The Barolos always happen to be on the top shelf, an aspirational wine from Italy's Piedmont region. On rare occasions my fiancee and I will splurge on a Barbaresco from TJs or a local wine store, but we had never gone big for the Barolo.
Luckily one of these local wine stores was having a Nebbiolo focused tasting (the grape found in Barbaresco and Barolo), and we jumped at the opportunity to finally try some of each, side by side.
The first 5 wines were from 2013, 1 Barbaresco and 4 Barolos. The difference between the Barbaresco and the 4 Barolos was incredible, especially for wines produced from the same grape and grown within 10 miles of each other. The Barbaresco was bright and approachable, while the Barolos were incredibly dry at first. As the wine sat on the table for a longer period of time, the Barolos seemed to soften. This might be what's known as "opening up"?
However, the final wine was a 2009 Barolo, and it was one of the first times I've realized that aging wine really does help. Some of the posts on the blog have mentioned aging, and this seems like another data point to add to the conversation. It was an entirely different experience from the younger wines, and was one of the most exciting glasses of wine I've been lucky enough to try. I don't think it's going to become our table wine anytime soon, but it's nice to have a new idea for special occasions.
