Piedmont (Piemonte)

This is one of those wines that remind me that wine doesn't always need to be serious.  This is a fun wine that is quite tasty.  It is "frizzante" or lightly sparkling and it is also sweet.  The grapes come from the Piedmont in northern Italy and include Moscato Bianco and Brachetto.  At 5.5%abv, this is easy drinking and refreshing.  Pale pink in color with a nice mousse of small bubbles.  The nose has cranberries and cherries.  Light to medium bodied.  On the palate, this is sweet but not cloying.  Lightly carbonated.  Nice strawberry notes with a refreshing finish.  Just plain fun and ea

One of the best Cooperatives making wine is the Produttori del Barbaresco.  Always good, but a few times every decade they nail it and 2006 was one of those.  Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, tar and spice.  Medium bodied with lighter tannins.  On the palate, this is complex, with good acidity and delicious.  Lots of cherry fruit and a nice earthiness.  At age 15, it is mature but with time left.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  This is nice on its own but will be better with food.  Pasta with a mushroom cream sauce will be great.  

This is another Nebbiolo from north-west Piedmont in northern Italy.  Garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is a bit soapy along with cherries and tar.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  Better on the palate, with cherries and some smoke.  Moderate finish.  Drink over the next five years.  This will work better with foods such as a Mushroom Pizza.  

From the far north in Piemonte in Italy, this is made from Nebbiolo, the same grape used in Barolo and Barbaresco.  It is a very nice value play.  Pale ruby in color, slightly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with cherries and slight tar notes.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, cherries with underlying light earthiness.  Elegant.  Good acidity.  Medium complexity.  Medium finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue for the next five to seven years.  A perfect wine for mid-week pizza or pasta.  

Tasted blind, I thought this was a Châteauneuf du Pape.  It had a lot less acidity than I might have expected but such is blind tasting.  The wine itself was much better than my blind tasting abilities.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, some black cherries, spice, black licorice and slight floral notes.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is drinking well.  Medium tannins.  Plenty of black cherry fruit with some licorice on the finish.  It drinks well on its own and would work nice with a pizza.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

Served blind, I was able to successfully guess Barolo but not without some consternation.  This hade all the earmarks of Nebbiolo but lacked the acidity one would normally expect in an Italian wine.  Still, it drinks very well at age ten.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, anise and a slight dried floral note.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is tannic.  Cherries with underlying "sticks and twigs".  Some level of complexity.  Good finish.  This seems a bit short of peak but it won't likely get better.  It should drink well for ten to twelve more yea

Everytime I drink a Barbera likes this I think I need to drink more Barbera.  This is outstanding and while this vintage is mostly gone, newer vintages are good and sell for under $40.  Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, black cherries, anise and baking spices.  Medium bodied.  A nice backbone of acidity.  Light tannins.  On the palate, fresh pure black cherry fruit with some spice.  Long finish.  This is made for food and will work great with pasta, mushrooms, and especially pizza.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

Light golden/straw in color.  The nose is nice and mostly mineral driven but also a bit of pears and slight almond note.  Light bodied.  On the palate, this has strong acidity.  It begs for some food to pair with.  The minerality comes thru with some pear.  Medium finish.  Pasta with a cream sauce would work well.  Drink over the next couple of years.  

This one is drinking very nicely at 9 years from vintage.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, slight black cherries, rose and slight menthol.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, nice cherry fruit with underlying char and a bit of woodiness (sticks?).  Good acidity.  This is accessible now and may still improve but no reason to wait.  It should easily go another seven to ten years.  This drinks nicely on its own but will be better with food.  Pasta with mushrooms in a cream sauce should be excellent.  

Another really nice treat.  1999 was an excellent year and the better wines are in great shape.  This had a surprisingly deep purple color to it, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries and slight forest floor.  Medium bodied.  No real tannins.  On the palate, there is vibrant black cherry fruit.  Not a lot of complexity for a 22 year old Barolo but still drinking well.  Drink over the next few years, it certainly won't get better.  It will work better with food.  Pasta with mushrooms and a cream sauce would be good.