The Frog Leap from Merlot to Nebbiolo
There are many more of you here today. Welcome! Our Business Insider articles have made quite a splash and we have now have more subscribers that we ever imagined.
To those new here, please be advised: this is the only wine newsletter you need in your life. Yes, there are plenty of others who will attempt to entice you with "the perfect winter wine" and "ACT NOW...THIS WON'T LAST" emails. Delete. Or better yet, ask them if they sell YellowTail? Or Cavit Pinot Grigio? Or Bacardi Raspberry Spritz Molten Lava Purple Ice Cream Peanut Butter?
At Some Good Wine, we don't carry "brands," we carry great wines and amazing spirits and we turn away tons of customers a week for doing so. But it's worth it. We will only sell you what we believe in.
This is the only wine newsletter you need in your life.
So let's get right into it. In one of the articles from BI, "9 Kinds of Wine You Really Should be Drinking," while, I am very grateful for the article, unfortunately I was not allowed to tell the whole story behind each of these selections. Many customers seemed confused behind them, so I wanted to spend the next couple of newsletters extrapolating on these choices and hopefully providing a little bit of education along the way.
Nebbiolo is not similar to Merlot, but if Merlot is your go to wine, Nebbiolo is a great alternative. Why? When analyzing a wine's flavor profile, I believe tannins should stand out as much as anything else. While, again, different on so many levels: I find that with Merlot there is an essential velvetiness that is almost not seen in other grapes/wines. Nebbiolo is lighter, with higher acid; more gritty and earthy with a butterfly kiss of violets wrapped around it. And while the fruit components are not similar, I believe both have enough body to make some sort of compatibility possible.
Take this example:
2013 De Forville Langhe Nebbiolo: $19.99
From a selection of Nebbiolo from the younger vines of the various “cru” in Barbaresco supplemented by grapes from the neighboring village of Neive with an average age vine of 30 year. Another tremendous value in the De Forville line-up. Sleeker than one would expect for Nebbiolo but still has that textbook earthy edge that the best Nebbiolos produce. And the price....oh my, the price!
Highly recommended as a go to, quasi inexpensive Nebbiolo. Something that can get the juices flowing and if you like it, then move up a step to Nebbiolo at a higher, philosophical level:
2011 De Forville Barbaresco: $31.99
The first Barbaresco I ever tried, believe it or not. A long time ago and it never fails to impress. With 35 year old vines and 18 months in oak, marrying the finesse of Barbaresco with the alluring aromas and flavors of truffle, earth, berries, rose, tar and leather and carrying, most important of all, a backbone of sweet, dusty tannins that give length and breed. Benchmark!
To those new here, please be advised: this is the only wine newsletter you need in your life. Yes, there are plenty of others who will attempt to entice you with "the perfect winter wine" and "ACT NOW...THIS WON'T LAST" emails. Delete. Or better yet, ask them if they sell YellowTail? Or Cavit Pinot Grigio? Or Bacardi Raspberry Spritz Molten Lava Purple Ice Cream Peanut Butter?
At Some Good Wine, we don't carry "brands," we carry great wines and amazing spirits and we turn away tons of customers a week for doing so. But it's worth it. We will only sell you what we believe in.
This is the only wine newsletter you need in your life.
So let's get right into it. In one of the articles from BI, "9 Kinds of Wine You Really Should be Drinking," while, I am very grateful for the article, unfortunately I was not allowed to tell the whole story behind each of these selections. Many customers seemed confused behind them, so I wanted to spend the next couple of newsletters extrapolating on these choices and hopefully providing a little bit of education along the way.
Nebbiolo is not similar to Merlot, but if Merlot is your go to wine, Nebbiolo is a great alternative. Why? When analyzing a wine's flavor profile, I believe tannins should stand out as much as anything else. While, again, different on so many levels: I find that with Merlot there is an essential velvetiness that is almost not seen in other grapes/wines. Nebbiolo is lighter, with higher acid; more gritty and earthy with a butterfly kiss of violets wrapped around it. And while the fruit components are not similar, I believe both have enough body to make some sort of compatibility possible.
Take this example:
2013 De Forville Langhe Nebbiolo: $19.99
From a selection of Nebbiolo from the younger vines of the various “cru” in Barbaresco supplemented by grapes from the neighboring village of Neive with an average age vine of 30 year. Another tremendous value in the De Forville line-up. Sleeker than one would expect for Nebbiolo but still has that textbook earthy edge that the best Nebbiolos produce. And the price....oh my, the price!
Highly recommended as a go to, quasi inexpensive Nebbiolo. Something that can get the juices flowing and if you like it, then move up a step to Nebbiolo at a higher, philosophical level:
2011 De Forville Barbaresco: $31.99
The first Barbaresco I ever tried, believe it or not. A long time ago and it never fails to impress. With 35 year old vines and 18 months in oak, marrying the finesse of Barbaresco with the alluring aromas and flavors of truffle, earth, berries, rose, tar and leather and carrying, most important of all, a backbone of sweet, dusty tannins that give length and breed. Benchmark!
Try one or both of these and see what I mean.
Thanks for reading,
Jeremy
Thanks for reading,
Jeremy