Description
Luigi Ferrando, Erbaluce di Caluso “La Torrazza”
We’re at a turning point for Italian white wines. Slowly but surely, they’re being recognized as worthy peers of their Old World European counterparts—although there are so many hyper-local Italian grape varieties to keep track of, it’s hard to know where to start. Firmly entrenched in my Italian White Top 10 is the Erbaluce grape of Piedmont, and, as Italian wine aficionados know, the first (and to some, last) word in Erbaluce is Ferrando.
Founded in 1890 in the town of Ivrea, north of Turin, the Luigi Ferrando winery isn’t merely a Piedmontese benchmark but an all-Italy hall-of-famer, and their wines not only showcase the mineral-rich glacial soils of their home region but the amazing versatility of the Erbaluce variety: In addition to crisp, Chablis-inspired dry whites like today’s “Torrazza,” there are also sparklers to rival Champagne and sweet styles to rival Sauternes and Côteaux du Layon. Thanks mostly to Ferrando, the grape’s renown extends well beyond the few provinces in Northern Piedmont in which it is grown, and in “Torrazza,” we have one of the most outstanding white wine values in all of Italy. Here is an Italian white of impeccable balance, profound minerality, taut structure, and immense pleasure. If I’m writing an Italian wine list today, this is one of the first whites I’m adding. It should be at the top of your list, too—this price is a gift!
When Italy’s DOC (Denomination of Controlled Origin) system was codified into law in 1967, Erbaluce di Caluso was the first white wine to receive a classification. This, however, doesn’t change the fact that the wine is, and always has been, a rarity: There are fewer than 200 hectares of Erbaluce planted in the entire Caluso DOC zone, and only a smattering of plantings in a few neighboring provinces in Piedmont—and that’s it. Even today, I can think of only a few Erbaluce di Caluso wines with any significant distribution in the US, and yet, somewhat astonishingly, Ferrando’s wines have been imported here for more than 40 years (by the estimable Rosenthal Wine Merchant). Despite this, Erbaluce probably ranks fourth on the Piedmontese white wine name-recognition chart (behind Cortese di Gavi, Arneis, and the now-trendy Timorasso)—but I’d argue it makes the best wines of them all.
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Caluso is the name of the anchor town of the DOC zone, which sits in a basin-like amphitheater of terraced vineyards rooted in sandy, gravelly glacial moraine. This is right where Piedmont meets the Valle d’Aosta, so Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) and other Alpine peaks loom in the distance; on the other side of those peaks, the mineral-laced whites of the Savoie are probably the best analog to what’s coming out of Caluso: bright, floral, spring-loaded Alpine whites with surprising structure and longevity.
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“La Torrazza” is sourced from a four-hectare estate vineyard in the hamlet of Borgomasino (about 25 miles north of Torino), on a steep-pitched, south-facing slope. The wine is vinified and aged in stainless steel, and spends about eight months aging on its lees before bottling. This 2020 captures the mineral, floral essence of dry Erbaluce perfectly, while also tacking on a layer of mid-palate richness not always found in Alpine whites. Although Erbaluce grapes take on an almost amber hue when ripe, the wine is a star-bright yellow-gold with green highlights, with aromas of green apple, apricot, white flowers, cut grass, green herbs, citrus peel, and wet stones. It is medium-bodied, mineral, and racy, reminiscent of everything from Loire Valley Chenin to Jacquère from Savoie to village-level Chablis. Pull the cork about 15 minutes before serving in all-purpose white wine stems at 45-50 degrees and you’ve got the perfect wine for pairing with salads, grilled vegetables, oysters, and, in a stylistic nod to wines like Chablis and Sancerre, softer, fresher goat/cow’s milk cheeses. But since we’re in Piedmont, where carne cruda (beef tartare) is a staple, I’ll put that out there as a pairing. You might be surprised at how good it works! Enjoy!
