August 11: If you love to drink the best of Italian wines and travel only first class but don’t mind paying for the economy or using your ‘free miles’, head for the new ‘The Oberoi Gurgaon’ where one of the top end Barolos- Dagromis from the legendry Angelo Gaja is listed for only Rs, 4500 ($100) and I have been assured that the prices won’t be increased for a while, writes Subhash Arora.
 While having lunch at the 361 Restaurant at The Oberoi Gurgaon recently, I glanced at the Wine Menu which does have a few good values for those who love to drink fine wines only. My eyes popped open when I found Dagromis Barolo Gaja listed at Rs. 4500-almost the same price it is generally retailed in Europe and the USA ($80-110). At that price, there cannot be ANY better value for money fine wine in a 5-star hotel in India and if I were you, I would make a dash for the hotel with friends at the earliest opportunity and enjoy this wine.
Barbaresco-based Gaja is a living legend and often dubbed as the Prince of Piedmont. Sycophants even call him the God of Piedmont. The only problem is that his wines are suitably expensive- like the Prada, Louis Vuitton and the Birkin bag which was in news in India recently. To find a Barolo from Gaja at this price is like finding a Burmese ruby in a stack of mixed rubies. There is no mention of vintage on the Menu. But Prashant Gupta, the F & B Director confirmed the price and promised it would continue to be available at this price, (maybe you should take a print-out, just in case!). I have not had a chance to taste it (they don’t sell it by the glass), but one never needs to taste a Gaja- one simply drinks and relishes every drop! In poor years like 2002, he does not even bring out the wine and sells it as bulk wine. I have enjoyed the original version called the Gromis at his winery more than once though.
For those thirsting for wine knowledge as much as wine-after all, not all of our 20,000 subscribers are expected to rush to Gurgaon for Dagromis: in 1995 Angelo Gaja had bought a propriety in La Morra, one of the bigger of the 11 communes in the province of Cuneo, that form the Barolo appellation ( the others are Barolo, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and parts of Cherasco, Grinzane Cavour, Novello, Verduno, Roddi and Diano d’Alba).
The 10hA property (rather big compared to the average holding of a Barolo producer) was almost wholly located in the famous Cerequio vineyard. (One of the more prestigious single vineyards-in these areas, the premium single vineyards have existed for a long time-producers own only a small portion out of these vineyards like in Burgundy and Mosel).
The initial vintages were all from this property and the wines were labeled as Barolo Gromis. Later, 4 hAs of the best parcels were separately designated and the wines from these grapes were labeled as Conteisa Cerequio Barolo and eventually Conteisa Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, a relatively lower coveted appellation normally. But like his other iconic single-vineyard labels such as Sorí Tildin, Sorí San Lorenzo, Sperss and Costa Russi, he blends the Nebbiolo with around 10% Barbera-not permitted by the DOCG laws.
In 2001, Gaja started mixing grapes from his Serralunga property (the best assumedly go into the much more coveted and expensive Sperss) into the blend making Gromis. As Angelo explained to me at my annual tasting at his winery last year, Gromis was also being confused with Promis, the Super Tuscan wine from Ca Marcanda he had bought in the nineties in Maremma area. Thus the label was changed from Gromis to Dagromis (Italian word for- From Gromis) to differentiate it from Promis.
Promis sellsforRs.6500-all taxes included at The Oberoi Gurgaon. So you decide if you want Promis or ‘da-Gromis’ at Rs.4500!
Subhash Arora |
