Hello Piedmont, I’ve missed you. This bottle is another treat from Ian at Wine Library. Last time we spoke I mentioned I was looking for some good value Barolo’s and this bottle is $40. Normally I’m pro trying wines just by buying and trying with basic knowledge but like Bordeaux’s it’s important to do some research on a Barolo before you buy it because you can easily overpay for a lesser bottle. With typical prices ranging from $40-ridiculous I’d recommend talking to a trusted friend at the store or a trusted website (Grapestorm!) thinks before you buy. Everyone should drink Barolo, it’s that good, just be sure to do your homework!

colonelgrape: 93. One thing I enjoy about a Barolo is the color.  Swirling, smelling, and inspecting Barolo’s is a lot of fun. This bottle has the classic translucense and brick red color of aged Nebbiolo grapes. Leather, red fruit, tar, and anise come through. It’s a young wine so the tannis are still firm but there’s enough acid and flavor to make it approachable now. We only decanted it for about 20 minutes but I’d recommend decanting a solid hour. This should get better with time in the cellar and for $40 it’s a fantastic bargain.

MobyGrape: 89. It was up to me to pick the Barolo for the evening so naturally, the one named Guido was the obvious choice.  I’ve gotten so used to wines that look muddy it was weird to pour a clear brick colored one.  It didn’t decant for long, and may have been a bit tannin-y up front, but it mellowed out after a while.  As much as I want to insert an obvious Jersey Shore joke about tanning, I’ll restrain myself.  If you’re looking for a solid wine for a solid Italian meal, this Guidette wouldn’t look much farther.  GTL.

This was our second wine of our Saturday dinner. We were eating Italian so we decided to stick with Italian wine. We enjoyed shrimp cocktail and stuffed mushrooms with garlic, onion,  mushroom, baby shrimp, butter, and breadcrumbs along with lasagna and garlic bread. Once we polished off the Chianti we dove right in:

MobyGrape:86.  I liked it.  I don’t really remember what it was like, I couldn’t really get a handle on the smell but it was smooth with some sort of meh taste at the end.  Super helpful, I know!  I should really try it again and take notes.

colonelgrape: 93. I will try and be more helpful than Moby on this one. Only being 5 years old this is a young bottle. Up front it had a very sophisticated smell of earth, spices, and dark fruit. The tannis gave the wine structure but didn’t overpower it. The fruit taste really came out while the wine was on the palate with tastes of black cherry, citrus, strawberry. There were acids on the palate but it went well with the fruit. It went down very smoothly leaving an earthy, leathery, dark, minerally taste on the back end. This wine was extremely complex and structured. It offered something different every step of the way and I enjoyed it from start to finish. There was enough tannin there that I think this wine would only grow after a few more years in the bottle…I’d love to try it again in 2015-2017.

Guest Opinion: This was touted as a good wine on it’s own, and it delivered.  I felt like it smelled of nail polish, although the Colonel would surely tell me do smell past the alcohol.  I liked the complex flavor and smooth aftertaste.

This was our first Barolo experience and it did not disappoint. I was looking to get into nicer Piedmont wines for the first time and our new friend Mitchell at Vin Bin (Marlborough, MA) recommended this wine and that was good enough for us. For $35 it was an excellent value wine…MobyGrape and I even agreed on the rating!

colonelgrape: 90. Surprisingly smooth. A mild leathery taste with nice balance and extremely smooth. This would drink well with almost any light to medium meal or even on it’s own.

MobyGrape: 90. Velvety smooth, crisp tarty finish. Very Barolo-y. Good with any meal or by itself.