Last night I opened a 2007 Barolo "Bricat" by Giovanni Manzone . Everything was against this being successful: it is a very tannic wine which, on paper, needs another five to ten years and I was eating something that was never going to partner a wine like this even when it is mature. I just couldn't help myself. To start with, the tannins were a little immature but there is enough sweet Nebbiolo fruit there to cope with them even when the bottle has just been opened. Over the course of an hour or so, the tannins softened. Not completely, of course, but enough to bring the fruit out even more. Texturally, the wine is gorgeous with a velvetiness that makes you want to keep coming back but, at the same time, enough grip from the tannins to keep it pert. But what about the fruit? Classic Nebbiolo - sweet cherry, quite piercing, reminiscent of a very fine Burgundy. Some tar, tobacco and spice too. What's not to love?
Musings on wine and occasional other subjects from The Big Red Wine Company's James Bercovici