Description
La Cantina di Cunéaz Nadir, “Badebec” Rosso
Not only is it amazing that we’re able to offer any wine from Nadir Cunéaz, today isn’t even the first time we’ve done so! Like Cunéaz’s New York-based importer, Rosenthal Wine Merchant, we’ve developed a sentimental attachment to these impossibly rare, incredibly unique creations from the mountainous Valle d’Aosta region of Italy.
In the case of today’s wine, “Badebec,” only around 100 cases are produced in total, but somehow, Rosenthal manages to get about 50 for the US. It’s a labor of love for everyone involved, especially Cunéaz, of course, who is a “garagiste” winemaker in the truest sense of the word: At one time, he made wines just for friends and family, but he began producing “commercial” bottlings in 2009, at the urging of some of those friends—including fellow Valle d’Aosta winemaker Danilo Thomain, who introduced him to the folks at Rosenthal. Like his other wines, “Badebec” has a fanciful name culled from local lore (it’s named for a mythical monster who feasts on misbehaving children), and highlights one of the Valle d’Aosta’s signature native varieties, Petit Rouge. It simply doesn’t get more “boutique” than this, but what about the quality, you ask? If a succulent blast of tangy wild berries and mountain wildflowers, shot through with a vein of stony minerality, is your cup of tea (I know it’s mine), this obscure gem must not be missed!
Again, just so we’re clear: Getting hold of a bottle, or some bottles, of Badebec is not unlike having a neighbor who happens to be a talented winemaker and gifts you a little of his/her production each year. Through the miracle of international shipping, that neighbor is all the way up in the northwestern-most corner of Italy, tending to about a half-hectare of grapes in the shadow of Alpine peaks like Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Cuneaz’s assorted vineyard parcels, each the size of a backyard garden plot, sit along the Dora Baltea River in the shadow of the Swiss Alps, rooted in sandy, rocky soils. Dramatic day-night temperature swings provide a long, cool growing season for local varieties like Petit Rouge, which is perhaps the best-known of the assorted reds grown in the region (and often nowhere else). The variety is the headliner (a minimum of 70%) in the wines of the Torette DOC (denomination of origin), which Cunéaz could use for this wine but chooses not to. Most of the Cunéaz family vineyards are in the town of Gressan, some of them planted more than 100 years ago.
When you encounter wines from the Valle d’Aosta/Vallée d’Aoste, you’re experiencing a (viti)cultural convergence of French, Italian, and Swiss wine traditions. French (and a local patois that skews heavily French) is the main language here, and as such the labels on bottles can get confusing—typically you’ll see both Italian and French used simultaneously, much as it is on street signs, etc. in the region. The vineyards, some of which are among the highest elevation in Europe, occupy often-steep terraces and slopes along the Dora Baltea River, which eventually runs down into neighboring Piedmont, where it hooks up with the Pò. Although there’s ample water in the form of mountain runoff (surging through Roman-era aqueducts that slice up the hills), Mont Blanc provides a “rain shadow” effect not unlike the one Alsace sees from the nearby Vosges range. Summers here are drier and warmer than you might expect, although the diurnal swings (daytime heat spikes followed by cool nights) are extreme.
“Badebec” contains 90% Petit Rouge, which, name notwithstanding, isn’t known for “little” wines. There’s some real depth and grip to this wine, which bears a slight resemblance to some of the Savoie reds we love so much around here. The wine aged for about a year (in Cunéaz’s predictably tiny cellar, which is essentially one of the rooms in his house) in neutral French oak barrels before bottling. In the glass, it displays a deep ruby-black core moving to a magenta rim, with a very brambly, crushed-berry fruit component jumping out first. Aromas of black and red raspberry, Bing cherry, pomegranate, coffee grounds, toffee, and wet river stones. It actually skews medium-plus in body (a portion of the harvested grapes are dried for a short period after harvest, which concentrates their sugars), and there’s a hint of voluptuousness on the mid-palate before an iodine-like mineral note sneaks in on the finish. Decant it at least 30 minutes before enjoying at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems with something wine-braised—chicken, beef, lamb…your choice. Whenever I get a chance to drink these wines I always wish it was after a day of skiing at Courmayeur. Oh well, someday. Cheers!
