Barolos

[Jason Perlow]

Barolo in my opinion is the king of Italian red wines. However, most of them are pretty damn expensive. And even the expensive vintage ones frequently can be disappointing because by the time you get them, the flavor in them can be completely "shot" as a respectable wine merchant friend has told me.

Is there such thing as a good, inexpensive Barolo or am I fantasizing too much? Or have all the dentists on Long Island hoarded all the good ones? Do you know of any vintners making any good domestically produced nebbiolo-based wines? There are only two to my knowledge, neither of which I have tried:

http://www.stoneheath.com/

http://www.cascadecliffs.com/

[David Lynch]

Yes there are inexpensive Barolos; but understand that Barolo is expensive by nature. Not only is nebbiolo very difficult to grow, but there are only about 3100 acres of vineyards of vineyards in ALL of Barolo. The zone is good for about 7.5 million bottles a year IN TOTAL. Some individual producers make more wine than that!

Some Barolo and Barbaresco prices have gotten a little out of control (Gaja), but in general what you're getting now is a much different ballgame than 10, 20 years ago. From my perspective, Barolo rates with the great wines of the world (it is the Burgundy of Italy) and it can still be had for well under $100 a bottle. Barolo is riding a string a great vintages (1995-2001, with 96 & 97 the highlights), so there's lots of good wine to be found right now.

Good value Barolo producers:

Fontanafredda

G.B. Burlotto

Rocche dei Manzoni

Francesco Rinaldi

Roagna

Enzo Boglietti

Good value Barbaresco producers

Produttori del Barbaresco

Abbona

Moccagatta

Paitin

La Spinona

many others!

[Steve Plotnicki]

You know the world is coming to an end when wines are considered a "good value" just because they are under $100. The fact of the matter is that the prices for many of the better Barolos in the U.S. are marked up considerably in the 3 tier process. But if you source your wines in Europe, top quality barolos from producers like Sandrone and Scavino cost about $60.

[David Lynch]

Every wine is marked up considerably in the 3 tier process. And yes, that stinks. And by the way, value is relative--"value" by my definition doesn't necessarily mean cheap. I don't like to buy cheap suits because they fall apart. So I pay a little more for a nicer suit and it last me longer, and I make out in the long run.

One thing I will say is that if you compare wine prices here to those in Europe, you will drive yourself crazy. No doubt our liquor laws are arcane and antiquated, but when you're paying hundreds for decent Burgundies and $60-$100 for great Barolos, I consider the latter a value. And yes, I do place Barolo on the same plane as Burgundy--maybe not a La Tache plane, but...