James Bercovici - The Big Red Wine Company

Actually, since off licenses have been deemed permitted businesses, things have been rather busy here but with the whole family at home all the time (except for the daily exercise exeat), the day seems longer than usual. No school runs for one thing. This means my desk is, for once, clear and, whilst I wait for a new delivery from the warehouse, I have time to plant some new asparagus crowns, make a batch of ragu big enough to last the first stage of lockdown (although I am in doubt that this will continue well into the summer) and, for the first time this year, write a blog post. I will endeavour to do more of this in the days and weeks to come although I don't know if anyone is remotely interested - sign up or 'friend' this blog or whatever is supposed to happen so I know someone is reading this! I think there will be two main strands to whatever nonsense I write for the time being: wine and everything else. Everything else will probably be dominated by food since that,...

It is a rare dinner - other than with just the family - where I am one of the older people but the average age of the people around the table last night was very slightly lower than mine. An Italian theme seemed to fit the mood but I can never decide what to serve with asparagus, even when wrapped in prosciutto and sprinkled with parmesan before being baked so I went with the simple solution of encouraging everyone to continue with their pre-dinner drink which, in most cases, meant more of i Campi's rather fun Prosecco (I had, by this time, moved on to a delightful Mosel Riesling brought back from a trip there a couple of summers ago). The main course was more straightforward: egg yolk pasta with a wild boar sauce (NOT ragu). This was to be followed by a simple cheese course of 36-month matured parmesan so this seemed a good opportunity to crack open a magnum of Enrico Nada's 2007 Barbaresco 'Casot' which sports the black label normally reserved for Reserva wines. 200...

Note: updated after the tasting! The Dulwich Wine Society has a new meeting venue since I last visited, more conducive to the enjoyment of fine wines. I was there last night to present, for the first time in the context of a wine club, a selection of wines from Piedmont. Here's the running order... White wines 1.     Fabrizio Battaglino , Roero 2010 Arneis 2.     Giovanni Manzone , Langhe Bianco 2010 Rosserto 3.     Nada Giuseppe , Langhe Bianco 2009 "Armonia" All the whites were very well received: the Arneis surprised most tasters who had little or no experience of the grape for its slightly austere nose but fuller palate. The Rossesse was showing well and was also well received as a new wine to everyone in the room. As always, Enrico's wine wowed tasters with its assortment of varieties each bringing something different to the well integrated whole. Red wines 4.      Nada Giuseppe , Dolcetto d'Alba 2010 C...

At last, after much deliberation (make that "tasting"), I have narrowed down the selection of wines from Nada Giuseppe (Barbaresco), Fabrizio Battaglino (Roero), Filippo Gallino (Roero), Grasso Fratelli (Barbaresco) and Crissante Alessandria (Barolo) to just three or four wines from each. The range of wines is quite something: some unusual but beguiling whites, a gutsy Dolcetto, Barbera ranging from easy, everyday drinking to serious, dinner party wine, super ripe Nebbiolo to classic Barolo (not forgetting the Barbaresco and Roero incarnations, of course) and two low-alcohol, sweet wines, one red, one white. Not bad for fewer than 20 wines! I really do think all these wines are stunningly good - normally I am no fan of Dolcetto but Enrico Nada turns out a beefy version that really works for me. However, the highlight of the range (for me) this year is the 2009 Barbaresco "Casot" which is so forward, I have already worked my way through several bottles. ...

When I first tasted the 2007 Barbaresco from Nada Giuseppe it was alongside the 2008. The younger vintage was tighter and harder with more overt acidity - fair enough, it was the younger wine but this year I visited the family and tasted the 2008 against the 2009 which was ripe and forward.  Incredibly drinkable already, in fact.The 2008 remains more classic (I hope that's not just a euphemism) with a harder edge although this is a little more approachable than this time last year. Last night provided an opportunity to taste the 2007 and 2009 to see how they stack up. The 2009 was true to recent form. The tannins are very soft and the fruit forward and rich. It's hard to see where this is going or, to be more precise, why you would want to take it on a long journey when it is so good now. I really can't fault it. The 2007 is still more approachable than the 2008 but has more obvious guts than the 2009 with some zingy acidity and dancing tannins. The fruit it quite simila...

With Enrico Nada on holiday in Sardinia, his parents and sister Barbara were perfect hosts during this year's visit to Nada Giuseppe . Whilst I have been trying to learn a little more Italian, I still have to rely on the better language skills of my hosts which is shameful; I must do better next time (although Enrico will probably be there and his English is extremely good so I am fighting a losing battle - but one I will continue to fight!). Still, even without Enrico the conversation flowed as well as the wine. The wines, as expected, were extremely good, perhaps better than last year, especially the top wines. We started with Armonia 2011 , the estate's only white wine. The nose is quite youthful and hints of the blend that it is (I assume it is the same as the 2010 which included Arneis, Favorita and Sauvignon)   and a touch of oak. There is some interesting fruit here which comes through well on the palate which has good definition: rounded but good acidity to back thi...