1997 Nebbiolo d’Alba “Valmaggiore”; Luciano Sandrone
treacle and sweetness, poised with cranberry, stewed strawberry, sugar, sugar cane, demarera cane sugar, raisins, some structure and poise, a hint of herbs, earth, cedar, chocolate, fairly long but very sweet and desert like. Utterly bizarre, but somehow isn’t unpleasant. If a wine could taste of Ron Zacapa 23 year old, Guatemalan Rum!! *****+? Or [4+4+4.5+4.5=17/20]
Dude, that’s one weird flavor profile! Some of it, the thick sweetness, rings true of my experience with Sandrone wines, but overall, that’s one weird flavor profile. Interesting indeed.
I’ve got this old Roero Nebbiolo d’Alba standing, an '86 Prunotto Riserva, waiting to go. I expect a very different flavor profile!
Astor here in NYC has some 96 Malvira Roero. Anyone tried that?
Sheesh, this has got to be the strangest set of aromas and flavors from a Nebbiolo that I’ve ever heard of. Downright bizarre! It sounds very maderized.
Chad, bet your’s shows something much more akin to Nebbiolo. 86 Riserva no less, nice score! Great sleeper vintage.
Was bizarre, but strangely not maderised and enjoyable as a wine drinking experience if that makes any sense.
You wouldn’t say Nebbiolo blind.
The 86 should be lovely.
97 was a difficult, atypically hot vintage.
I love Roero Nebbiolo, very useful wines to have around while your Barolos mature.
Wow, that’s a great picture and a beautiful bottle, wish I had one. 25 year old Nebbiolo d’Alba? From anyone else I would say expect the worst and hope for the best, but the Beppe Colla days Prunotto is special, if anyone can make one that is still kicking at 25 it’s them (or, was them).
In the FWIW dept.
Nebbiolo d’Alba is a DOC with it’s own classified vineyards, separate from Barolo and Barbaresco, and many of them are in the Roero region, like “Occhetti” pictured above, across the Tanaro river. Giacosa makes a “Valmaggiore” also. I used to buy the Vietti “San Michele” when possible. Many people confuse it with the “Nebbiolo delle Langhe” wines, which are mostly declassified Barolo and Barbaresco, a whole different animal. The greatest Nebbiolo d’Alba I ever tasted was the 1982 Tenuta Carretta “Bric Paradiso”, which drank like a beautiful Barolo or Barbaresco.
Roero vineyards
Valmagiorre can be labelled Roero if your winery is within Roero… Arneis is slightly different…
Same with Babaresco and Barolo. A winery in Roero would either have to rent space from someone in Barolo to make a Barolo or call it Nebbiolo d’Alba. All the Nebbiolo d’Alba vineyards are from in and around these main areas, and with Roero since it only became a DOC and then DOCG quite recently, there is a lot of overlap. I know some producers who label Roero’s as Nebbiolo d’Alba simply because they have done it for 100 years and their customers recognise it as that, but they could legally call it Roero “insert vineyard name here”!!