Colour: Deep, slightly translucent with a bricky colour midway between ruby and garnet, with a youthful violet hue.

 

Nose: Not as bold or dusty as its Italian cousins, the nose is clean and moderate in intensity, showing black cherries, fresh strawberries, tar and a little licorice. Some very subtle use of oak shows through delightfully.

 

Palate: True to nebbiolo style, this is of medium palate weight, slightly lower on acidity and showing lovely bold, long tannins. The cherried red fruit flavour is very clean but integrated with some terrific notes of earth and spice. The tannins are drying but not obtrusive on the long, lingering savoury finish of leather and chocolate. Cellar until 2014. It is very enjoyable in its youth but deserves to be decanted half an hour in advance.

 

Peter Rogers

Taphouse Cellars.