Another home run wine. Perfect Piedmont for Saturday dinner

January 30, 2010

So, went back to The Austin Wine Merchant today for some more blogworthy suggestions. As usual, put myself into John Roenigk's more than capable hands. He was quite keen on one in particular, Cantine Valpane Rosso Pietro Barbera del Monferrato 2006, though it was a buck more than my usual ceiling of $15. I "splurged" since it's the weekend.

For those who haven't yet noticed, the main focus of my wine a day in 2010 challenge is to show that you can find and drink a good wine under $15 every day, with some special occassion bottles thrown in for fun.

I'm struck at once by the nose. A very interesting pleasant balance of dark red fruits, lanolin, fresh parsley, and vanilla. WOW.  The palate follows up in quality! Black fruit, and I swear, LAMB! Think the meaty essence of rare baby lamb mixed with dark fruits and you have it. White pepper, crisp medium acids and a nice parsley tone as well.

Congrats John, another swing and HOME RUN out of the park. I am almost embarassed that I made home made meat loaf for dinner, this one deserves something more special like slow braised lamb shanks. The wine is simply elegant as hell, yet complex in a restrained way. Typical for John's excellent palate.

What the heck, it's Saturday night, so a few extra bucks on the wine is no biggie, especially when the wine is this good.

DRINK THIS WINE!

Cheers,

Rob Moshein, Austin Wine Guy