Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Thursday, August 11, 2016 - 100% Freisa from the Ravera cru situated between the comunes of Barolo and Novello. Fermented spontaneously, macerated with the skins for 2-3 weeks, aged for 8-9 months in old oak botti casks, bottled with minimal SO2. 13% alcohol.

Very youthful and moderately translucent black cherry color. Quite dark-toned and somewhat sweet-and-sour nose with juicy aromas of ripe black cherries, some licorice, a little bit of sappy greenness and floral heather tones, a hint of struck matchstick and a touch of sharp lingonberry character. Overall there's a vague Nebbiolo-like character to the nose. The wine is ripe, medium-bodied and enjoyably fresh on the palate with super-juicy flavors of tart lingonberries, sour cherries, some chokeberry tones other fresh dark berries, a hint of sappy greenness and a touch of licorice. The wine feels nicely structured and slightly chewy with its high acidity and firm medium tannins. The finish is juicy, fresh and slightly grippy with bright flavors of sour cherries, tart lingonberries, crunchy chokeberries, a little bit of tannic bitterness and a hint of earthy spice.

A wonderfully fresh, firm and structured Langhe red that might not reach the depth and quality of Barolo or Barbaresco, but provides tons more character and pleasure than your typical Langhe Nebbiolo. Overall the wine feels remarkably similar to a Nebbiolo with bright sour cherry character, high acidity and firm, moderately grippy tannins, but the flavor profile is slightly less tarry and leans towards dark forest fruits. Overall the wine is drinking just fine at the moment, but the overall style is so youthful I wouldn't be surprised if the wine continued to develop for another 10 years or so. Slightly better than the delicate vintage 2012 and great value at 20€ - I'd buy this over any Langhe Nebbiolo any day.

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