Barbaresco HELP!

[ledervin]

I've been drinking wine since I was born....excuse me if I'm french. That being said, the majority of wine I've tasted has been French. I would like some help in choosing a fine Barbaresco that does not cost my first born. Or any fine Italian wine for that matter. Can anyone help?

[Florida Jim]

I've been drinking wine since I was born....excuse me if I'm french.  That being said, the majority of wine I've tasted has been French.  I would like some help in choosing a fine Barbaresco that does not cost my first born.  Or any fine Italian wine for that matter.  Can anyone help?

Yes.

Garagiste is a mail order operation out of Seattle, WA, and has a very large selection of Italian wines from all regions at reasonable prices (they have some of the stupidly priced stuff, too, but lots of QPR's).

http://www.garagistewine.com/inventory.html

Best, Jim

[Craig Camp]

There are many fine Italian wines at all price ranges. Perhaps you could give us a price range and mention a few wines you have liked from other countries to give us a reference point in making some recommendations. There are literally thousands of Italian wines so we need to get a little more specific.

[ledervin]

thanks for the website FLorida Jim.

Craig, In regards to price range, I would like to stay as low as possible, in the $15 to $30 range, though that seems to be a challenge for these wines. A full wine that I recently enjoyed from Argentina is called Crios (Cabernet) 2001, its Susan Balboa's less expensive wine. Costs about $14/bottle in a case price. From France I am currently enjoying some Vacqueyras "Domaine Mas Du Bouquet" 2001. I enjoy the oaky full bodied wine of the new world locations, but also love the sexy style of the more subtle french wines. I realize this may not have helped you too much in recommending a wine, but a couple of your standby's that aren't too expensive would be nice to have a list of.

Thanks for any help you can provide

[Carema]

It might be very difficult to find Barbaresco in the price ranges you mentioned. Instead of investing a bunch of cash in a wine that really needs to be aged to enjoy, why don't you start like this:

The grape that makes Barbaresco is Nebbiolo. Nebbiolo grows up in the Piemontese region of Italy. It also makes Barolo and then a host of other more obscure DOCs. There is Langhe, Roero, Spanna and my favorite of course, Carema. There maybe others. I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the grape through one of these, understanding first its nose of roses and burnt wood, and appreciating the range of tertiary delights it can yield: porcini mushrooms, dead leaves, tea rose perfume wafting from ancient, veinous wrists, sour, rotting smashed cherry... you may get the point. Your current picks in wine suggest to me that Nebbiolo might be a bit of a leap- it is not as accessible as the other wines you mentioned but surely a leap worth taking. Make sure you eat with Nebbi- if ever a grape longed for food this is it.

Good Luck.

PS Pheasants are nice

[JennotJenn]

I am also interested in exploring the wines made from the Nebbiolo grape. I love wines made from Pinot Noir, and based on that I'm thinking Nebbiolo is a good place to start branching out (am I wrong?). If I were to purchase one of the less expensive varieties what vintages can be consumed now? Can these be consumed fairly young? Will the require a great deal of aeration?

I am very interested in exploring the Barolos of the more conservative wine makers eventually, once my palate has become acclimated to the characteristics of the grape. Based on Craig Camp's articles, they just sound really interesting and quite appealing. However, I don't want to blow money on something that I can't really appreciate.

Once I do get a feel for the wine (and assuming that I like the characteristics of the grape), though, can you suggest something specific from the conservative camp that runs between, say, $50-100 that is drinkable now? Is that possible?

Also, and this may be the stupidest question ever: how do I go about buying something that the wine shops here don't have? Can they order it for me?

TIA,

Jen

[Craig Camp]

Drinkable now and traditional style are often a difficult combination as traditional wines take the longest to develop. I would look for some 95's that might remain unsold in stores. The 97's vintage is easy to find and more forward, but not ready to drink. If you try the 97's decant them at lunch to serve for dinner. 5 or 6 hours of decanter time will open them up quite a bit.

I would look for: Marcarini, Cavallotto, Poderi Colla or Rinaldi.

While it is popular to compare pinot noir and nebbiolo because of their complexity, low color and difficulty to grow and make - these two grapes have very different flavor profiles with nebbiolo being naturally high in tannin and pinot noir in glycerol. Nebbiolo has a much firmer "grip" then pinot noir and little of the natural fruit sweetness.

[JennotJenn]

Thanks, Craig!

I was most concerned about age. I'd seen some of the names you mentioned before, but had no idea about what vintage to buy for immediate consumption. I'm also going to check out your list of more modern producers as well. Those seem like they might be more accessable to me for the momnet, both in terms of style and local avaliablility. Thanks agaiN!

Jen

[Craig Camp]

...actually this thread made me think of THIS

[futronic]

I think it might be difficult to find Barbaresco in the $15-$30 range, but a few options may be 1997 Produttori di Barbaresco Barbaresco (the normale bottling) and perhaps the 1997 Castello di Neive Barbaresco Santo Stefano (not the bottling from Giacosa). These go for about $30-35CAD, so you should be able to find them below the $30 mark in the U.S.

To get a taste for the Nebbiolo grape, you can also try the declassified Nebbiolo offerings from various producers. They won't have the complexity of a Barolo or Barbaresco, but at least you can get an idea of what the grape is like without shelling out boatloads of money or having to wait 10 years to taste the first drop of this wonderful juice.

[blooangel]

I think that there are scads of other Italian wines that you could start with besides Barbarescos. The fact that the older vintages are so sought after makes them...pricey, to say the least.

There are so many great wines, even from the same region (the Piedmonte) that are delicious. I saw a suggestion for Nebbilolo, but you could try Barberas and Dolchettos as well.

Or, explore lesser known regions. Everybody's heard of Tuscany, but there are great Sangeovese blends from "next door" in Emilia-Romagna.

At least, that's just my two cents

[Coop]

What about Langhe? I think a lot of de classified Barbaresco is sold a Langhe. Prudotorri de Barbaresco makes theirs from younger vines inside the Barbaresco DOC.

[futronic]

He could always try Aglianico as well. Hailing from Basilicata, I consider good examples the "Barbaresco of the South."

Try d'Angelo's Aglianico del Vulture or Canneto offerings. They should be somewhat available in the US.

[Craig Camp]

He could always try Aglianico as well. Hailing from Basilicata, I consider good examples the "Barbaresco of the South."

Try d'Angelo's Aglianico del Vulture or Canneto offerings. They should be somewhat available in the US.

I'll second Aglianico del Vulture and also recommend Paternoster.