Giuseppe Rinaldi, Langhe, Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo potente, viola, ciliegia macerata, frutti rossi sotto spirito, legno balsamico, cacao, noce moscata, terroso e minerale. Il sorso é pieno con tannino ancora deciso, caldo, morbido, l'equilibrio gioca tra le morbidezza e la trama tannica veramente potente. Per un 2008 buona freschezza e ritorni fruttati con chiusura leggermente amarognola. Abbinamento: stinco al forno.

The wine looks brick colored. The legs are medium. There is medium to heavy sediment in the bottle. Regardless, the wine opens up nicely and pairs wonderfully with Italian cuisine! No surprise here as the Italians are maters at producing wine the pairs perfectly with food.

Naso terziario, granato, limpido, note boisè, frutto rosso sotto spirito, animale, speziato, tostato e minerale.

Medium deep red garnet. Nose has cherries, tar, a balsamic and floral note. On the palate it has medium body, good acidity and a medium level of sandy tannins. It has again cherries and earthy notes and a fine bitterness reminding of chinotto. I enjoyed it very much - the tarry notes on the nose are intoxicating and addictive.

naso leggermente impreciso comunque ben impostato su note di ciliegia sotto spirito e arance rosse. In bocca sa di nebbiolo sapido e fresco con tannino fitto e giovane.

There is potential here but you will have to sit on these for a few more years (maybe 3-5). Very primary and backwards right now and the nose is a bit selfish - you know there is a lot there but as with most nebbiolo they are very unforgiving when young. All in all great translucent color with terrific weight on the palate and medium to firm tannins with good structure.

It’s muscular, yet elegant. Black berries come to mind. And red fruits. Tons of it. The 07 had some tar aromas, but I cannot find them here. Very fresh. Yes, it is easy to enjoy now, but I cannot help to think that it would be even better down the road when the tannins smooth out. Long aftertaste. Better than the “industrial” Barolo DOCGs you find in this price segment. In my opinion, one of the top Langhe Nebbiolos around …

This bottle exemplifies everything potentially glorious and frustrating about the Langhe Nebbiolo category. The juice in here is all bona fide Barolo and this certainly has a whole lot of the character of a Barolo in both the good ways and the bad ways, with an intense tarriness on top of licorice-inflected red-fruited flavors, almost racy acidity, and, most notably, fierce, mouth-gripping tannins. And that's what's so frustrating about this category, which is the fact that just because it's released …