Bonny Doon Vineyard Ca’ del Solo Nebbiolo – An Italian Classic From California

100% Nebbiolo from Monterey County, California.

SRP of $40 and available for as low as $29 (Saturday Splurge). Sample received courtesy Bonny Doon Vineyard for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“Ca’ del Solo is the frontier outpost of Bonny Doon Vineyard and the moniker of our Monterey County farm on the outskirts of Soledad. We are dedicated to producing wines with a particular emphasis on the expression of terroir, or unique sense of place. We farm our Ca’ del Solo Vineyard according to the precepts of Rudolf Steiner, with the intent of restoring vital life-forces to our soil and respecting the farm as a complex and self-sustaining organism.

Nebbiolo is perhaps the most challenging grape to produce. Its strange growth habit is to develop numerous ramifying shoots, which are suggestive of the myriad branching paths along life’s way, and the number of ways that a winemaker might stumble and fall upon the path to gustatory glory. For Nebbiolo is indeed glorious when it is good; uncompromising and generally closed for business in its youth, with age it blossoms and reveals its occult, labyrinthine treasure. This is a wine that will surely greatly repay cellaring.

13.7% Alcohol”

Nebbiolo is a legendary grape primarily found in the Piedmont region of Italy with small amounts, like today’s wine, grown in other areas. Nebbiolo is used to make renowned (and expensive) wines like Barolo and Barbaresco. This grape is an absolute favorite of many hard core winos but despite its renown it still only accounts for about 3% Piedmont’s production. In addition, these wines usually require significant aging to bring out the best qualities.

All of these things make it very hard to sample this variety in our price range, but we do have a couple under $20 coming up so stay tuned!

Even at the 2007 vintage this is a very young wine. Given that fact, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to try out the tag Viva Scandinavia Aerator and Decanter set that was recently provided to us by tag for review. The unique funnel in the Viva aerator not only causes the wine to bubble up as it is poured, but then directs the wine into thin sheets that run down the side of the decanter to expose it to a maximum amount of air. In addition the decanter is a nice presentation piece that features a wonderful drip-free pour. But the big question is how does it affect the wine?

Honestly, at least in this wine, the difference in the bouquet was night and day. I poured one glass straight from the bottle and then put the rest of the wine through the aerator into the decanter. I immediately poured myself a second glass from the decanter. My wife and I sniffed each and the aerated wine was exponentially more expressive. Does it work better than something like the Vinturi? It’s hard to tell, but I think it makes a better presentation and I love that you get both the aerator and decanter at a very nice price — the set has an SRP of $39.99, but you can find it on Amazon for only $29.99.

But let’s get back to the wine, shall we? After aeration, the 2007 Bonny Doon Vineyard Ca’ del Solo Estate Nebbiolo begins with amazing aromas of plum, ripe dark berry, cinnamon, baking spice, lavender and licorice. Tasting the wine reveals a wonderful silky texture, great expressions of juicy fruit, excellent acidity and dry, dusty tannins. It goes without saying that this wine will age nicely for a decade or more. It ends with a lovely, layered finish that lasts for a long time. Excellent and delicious!

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

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