If you’ve always assumed that Ferrando Carema was the name of this estate, you’d be forgiven. To those of us who already love the wines, Luigi Ferrando and the tiny little mountain town of Carema are indeed one and the same.
The DOC Carema is home to the most northern, high-altitude Nebbiolo in Piedmont. Since 1957, the Ferrando family has made wine here on steeply terraced vineyards, trained on pergola vines to obtain maximum exposure to the sun.
It’d be a bit peculiar to include the contrasting terroirs of Carema and Barolo within the same regional boundaries, were it not for the poetic justice that all great expressions of this diva grape play on Team Piedmont.
Yes, the euphoric aromas of tar and roses that make even the most stoic Barolo lover swirl and shiver are embedded in the DNA. But as if without permission, like a swift pull of a tablecloth from under an undisturbed setting of a dining room table, Ferrando’s Carema breathes in an alpine vitality that lifts the Nebbiolo off its heavy feet.
Professional Reviews
Antonio Galloni
AG
93
"The 2013 Carema Etichetta Bianca is a classic. Gracious, light on its feet and translucent, the Etichetta Bianca will thrill readers who want to get a good dose of Nebbiolo, but without the tannic heft of Barolo or Barbaresco. Bright and saline, with all of the energy that is typical of the wines of Carema, the Etichetta Bianca is terrific. It is a bit more ethereal and aromatically lifted than the 2012, and probably in need of further time to be at its very best. Even in the early going, the 2013 is very pretty."