Pizza TNs: Two "youngish" Piemonte wines

WINE TALK
1

I felt like a little Sicilian pie tonight, so that’s means some Italian red. First up:

2005 Giacomo Conterno Barbera d’Alba Cascina Francia
Probably my favorite Italian winemaker, and definitely my favorite style of Barbera. The wine’s color is still a very deep red at it’s core, becoming barely translucent as you move out to the rim. Smoky red & black fruits on the nose, with forest floor/underbrush as a backstop, and some smoked meat notes thrown in for good measure - really nice nose here! On the palate, you get a brief surge of sweet fruit before a tidal wave of acidity crashes through - off that first taste, I’d say this wine is on the very young side of youngish [wink.gif] . We’ll see if it behaves more civilized once the 'za arrives. 14% alcohol.

2

Sounds perfect for Pizza. Enjoy!

3

And for our second selection tonight:

2001 Giovanni Rosso Barolo Cerretta

Much lighter in color than the first wine; translucent red with bricking around the rim. Soaring nose of cool red fruits and balsamic - again, a very nice nose here. Then sweet cherry fruit with a seamless entry on the palate, although youthful and still slightly grainy tannins close off the finish at the end. Still, for a wine this young, all components appear to be in balance, and I’d think that this wine will be singing in another 5-10 years, albeit enjoyable now if you like your Barolo on the fruity, younger side. Alcohol 14.5% per the label.

4

Nice notes, Bobulus!

5

And a perfect lesson tonight supporting the importance of food when tasting wines - that shrill acidity in the Barbera was tamed by the pizza - whether it was the fat in the cheese or the acidity in the sauce I couldn’t say, but as soon as I had the Conterno after a slice of 'za, the balance in the wine world had been restored! Still, tonight the Barolo was the clear WOTN, as even though it’s still a youngster, this is a more medium-bodied style of Barolo, and at 8 years of age, aided by a little air, it certainly came around. If you have it in the cellar, while it’s certainly drinkable, off tonight’s showing I would recommend decanting for a hour or two as opposed to popping & pouring like I did - the additional air really serves to smooth out those tannins. [cheers.gif]

6

Thanks for the notes Bob, your experience with the Barbera mirrors one I had with an '03 Vietti Scarrone. At first seemed too acidic like it was opened too soon but with a rich pasta primavera the acidity receeded and the fruit popped out. The magnitude of the change and dramatic improvement in the wine made for a memorable experience.