Tag Archives: Piedmont

Monchiero Langhe Nebbiolo 2022, Piedmont, Italy

12 Sunday Oct 2025

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Pale ruby colored with copper highlights, and medium (-) viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of red cherries, green herbs, orange peel, rose, and tobacco.  It needs coaxing.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) body, and high tannins.  The flavors are slightly more intense than the nose, yet there is a one-dimensional aspect along with some bitterness.  The tannins grip for ages, but the astringent feeling is midpalate driven and fades before the tannins.  It’s not my favorite.  The finish is medium in length and concentrates on red cherry and herbs.  I am planning on pairing it with roasted tenderloin, it should work okay as I have a Rösti on the side that might tame the tannins.  87 points from me for this $24 effort makes it a 3 star wine.  I would cellar a bottle or two and re-taste in 3-5 years.  Salut….

Monchiero Langhe Nebbiolo

Paolo Scavino Sorriso Langhe Bianco 2023, Piedmont, Italy

23 Tuesday Sep 2025

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Medium lemon colored with gold accents, and a watery sheen (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of lanolin, lemon pith, lime, tangerine, white grapefruit, peach, green herbs, and wet rock.  The palate is dry, with a medium (+) body and medium acidity.  The fullness of the wine detracts initially from the flavors- of which I get grapefruit, melon, peach, lemon zest, and bouquet garni.  The finish is medium (+) in length and the acidity starts to grip at that point, the fruit lingering ever so.  Delicious and pairing beautifully with roast Cod and Brussel Sprouts.  91 points for this $18 bottle makes it a 5 star effort.  A delicious un-oaked Chardonnay/SavBlanc/Viognier blend that has not gone through MLF.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Paolo Scavino Sorriso Langhe Bianco

Pecchenino Botti Langhe Nebbiolo 2021, Piedmont, Italy

20 Monday May 2024

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I wanted to introduce our tasting group to young Nebbiolo without the price tag of a Barolo, nor the monster structure of one that is not yet ready to drink.  The answer lay in Langhe where this grape is made in a more approachable and affordable style.  Pale garnet colored with high viscosity (14% ABV).  The nose had medium (+) intensity aromas of forest, messy floor (!), stinky feet (not my descriptors!), chocolate covered cherry, strawberry, flint, anise, tobacco, smoke, green and floral.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity, medium body and medium (+) tannins that are starting to soften.  Cherry tart, tobacco, black tea, forest floor and mushrooms with a long finish.  At $27, it’s an excellent value bottle to showcase the wonderful tastes and structure of this alluring grape.  I gave it 18/20 points on our grading scale making it my #2 wine of the night.  Technically speaking I scored it 92 points and 4 stars.  Drink till 2030 with pasta.  Salut….

Elio Altare Dolcetto d’Alba 2021, Piedmont, Italy

31 Thursday Aug 2023

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It’s pasta night so I dug out this Italian bottle for the occasion.  It’s a deep purple color with medium viscosity legs (14% ABV).  On the nose- medium intensity aromas of pomegranate, cherry, red licorice, red florals, a hint of coffee as well as a slight green vegetal note.  On the palate- medium bodied, dry,  medium acidity and medium (-) tannins that are overshadowed by tart red fruit.  The red pomegranate leads off with rhubarb and slightly underripe cherry.  Violets and red licorice follow on to the medium length finish where the whole package starts to make sense.  What started out as a bit disjointed, underripe and acidic opens up nicely into a  food friendly wine that gets 88 points from me.  At $20, this Dolcetto gets 3 stars.  Drink now.  Salut….

Cordero di Montezemolo Langhe Arneis 2021, Piedmont, Italy

07 Monday Aug 2023

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At the 32nd virtual wine tasting we started off with this Arneis, tasted chilled and at room temp.  The attendees found this wine to be pale lemon colored with medium viscosity (13.5% ABV).  Aromas and flavors of almond, pineapple, apricot, marzipan, peach and pear we evident in the chilled version.  On the palate- medium acidity and a medium (-) body that led to a short finish.  I scored it 11 points on our scale and would assign an 89 point technical rating.  The room temperature version was much more floral, but fruit-wise only the peach and pear notes came across the nose along with some honey and hazelnut.  On the palate it tasted fuller bodied and had some citrus notes by way of lemon peel in addition to pear.  I did not care as much for it at room temp- 9 points and its technical rating dropped to an 88.  For $20 it gets 3 stars from me.  Drink now with grilled fish or a shrimp salad.  Salut….

Fontanafreda ‘Ebbio’ Langhe Nebbiolo 2020, Piedmont, Italy

13 Saturday May 2023

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Pale ruby colored with some slow moving legs (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of cherry, roses, tar, cranberry, dried thyme, red licorice.  The palate is dry with high acidity and high tannins.  Medium to full bodied, this Nebbiolo has classic red fruit notes with dried herbs, red flowers and earthy tar nuance.  The finish is tart and medium in length.  This is a scaled down version of Barolo that is easier to drink when young- it begs for pasta dishes which is what I’m pairing it with.  It is very smooth and balanced with the high levels of structure that will reward some cellaring.  It gets 90 points from me and for $26 it gets 4 stars.  Drink till 2026.  Salut….

Risata Moscato d’Asti DOCG 2019, Piedmont, Italy

28 Saturday Jan 2023

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Pale straw colored with some effervescence in the glass.  The nose is fruity and aromatic with orange blossom, yellow apple, rose water, quince and and lemon/lime soda.  The palate is semi-sweet with medium (-) acidity and smooth, easygoing bubbles.  The flavors include orange, lemon/lime soda and some quince.  The rose component is lost past the nose.  The bubbles make the wine seem airy, the body is definitely light and the finish is balanced and surprisingly long at medium.  Crisp and relatively fresh, if not a touch too sweet for my liking, this is a wine that needs to be drunk well chilled on a hot afternoon, basking away in the sunshine and nibbling on charcuterie.  88 points from me and for $12 it’s a 4 star effort.  Salut….

Boasso Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba 2018, Piedmont, Italy

22 Tuesday Nov 2022

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Medium garnet colored this Nebbiolo has some thick legs in the glass (14.5% ABV).  The nose has pronounced aromas of leather, cherry, dusty earth, licorice and coffee.  Charred oak is evident and there is a perfumed floral note as well.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity and medium tannins.  Full bodied, this delicious wine has flavors of tart cherry, red currant, pomegranate, leather, dusty earth, tar and coffee.  The oaky note is very faint.  It finishes long and a touch tart with grippy tannins.  Still relatively young at 4 years, it will cellar nicely and drink till 2030 at the least.  I think it gets 92 points and for $32 it’s a 5 star wine.  I am pairing it with slow cooked beef roast and trimmings.  Salut….

Villa Sparina Gavi del Comune di Gavi DOCG 2021, Piedmont, Italy

08 Friday Jul 2022

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This is a new one for me- the Cortese grape from Italy.  This bottle is deceivingly tinted making me think I was going to pour a deep yellow wine.  Instead I found it to be pale gold with aromas of green pear, chamomile, lemon zest, lime and lanolin.  The palate is dry with a full body that coats my mouth with a waxy lemon/lime component, green pear, spice and floral notes.  The finish is medium length and the waxy mouthfeel hangs on for a while.  Having never had this varietal it is difficult to rate but I thoroughly enjoyed the textural aspect of this wine and the fruit flavors were delicious.  90 points for this really yummy wine that I paired with grilled Jerk chicken.  Bought for $14, it gets 5 stars.  Try it this summer with seafood or white meats.  Salut….

Negretti Barolo DOCG 2017, Piedmont, Italy

25 Monday Apr 2022

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Bordering on medium garnet- Nebbiolo typically shows this color even when but a few years old.  The nose gives off charming aromas of red cherry, dried herbs, cranberry, coffee, a touch of tar and some violet.  The palate is dry with high acidity and medium (+) tannins.  A full body and luscious flavors of red fruit, some sour cherry and the nuances of oak, tar and floral violets.  The finish is purely sour cherry, tannins and juicy acidity with some smooth yet powerful tannins.  It is medium in length and balanced.  For a young Barolo it is drinking nicely already and will mature over time to give tertiary notes hopefully.  90 points from me and for $36 it gets 4 stars.  Drink till 2029.  Salut….