Orsolani, Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG (Piedmont, Italy) 2021

 It pays to listen to sommeliers who know their stuff.  Jan Novak, the sommelier at Il Capriccio, a top Italian restaurant in Waltham, a Boston suburb, recommended this wine to me.  It was unfamiliar to me, but her judgment is impeccable… so I ordered it.  The small, roughly 500-acre, Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG, the first Piedmont white to receive DOCG recognition, is located in northern Piedmont and mandates the use of the Erbaluce grape.  In Orsolani’s case, the name La Rustìa refers to Erbaluce’s name in the local dialect, Uva Rustìa (roasted grape), because of color of the grape when ripe.  Orsolani’s stellar 2021 Erbaluce delivers an ideal combination of richness, glossiness, and vibrancy.  It is substantial — a real mouthful — without being heavy or overdone.  Lovely now with spaghetti carbonara.