Friday night and I am drinking a No Name Nebbiolo from Barolo In reality its a declassified Barolo. No its not from a poor vintage, this has been done as a silent protest aimed at the Italian wine authority because for years the winemaker has been at logger heads to get this vineyard classified, in the end he just said bugger and bottled it.
It receives reviews of 90 points and beyond vintage after vintage. Yes its good and for around $70.00 a bottle you get the real deal, that’s providing you are a fan of big bold tannic Italian wines that are loaded with personality and flavour profiles you will not find in an Australian wine and if you got these tannin and acid levels in an Australian wine you would be shocked. Nebbiolo starts out quite dark but in only a year or two in bottle it has faded to a lighter brick red already.
On the nose this wine was old world with stacks of sweet red roses backed up with dried leathery cherries with smoky liquorice. In the mouth all this is repeated, supported by layers of tannin and firm acid taking hours to soften and show some riper fruit that leaves the mouth pleasantly dry on the finish. NOW get this clear Big Bold Italian wines need FOOD!!
The best food is the food from that area of which the wine comes. I had pan fried pork eye fillet with creamy mash potato topped with a sprinkling of shaved black truffles. PS. If you think the wine was expensive try the pig with truffles and mash. It gave the credit card a workout but you only live once.
