema pours a beautiful, luminous, transparent ruby color that displays a slightly brown cast around the edge. Medium (+?) viscosity. Cherries bruised forest strawberries, pink roses, tar, crushed granite, Alpine herbs, and a kiss of spices. Medium+ tannin, medium+ acid. Finish is very long and super satisfying. A tremendously elegant wine. So much class. Best after about 45 minutes of air in the glass and continued to build until the last sip which was a few hours later. I really enjoy these wines. Too bad the prices are nearly 2x what they were 5 years ago.

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.