Thursday, March 24, 2016

Nebbiolo Noblesse


What do you take to drink with a couple who have tried the best of most wines.  More of the same of course!  The Ekim Couple don’t give much away and are very inscrutable, so you just take your chances, and hope what you bring pleases them.  If it comes to the worst scenario, you just enjoy it!

So it was with a noble Nebbiolo.  You couldn’t ask for better credentials than a 2008 Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia ‘Colonello’.  Top producer with all the class you could ever wish, and the ‘Colonello’ style one of fragrance and finesse.  The vintage good and hopefully becoming accessible.  Upon opening, very dark coloured, near black garnet-red.  Then on nose and palate an incredibly refined, but concentrated core of black fruits seamlessly infused with minerals and complexed by a savoury note.  Absolutely no funkiness.  Funkiness would be crass.  Not exactly exotic, by brooding with it.  Not really fragrant and perfumed.  None of the dried roses yet.  Maybe a hint of tar, but that’s too earthy.  Just sheer nobility.  Immense extraction, but also incredible elegance.  The tannins so silky, but with a sense of near-overpowering density.  The so-called better years will have more depth and concentration, with more layers and even more backward.  What was remarkable was that it was so drinkable, though it said that another decade of aging was preferable.  NAC said the same in not so many words, and SWMBO just nodded, acknowledging something special here.  I think I could detect a smile on the faces of the Ekim Couple.       

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