Terre del Barolo Riserva 2013

I decided to commemorate my parents 34th anniversary by picking up a nice bottle of Barolo for them when I came home for Spring Break. When they visited Italy 20 years ago, they drank a bottle of Barolo that they swear was the best wine they ever had. However, they had not been able to find a decent bottle in the United States since they returned. So I picked up a bottle of relatively costly Terre del Barolo Riserva 2013 from Vintage Cellar for $40. The alcohol content was a modest 14%, it came from the Barolo region of Italy, and is predominantly comprised of the Nebbiolo grape variety.

According to a review by Wine Enthusiast, this wine exhibits aromatic notes of rose petal and tobacco. The taste of the wine itself is spicy and fruity, with notes of crushed raspberry, clove, and white pepper. There is an abundance of tannins and acidity which is described as "fresh."

I wanted to ensure that this occasion was special for my parents, so I made sure that the bottle was served up at room temperature, that everyone had a large red wine glass, and that the wine was properly aerated. After aerating, we waited another 5 minutes to allow the wine to oxidize a bit more and smooth out the tannins. The wine was a pale garnet color in the glass. With a warming swirl, I received notes of cherry, blackberry, leather, and plenty of alcohol on the nose. My mother deftly identified one note in the aroma as belonging to a clay pot, which I agree with.

The taste of the wine itself is what I would describe as a tannin bomb. It immediately dried my tongue to a husk. The main flavor I got from this was tart cherries. The acidity of the wine seemed to mellow out as the wine breathed a little bit more in the glass. I did not expect to like it because I was aware of how dry Barolos are, but I was pleasantly surprised with the complexity of it. My parents loved it; they thought it was the best one they'd had since Italy (although it doesn't hold a candle to the stuff they had in Italy).

According to Wine Folly page 141, Nebbiolo wines usually have notes of cherry, rose, leather, anise, and clay pot. I am very delighted with how well we picked up on those tertiary aromas. They have high tannins, a medium body, high acidity, medium alcohol, and low sweetness. I believe this correlates well with my experience, although I will say it was a pretty well balanced wine. It definitely was not fruit forward or jammy which is what I like in high tannin wines. A buttery cheese with this wine would be a pleasure.