James Bercovici - The Big Red Wine Company

2006 in La Morra was a year of tannic monsters. The Serradenari Barolo was one such wine but fairly good natured by comparison to Crissante Alessandria's 'Roggeri' . When I was first assaulted by this cuvee, I thought there was fruit lurking somewhere and was persuaded that, given time, it would come good. Now, ten years on, my potential gullibility has given way to faith in my trusting nature. This is a fantastic Barolo on the elegant end of the spectrum (in contrast to an equally enjoyable but far more expensive Sandrone Barolo enjoyed recently) with tannins that dance to the tune of the violin sonata this wine evokes. Fabulous stuff. Another oldie, relatively speaking, was the 2009 Les Hauts de Montmirail from Domaine Brusset enjoyed after an equally inspiring (and reassuring) 2009 Anonyme from Xavier Vignon . Why reassuring? Because 2009 was a hot vintage and wines often tend towards blowsiness. Not these two, certainly not at ten years' old anyway. Very refined