I picked up this bottle for three reasons: first, it was under ten bucks; second, it was a red wine from the Langhe (in Piedmont / Piemonte, Italy), which is something I don’t often see available; and third, it is a really, really heavy bottle with a really deep punt—so I figured if they spent so much expense on the glass, the wine inside HAD to be decent.
The nose has a funky smell. Some geeks might say the wine was backward, or in a “dumb” stage. I say it smells funky, because it doesn’t really show any specific nor ripe fruit; the aroma seems to be a musty mixture of earth, herb, and unripe, maybe dried fruit. Usually mustiness indicates a problem with the cork, but this bottle employed an artificial cork that is supposed to be impervious to TCA contamination. And anyway it didn’t smell like THAT kind of musty; it was more herbal and dried fruit than anything.
On the palate the wine had similar dried fruit and what the Italians call “brush” ; it’s kind of like an earthy element, mixed with raspberries and blackberries that are starting to dry out, and what you might expect a bush branch to taste like. There are also some cocoa and black cherry flavors — typical of the grapes (this wine is half Barbera, half Dolcetto). Personally, I like a wine that has a little more ripeness, especially when drinking alone, but this wine has a place at the table next to a plate of sausage and broccoli rabe, or a selection of cheeses. It has something of a dusty character, thanks to drying acidity and tannins that make an appearance in the midpalate and remain apparent through the finish. Let this wine breathe a little by pouring it into a decanter, or leave it to sit in your glass for about 20 minutes, and it will be much more interesting than straight out of the 28-pound bottle. Putting it in the decanter should also make pouring the wine a lot easier, and keep you from suffering a hernia.
a-6 t-7 b-8 fc-7 v-7 ~ 85 Points
Importers: Verdoni Imports, WinesWeAre
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