2013 Damilano Langhe Nebbiolo Marghe

I’m always curious to try these “low end” nebbiolos from serious producers and impulse bought this wine. At $14 it was a low risk bet.

Popped and poured, served with a simple roast chicken and rice. Lovely, simple straight forward wine with a clear nebbiolo nose of fresh red fruit and rosy floral scents. Light body and more red fruit on the palate, just a little bit of sweetness. Not overly long or complex, but a hint of earthiness complemented the fruit, as well as some acid to balance the meal. Great QPR and fine candidate for a budget daily drinker. Amazing that this can get to California for such a low price.

Sometimes Costco in CA has their Levinacque (or whatever that blended Barolo) for $20 too. I liked it.

Some might argue about Damilano and serious, but I picked up the same thing for about $15 bucks at Vons and I agree - it’s nice to get juice like that to CA. I wish CA would do wines like that for the same price.

In fact I always look at the wines labeled only as Nebbiolo. Sometimes they’re declassified fruit that would have gone into a “higher” end wine, but the economics didn’t justify the expense.