| Nebbiolo Tasting Report |
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For this month’s tasting report covering Nebbiolo wines, we
tasted eight different ones, all hailing from the Piedmonte
region in Italy. I guess technically we tasted nine, but two
wines were identical. We went ahead and tasted them anyway
to see if we could spot the identical wines. I think most of us
were able to pick them out, but they did stump a few.
Most of our entries were straight up Nebbiolo wines, however,
we did have three Barolo’s, which are made from Nebbiolo.
The biggest differences between the wines were not regional
differences, obviously, since they all come from the same
region, but the vintage. The older examples were easy to spot
because of their bright orange hue. I would venture to say that
most of the older wines had less body to them as well and the
fruit was a bit sourer. It’s not a bad thing, just a matter of
preference really.
Another interesting trend that developed with these wines was
the prices paid for them. In general, when we do these staff
meetings, we tend to have a wide range of wines from all over
the price spectrum and as a result, the more money a wine cost
didn’t necessarily translate into a high score from the tasting
panel. In fact, more times than not, the highest price wine
does not top the list. See former tasting reports for examples.
However, this time, the high dollar wines finished first and
third with a great budget wine slipping in between the two. I
thought personally that the top three wines were in a class by
themselves and totally belonged at the top. This represents
another new trend, because I rarely feel that is the case! I tend
to disagree with our panel members from time to time. That is
what makes our tasting panel really cool, we bring together so
many different tasting palates and the wines that rate the
highest are the ones that pleased the most people on the
panel. Kind of the way it works in life, right?
We of course had plenty of food to sample with our Nebbiolo
wines. Cold cuts like salami and plenty of crackers and bread.
Assorted cheeses and a Cuban spiced pork tenderloin that
made for an interesting match with the licorice-like qualities of
some of the wines in our tasting. For the most part, the wines
surprised me and tasted fine with the food. I do see how wild
game would be a big hit with Nebbiolo wines.
Lastly, we broke out a new and experimental safety feature.
Our pug dog, Maggie May. She has been schooled in the ways
of alcohol safety and voluntarily administered for our tasting
panel members, a Breathalyzer test to make sure that everyone
was still under the legal limit. I think most of us would agree
that her testing abilities could use some work, but she is
determined to work out the kinks and fine-tune the process.
At any rate, here are the wines:
tasted eight different ones, all hailing from the Piedmonte
region in Italy. I guess technically we tasted nine, but two
wines were identical. We went ahead and tasted them anyway
to see if we could spot the identical wines. I think most of us
were able to pick them out, but they did stump a few.
Most of our entries were straight up Nebbiolo wines, however,
we did have three Barolo’s, which are made from Nebbiolo.
The biggest differences between the wines were not regional
differences, obviously, since they all come from the same
region, but the vintage. The older examples were easy to spot
because of their bright orange hue. I would venture to say that
most of the older wines had less body to them as well and the
fruit was a bit sourer. It’s not a bad thing, just a matter of
preference really.
Another interesting trend that developed with these wines was
the prices paid for them. In general, when we do these staff
meetings, we tend to have a wide range of wines from all over
the price spectrum and as a result, the more money a wine cost
didn’t necessarily translate into a high score from the tasting
panel. In fact, more times than not, the highest price wine
does not top the list. See former tasting reports for examples.
However, this time, the high dollar wines finished first and
third with a great budget wine slipping in between the two. I
thought personally that the top three wines were in a class by
themselves and totally belonged at the top. This represents
another new trend, because I rarely feel that is the case! I tend
to disagree with our panel members from time to time. That is
what makes our tasting panel really cool, we bring together so
many different tasting palates and the wines that rate the
highest are the ones that pleased the most people on the
panel. Kind of the way it works in life, right?
We of course had plenty of food to sample with our Nebbiolo
wines. Cold cuts like salami and plenty of crackers and bread.
Assorted cheeses and a Cuban spiced pork tenderloin that
made for an interesting match with the licorice-like qualities of
some of the wines in our tasting. For the most part, the wines
surprised me and tasted fine with the food. I do see how wild
game would be a big hit with Nebbiolo wines.
Lastly, we broke out a new and experimental safety feature.
Our pug dog, Maggie May. She has been schooled in the ways
of alcohol safety and voluntarily administered for our tasting
panel members, a Breathalyzer test to make sure that everyone
was still under the legal limit. I think most of us would agree
that her testing abilities could use some work, but she is
determined to work out the kinks and fine-tune the process.
At any rate, here are the wines:
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| Domenico Clarico Arte 2000 – Langhe, Italy |
Nose – Big and Powerful full of strong
aromas of violets, tar and licorice
Taste – A big giant of a wine with
aggressive and assertive tannins on a big
fat mouth-feel that was rich and luscious
with nuances of chocolates, truffles and
dried peaches.
Wow! What a wonderful wine. Over the top
in a lot of ways. She’s young and bold; I
wonder what she would be like ten years
from now. I’ll buy another one and find out
for sure. The 2000 vintage in Piedmonte
scored a perfect 100 in the Wine Spectator.
I can see why. The only drawback to this
wine is the price. Stick to hearty meats with
this wine.
aromas of violets, tar and licorice
Taste – A big giant of a wine with
aggressive and assertive tannins on a big
fat mouth-feel that was rich and luscious
with nuances of chocolates, truffles and
dried peaches.
Wow! What a wonderful wine. Over the top
in a lot of ways. She’s young and bold; I
wonder what she would be like ten years
from now. I’ll buy another one and find out
for sure. The 2000 vintage in Piedmonte
scored a perfect 100 in the Wine Spectator.
I can see why. The only drawback to this
wine is the price. Stick to hearty meats with
this wine.
| Score - A |
| Price - $50.00 |
| Marco Bonfante Nebbiolo D’Alba 2000 – Piedmonte, Italy |
Nose – A very luxurious wave of creamy
licorice and spring violets
Taste – Another rich and full-bodied
example that was full of jammy cherry fruit
and a touch of cinnamon spice and licorice
on the lingering finish
So maybe it was not quite as good as the
first wine, but look at the price! Clearly the
biggest bang for the buck in our tasting.
Very exciting. Again, notice the 2000
vintage. If you see a Nebbiolo wine from
this vintage, don’t hesitate to pull the
trigger on your wallet, you will not be
disappointed. With this wine, you will also
need to stick to your heartier dishes.
licorice and spring violets
Taste – Another rich and full-bodied
example that was full of jammy cherry fruit
and a touch of cinnamon spice and licorice
on the lingering finish
So maybe it was not quite as good as the
first wine, but look at the price! Clearly the
biggest bang for the buck in our tasting.
Very exciting. Again, notice the 2000
vintage. If you see a Nebbiolo wine from
this vintage, don’t hesitate to pull the
trigger on your wallet, you will not be
disappointed. With this wine, you will also
need to stick to your heartier dishes.
| Score - B+ |
| Price - $15.00 |
| Ca’ Bianca Barolo 1998 – Langhe, Italy |
Nose – A heady and wise smelling Nebbiolo
with gobs of violets and licorice to tantalite
your nostrils
Taste – This wine has a spicy side to it full
of peppercorns lush red fruit and finishing
with a hint of what makes this part of the
world so famous, truffles
This was another splendid example of
Nebbiolo. Rich and lip-smackingly good. I
would really be eager to try the 2000
vintage of this wine; I bet it is even better
than this. A must for the wine cellar and a
must with a rack of lamb. Bon apetit!
with gobs of violets and licorice to tantalite
your nostrils
Taste – This wine has a spicy side to it full
of peppercorns lush red fruit and finishing
with a hint of what makes this part of the
world so famous, truffles
This was another splendid example of
Nebbiolo. Rich and lip-smackingly good. I
would really be eager to try the 2000
vintage of this wine; I bet it is even better
than this. A must for the wine cellar and a
must with a rack of lamb. Bon apetit!
| Score - B+ |
| Price - $40.00 |
| Martin & Weyrich Nebbiolo 1999 – Central Coast, Italy |
Nose – Subtle hints of violets, licorice and
tomatoes, yes tomatoes
Taste – A medium-bodied wine with an
underlining of dried cherries, a touch of
licorice that gives way to a path of vanilla on
the finish
We had two different vintages of this wine,
unfortunately the older vintage was corked
(a wine that goes bad due to a faulty cork),
and so we were unable to do a legitimate
comparison between the two. I can tell you
that they both had some similar
characteristics such as the body weight and
those tomatoes. I don’t know where they
came from? Wondering what to serve with
this wine, well….something with tomatoes
would be good!
tomatoes, yes tomatoes
Taste – A medium-bodied wine with an
underlining of dried cherries, a touch of
licorice that gives way to a path of vanilla on
the finish
We had two different vintages of this wine,
unfortunately the older vintage was corked
(a wine that goes bad due to a faulty cork),
and so we were unable to do a legitimate
comparison between the two. I can tell you
that they both had some similar
characteristics such as the body weight and
those tomatoes. I don’t know where they
came from? Wondering what to serve with
this wine, well….something with tomatoes
would be good!
| Score - B |
| Around $15.00 |
| Marco Bonfante Barolo Poggio al Faggio 1997 – Piedmonte, Italy |
Nose – A rustic smelling wine full of burnt
toast aromas and a touch of tar
Taste – This rust orange colored wine was a
lot better than the nose would imply giving
way to very appealing cinnamon, caramel
and spicy pepper and followed up with
cherry and more tar on the finish
It was interesting to see that this wine did
not favor as well as its less expensive
cousin. It could be the vintage or it could be
the bottle age. I am unsure which, but I
would agree that it was outshined by the
regular Nebbiolo that came in second. This
tops that one in the food pairing category
however, as it would be great with a wide
variety of items on the food pairing page,
including chicken or game fowl.
toast aromas and a touch of tar
Taste – This rust orange colored wine was a
lot better than the nose would imply giving
way to very appealing cinnamon, caramel
and spicy pepper and followed up with
cherry and more tar on the finish
It was interesting to see that this wine did
not favor as well as its less expensive
cousin. It could be the vintage or it could be
the bottle age. I am unsure which, but I
would agree that it was outshined by the
regular Nebbiolo that came in second. This
tops that one in the food pairing category
however, as it would be great with a wide
variety of items on the food pairing page,
including chicken or game fowl.
| Score - B |
| Around $30.00 |
| Albeisa Nebbiolo 2002 – Langhe, Italy |
Nose – Pleasantly pretty aromas of dried
perfumed flowers on a bedding of candied
fruit
Taste – A wine with a lighter color that is
medium bodied and less tannic than the
others. It contains plenty of fresh picked
strawberries, a little licorice while finishing
a little green
The only fault of this wine was that it was
uniquely different from the rest. I mean it
did not resemble the other wines in the
least! I have no idea how we smelt
strawberries, I certainly did not think that
was a characteristic of Nebbiolo, but I’ll
make a note of it. Another big hit with the
food. Serve it with anything on the lighter
side of the food-pairing list.
perfumed flowers on a bedding of candied
fruit
Taste – A wine with a lighter color that is
medium bodied and less tannic than the
others. It contains plenty of fresh picked
strawberries, a little licorice while finishing
a little green
The only fault of this wine was that it was
uniquely different from the rest. I mean it
did not resemble the other wines in the
least! I have no idea how we smelt
strawberries, I certainly did not think that
was a characteristic of Nebbiolo, but I’ll
make a note of it. Another big hit with the
food. Serve it with anything on the lighter
side of the food-pairing list.
| Score - B- |
| About $20.00 |
| Dezzani Barolo Riserva 1990 – Piedmonte, Italy |
Nose – A bit closed off with traces of burnt
toast, cherry and dried flowers
Taste – A medium bodied Nebbiolo that
shows a little cherry, a little tar while
finishing a little hot.
This was the wine that we tasted two of in
our tasting and the results on the two were
almost identical. A good food wine, that and
the price make it a consideration, but it may
be passed its prime.
toast, cherry and dried flowers
Taste – A medium bodied Nebbiolo that
shows a little cherry, a little tar while
finishing a little hot.
This was the wine that we tasted two of in
our tasting and the results on the two were
almost identical. A good food wine, that and
the price make it a consideration, but it may
be passed its prime.
| Score - B- |
| Price $18.00 |
| Martin & Weyrich Nebbiolo 1998 – Central Coast, Italy |
Nose – Delicate displays of mildew and
dirty socks followed up with a can of ten
year old asparagus
Taste – Off! A V-8 vegetable drink
experiment that has gone horribly wrong!
Hey, this wine was corked so really it was
not fair to rate it. The responses of our
tasters were quite humorous. I think some
of the kinder responses were, “Smells like
A**!” and the person who brought the wine
gave it a rating of “S**T!”
dirty socks followed up with a can of ten
year old asparagus
Taste – Off! A V-8 vegetable drink
experiment that has gone horribly wrong!
Hey, this wine was corked so really it was
not fair to rate it. The responses of our
tasters were quite humorous. I think some
of the kinder responses were, “Smells like
A**!” and the person who brought the wine
gave it a rating of “S**T!”
| Score D |
| Around $15.00 |
| Maggie giving Ian a Breathalyzer Test |
