Grape - Nebbiolo
Alcohol - 13.5%
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £17.49 (although it's 25% off as I write)
Appearance - Clear; medium intensity; tawny
Nose - Clean; medium+ intensity; developing; alcohol, red and black fruit, vanilla, floral
Palate - Dry; medium+ intensity; medium+ tannin; medium+ alcohol; medium+ body; medium acidity. bramble, liquorice, tea(!).
Balance - 9 Length - 6 Intensity - 7 Complexity - 7
Barolo is normally rather expensive, and considered to often be rather harsh. The reviews of this wine suggested that it was rather more smooth, and also the price was good.
It is still fairly intense, but it is well balanced, I think. I put it in my decanter about 90 minutes before drinking, which I think was important. It is a great colour from the oak which also gives it some interesting flavours - I couldn't put my finger on one aspect but read a review that suggested black tea, and I can see that being very true.
This is a food wine, for sure, I can imagine it with an Italian dish, and carnivorous types would find it useful in view of the tannin. It does have a significant amount of tannic mouth-drying power, which would be a big turn-off for someone who doesn't normally drink reds. They'd be better off with a lower-tannin red like a Pinot Noir.
I reckon that with the oaky flavours, a few years tucked away would make this very interesting, as the oak flavours develop and the tannin and alcohol mellows.
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