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Grasso Fratelli make it big

Forgive the pun in the title but the Grasso brothers have had a couple of top ratings this year which I want to share, not least because I have just ordered some for the UK market (inevitably).

Last time I visited them, I was impressed, as always, by the Barbarescos but there was a new one, a 2008 Riserva, which really hit the spot. So it was no surprise to learn it had been awarded the Decanter Regional Trophy for Red Piedmont wines over £15 in the DWWA 2015:

'A wonderful example of its type with a broad, spicy nose of ripe red fruit, spice, wild strawberry jam, cassis and liquorice. Fine in body with a plush but elegant palate bursting with juicy, ripe fruit and a long, velvety, warm finish.'

An impressive wine! I have tried it three times now and have found it more pleasurable each time as the tannins soften and the fruit develops - slowly - its secondary characters. One to hide at the back of the cellar.

For more immediate enjoyment, the brothers' 2014 Dolcetto is a winner. Lots of really good fruit here, this is a wine to enjoy over the next two or three years:

'A basket full of summer berries and grapes with mint, blackcurrant and anise characters. Round and fresh and juicy with positive herbal notes, harmonious tannins and acidity and a long finish.' 90+/100 (Decanter, September 2015)

One more, although not in Decanter (yet): lastr year I bought some of the brothers' interesting three-grape blend, an unusual diversion for them, called Trej This is a play on words: short for Treiso where the estate is located; also tre is Italian for three, the number of varieties which are Nebbiolo (60%), Dolcetto and Barbara (20% each). It is a lovely rounded wine, fabulous value, drinking exceptionally well now. Anyone who wants to know what Piedmont is all about should look no further than this!

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