TN and a story--- 2008 Cantina Terre Del Barolo Barolo Riserva (Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo)

• 2008 Cantina Terre Del Barolo Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/25/2017)
  A note with a story attached. I am having a bit of fun, so I will apologize in advance. ps-spell checker & grammar police stay clear.

I have been on a tear lately for all things nebbiolo (having just returned from Italy–another story, another day) and happened into a local store with an reputation for an ok internet sales minded/bargain basement selection of wines (ie: cheap). You know the type, with the metal upright shelves, boxes of $5 swill stacked in the middle of the aisle and a totally unknowledgeable wine staff and with no rhyme or reason to assortment or order. All I wanted was a nebbiolo for tonight’s dinner; I wanted an adventure with a mysterious end and I wanted a Barbaresco (preferably) or Langhe Nebbiolo, and I wanted it cheap but they had one of the former and none of the later so after I go outside to check my phone for the reviews on that singular Barbaresco since I swear to you the store blocks all data usage like a Junior High School auditorium so you won’t/can’t do such a thing and I see it’s rated just average but more importantly the note was ho-hum. I did not want ho-hum, I wanted to explore the ‘above’ average tonight, I wanted to be semi-wowed. Going back in I did notice some Baroli in the $20-$24 range which is fascinating to me since I always believed you get what you pay for and how much love could a $21 unfamiliar/no big name attachment Barolo actually deliver? I mean sure, I did pay 6.50 Euros for a decent quaffable half bottle before, but that was Rome. After some hemming and hawing I see one that has a vintage listed as 2008 and the word Riserva. OK, I’ll play. $22 and lets see where we go. What’s the downside?. Fast-forward to home, I make a pizza and pop this cork and pour some into my oft-used pinot noir glass. Interesting color of burnt umber with a very pretty core. I bring to my nose and I get some roses, tar and dried cherries. Hmm, quite nice. The palate shows a nice density with the wonderful cherries, now blasting through mixed with some dried herbs, tar, lead pencil and cellar floor. OK, I can live with a little cellar floor if it’s just a bit and all else around it showing well. A very admirable acidity that showed very well with my pizza (da!) and a fully resolved tannic structure. This got better as the hour (or two) went on as I sat ‘al di fuori’ on my back deck and it all remained in place with the last two glasses the next day. I went back for more and I think I did ok, oh, and most importantly I had FUN doing it, just like I would have 25 years ago before mailing lists or the internet and well before my hyper-bravado’d and over-philosophized place in the geeky world of wine.
I remember a great Italian dude once said to me when I visited his little Enoteca on some small back-street in Rome as I asked for a ‘Bicchiere di Barolo’ on a Sunday morning: ‘In this country, we drink Barolo for special occasions only!’ It was almost a reprimand but I took it well and proceeded to let him guide my late morning of ‘lesser’ wines that the Italians drink daily, and I had an awesome time. I chuckle about it now and ask myself: Isn’t Wednesday a special occasion?’

How was your day? (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Hey, hey now - quite the surprise to log on this morning and see the likes of Mike Pobega posting a Barolo TN

Although I would think that a wine from 2008 probably counts as ancient for a guy who usually drinks his stuff on delivery day

I actually think I wandered into this place while I was staying in Castiglione Falletto. It looked so much like a factory, Costco, Sams type of a place that I did not want to risk the $ which I think was about €18 for their 2006 Reserva. Glad you got a good deal!