Every country has a grape or style of wine that’s King. Napa has Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia has Shiraz. In Italy a couple of things come to mind immediately for wine lovers. But while Sangiovese based wines such as Chianti and Brunello get a lot of deserved attention, Barolo is the rock star. Today I’ll look at a new release Barolo from producer Paolo Manzone.
The Paolo Manzone 2007 Barolo DOCG was produced entirely from Nebbiolo. The vines this fruit was sourced from have 15 years of age on them; they sit on a hillside approximately 400 meters above sea level. The fruit was hand harvested and then fermented in a temperature controlled environment. Barrel aging occurred in French oak over a period of 24 months; 16 months of bottle aging followed prior to release. 500 cases of this wine were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $59.99.
Violets, rose petals, and dry red fruit aromas fill the intensely fragrant nose of this 2007 Barolo. Flavors of red cherry and dried cranberry are joined by gentle spices throughout the palate which is deeply embedded with layer after layer of flavor. Earth and hints of black tea emerge on the finish which continues to show off red fruit flavors. Terrific, racy acidity and firm tightly wound tannins provide excellent structure. This is a powerful Barolo that has prodigious depth of palate and tremendous length. This wine is nice now particularly paired with food; however it will benefit from another 6-8 years of bottle aging after which it will be even more accessible and perform more brilliantly.