A beautiful summer day and a $45 bottle of Barbaresco.
EXPERIENCE
The cork is nothing but earth and (surprise!) cork. The nose has a very obvious cherry aroma with some earth tones. The first taste is right inline with the nose, cherry (almost hinting at a cherry liquor) and a dry finish. As the wine opens it becomes less earthy on the nose, less dry, and a bit more tart with the cherries more on the finish. The tart flavor is not overwhelming nor is the hint of cherries, rather all of the flavors are nicely balanced.
VERDICT
GREAT VALUE. At $45 this wine is on the high end of our middle price range, but the price is really justified by the experience. An interesting wine that is well balanced and easy to drink. The "cherry" flavor is prevalent but not overwhelming, just a really nice flavor to keep coming back to. Its like when a butterfly lands on your head... you know it's there but you aren't scared.
FACTS
Barbaresco is made from nebbiolo grapes and the San Giuliano is classified DOCG. The winery is located in Neive in the region of Piemonte. There isn't much information out there on the internet, but IWM has a nice page. Of note: the wine is aged in oak "botti" for 18 months. A little googling taught us that "botti" are much larger barrels than the popular French "barriques", and are supposedly making a comeback in Italy.
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