Carema caramela

Ferrando 2003 Carema (white label) (Piedmont) – Tasted blind, and though I momentarily nose my way into Barbaresco, I get no closer, nor do I do so with much confidence. And I certainly don’t get the year right. The reason? Conflict within the wine, and not a minor one. There’s tar, charred brown earth, some – but not too much – tannin, and a white powder texture. The structure’s all shoulders and knees, but the fruit seems worn out, as if the wine is headed to a premature demise. I can’t figure this out at all, even after the reveal. Drink? Hold? I have no idea. (4/09)