Watch and listen as Luca Bosio and I dive into all things Piedmont and taste 6 of his wines.
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Barbera
few things tie this group of wines together. First and most importantly they’re delicious. They’re all appropriate for Spring. Regardless of their price point they represent excellent or better value. And finally with just a couple of exceptions, most of them are widely available on store shelves. All of them can certainly be ordered online, which is where many of us are purchasing our wine these days.
If you’re not sure what to get someone as a gift this year, consider a good bottle of wine or spirits —‚ always in season. Anyone who drinks alcohol will certainly appreciate a well-chosen bottle to enjoy, be it alone or with friends (my hope is that it’s with you). Throughout the year, I’ve tasted a number of the best bottles in both the wine and spirit categories and compiled a list of my 24 favorites — any of which would make excellent gifts for a variety of budgets. A few of the bottles are particularly great values, while others are luxury beverages that will really impress the lucky person who receives them; no matter the price, every selection in this guide is delicious and well made. Head over to The Daily Meal to read the rest.
When you take all the different grapes and styles into account, the diversity coming out of Italy can make your head spin with delight. Despite the variety, Barolo and Barbera remain among the most recognizable. Attilio Ghisolfi features both of those, and more, in their portfolio. The original nine acres of land that Attilio Ghisolfi farms for their wines have been in the family since 1895. However, it wasn’t until 1988 when they added another 21 acres that they began to make wine under their own label. I sat down recently over lunch at Arno in Manhattan and tasted through both their current offerings and a handful of older Library releases. Here’s a look at a few of my favorites. Head over to The Daily Meal to read the rest.
Gianpaolo Manzone represents the sixth generation of his family involved in the wine business in one aspect or another. His family has two plots of land that add up to 24 acres under vine. In addition to being the winemaker, Gianpaolo is also the vineyard manager for this property which sits is in two different town’s right in the midst of the Piedmont Region. I recently had dinner with Gianpaolo at Ristorante Morini in New York. The evening was fascinating for a multitude of reasons, but two in particular stood out for me. He was remarkably passionate about what he does; that love and intensity for his vocation comes rushing out of him in loud and descriptive bursts. Here’s a man who not only loves tending his vines and crafting wine, he loves sharing it with people and explaining what he does. The other captivating item was how differently he treats each wine he makes. An example would be the grape Nebbiolo. He uses it to make both a varietal wine and several Barolos. However, he has different production and barrel regimens for each. By treating each one differently he’s allowing the grapes in question to shine more prominently than they might otherwise. Over the course of the night we tasted nine wines including a couple of slightly older Barolos which helped form a mini-vertical. Read the rest of the story over at The Daily Meal
Italy has a stunning number of varietals that great wines can be made with. They run the gamut in styles and flavor profiles. Today I’ll look at a couple of current releases from producer Attilio Ghisolfi that feature Nebbiolo and Barbera
The Attilio Ghisolfi 2007 Barbera d’Alba Maggiora was produced using fruit sourced at vineyards in Monfonte d’Alba. These vineyards sit approximately 400 meters above sea level. This offering is 100% Barbera. Vinification took place with wild yeasts. Oak aging occurred over 15 months in a combination of small French oak barrels (50%) and Large Slavonian oak (50%). Six months of temperature controlled bottle aging occurred prior to release. 840 cases of this wine were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $24.99.
Red and black berry fruit aromas are present on the nose of this wine. Dried cherry and cranberry flavors appear through the palate along with hints of herbs. Earth and spice mark the lengthy finish along with strawberry and rhubarb characteristics. This Barbera shows good structure marked by firm, racy acidity. This wine is built to be paired with food and will complement a wide array of flavorful options.
The Attilio Ghisolfi 2005 Barolo DOCG was produced using fruit sourced at southwest facing vineyards in the Visette section of Monfonte d’Alba. The average age of the vines is between 5 and 15 years. This offering is 100% Nebbiolo. Only wild yeasts were used and Vinification occurred over 10 days in a temperature controlled environment. Barrel aging took place over three years in large Slavonian oak. This was followed by 6 months of bottle aging prior to release. 1,500 six-bottle cases of this wine were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $44.99.
The highly perfumed nose of this 2005 Barolo features rose petals, red fruit and wisps of leather. Dried cherries, raspberries, pepper and nutmeg are prominently featured flavors on the deeply layered palate of this wine which is dominated by red fruit flavors tinged by black fruits chipping in. Chicory, earth, and bitter-leaning dark chocolate notes are all part of a super long finish that goes on and on long after the last sip of wine has been swallowed. This is an absolutely gorgeous example of Barolo that has excellent structure with firm tannins that yield with some air and fine acidity. If you’re going to drink this wine over the next year or so I recommend decanting it for 90 minutes to two hours. However don’t hesitate to lay it down for 10 to 15 years.
Both of these offerings from Attilio Ghisolfi represent well made wines that showcase their varietals well. They’re fairly priced for the quality they represent and are well worth seeking out when you’re looking to drink some terrific Italian Wines.
I've previously looked at Zinfandel and Syrah from Amador County's Lang Wines. Both of those proved to be excellent examples of the varietal and good values to boot. Today I'll look at their Barbera. This varietal is of course a native of Italy. More recently it's been showing up in California with mixed results.
The 2006 Lang Wines Barbera was sourced from Amador County. The wine was aged in Hungarian Oak. The production of this wine was limited and it sells through their website for $216 per case which works out to $18 per bottle.
I found this wine to be a bit closed up at first and I would definitely recommend decanting this selection for 1-2 hours if you're drinking it in the short term. Once it had opened up both the nose and the palate are loaded with a ton of dark fruit, particularly black cherry, which is prominent throughout. Those characteristics are joined by a fair amount of pepper, nutmeg and other more subtle spice notes such as vanilla. All of these come into play in the finish along with light mineral notes and a hint of black tea. Firm tannins and good acidity provide the framework for this wine.
What I like best about this wine is that it's undeniably built to pair up with food. Aged cheeses would work perfectly. For $18 a bottle this is a fine example of what can be achieved with Barbera in California.
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