Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1025306
DEPARTMENT HEADER 86 / the tasting panel / september 2018 Surprised reactions echoed throughout the room when Alberto Lazzarino, Directing Winemaker for Banfi Piemonte, revealed that the Cuvée Aurora Rosé from Italy's Alta Langa DOCG was 100% Pinot Noir. "Do you have any more?" asked outspoken Commander's Palace Wine Director Dan Davis. "It's perfect for what we're eating now." "Not to mention very pretty," added Bacchanal General Manager Coryn Caspar. Their peers concurred, extending their empty glasses just above the 16-hour barbequed pork topped with a poached egg and hollan- daise sauce over buttermilk biscuits, which proved a serendipitous pairing with the incredibly bright and creamy 2014 Cuvée Aurora. According to Lazzarino, there's "a few rules" in the Alta Langa: "You can really only use Chardonnay or Pinot Noir or a blend of the two; also, the wines must always be vintage-dated. 2014 was a good, cool year, so we had higher acid," he said. Lazzarino then explained that Banfi Piemonte's wines "spend a minimum of 36 months on the lees": "Champagne is 12 months after dégorgement; Franciacorta is 18 months; and Alta Langa is 30 months. In fact, we're actually working on a reserve that will be released ten years after the harvest date," he added proudly. Lazzarino then revealed one of the biggest curveballs in the lineup: the Banfi 2015 La Lus Albarossa. One somm called it an Italian Merlot, while another deemed it a Merlot/ Cabernet Sauvignon blend—understandably so, as Lazzarino emphasized Albarossa's elegance and aging potential. Banfi released its first vintage of the indige- nous Italian variety—created in 1938 as a cross between Nebbiolo and Barbera—in 2006, and it remains one of very few producers making Albarossa today. "Albarossa means red dawn, and we call the wine La Lus because it is the 'first light' of the new dawn. There's only about 300,000 bottles total [of Albarossa wine] on the market," Lazzarino said. Directing Winemaker, Banfi Piemonte Lars Leicht and Alberto Lazzarino lead the first reveal. Directing Winemaker, Alberto Lazzarino, Tasting Notes Banfi Cuvée Aurora 2014 Rosé This wine is a light salmon color with medium alcohol and medium-plus acidity. Flavors of stone fruit, strawberries, and saltiness find excellent balance. I could incessantly fill my cup with this wine and easily drink a whole case. —Kevin O'Neill Notes of raspberry, strawberry, apricot, and baby powder with high acidity; dry with medium body. A youthful wine with a bottle-fermented, creamy character. —Papillon Prince Banfi 2015 La Lus Albarossa Dry, medium-plus tannin, medium-plus acidity, and medium-plus body. Leafy with blackberry, plum, tobacco, tar, raspberry, cocoa, and higher alcohol. Great color, great fruit, nice structure. —P.P. Deep, inky, enticing appearance. Tobacco and blueber- ries on the nose. Higher tannin and acid; spicy with much complexity. This is for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon drinkers. Cloves glisten through the fruit. —K.O.