Hello; Friday, the Society of Tastevins in Helsingborg had a tasting with wines from Piemonte as theme. One flight of 5 wines, all red, most in the slightly higher priced zone. Lighting was a bit poor, so evaluations of color and related are uncertain. Mostly, there was little visible difference between the wines which all were on the dark, opaque and young-looking side
1 Dolcetto di Dogliano Rumanot 2000 [C] Most obviously bluish purple, very dark [N] A bit coarse, mineral, hints of honey, and horse stable, and a fragrance of mint [P] Very very tannic, with accompanying acidity, a sort of generic fruitiness but coarse Overall impression: This wine fairly screamed for accomapnying food, grilled beef or similar. According to the master of ceremonies, hints of raspberries and blueberries should have been prominent - I failed to identify them. SEK 79
2 Barbera d´Alba Aldo Conterno 2000 [C] SLightly lighter than 1. [N] Here, also, I found honey and minerals. It came over as very closed in the nose [P] Vanilla, lots of dark fruit, nice tannines in balance with a fresh acidity, blackberries Overall impression: Despite the dumb nose, very enjoyable and quite approachable. Definitely a wine to put down for a longish time. Here, I missed the violets. SEK 239
- Sori Paitin Barabresco 1999 [C] This was the darkest of the lot [N] Oddly smelling of old Danish cheese (Havarti), lots of oak, very generous, dried fruit (figs and similar), very concentrated,anise or liquorice, violets? [P] Violets, vanilla, senega (traditional Swedish cough drops, if you don´t know), fruity but astringent - you get the feeling that the tannines sort of shut down the fruit Overall impression: Wonderful wine, certainly for long keeping, real class SEK 499
4 Seghesio Barolo La VIlla 1998 [N] Anonymous nose, coarse, floral, acidity [P]Violets, vanilla, generous, dark fruit, very good persistance Overall impression: This one tastes better than it smells. SEK 495
5 Monsordo 2000 Ceretto [N] Cow´s stable and manure, senega again [P] Rich blueberries, leather, fresh acidity OVerall impression: Despite the oddly described nose, very approachable blend of nebbiolo, cab, pinot noir, and merlot. SEK 289
This tasting was my first real Piemonte tasting. I´ve had the odd Barolo before, but nothing like the 3 and 4 here. It was also very clear that these were not wines to sip in an easy chair while contemplating Mozart - these were all beast that wanted to be fed - preferably red meat, or game. These were wines to have with a _meal_. Most likely, a meal in 5 or ten years time.
There are currently about SEK 7,20 to a USD, and SEK 9.20 to an EU.
Cheers
Nils Gustaf