Nebbiolo tasting

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Nicklasss
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Nebbiolo tasting

Post by Nicklasss »

This week, i had a Nebbiolo tasting with my tasting group. Nebbiolo has the reputation to be the Italian ''Pinot Noir'', as hard to grow, fragile and hate excessive heat. Nebbiolo is kind of grape that wine lover forget often : being not understand really well, these wines with relative high acidity and tannins, need lot of air (or time in the cellar) to give something nice. When young, when you open a Barolo and let it taste to someone used to ''actual modern fruity lush'' wines, he/she will be normally not seduced...

We had 6 wines, 2 being lower price (less than 30 $), to compare with 4 normally priced (50 $ or more) wine made from Nebbiolo.

2007 Nebbiolo Langhe Pio Cesare: One of the cheap wine tonight. In that group, i rated it second to last, but it is anyhow a good wine. Red with light violet rim. Nose of cherries, closed to start with, but open on light black licorice and overripe strawberries. In mouth, blackberries flavors, earth, light vanilla, relative high acidity, medium long with fine tannins. A bit aqueous when compared with the other wine, but good anyhow. TN : 87.

2006 Follia Barolo from Jarno Trulli (Podere Castorani) : Light rubis red. Accessive quickly on the nose, made to please, but keep a real Piedmont character. Aromas of cinnamon, red berries, cherries, light rasberries, vanilla. Mouth is seductive. with flavors of red cherries, bit of tobacco, coating morello cherries and envading tannins. Quite good, this was the other cheap wine of the group. TN : 89-90.

2005 Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga d'Alba : Dark red color, grenat. Nose started really closed as was the mouth. I had a bad impression to start with. But the wine opened greatly over 3.5 hours. Nose was grapey, tobacco, bitter cherries, earth and red prunes. Quite good. In mouth, structured, red licorice flavors, red berries, smoke, slightly bitter cherries, tannins are riper than wine 1 and 2. Lot of potential behind. TN : 90+.

1997 Coderi Polla Dardi Le Rose Barolo : Older wine that night and the best. This was an amazing complex wine. And can be kept for 5 more years. Of course 1997 was a great vintage in the Piedmont. Color was ruby, wth light brown rims. Nose was supper elegance and complex : tea, gamey to start with, opened quickly on herbs, violet flowers, clean leather, nuts, rasberries, red berries. Mouth was as complex as the nose. flavors that are balanced between ripe red cherries, flowers, light black prunes, licorice, musk. Fine tannins, ripe, super long balanced final. Drinking nicely. TN : 92-93.

2006 Barbaresco Pio Cesare : The wine that seemed to me the youngest and more oaky of the group. Opaque dark red color. One block nose, with lot of vanilla, cookie dough, creme brûlée, mint and red berries. Young mouth, controlled by the oak flavors and vanilla. Light berries behind but did not opened very much during the tasting. TN : 86? but hard to judge.

2001 Barbaresco Vigneto Ronchi Albino Rocca: Dark red color. Nose not really expressive at first, became really interesting after 2 hours : rasberries, red berries, light wood, violet flowers, earth, smoke. Creamy nose. In mouth, the most ''creamy and fat wine'' of the group. Rich mouth, still young but promising, with flavors of rasberries, leaves, licorice, thick ripe black cherries. Acidity is medium, lot of ripe smooth tannins, that are very long of the tobacco earthy finish. But will probably be a better wine in 5-7 more years. TN : 90-91+.

That was a good tasting and reconfirmed that Nebbiolo is an interesting grape, but really need some time. Also, except for one wine, the style is not modern at all.


Some other wines I have opened lately:

2004 Ridge Geyserville : This is a good wine but not an excellent Geyserville. Alcohol is too warm on final. It is also full of chocolate, red berries, smoke oak, but stay more simple than what Ridge offer normally. TN : 86.

2006 Chateau d'Aiguilhe : This Côtes-de-Castillon that I really appreciated on the 2004 vintage, has a more ''lush fruit and modern'' style in the 2006 vintage. This too is quite flashy and ripe, but no complexity or structure. Dark red, with a nose generally based on sweet rasberries, caramel, and sweet cherries. In mouth, quite the same as in mouth. But this is fat and coating, final is decent, but where are the earthy mineral or Merlot cool flavors? TN : 86.

2001 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru les Combettes from Vincent Girardin : Giving 50 % of what it should be, because it is premoxed. I have a few other 2001 white Bourgognes, and should open them shortly as I'm scared now. Yes, there was some waxy mineral, but basically, this wine has a kajor default.

Nic
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Birger Vejrum
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Re: Nebbiolo tasting

Post by Birger Vejrum »

Nicklasss wrote:
2001 Barbaresco Vigneto Ronchi Albino Rocca: Dark red color. Nose not really expressive at first, became really interesting after 2 hours : rasberries, red berries, light wood, violet flowers, earth, smoke. Creamy nose. In mouth, the most ''creamy and fat wine'' of the group. Rich mouth, still young but promising, with flavors of rasberries, leaves, licorice, thick ripe black cherries. Acidity is medium, lot of ripe smooth tannins, that are very long of the tobacco earthy finish. But will probably be a better wine in 5-7 more years. TN : 90-91+.

That was a good tasting and reconfirmed that Nebbiolo is an interesting grape, but really need some time. Also, except for one wine, the style is not modern at all.




Nic
Hi Nic,

Thanks for the TN, favorite producer of mine.


Ciao
Birger
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Ramon_NYC
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Re: Nebbiolo tasting

Post by Ramon_NYC »

Nicklasss wrote:That was a good tasting and reconfirmed that Nebbiolo is an interesting grape, but really need some time. Also, except for one wine, the style is not modern at all.
I may have missed it in the post, but which was the one wine that was modern?
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