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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2022 and 2030 (based on 5 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.1 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 14 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Coupe 60 on 11/23/2021: PnP and had with chicken dinner. Significantly different (and i think better) than the bottle i drank about 18 months ago. This had a darker fruit taste and was more rustic. Maybe some black licorice. Excellent acidity. Would definitely have guessed Italy more than Cali on this. Good value for the price... (387 views) | | | Tasted by Cabfrancophile on 8/2/2020 & rated 82 points: Consistent with my prior note. Significant VA makes this overly rustic for my taste. Quite drinkable, fleshy red fruit, full bodied. I just found it one-note and simple. (622 views) | | | Tasted by wormfarmer on 6/5/2020: Would absolutely have guessed for an Italian. Not Alba, maybe -- but warm-weather Roero from a great producer? Once you know what it is - RRV soils harnessed by an Italian winemaker -- it makes sense (you can even get hints of that cola root you find in so many RRV PNs). But there's a pleasing rusticity here that you don't find in too many domestic Nebbs. Fantastic, and great for the $. (If nitpicking, I'd say there's a touch of heat on the back, but it's more than held in balance by acidity.) (539 views) | | | Tasted by ohne_musik on 5/31/2020 & rated 91 points: Second good bottle of this wine and I can’t get over how good this value is. Really excellent, energetic, full of bright blue/black fruit, and a bit of grape soda (in a good way). This bottle with just a tickle of brett giving extra left. Pretty finish, with just a bit of excess heat. (644 views) | | | Tasted by ohne_musik on 4/19/2020 & rated 90 points: Ahh, no brett in this bottle thankfully. Profusely aromatic out of Zalto Universals - rose petals, tar, medjool dates, and a hit of alcohol. Primarily dark fruit on the palate, with red fruit in the periphery, tar, roses, incense, warm soil. Framed by decent acid and fine-grained tannins. Could be mistaken for Langhe or perhaps a Barolo normale in a warm year. Superlative value. 90+ (688 views) | | | Tasted by dmorden on 4/13/2020: The wine looks garnet colored. It smells like cherry, blackberry, blueberry and dust. It tastes like reduced berries and smoky caramel. The body is medium/full. The wine has medium acidity. (388 views) | | | Tasted by Cabfrancophile on 3/21/2020 & rated 82 points: Rather rustic--VA and dried cherry aromas. Reminded me of a Martin & Weyrich Paso Robles Nebbiolo I drank years ago. While there are decent tannins, the wine comes across as lacking tension. Round fruit on the palate. The Nebbiolo character is present, but, like the 14 Pinot from this producer, this bottle comes across as a product of house style rather than variety.
Could be bottle variation, of course, but I can't really flag this bottle as flawed as it's decent. I had higher expectations based on prior experiences with this producer, though. (545 views) | | | Tasted by gbanks on 3/10/2020: While not overly boozy by nebbiolo standards at ~14.3%, on day one this read as exceptionally hot, especially in the nose, and even had a slight burn on the finish. Also tons of black fruit, but couldn't really appreciate it owing to the alcohol. Corked it and stuck it back in the fridge. Day two it seemed much more resolved, the alcoholic nose gave way to lovely violets and a bit of musk, with lots of blackberry and firm tannin on the palate that I'm sure will be really nice in time, but the finish was still too hot for me. Granted, I just recently drank Cameron's 2011 Nebbiolo, which was absolutely exquisite, and more in the alto-piedmonte vein. This is well south of that.
I'll hold my other bottle, plus the Estate, for several more years before trying. I think time will bring this together to something more my liking. (432 views) | | | Tasted by Ron Slye on 3/1/2020 & rated 91 points: Wow, this is by far the best nebbiolo I have had outside of Italy. Lovely nose of violets and rose hips, with those rustic notes I associate with good Italian wine. Some very nice acidity paired with some pretty grippy tannins -- yet there is lovely fruit that sits in the middle and is not hidden. So this is not a "gee I wonder what is behind that tannin or acidity" sort of wine -- but it clearly has both so can age for a while. I am really impressed with this -- and frankly it is an absurd qpr at $17 during BDXI. We are probably opening the Estate later today, though I hesitate to as I fear it will make me like this one less if it is much better!
With this time, this develops some lovely savory cherry notes.
Glass: Grassl Cru. PnP. (552 views) | | | Tasted by ohne_musik on 2/28/2020 flawed bottle: BDXI wines arrived, so I figured I'd pop one of these. Slightly worried as the cork on this bottle was protruding about 2-3mm - did they freeze in transit? Pop and poured - whoa, VA galore... backed by a ton of brett; my threshold is fairly high and this was enough for me to put in the flawed camp. Tried decanting, which got rid of the VA, but brett was not going anywhere. A pity, because the underlying fruit is lovely - pretty black fruits wrapped around a raspberry jam core. Great satiny texture married to appropriately grippy tannins for a young nebbiolo. Long finish of raspberries (and brett). Will have to try another bottle soon. If it wasn't brett-infested, I'd say this wine is killer QPR for nebbiolo. (558 views) | | | Tasted by Coupe 60 on 2/28/2020: Needs a little air time, red fruit tart acidity. Drank pretty well. Great with Pizza (418 views) | | | Tasted by ex-sommelier on 2/24/2020: Terrific. Very elegant and expressive nose of red and purple flowers and cherry fruit. Very convincing Nebbiolo, the most old world one I've tried from California. Stern tannin and quite fresh too so this will age nicely. (512 views) | | | Tasted by STM82 on 2/16/2020 & rated 91 points: Fun, fruit forward, and enjoyed by all. Great depth, so I'm looking forward to what it's big brother, the estate bottling, and some time will do. (477 views) | | | Tasted by dougie on 2/12/2020 & rated 90 points: Wonderful earth and depth. Age should give it more length and smoothness. Amazing value. My first California Nebbiolo. (414 views) |
| NebbioloNebbiolo is a red grape indigenous to the Piedmont region of Italy in the Northwest. The grape can also be found in other parts of the world, though they are not as respected.
Nebbiolo is often considered the "king of red wines," as it is the grape of the famed wines of Barolo DOCG, Barbaresco DOCG, and Roero DOCG. It is known for high tannins and acidity, but with a distinct finesse. When grown on clay, Nebbiolo can be very powerful, tannic, and require long aging periods to reach its full potential. When grown on sand, the grape exhibits a more approachable body with more elegant fruit and less tannins, but still has high aging potential.
"Nebbiolo" is named for the Italian word, "nebbia", which means "fog", in Italian and rightfully so since there is generally a lot of fog in the foothills of Piedmont during harvest.
Nebbiolo is a late-ripening variety that does best in a continental climate that boasts moderate summers and long autumns. In Piedmont, Nebbiolo is normally harvested in October.
More links:
Varietal character (Appellation America) | Nebbiolo on CellarTrackerUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino County |
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