Our Barolo Blog Explained

Since for part of the year, we live near the town of Barolo, we visit there as well as some of the eleven towns in that area that, by law, are able to produce Barolo, to taste new releases and, if they are suitable for our cellar, purchase them.  Since we do go more than the average person, we decided to write about our findings, mainly the good, but also some of the not so good Barolo, Barbaresco and Nebbiolo that we taste.  This blog will not be updated every day nor every week and maybe not even every month but, we will relate to you what we think when we do travel there.  We will also provide the reader with the type of food that you might serve with the wine we review once it is opened.

We take no compensation for what we write.  On occasion, we are offered a complementary bottle or two of their wines, usually because we have purchased a number of bottles.  Sometimes, even a discount if our purchases past the level that the cantina has set.

Some confusion has surfaced about the prices we list on some of the wines.  Those are prices that the cantina/winery sets and are for the clients that buy directly from the cantina/winery.  Prices may vary where you buy your wine!

We do not drink Barolo, Barbaresco or Nebbiolo every day.  Our house wine, a Barbera d'Asti, is grown and made by Michele Ferrero in Costigliole d'Asti.  We also have his Arneis for guests that prefer white wine.  He and his brother make excellent wines.  We have most of his efforts in our cellar for aging and drinking on a regular basis.  Michele is the brother-in-law of one of our very good friends, Laura Toso of Agriturismo La Mussia (https://www.lamussia.it).  This is the only possible conflict of interest that could be perceived.

Another piece of information...we are frequently served wines that are not Barolo, Barbaresco (both made with the Nebbiolo grape) or Nebbiolo itself.  This blog is about Barolo, Barbaresco and Nebbiolo so we will not discuss anything except these three.

If there is a particular cantina (winery) you would like us to visit, please communicate and tell us why and what particular offerings that you would like us to concentrate on.  You may contact us by clicking here!

For the short time we have been writing about our experiences in tasting Barolo, Barbaresco and Nebbiolo, we have come to realize that dealing with the owner of a cantina or the winemaker makes a big difference in the wines.  Yes, we know that this is all psychological but if you have tasted as many wines as we have (one of us was a wine investor in California before moving to Italy), you realize the personal touch is very important so we will not write any further about wine "factories" nor will we even visit them unless it is unavoidable.  Someone asked us how many Barolos that we had tasted.  Our first "guess" was around 400 but after thinking about it, the number increased to 500.

One more thing that has become more common in our travels...wineries/cantine have begun to charge for tastings/degustazione.  In an effort to still bring in the public to taste their wines, they often do not tell people that they will owe what we consider a significant amount if their purchases do not qualify them for a waiver.  Be aware and ask if there is a charge to taste!

Since the world has become what could be considered a dangerous place with the virus running rampant, for those that read the blog on occasion, you will see that we have not had a lot of things to write about.  Even now, the second week in June, 2020, while not being confined to our home, we have not visited any wineries because they are still not allowed to have visitors or do tastings.  We look forward to tasting the 2018 vintage which is widely said to be one of the best in recent times.

And lastly, as many of you know, wine is a subjective thing.  What we like, you may deplore, but you will have the opportunity to read what we think and maybe give you the impetus to try something new.

The opinions expressed here are ours and ours alone.

Copyright 2011 - 2022.  All Rights Reserved.  No part of this blog may be used in any other publication, no matter what the media type, without the express written consent of the authors.

Casetta, Vezza d'Alba

Please note Vezza d'Alba is not one of the Barolo "towns".  All of his grapes are grown within the "towns" and transported to the winery/cantina in Vezza.

All bottles were opened for us including some that were yet to be labeled.  We shall indicate which had not yet been labeled.

19 August 2020    The first was the 2012 Nebbiolo d'Alba, 14% alcohol.  The wine had the nose of Nebbiolo with a small amount of acid in the mouth.  We thought that the wine had a off taste right in the beginning but was gone almost immediately.  The wine had a bit of a brown color which could be explained that the a cousin of the grape is used to make Barolo which tends to turn a brownish color as it ages.  Leave for two years before opening.

The next was the 2009 Nebbiolo d'Alba, 13.5% alcohol.  It had a Nebbiolo nose and a good mouth with a slight acidity.  Leave for a year before opening.

Third was the 2006 Nebbiolo d' Alba Vigin, 13.5% alcohol.  This was a spectacular Nebbiolo.  All what you would ever want in a Nebbiolo is here.  We will leave in our cellar for a minimum of one year, more than likely longer. In our opinion, this is not a "food wine".  We believe it is a "conversation wine".  The label on this wine shows an old photo of the father of the secretary at Casetta carrying a box of grapes.  Purchased for our cellar.

Fourth was the 1996 Nebbiolo Roero Superiore, 13.5% alcohol.  For those that do not know the indication "Superiore", it means that the wine spent some time in small barrels.  Spectacular nose, heavy fruit.  We believe that you should leave this in your cellar for at least two years but if you cannot wait, give it a minimum of one year.  Purchased for our cellar.

Next was the 2006 Barbaresco, 13.5% alcohol.  The wine has a light Barbaresco nose that disappeared quickly but a very good Barbaresco mouth.  Leave in your cellar for a year before opening.

Sixth was the 2007 Barbaresco Riserva, 13.5% alcohol.  A nose with wood indications since it had spent time in barrels.  It disappears after some glass working.  Give it at least two years of rest before opening.

Next was the 2004 Barbaresco Riserva, 13.5% alcohol.  An acid nose, little wood therein, both overwhelmed by one of the best mouths we have encountered for this grape.  Give it at least three years in your cellar (and ours also).  Purchased for our cellar.

Eighth was the 2016 Barolo Casa Nere.  This was not labeled so alcohol was not available.  It had been in the bottle for only 20 days before we tasted it.  The nose is spectacular.  It has a very young mouth with heavy tannins.  We believe that it needs a minimum of five and probably up to ten years of rest before it really is ready to drink.  Purchased for our cellar.

Next was the 2014 Barolo Casa Nere, 14.5% alcohol.  Light Barolo nose and mouth.  We believe that this would be best as a "conversation wine".  Leave for two years in your cellar.

The 2011 Barolo La Serra Riserva was next, again a bottle not labeled.  Cherries in the nose, good mouth, serve with light foods.  Let rest for three to four years.

The 2010 Barolo La Serra Riserva was the eleventh wine.  This wine was the reason we contacted Casetta as we had tasted it at the 2019 La Morra Degustazione.  It was the only wine that day that we rated a 5!  It has a heavy Barolo nose, albeit slightly acidic.  The mouth was subdued with little or no tannins.  We believe it needs a minimum of five and probably some years longer for it to become the wine deserving of the high rating.  Purchased for our cellar.

Last was the 2009 Barolo Nicolello Riserva, 14.5% alcohol.  The nose is what you would expect for an older Barolo with a mouth slightly off that came around with some working of the glass.  We expect you should leave this in your cellar for at least three years.

We want to thank Ernesto, the owner for the hospitality and tasting.  We had arrived at the cantina around 1100 and ended up going to lunch after a few wines and returning for more afterwards.  We will add Casetta to our list of yearly visits.

04 April 2021 As we have written previously, we are running out of wines that are ready to drink, mainly because it has been almost a year since we have been able to visit a cantina to find new wines because of the lockdown here in Italy.  However, today as is all Sundays, Natalya had the kitchen.  It is Easter and she wanted to do somethings that she had not tried previously so I went into the cantina and brought up a bottle of the 2006 Nebbiolo d' Alba Vigin.  When I had tasted in at the cantina in Vezza, I thought that it was a very good example of the grape.  After tasting it seven months from bringing it home, I am convinced that we should have purchased at least two boxes of the wine rather than only one.  With only one exception, the wine went extremely well with lunch today.  That exception was that of Natalya's borsch.  The wine got lost in the different flavours of the soup.  However, she had also done chicken breast, sliced potatoes and sliced zucca on the barbecue.  All went quite well with the wine.  When we get the opportunity (and can leave the house), we will travel to see Ernesto to see if he has more.  We can only hope so.  Great grape juice, start to drink now for the next year.

2 September 2021  We are still, as noted above, short on great wine that is ready to drink.  Thus, another bottle of the 2006 Nebbiolo d'Alba Vigin was opened for Natalya's efforts in the kitchen for this Thursday.  It was very successful.  She made, using peppers from our garden, stuffing them with two different mixes...one was porcini mushrooms with cabbage and the second with ground chicken thighs (no antibiotics) and carnaroli (the type you should use for risotto) rice.  Great combinations in the very tasty green peppers!  Brava Natalya!

9 January 2022 A good lunch with a spectacular 2006 Nebbiolo d'Alba, from Casetta.  We served it with Pollo Milanese and Natalya's perogi.  The wine can still rest for another year but it is good now.

12 February 2022 Today we decided to open a bottle of Casetta's 2009 Nebbiolo d'Alba.  We had picked up three boxes from the winery for a holiday party we went to at La Mussia owned by our friends Laura and Claudio.  It went very well with all the different dishes that we served at the party.  One of the family, a wine maker, thought the wine was really a Barolo or very close to being one.  In any case, for our lunch, we had Thai yellow curry shrimp with green onions, tomatoes and some added peperoncini.  It was served on pasta that had been cooked in the curry.  It held up to that food very well.  We were very please with the wine.  We will contact the winery to see if they have another box that we can put in our cellar.

19 February 2022  Lunch today was made spectacular by a bottle of Casetta's 2009 Nebbiolo d'Alba.  Start was a spinach salad with black olives, ricci lettuce and avocado.  Then, Natalya's borsch.  Then, straciatella with french toast.  The main course was my rabbit stew with peperoni, garlic, rosmary, carrot, origano, tagliashe olives, cherry tomatoes, laurel, butter all sauteed in Arneis wine.  Again, the pasta was cooked in the liquid of the stew.  Great wine, did very well with the complicated dish.

12 June 2022 Today we opened a bottle of Ernesto's 2006 Nebbiolo d'Alba.  Natalya had made dolma, picking the leaves fresh from our grapevine and a pirogi of trout and potatoes.  The wine had a touch of off nose upon opening and continued off and on throughout the meal.  The mouth was fine and for the most part, the mouth was fine.  We have one bottle left in our cellar and will drink them sometime this year.

25 September 2022  The last of the 2006 Nebbiolo d'Alba has been served with a Sunday lunch:  steamed clams and mussels with sauteed salmon, pirogi of potato and porcini mushrooms, a salad of beets, corn, carrots, onion and black olives.  Desert was piroshki of apples from our orchard.  The wine was quite light in the mouth and was almost gone when the last was poured.  We strongly recommend that you open a bottle now to make sure your are not losing a very good wine.

29 December 2022 It was Natalya's day to make lunch and she made one of my favorites...dolma!  Dolma is stuffed grape leaves (for us, chicken and rice) and simmered in a tomato liquid.  She opened a bottle of the 2009 Nebbiolo d'Alba that I brought up from the cellar.  After just a minute or two, the wine took to the dolma (or was it the dolma to the wine?).  It was a perfect match.  If you have the wine, it is ready to drink.  But, we will go to Ernesto after the holiday to see if he has any more and to taste to 2008 Riserva Barbaresco.  It is a very good wine!!

12 February 2023 Today we had a filet of fish for lunch with Natalya's sauteed potatoes.  I had been wanting to open a bottle of the 1996 (yes, year is correct) Roero Superiore Nebiolo from Ernesto.  I had my doubts that the wine was still good.  The wine is very good and may need another six months to make it as good as it was made to be.  We have five bottles left.  I wonder if Ernesto has any more...Short trip calendared!

4 April 2023 We opened our last bottle of Ernesto's 2009 Nebbiolo d'Alba to celebrate my return from the hospital.  It was a great wine to bring me home.

5 April 2023 Natalya stuffed some pasta with ground chicken and soft cheese to handle the 1996 Casetta Roero Superiore Nebbiolo.  It went very well.  Be aware that the wine is a soft wine because of the age!

28 May 2023 Every time we open a bottle of the Roero Superiore 1996, we are surprised how good the wine is.  We had some new potatoes lightly sauteed after boiling and some chicken slices with sauce made from a Thai sauce.  The wine stood up to the lunch.  The wine should be on your table soon as it is 27 years old after all.  It is very good.

18 June 2023 We opened another bottle of the Roero Superiore 1996 for lunch today.  The wine is still very good that went well with a stuffed a pasta with bio chicken and mushrooms.  It was very good but we only have two bottles of the 1996.  Ernesto, any more or is the 1998 the next one available?

16 July 2023 We had one of Natalya's light taste lunches today.  So, I brought out the last bottle of the 1996 Roero Superiore Casetta wine.  The wine had been in large wood barrels (about 1200 liters) for three years.  The wine was perfect for the lunch especially after Natalya had gone to the wine class last year, she is quite good at talking about the taste of the wines we drink.  We have one more bottle of the 1996 so we have to go to Ernesto to see if he has more the '96 or if another year that is as good.

7 August 2023 It is Monday so it is chicken burger day!  We opened the last bottle of the 1996 Roero Superiore.  It went well with the burger.  Too bad it was the last bottle but it is ready to drink.  Have to go to Ernesto's to see what other older wines he has...

01 September 2023 The three years that I thought it would take to make the 2004 Barbaresco Riserva would be ready to drink so it was time to open a bottle for lunch.  Well, I was extremely close.  The wine went very well with Natalya's Thai shrimp, pasta and a vegetable sauce for the pasta.  We left a glass for me to taste in the evening to see if it needed more time in the cellar.  We decided that it was very close to be ready so we will leave the bottles left in the cellar for another six months.  It is a very good Barbaresco, better than the one we had a restaurant last Tuesday for my birthday.

13 June 2024 We like Ernesto's wine!!  Today I picked a bottle of Casetta 2004 Barbaresco Riserva.  It is very good but it is not ready to drink.  We believe that it needs another four years before the grape becomes in the glass while we want it.  Patience!!

22 March 2025 We had a bottle of Ernesto's La Sera Riserva 2010 for a very good meal that Natalya made.  We think that it needs at least another year before it is right.  Take a little time more!

03 May 2025 We had a bottle of Ernest's 2004 Riserva Barbaresco with lunch.  We are sad that this bottle is the next last of the wine.  It is very good in a medium tasting lunch to have.  It is very good.  BTW, they are gone at the winery. 

22 December 2025 We drank the last of the Barbaresco 2024 Riserva from Ernest.  The last is gone but it was a great wine.  Look for others of them!

Sordo, Castiglione Falletto

We visited this cantina on the 3rd of September 2019.  It is a modern building including a robot that assist in the bottling and labeling of their wines.

We were greeted by Giorgia who gave us a tour of the facilities including the older and newer parts of this producer.  She then took us into the tasting room where she showed us a number of the wines produced by Sordo, adding more as the morning progressed.

The first wine was the 2017 Nebbiolo d'Alba, 14% alcohol, opened on the 2nd.  Has the typical nose of Nebbiolo which told us that it needs 2-3 years in the bottle before drinking. 

Second was the 2016 Barbaresco, 14.5% alcohol about 4 hours earlier.  Has the nose of the grape which lightened after a few minutes.  The mouth was a good example of the grape albeit slightly acidic.  The wine needs a year in the cellar but it is drinkable now for those that like a younger wine.

Next was the 2015 Barolo base, 14% alcohol.  It had an acidic nose and light fruit.  We noticed a slight off nose that quickly blew off.   The mouth is quite tannic with light fruit and a touch of acid.  We estimate another 4-5 years before ready to drink.

Fourth was the 2015 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione, 14% alcohol.  We immediately had a flavor of vanilla in the nose which disappeared after a short time but returned when the glass was emptied.  We consider this a nice but not common flavor for Barolos.  Mouth is good, still three pieces but coming together, estimate 1-2 years in the cellar before drinking.

Next was the 2014 Parussi, 14% alcohol.  The nose had a typical Barolo flavor which was short lived, a slightly acidic but not overdone indication.  The fruit was light.  The mouth was subdued but came around as the glass was worked.  Give it a couple of years and then try it.

Sixth was the 2011 Gabutti, 14.5% alcohol.  Good but light nose of Barolo, mouth still in 3 pieces, quite balanced between fruit, tannin and acid.  Drinkable now but let it rest for another three years in proper storage.

Next was the 2011 Monvigliero, 15% alcohol.  A light Barolo nose, seems quite stable with work of the glass.  Mouth a bit on the light side and stable.  Could be enjoyed now but again, leave for 2-3 years before opening.  Purchased for the cellar and will rest for the indicated number of years before opening.

Eighth was the 2011 Rocche di Castiglione, 14.5% alcohol.  This wine has a very nice nose which lightened up a bit as the glass was worked.  The initial impression of the mouth was burnt sugar which blew off quickly.  We purchased this wine and will leave it for at least two years before opening.

Next was the 2007 Monvigliero Riserva, 14% alcohol.  Nose was slightly off, improved as the wine glass was worked, mouth indicated ready to drink.  Now for the next 2-3 years.

The last wine was the 2001 Perno Riserva, 14% alcohol.  We are quite familiar with this cru and like it.  This was probably the oldest Barolo we had ever had the opportunity to taste.  It had a lilac nose, the mouth slightly acidic with excellent fruit.  No tannin was noticed.  Give it two years.  We will.  It now resides in our cellar.

We really wish to thank Giorgio, the owner of the cantina and of course, Giorgia, for taking the time (we were there for about four hours) to show us around their wines.  We look forward to stopping to see them again in the future.  They have Barolo Riserve going back to the early 1990's and also large bottles for special occasions.

27 September 2020  Because of a special occasion, my 20th anniversary of moving to Italy, we opened a bottle of the 2001 Perno Riserva for lunch today.  Natalya made my specialty, risotto with zuca and chicken breast.  She had learned well from my teaching.  It was as good as I could have made.  Now about the wine...it went very well with the risotto.  You could drink this now or leave it in proper storage for a good five years.  We have only one of these left and will save for another special occasion.

11 June 2021 Heads' up! We made another trip to Sordo and of course, were guided by Giorgia through the wines she chose to show us.  The first wine presented was the 2018 Nebbiolo d'Alba.  Opened for us, 14% alcohol. It had a good Nebbiolo nose (which became slightly acidic after a time in the glass) and the normal ruby red color.  It needs 1-2 years before being ready to drink.  Purchased for our cellar.  

 Next was the 2016 Monvigliero Barolo.  It also was opened for us, 14.5%.  It is a bit acidic and in reality, it is really nowhere being ready to drink.  We would leave it rest for a minimum of five years but probably a lot longer.  

Next was the 2015 Perno.  If you read this blog, you will know we really like the 2001 Perno Riserva.  This bottle was opened two days ago and kept properly stored, 14.5% alcohol.  It has a typical Barolo nose with a slight touch of the wood where it was aged.  The mouth was slightly acidic and showed a light taste.  We give it four to six years before we would go near it.  Purchased for our cellar.  

The third was the 2013 Parussi.  Served from the Coravin, 14% alcohol.  It exhibited a tannic nose and a slightly acidic mouth.  No estimate as to how long it will take before being ready to drink.  

Next was the 2006 Rocche di Castiglione Riserva.  This was also served from the Coravin, 14% alcohol.  A slightly acidic, woody Barolo nose.  Mouth is there telling us that the wine is very close to being ready to drink.  Give it two years before trying it.  Purchased for our cellar.  

Next was the 2003 Rocche di Castiglione Riserva.  Opened for us, 14% alcohol.  A spectacular Barolo nose, light mouth.  We go out on a limb and say it is ready to drink but give it a year or two to settle down. Purchased for our cellar.  

Last was the 1998 Gabutti Riserva.  Served from the Coravin, 14% alcohol.  It will be a strong Barolo when it rests for 4-5 years.  Purchased for our cellar.

12 June 2021 We decided to try an older Barolo from Sordo for lunch today.  My initial tasting of the 2011 Monvigliero  led me to believe that it should be ready around this date.  However, I was wrong by at least four years.  You should not open it until 2025 and after.  In any case, the wine was served with Natalya's mushroom soup and octopus salad.  Food was really good with the wine once about two hours had passed.  Leave it to rest for at least four years.

 12 September 2021  It is difficult to pass up a good reason to open a spectacular bottle of Barolo, the 2001 Sordo Perno Riserva!  It is a Sunday so Natalya has the kitchen and made a eggplant hamburger for an appetizer.  Other than eggplant from our garden, she mixed in an egg and some Rasquera cheese.  Quite good but it brought out a hidden acidity of the wine. Then she served her Borsch which was four days old.  The Russians (of which she is one of) believe that Borsch is not ready to eat for at least two days after it was made.  The four day old Borsch went very well with the wine.  We had bought two bottles last year but on our last trip to the cantina, we bought four more.  EYHO!!  She then served a stuffed verza (a variety of cabbage).  The stuffing was carnaroli rice and ground chicken we get from a producer that does not use antibiotics when growing the birds.  It went well with the wine.  We believe that the wine is ready to drink for at least a year, maybe two.  If you have multiple bottles, try one to see how it aged in your cellar.  Ours is ready now. 

14 November 2021 Well, another of the Perno Riserva was opened today.  Natalya made a vegetable soup and Dolma (stuffed grape leaves).  We now believe that the wine may need another year or two to be really correct to drink.  This bottle (maybe the problem is the cork of this bottle) had an off nose and mouth when it was opened but we are not going to take a chance.   Or, you may open it a hour before serving if you must.  Great wine in any case.

21 November 2021 Today we opened a bottle of the Sordo Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2011.  Natalya made Thai soup, chicken sotto filleti marinated in lemon juice and garlic and sauteed.  The wine needs at least another year before we open another bottle but it is very good grape juice.

14 February 2023 It is Valentine's Day so hope you have a good bottle of wine to show your best person how much you care about him or her.  For our lunch, we opened a bottle of 2003 Sordo Barolo Rocche di Castiglione Riserva. The wine is ready to drink.  We served it with my version of chili con carne.  Instead of carne (meat), I use ground chicken and instead of Mexican spices,  I use Pakistani curry.  It is very good, you should try it.  In any case, the wine is ready to drink.  I suggest that if you have bottles, try one and make a calendar to drink the rest of your bottles.

27 April 2023  I am still recuperating so Natalya made some Chinese food with a chicken base.  I thought that this wine would stand up to it but I was wrong.  The food kind of stood on the wine.  So, we left it for later.  We tried it again about six hours ago and it was spectacular.  When I put it in the list, I wrote that it should be right in 2022.   Wrong!!  We know believe the wine needs other four years or maybe you can try a decanter!  My failure.  Sorry, readers!

3 May 2023  Well, I am making up for missing the above review.  We opened a bottle of the 2003 Rocche di Castiglione Riserva for lunch today of pasta with fresh salvia leaves and black olives.  It is very tannic with a light nose but it all came together.  We recommend that you drink it now.  Great wine from Sordo as usual.

3 June 2023 Natalya made her famous dolma so I got out our last 2011 Sordo Roche di Castiglione Barolo.  On opening and tasting, it seemed that the wine was not ready to drink.  We let it sit for another half hour but there was only a slight difference.  We decided it was old enough so got out the large open glasses.  By the time we finished lunch, the wine was very good.  We suggest that if you have the wine in your cellar with proper humidity and temperature, leave it for another two years.

28 July 2023 Sometimes, we get a bottle from the cantina that may not go with the lunch that we were going to have.  Today, we pulled a bottle of 2006 Rocche di Castiglione Riserva that we were going to serve it with a piece of light flavored fish, our tomatoes, our string beans and our potatoes.  We knew the the wine was a big flavored Barolo but we had the taste for a Barolo for a Friday lunch.  The wine went with the fish and vegetables very well.  The wine is ready to drink.  Do you have a bottle or two in your cellar?  Try it.  You will not be disappointed!

29 November 2023 For lunch today, Natalya took some bio chicken breasts and made them with Milanese ingredients.  She also sauteed some yucca and some of our peppers from the garden.  She also made a salad with beets and a small amount of onion.  I opened the last 2006 Sordo Rocche di Castiglione Riserva.  When we had first taste it, the bottle was opened with the Corvin.  I was some worried as to how much air really gets into the bottle but there was no choice.  The wine was exactly the time to open.  It was a spectacular Barolo and went very well with the lunch.  I wonder if there is any more at the producer.  We will inquire...

30 June 2024 A Sunday at home for lunch and I pull a very good bottle from the cantina.  This day, I picked a bottle of the Sordo Perno Riserva Barolo, 2001.  We had purchased the wine about five years ago and it had laying in the cantina for that time.  The wine was very good.  We have two bottles left and will use them on special Sunday lunches.

20 November 2025 We opened the last of our Sordo Barolo Perno Riserva 2001.  It was a very good of Barolo light.  I had thought that it would have been a more "Riserva Barolo" but it was not.  In any case, it a good flavor with the meal.  However, if you have any of them, they are ready to drink!

 

 

Az. Agricola Montaribaldi, Barbaresco

Normally, we do not write about wines we have in restaurants but the producer's 2012 Ricu is one of the best Barbarescos we have ever tasted.  We had dinner at Il Moncalvo in Acqui Terme this past week and chose this wine to have with dinner.  Without a doubt, it is one of the most complete Barbarescos we have ever had.  We will tell you that it needs time in the bottle.  We estimate that two years will pass before we open one of the bottles we purchased at Moncalvo.  If you find it, put it away in the back of your cellar.  You will not be disappointed.

The restaurant is very good also.

29 December 2019  One of those bottles was opened today and served with a vegetarian lunch.  Spectacular wine, we will give it another two years before trying another bottle.

3 June 2020  We served a bottle of this very good Barbaresco with sauteed farona (guinea hen) and broccoli sauteed with garlic.  It went quite well, the wine is nearing its peak, we believe.  We still have two bottles of it and will be looking for an excuse to open another one.

21 June 2020  We opened another bottle of this Barbaresco  to serve with Thai soup, boscaioli cheese and pierogi.  It went very well with this meal and is ready to drink.  One bottle left....boo-hoo!

11 October 2020  The last bottle of this Barbaresco was served for lunch of shrimp fried rice with peanuts.  The rice was Basmati from India. It went very well with lunch but we do recommend that if you have this wine in your cellar, it is time to drink it.  By the time lunch was completed, so was the nose and most of the mouth of the wine.  Again, drink it if you have it!

Piacere Barbaresco 2014 - Barbaresco

We had a pleasant weekend trip, the 18th and 19th of October, to Barbaresco which is only about 30 minutes from where we live.

It was the annual tasting of the wine for which the town was named.  There were about 50 producers represented there but only about half of the actual people from the cantine were at the tasting.  Quite disappointing.  But let us be very serious...if we go to a tasting and the producer or one of his/her people is not present, we have no way of contacting them for a follow-up because there is usually no business card or brochure nor were we able to make an initial decision on the wines.

As usual, following is the list of those whose offerings we thought worthy of a visit to their facilities and for us to write about after the visit.  We were asked many times during the tasting who our favorites were and we are quite sure that some of you would like to know who they were.  We will try to answer this question diplomatically: the list is in alphabetical order.  If you wish to know our favorites, write and we will reveal our preferences.

Azienda Agricola Bera
Azienda Agricola Cascina della Rose
Cascina Longoria
Fontanabianca
Azienda Agricola Luigi Giordano
Azienda Agricola Giuseppe Cortese
Azienda Agricola Grasso Fratelli
Azienda Agricola Lano Gianluigi
Azienda Agricola Montaribaldi
Poderi Colla
Massimo Rattalino
Azienda Agricola Roberto Sarotto

We hope to get to all of these producers before the next Piacere Barbaresco.

We will add Punset Winery (even though they chose not to be at the tasting) on a special request from the proprietors of the B&B we stayed in while at Piacere Barbaresco. Their daughter is the owner.  Please note that we did not taste the wine.

Fratelli Serio & Battista Borgogno - Barolo

Last stop for this day was Fratelli Borgogno just outside of Barolo.  When we drove up and parked, we saw Serio sitting on a bench enjoying his retirement and the view across the valley.  We had a nice conversation with him and he gave us permission to pick a few grapes to taste the Nebbiolo of 2014.

We were met in the tasting room by Federica Bofa.  After a bit of history about the cantina, we stated on the wines she had planned for us.

First up was the 2010 Nebbiolo d'Alba.  The wine was opened for us.  14% alcohol, this wine, as with all the others that they produce is done in large Slovenian barrels called botte.  They can hold up to 4000 liters.  This particular wine spent two years in botte and is ready to drink.  Euro 7.70 a bottle.

Next was the 2010 Barbaresco.  Again, the wine was opened for us.  This wine is made in the cantina in Barolo with grapes from Barbaresco.  This is an exception to Italian law that requires Barbaresco to be produced in the Barbaresco area as Barolo must be produced in the area of Barolo.  It is ready to drink, quite tannic with light fruit flavors.  14% alcohol, euro 15.80 a bottle.

Third was the basic Barolo 2009.  Bottle was opened for us.  It is a strong tannin mouth with sufficient fruit and light acids to balance the tanins.  This Barolo rested three years in the botte.  Needs to be open at least a hour before drinking after spending an additional five to ten years in the cellar.  Euro 17 a bottle.

The second Barolo was the 2007 Riserva.  14.5% alcohol, it spent five years in the botte (required to be called Riserva), two in new and three in used.  Quite soft, ready to drink.  Euro 25 a bottle.

The third Barolo was the 2006 Riserva.  14.5% alcohol, same treatment as the 2007 Riserva.  Very tannic but the fruit is enough that it will be a very good wine after at least five and probably seven years in the cellar.  The quite evident Barolo nose backs up our opinion that it will last that long.  It was opened for us because we indicated that we liked more full body Barolos.  Euro 25 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

We also purchased a bottle of their Grappa di Barolo Invecchiata.  An excellent Grappa, euro 26 a bottle.

Varaldo - Barbaresco

We tasted the 2007 Barbaresco at the Enofila in Asti as indicated in a post below.  We felt it was good enough to purchase it and put it away for a time.  This is our anniversary week and we wanted a good Barbaresco to have during the celebration so we pulled a bottle of this wine.

Regretfully, the cork split on removal and it was determined that the wine was "corked" indicating that it was a bad cork and the wine had spoiled.

We visited Rino at the cantina on the 1st of September.  It was a pleasant day and the cantina is located overlooking the river dividing the Langhe from Roero.

The first wine was the 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo.  This is a quite closed wine, needing some years (estimated at 3 years +) to become the wine we think it is.  It is done in all used barrels so as not to interfere with the natural flavors of the grape. It was purchased for our cellar.  Cost was euro 16.50.

Second was the 2008 Fantasia, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Nebbiolo and Barbera.  Because of the varying times that the grapes mature, the wine is not produced every year.  In fact, when we asked to taste the 2008, we were told that the next vintage of this very good wine was 2011.  As we moved the wine in the glass, we smelled all the grapes varieties individually and then as one combination.  This is a very good wine for conversation as it would be difficult to pair it with a meal (but, of course, we will try and report to you).  It is ready to drink but will last 20 years according to Rino.  We purchased the wine for our cellar at euro 20.

Last was the 2006 Barolo, Vigna di Aldo.  This is an excellent Barolo with great structure and great nose.  It would improve with another two to three years in the bottle.  Euro 32 a bottle.

The 18th and 19th of October 2014 will be the grand tasting of Barbaresco called Piacere Barbaresco.  If you have an interest, find a room now.  There are not many rooms available.


25 December 2014  We opened our last bottle of the 2007 Barbaresco Lori Loreto for our holiday lunch.  It went very well with the varied menu (from buffala mozzarella to lobster) we had prepared.  We suggest, that if you have this wine, you leave it in your cellar for at least another six months.

The only problem was that it was our last bottle but perhaps Rino has more.  We will inquire.  It is a very good example of the grape.

25 April 2015  We opened a bottle of the 2008 Fantasia for lunch today.  The wine is still quite closed in so it did not show the blend that it is but we tasted the individual grapes as we enjoyed it with lunch. The next bottle will be opened in October of 2016.  Hide it away, it needs time.

23 April 2017  Rino, you really hit it with the 2011 Lori Loreto Barbaresco!  We had our first bottle of this wine with lunch after working cutting weeds in our orchard.  We strongly suggest that if you have this wine, you serve it with a lightly spiced meal.  Natalya had stuffed some artichokes and the wine was impaired with the lemon juice that is used to keep them from darkening during preparation and cooking.  We really liked this grape juice!  Highly recommended, will last six months to a year when stored properly.

16 July 2017  OK, so we do not always read what we write as far as recommendations as to when to drink the wines.  We opened the last bottle of the 2011 Lori Loreto Barbaresco and served it with Natalya's borsch, some sauteed turkey breast slices and something from her childhood in the Urals, a mixture of red potatoes and porcini mushrooms.  After she told me what she was preparing, I scanned the wine list and came up with this bottle.  She thought it might be too light for what she was serving but we opened it anyway.  It matched the food exactly.  The wine has a beautiful Barbaresco nose and the lightness of the wine with the lightly spiced food she prepared went exactly as we thought it would.  We would caution that the wine seems to have lightened in the mouth as lunch went on, leading us to believe it was time to open it so...if you have it, try a bottle.  You will not be sorry!  Thanx again, Rino!!

17 September 2017  Today for lunch, we had something very special...we had purchased some summer truffles when we were in La Morra for the Barolo tasting.  We decided to use one for a plate of pasta with just a little extra virgin olive oil from Sicily.  We also sauteed some slices of turkey breast.  For this, we opened the bottle of 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo from Varaldo.  The wine is ready to drink.  This is spectacular grape juice.  We hope to see Rino again when we go to Piacere Barbaresco later next month to see what his new offerings are like.

10 December 2017  We opened a bottle of Varaldo Nebbiolo 2011 today for lunch with Natalya's version of quiche.  I thought that it might override the taste of the delicate dish but it went quite well.  Recommend you drink it now as it will not last much longer.

25 February 2018  If you read above, you will notice that Rino said that the 2008 Fantasia would last for at least 20 years.  We had our doubts but put a two year minimum and the twenty year maximum drinking period on the wine when we purchased it.  Wanting to be circumspect, we opened a bottle today to have with our infamous piadine with sauteed vegetables and chicken.  We now believe that Rino was correct in saying it will last for 20 years.  What a spectacular wine!  We will save the last bottle for a very special occasion.  Drink now or wait until 2028!! 

13 May 2018  Today, we opened the last bottle of Rino's 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo to serve with a simple lunch, a plate of pasta with sauce made from the products from our garden.  The wine had a taste that some people might have thought that meant that it was "over the hill" but after about 30 minutes open, it was very smooth.  We recommend that if you have this wine, do not give up on it when you open the bottle but we believe that it is time to drink the wine.  We feel it does not have a lot more time to age.  Thanx again, Rino!!

Latest Tastings

Over the last two weeks, we have been to two different locales for two different tastings.  For the most part, the wines were quite good but some stood out more than others and will dictate further follow-up.

At the Enofila in Asti, we had the opportunity to taste the 2007 Barolo Riserva from Cascina del Monastero, represented by Beppe Grasso.  To be called "Riserva", a Barolo must have a minimum of five years of aging before release.  Beppe told us he also has a 2005 Riserva that we are looking forward to tasting.

We also tasted the 2007 Varaldo Lori Loreto in the Enofila...a spectacular Barbaresco that is ready to drink.  They were represented by Rino and his daughter.  This wine was purchased for the cellar as it is in short supply.

At the Castello di Roddi, there was a first tasting of the 2010 Barolo.  We had good Barolo from Le Strette (see our commentary about Le Strette in a posting below), Fratelli Serio & Ballista Borgogno, represented by Federica Boffa and Broccardo, represented by Federica Broccardo.

A short comment about the 2010 Barolo...in our opinions, this Barolo will be very difficult to judge.  It is practically completely closed giving the drinker little to base their purchase decisions on.  It took more than two hours for any of them to open enough to give us any sort of idea as to how it will be when ready to drink.  But, going out on a limb, our "guess" is that they will require a minimum of five to seven years in the cellar before we would even consider opening them.  This turns out to be a great opportunity to stay in touch with the producers as they will, of course, be more knowledgeable about what is going on with the wines.  We will be sure to provide detailed observations when we visit the Cantine and are able to taste the wines and speak to the producers in an atmosphere that is more conducive to getting to know the wines.

Rivetto - Serralunga d'Alba

At dinner the night before this visit, we had a bottle of Rivetto Nebbiolo 2011.  We enjoyed it very much so decided to go to the cantina the next day to buy some for our cellar.

The 2011 Nebbiolo is a very good wine.  It is drinkable now but will mature in our cellar for another two years.  Recommended.  Purchased for our cellar (euro 17 per bottle)

Next, the 2010 Barbaresco Ce` Vanin.  Very good example of the grape in the nose.  A good mouth even though a little smooth for a young wine.  The tannins are very evident and may step on the fruit after more time in the cellar.  Good wine for food.  Drink now.

Next, 2009 Barolo Serralunga d'Alba.  Nose decidedly Barolo.  Mouth dominated by big tannins, big fruit. Needs five years in the cellar before opening a bottle to see the progression.  Highly recommended. Purchased for our cellar (euro 29 per bottle).

Barolo Leon Riserva 2007 was the next offering.  Very big tannins, mouth that of the grape. Ready to drink now.  Recommended.

Next, 2007 Barolo Briccolina.  Very smooth, ready to drink.  Highly recommended.  euro 98 per bottle.

As a side note to this visit, we had a very nice conversation with all from Rivetto.  Especially good was the conversation we had with Ercole, Enrico's father.  He related to us the story of how his grandfather hid the production from 1944 (his birth year) in walls because of the German occupation of the area.  Regretfully, none of the 1945 (my birth year) survives.

22 April 2016  Today we opened the first of three bottles of the 2011 Nebbiolo.  As previously related, it is a very good wine.  We served it with a filet of lake perch and fresh asparagus from our garden.  The perch was sauteed in olive oil after being dipped in flour infused with curcuma. While some people would not serve fish with red wine, we do not have that restriction.  We believe that the wine is ready to drink even though it did change throughout the meal.  A fairly closed glass is recommended to maintain the wine throughout your meal.

31 July 2016  We made a lasagna today so we thought that the 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo would go good with it.  However, the bottle was corked and we were unable to enjoy the wine.  Hopefully, our last bottle of it will be ok.

10 September 2016  Now we "kind of" break from our tradition of writing only about Barolo, Barbaresco and Nebbiolo.

The first wine presented was Rivetto's new Kaskal.  This is a Metodo Classico, Extra Brut sparkling wine made only from the tips of the Nebbiolo grappoli (bunches).  It is excellent.  We had seen Enrico's blog about the wine and were very happy they offered it to us.  Purchased for our cellar.

We then tasted the 2012 Serralunga  Barolo, 14.5% alcohol.  This wine had been open for about 16 hours and had lost a lot of what you would expect to find in the 2012 Barolo.  There was very little nose to be noticed.  The fruit in the mouth arrived about 15 minutes after we started working the glass.  Euro 33 a bottle.

The last Barolo was the 2010 Leon Riserva, 15% alcohol.  This is another of Enrico's spectacular wines.  The tannins, fruit and acids are very noticeable leaving us to believe that you should put it way in the back of your cellar with a first bottle open date of 2026.  Euro 52 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

As we were loading the wine in our car, Enrico's grandfather, Ercole arrived.  We had a "old friends" conversation with him.  He is one year older than I am so we have a lot in common.  It was very good to see him again!! 

5 October 2016  Today is the sixth anniversary of Natalya's arrival in Italy so it is quite occasion for us.  We thought to open one of the bottles of Kaskal that we had gotten about three weeks ago to serve with the borscht that Natalya made.  The wine is a little hard having been just released.  While it is a great wine, we will leave the rest of our bottles in the cellar for at least a year before opening another.

17 October 2016  Today we opened our last (what a pity!) of the 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo.  We served it with our typical Monday meal of chicken hamburger on natural bread.  But today, we did something a little different with the hamburger.  We sauteed some chicken wings in some Sicilian olive oil and then put them on the wood stove in a pan of water to make chicken broth.  Then we poured some of the grease from the wings into the pan.  We then sauteed the hamburgers in the leftover chicken grease.  It was very good with the Nebbiolo complimenting the wine very well.  Have the wine?  We would suggest that you drink it now.  It may last for another month or two but why wait for such good grape juice?

11 November 2018 Today, we opened our last bottle of the 2013 Langhe Nebbiolo.  We served it with Boscaiolo cheese as an appetizer, our wood oven baked lasagna and insalata riccia  from our garden.  It is a good wine.  We had expected it to be a little more robust but it did well with the meal.  This was the only bottle we had so no further information about the wine is forthcoming.

3 March 2019  Today for lunch, we opened a bottle of the 2009 Rivetto Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d'Álba.  It was served with an appetizer of Straciatella cheese on fresh bread, Natalya's borsch, a spinach-ricotta quiche.  As you may know, each one of the "Barolo towns"make a different Barolo.  This was a bigger wine but still went well with the quiche.  Have it in your cellar?  Try it now.  It is very good!

01 January 2021 For the New Year's Day, we thought that a good bottle of Barolo from the Serralunga area would be good.  So, I got out our last bottle of the 2009 Del Comune di Serralunga d'Alba from Rivetto.  Since we were quite tired from cooking the day before, we enjoyed the leftovers from yesterday.  Again, and this seems to be happening more often because of the lockdown, we are running out of wine that is ready to drink.  The wine was very good but in reality, it needed at least another two years before, if we had another bottle, we would not open it.  Need to go visit the cantina!!

19 April 2026 Sunday, we thought we would drink something that we had never had wine but one that was sure that it was ready to drink.  Natalya had made lunch for a wonderful one and Saturday, I went down and took one of the two Barolo Leon Riserva for 2010.  I held it on the stairs from the cantina and close to the place we have the wine for a day.  She said that the lunch should be at around close so I brought up to the kitchen.  I opened it (15%) but it was not something that would not let the food for it.  Opening, the wine had a little hard but in a few minutes, it was ready to drink.  To be what it was lite, it was spectacular!  We had it with the lunch for about a hour and it was very good for the whole time.  Now, if you have this, if you have the 2010, you should think about be ready for opening it.  We believe that the second we have will drink it no longer than autumn.  It is very, very good Barolo.

 

Produttori di Govone, Govone

We visited the Cantina Sociale in Govone on 19 February 2012.  By appearances, this is a modern facility selling a number of different wines produced in the Govone area both in bottles and bulk.

Since we write about Nebbiolo, Barolo and Barbaresco, we chose to taste only those.  All wines were opened for us, a maximum of five minutes before tasting.

The Cantina has a number of Nebbiolos so the person doing the pouring gave us what they consider their best, the Terre Sabaude.

The Terre Sabaude Nebbiolo was 2009, 14% alcohol.  It had a fairly good nose but was quite light in the mouth exhibiting only the grape.  We did not discern any tannin or acid that would balance the wine for further aging.

The DOCG Barbaresco was 2006, 13.5% alcohol.  This had a good nose of the grape, was very nice in the mouth and what we considered to be a short period to rest in the cellar.  We will try it again in December, 2012.  It was also of very reasonable price.  The wine was purchased for our cellar.

The DOCG Barolo was the last offering.  2006, 13.5% alcohol.  The mouth was dominated by acid, with the fruit barely evident in the nose and mouth.

4 October 2012  For the two year anniversary of Natalya's arrival in Italy, we opened a bottle of the 2006 Barbaresco.   It took a time to open up dictating that the bottle be opened a hour before drinking.  We will also leave the last of the bottles in the cantina for an additional year.  This is a very good Barbaresco.  We enjoyed it as it opened up in the glass.  This morning, we went to the cantina to see if we could get another six bottles but it has sold out.  The 2007 Barbaresco was tried but seems to have something about it that does not seem like it should have been placed on sale.  We recommend caution in purchasing this wine.

Orlando Abrigo - Barbaresco

We first tasted the wines of Orlando at the cantina of his wife, Virna.  Because of our impending visit to Barbaresco and to the cantina, we have split the post.  The notes below were from our visit to Virna 6 November 2011.

The first one was Orlando's 2006 Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore 14% alcohol.  On the label is a pair of hands.  The reason is that because of the way this vineyard was originally planted, it can be worked, including picking, only by hand.  The space between the rows is too narrow to get a tractor into the vineyard.  It has a spectacular nose and a very soft structure in the mouth.  This is another "talking wine".

We then tried his 2007 Vigna Rongalio Muruzzano Barbaresco, 14.5% alcohol, open for 24 hours plus.  It is quite austere and needs an extended period of time in the cellar before drinking.

Our last wine was the 2007 Montersino Barbaresco, 14.5% alcohol.  Aged one year in new oak and six months in large botte, it is a spectacular Barbaresco.  It is well balanced between the grape and tannin in the mouth.  We will age this wine for a minimum of three years.

2 September 2014  We opened the one bottle of the 2006 Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore in our cellar.  A very nice Nebbiolo, ready to drink.  If you have it, time to enjoy it.

7 February 2015  We opened a bottle of the 2007 Montersino Barbaresco with a stuffed chicken thigh and vegetables.  The wine is still very tannic and needs at least another year in the cellar.  However, we will say that we taste the fruit (although quite subdued) and believe that with additional aging, it will be very very nice.

14 November 2015  We opened our second bottle of the 2007 Montersino Barbaresco today and served it with our typical Saturday fare, seafood.  Natalya had a sauteed salmon filet with sauteed red potatoes and onions.  I had a octopus salad with red potatoes, Sicilian olive oil and juice from a lemon from our tree.  We think it needs another 9-12 months in the bottle but is very nice now.  Depends on how you like your Barbarescoes.

6 March 2018  Happy day of the woman to all of our female followers!!  Today, we opened, in honor of my wife and all the other women we know and love, a bottle of the 2007 Montersino Barbaresco.  Yes, it has been almost two and a half years since the last one when we had said 9-12 months but the wine was spectacular in any case.  Natalya had just returned from visiting her younger son and took the kitchen today.  She made a pot of her infamous borsch and chicken and rice blini.  We had some trepidation as to whether the wine would stand up to the borsch but it went very well.  The wine is ready to drink!  We would leave it in the cellar for no more than a year before finishing what you have.  It is extremely good grape juice.  Bravo Orlando!

8 July 2018  Today was sort of a sad day in our home.  We opened the last bottle of the 2007 Montersino Barbaresco from Orlando.  It was time.  The wine, as good as it was, probably had another six months before it started to go downhill.  We served it with Natalya's polpette (chicken meatballs), seasoned with Sicilian oregano, green beans from our garden and straciatella served on toasted bread (one side only) with a slice of tomato from our garden.  Not a fancy Sunday lunch but very healthy!!  Drink it now!!

 

Azienda Agricola Virna - Barolo

We visited this producer in the Comune di Barolo on 5 November 2011.  We also had the opportunity to try the wines of her husband, Orlando Abrigo from Treiso while we were there.

We were warmly greeted by Virna and taken inside the cantina to the tasting room.

All the wines, except where noted, were opened 24 hours previously.

The first was the 2009 Nebbiolo, 13.5% alcohol.  It spent one year in large Slovenian botte.  A good example of the local Nebbiolo with balanced tannin and grape taste.  There was just a slight alcohol aftertaste noted that will probably become unnoticeable with aging of around two years.

The 2007 Barolo di Base was the next offering, 14.5% alcohol.  It is a blend of grapes from a number of vineyards.  The nose was quite subdued.  The mouth showed a good balance of the grape and tannin.  We recommend that this be drank now to 2014 as a "talking wine".  The Barolo character would be lost in anything but the mildest cheeses so we suggest that you drink it with friends with a pleasant conversation.  This wine is a great value and was purchased for our cellar.

The next was the 2007 Cannubi Boschis, 14.5% alcohol.  This wine is from the vineyard behind Virna's home.  It was aged in three different manners:  33% in large Slovenian botte, 33% in used small oak barrels up to three years old and 33% in new oak.  The nose was very nice with the mouth displaying a good balance of big tannins and big grape flavors.  The alcohol was not evident in what we tasted.  We purchased this wine and will leave in our cellar for up to four years.  We also purchased the 2006 vintage of this spectacular wine.  It will stay in the cellar for probably ten years.  Please read on for a discussion of the 2006 vintage in Barolo.

2006 is widely though of being a less than stellar year for Barolo.  The Barolo producers have labeled it as "Grande" or "Great" rather than "Eccezionale" or "Exceptional".  They write that 2006 produced "Vino di grande struttura ed austerita`.  Profumo intenso e complesso.  Gusto pieno, con tannicita` importante; di lunga vitalita`." (wine of great structure and austerity.  Intense, complex grape flavors in the nose.  Full taste with a heavy tannin presence, to have a long life in the cellar).

However, we have found it to be one of the best if you have patience to let it develop.

We digress because the next offering was another 2006, the Preda Sarmassa, 14% alcohol.  These two vineyards (Preda near La Morra, Sarmassa near Barolo) have contrasting styles because of different soil types.  But, they go very well together.  The nose has a distinct alcohol feel to it which we believe will age out   The mouth supports the big tannins with big grape flavors.  This wine will last years in our cellar.  We will open a bottle in three to five years to see how much longer we can enjoy it.

Because of our impending visit to Barbaresco and the Abrigo cantina, we have decided to split these posts.  You will find our comments on Orlando Abrigo on his own.

On a personal note, we could not have been treated nicer than we were at Virna.  We would highly recommend that anyone that wanted to try the real Barolo and get a little of Barbaresco mixed in, call Virna for an appointment to see her facility and taste/purchase some of the best wines in the area.  We will go back with each new release.

1 January 2012:  With our neighbors, we had a bottle of the 2007 Virna Cannubi Boschis last evening.  It was open for approximately three hours before serving.  The nose was muted but the tannin and grape were very evident.  It went very well with the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Shrimp and Indian potatoes.  The nose did develop over time as well as the grape and tannin becoming less of a distraction.  However, as noted previously, it is really not ready to drink.  We determined that we will let it remain in the cellar for another three years.

24 August 2012.  We opened a bottle of the 2007 Barolo di Base for lunch today.  Yes, I suggested that it be a "conversation wine" but Natalya made a light lunch today (very hot and humid here) so we took a chance.  The wine still has a subdued nose but the mouth was very nice and got better for the two hours it took us to drink it.  Highly recommended for a light lunch or a conversation wine.

31 December 2012  We opened another bottle of the 2007 Barolo to accompany the Ukrainian ravioli that Natalya made for our before midnight meal.  It was very nice, well balanced between the fruit and tannin.  Recommend that you leave it open for a half hour before drinking. If you cannot, leave it in the cellar for another six months.  The nose is still subdued but the mouth is full.

27 July 2013  We opened another bottle of the 2007 Barolo di Base for lunch today.  As we had previously written, it is a conversation wine.  We had a fillet of lake perch with tomatoes from our garden and mozzarella Romana.  Even a light fish such as the perch "stepped on" the flavors of the wine.  We need to read our own writings!!

23 September 2014  We opened the last bottle of the 2007 Barolo di base for lunch today.  We had prepared a plate of pasta with sugo made from our tomatoes, basil and garlic.  At first, the wine was flat with little nose or mouth.  After about 1/2 hour, it started to come around and after about a hour, we wondered why we did not have more.  Our recommendation is to open it now, wait a half hour and serve with a nice pasta dish, not too heavily spiced.

10 November 2014  We opened the last bottle of the 2007 Barolo Cannubi Boschis for lunch yesterday.  We had prepared a stuffed chicken thigh, browned and then finished in our sugu.  The stuffing was dark bread crumbs, half of a hard boiled egg and oregano.  It did very well with this dish, being enhanced by the flavours of the chicken and the tomato sauce.  It could have taken another six months in the bottle but we cannot be exact when there are a limited number of bottles.  If it is in your cellar and you have more than one, we recommend you try a bottle.

6 January 2015  We opened one of last bottles of the 2006 Preda Sarmassa today to go with a plate of pasta with the sauce we make from our tomatoes and ground turkey.  The wine showed a little excess tannin in the beginning but was soon very well balanced.  However, by the time lunch had finished, the wine was starting to show its age.  We have one more bottle in the cellar and will drink it soon.  If you have this wine and more than one bottle, try one now.  If only one is left in your cellar, drink it.  It is very good Barolo!!

15 March 2015  It is too bad when you drink the last bottle from a producer's vineyard for a particular year.  But, the disappointment is somewhat blunted when you know that you opened the bottle at the correct time!  Today, we opened our next to last bottle of the 2006 Preda Sarmassa to go with a lasagna we made.  The combination was what you wish for with every bottle of wine you own (or at least we do).  Drink it now.  It is really spectacular grape juice.

19 November 2015  Our next to the last bottle of the 2008 Cannubi Bochis was served with a simple lunch of chicken ravioli and steamed broccoli.  What a very nice wine!!  It is ready to drink.  It went well with this food selection and did not overwhelm it nor was it muted by the lunch.  If you have this wine, we suggest that you open a bottle to try it.  Closed glasses were used to stop the wine from oxidizing too much.

3 May 2016  Regretfully, the last bottle of the 2008 Cannubi Bochis was opened today.  We served it with an Italian style burrito that had a lot of fresh vegetables and some ground turkey in it.  It was spiced with curcuma.  The wine is ready to drink.  It was the same wine from first taste to last.  We served it in closed mouth glasses used strictly for Barolo.  Highly recommended, drink it if you have it.  Maybe we will ask Virna if she has a few more bottles of it. 

25 February 2018  On occasion, we pick a bottle out of the cellar just to sit and talk.  This evening, we chose the Virna 2007 Preda Sarmassa.  What a great wine!  We had a few appetizers to go with it but the star of the evening was the Barolo (if you exclude what happened after the bottle was finished).  Open a bottle and try it yourself.  It is very good grape juice!!. 

22 July 2018  It is Sunday and Vittorio had the kitchen.  He decided to make one of his specialties, the stuffed chick thigh.  However, this Sunday he used two thighs from our new vendor of chicken in Tonco, Provincia di Asti.  Each thigh is stuffed with half a hard-boiled egg, some rye bread crumbs, organic Sicilian oregano, a little garlic powder and a little salt and pepper (both freshly ground).  The thighs are tied and sauteed on all sides in Sicilian olive oil and then simmered for about one hour or until cooked through.  The chicken was served on a sauce of fava beans and garnished with Chinese long beans from the garden.  The 2006 Preda Sarmassa was opened about 15 minutes before the chicken was done.  The wine held up very well to the chicken and did not mute the flavors of the thigh.  Wine is ready to drink.  We have one more bottle that we will hold until the end of the year.  Try it, it is very good grape juice!

13 August 2018  Today we opened the next to last bottle of the 2006 Cannubi Bochis.  Being the year it is, we decided to open it just before serving a lunch of red potato and porcini ravioli that Natalya made along with two ears of silver queen corn from our garden.  The wine was an almost perfect match for this somewhat "Slovenian" style lunch (which may be defined as food with little if any spices).  We strongly recommend that if you have this wine that you try a bottle soon.  It is spectacular wine as of the day we write this treatise.  It would have stood up to a more spicy dish but there was nothing wrong with the combination!  Great wine, Virna!!!!!!!!

23 September 2018  Today we opened the last bottle of Virna's 2007 Preda Sarmassa Barolo.  We served it with gnocchi di zucca preceded by boscaiolo cheese that was warmed in a saute pan.  Both stood up well to the wine.  We are a bit unhappy that this was our last bottle of the Preda Sarmassa but we are happy we had the chance to try it.  Again, a great wine from Virna!

01 January 2019  Happy new year fans!  Today, Vittorio was in the kitchen with Natalya assisting.  I had decided to take a half faronna (guinea hen) from the freezer (the hen was grown in Tonco without antibiotics).  Since Valentina had told us that the hen was a little older than normal, we should cook it for a little longer.  We sauteed the pieces after then had been floured in Sicilian olive oil that we source directly from the grower.  After they were browned, we added some of Michele's Arneis and covered the pan and added four small sprigs of fresh rosemary from one of the plants in our garden.  The pan was covered and allowed to cook on relatively low heat, continually watching to see if more of the Arneis was needed.  After about one hour, the hen seemed to be cooked.  We adjusted the seasoning and let the hen remain in the pan while the liquid, for the most part, was taken into the hen.  It was served with my mother's recipe for new year's lentils with spinach and Sicilian olive oil plus a salad of anise bulb with seasoning of lemon juice and a little sliced onion.  We had pulled the last bottle of the 2006 Virna Cannubi Boschis Barolo.  We had thought that the wine would be really ready.  In reality, it could use another two years in the cantina.  We will contact Virna to see if she has any more of this very, very good grape juice.  It is a bit tannic but after an hour open, it was one of the smoothest Barolos that we have in our collection.  It is very good.  Kept in the proper storage, you have a minimum of 2 years to drink it.  But, try a bottle.  You many not have any left after you drink the first of it.  Thanks, Virna, it was a great new year with your wine!!!!