An attempt at a brief respite from the news.
Flavors and aromas? Sour cherries roasted in truffle oil. Structurally, it's a tannic wine, but the tannins and acidity don't overwhelm the fruit and the flavors.
But let's forget descriptors and analysis. The secret of Nebbiolo is that in the right hands, in the right vintages, from the right vineyards, its power never overshadows its ability to express place. Not terroir, but place - by which I mean origin and time and people. If you're a romantic like me, there's a good chance you read about such wines, and searched for them, before you actually tasted them.
I had a good morning in Piedmont last October. We took a truffle hunting tour, which you'd think would be touristy shit, except the truffle hunter and his dog Dina were wonderfully craggy and colorful. Dina! I'm still in love with her, one of the greatest dogs I ever met! Anyway, the earth and air smelled of truffles and of Dina's fur and breath and after the tour was over, we had lunch at Il Centro in Priocca and drank a great Barbaresco Rabaja. It's a day I'll always want to reclaim and relive and this Bussia rewound and replayed it for me.
(Mar. 12, 2020)
The 2015 vintage has very recently arrived in Israel and the regular Barolo, 2015 offers a similar truffle-ish profile, at lower price. I have to say we have an abundance of killer Barolos and Baraberscos available at Israel at under 200 NIS and this offers one of the best quality/price ratios. It's less complex and intense than the Bussia. Also, it's a riper, more forward wine.
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