Piedmont (Piemonte)

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.  

What a fun treat.  This was decanted for sediment and served.  The label carried the name Banfi as an importer, so it would appear this is an original bottling.  Iced tea brown in color, clear and reasonably bright.  At first it appeared as though it might be corked but it was intermittent so perhaps just bottle age.  While this bottle seemed past prime, it did have some to offer.  Dried cherries, forest floor and mushrooms on the nose.  Medium bodied.  Tannins all resolved.  On the palate dried cherries, some stewed fruit with some forest floor.  There is a complexity to it and the acidity

Opened and decanted for about an hour or two, this is still showing "modern" and young.  That said, once we started drinking it, it evolved beautifully over the next hour.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, licorice, slight menthol and slight dried roses.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, lots of fresh cherry fruit with slight underlying tar and dried floral notes.  Great acidity.  Nice finish.  This is delicious.  Based on this bottle, another seven to ten years until peak.  This may end up easily doing fifty years.  Back

This is at peak it would seem.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, roses, chocolate and a bit or orange peel.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity.  Cherries, some dried cherries over forest floor with some fresher notes, slight mushroom and char.  Nice backbone of acidity.  Nice finish.  This begs for food.  Mushroom pasta in a cream sauce would be a nice choice.  Long finish.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

This is a white from the Piemonte region of northern Italy.  Light silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with a bit of pear and nice minerality.  On the palate, this took some time to open but eventually, the pear come thru as does the minerality.  Nice, slightly oily texture.  It could use a bit more acidity but nevertheless worked nicely on its own and with some Bruschetta.  Drink over the next few years.  

Great showing for this wine.  Pop and pour, it is close to fully mature but not quite.  Medium ruby in color.  The nose took about thirty minutes to open.  Cherries, slight roses, slight menthol, tar and spice.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, plenty of cherry fruit, some dried cherries, underlying spice and dry earth.  Lots of energy.  Nice balance.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This should easily do another ten and probably 15 more years.  It drinks well on its own, but is better with food.  It went nicely with a Spinach Lasagna.