Osvaldo Viberti - Serra dei Turchi, La Morra

The last stop for today was at the home of Osvaldo Viberti.  We had met Osvaldo at the 2013 La Morra tasting and had promised him that we would come to taste all of his wines.

We were shown into the kitchen of his home for the tasting.  We met his wife and two children before beginning what was to be a very enjoyable evening tasting all of his efforts.  We will not write about his Nascetta nor the Barbera d'Alba but if you visit him, make sure you taste both.

His 2012 Nebbiolo, 14% alcohol was first.  The wine has great fruit, nice acids and a lite tannin for a young Nebbiolo.  Needs two years in the cellar.  Euro 8.50 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.  We own the 2011 also.

The 2010 base Barolo was the next offering.  Nice balance between the fruit, tannin and acids, even at this point.  Would like to give it another two years in the cellar before drinking.  Euro 19 a bottle.

Third was the 2008 Barolo Serralunga, 14.5% alcohol.  This is a wine completely in balance and, in our opinion, ready to drink.  Leave it another year in the cellar to be sure.  Euro 24 a bottle.

The last Barolo was the 2007 Serra dei Turchi, 14.5% alcohol.  This is another Barolo ready to drink (bottle was open seven hours before we arrived which leads me to leave it in the cellar for at least one, maybe two years before opening).  It is a very good Barolo with great balance.  Euro 24 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

29 September 2014  Today for lunch, we had a Pizzocchieri della Vantellina.  Vantellina is a valley in Lombardia bordering Switzerland.  The dish is a pasta with a predominance of buckwheat flour unlike normal Italian pasta which has a predominance of wheat flour.  The dish also has potatoes, spinach, soft cheese like Toma, garlic and is cooked in butter, not olive oil.  For this, we opened the bottle of 2011 Nebbiolo from Osvaldo.  When we visited him earlier this month, we had asked him whether it was ready to drink.  He said it was.  This is spectacular grape juice.  It is no wonder we spent most of the last hour of the 2013 La Morra tasting at Osvaldo's barrel drinking this wine.  If you have it, open and enjoy.  It is ready to drink.

25 December 2015 For the holiday dinner which was one of our specialties that we adapted from my Sicilian Grandmother's recipe, we opened the first bottle of the 2007 Serra dei Turchi.  Lunch was a stuffed chicken boneless chicken thigh.  This wine is still "in pieces" and has yet to come together as we believe it will.  It also had a slightly off nose that we hope will resolve itself before we open the next one which will be at least a year down the road.  Let it rest if you have it.  If not, find it!

28 March 2016  Today for lunch, we opened one of our four bottles of the 2012 Langhe Nebbiolo.  We opened it just before serving lunch which was a chicken burger with a slight curry seasoning.  The wine took us on quite a roller coaster.  At first, there was no nose and a slightly acidic mouth.  Then the nose took over giving us a very nice Nebbiolo nose.  Then, the acid took a back seat and the Nebbiolo fruit showed itself.  By the end of lunch (and the bottle), we knew why it was put in the cellar.  It is not a big Nebbiolo so you should serve it in a closed mouth glass with a lightly seasoned meal.  Highly recommended, drink now.  

12 August 2016  For lunch today, we prepared Chinese noodles with shrimp.  Needing a light wine to go with it, we chose a bottle of Osvaldo's 2012 Nebbiolo.  The wine was not "together" when it was opened but after a short time (less than 20 minutes), it was the prime example of Nebbiolo that we know Osvaldo produces.  It went very well with the Chinese dish.  Highly recommended, as stated in the previous entry, drink it now, leaving it open for 15 minutes before pouring.

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 2012 Nebbiolo from Osvaldo.  When the bottle was opened, it had an off nose that was something like a mold.  The mouth was fine.  We studied the cork and found it to be cracked on the bottom that may have let some air in that may have caused the off nose.  Toward the end of the bottle, the musty smell had blown off.  We will be interested to see if the other bottle of the 2012 we have has the same problem.  Stay tuned.  The wine is ready to drink so enjoy it.  It does have time left but try a bottle now!

4 February 2018  Today Natalya made Thai soup and Turkish dolma for lunch.  I know what both of them are like so had to pick a wine that would stand up to the Thai soup but not cover up the Turkish dolma.  I chose a 2007 Viberti Serra dei Turchi.  The choice was correct.  The food went very well with this very good Barolo.  Highly recommended, drink now!

11 March 2018  Again, Natalya, born Russian, made Thai soup for lunch to go with a sauteed turkey breast.  I was tasked with finding a wine that would stand up to the Thai soup and yet, not kill the sauteed turkey breast.  My choices were limited but we had one more bottle of Osvaldo's Nebbiolo from 2012.  The wine stood up to the Thai soup and did not step on the turkey breast.  However, if you have this wine, we find that it has faded fast and should be enjoyed as soon as possible, hopefully within the next 30 days.  It is still there but we feel it will not be much longer.