Sandrone Nebbiolo 2006

Kara and I drank a bottle of Sandrone Barbera d'Alba our last night in Italy on our honeymoon. She's been a Sandrone fan ever since. And why not?! She likes New World-styled wines. And doesn't Sandrone really exemplify the idea of a New World-styled producer making wines in the Old World? Riper, more extracted and friendly levels of fruit that speak to an American palate.

Kara was closing last night and I didn't have time to make dinner. There was a little pizza in the fridge so I figured we'd build around that. Better go Italian on the vino.

I thought we'd try the Sandrone Nebbiolo Valmaggiore 2006. This is Sandrone's "entry-level" Nebbiolo. It does not come from Barolo, as their other more famous Nebbiolos do, but rather from the Valmaggiore area in Roero. As it was explained to me, you can get a better quality Nebbiolo from Roero than you can in buying a Nebbiolo d'Alba. Reason is: all the great Nebbiolo from Alba goes into the Barolo and/or Barbaresco. In Roero, all the good stuff can just go into a Nebbiolo bottling. Make sense? Yeah, I thought it sounded like a weak sales pitch, too, but I bought the wine anyway.

I remember trying this at a tasting at Jar. My notes said "tastes like a cheap, entry-level Nebbiolo - overpriced". I did like it, though, and we didn't have any Roero Nebbiolo on the list. So, I thought I'd buy a bottle to try at home.

Kara came through the door starving at almost one am. I told her all we had was a little pizza. She bolted out the door to In and Out, which she has, unbeknownst to me, been craving. Minutes later, bag in hand, she returned and we were underway with our Animal Style Double-Doubles and Nebbiolo.

While I wasn't planning for burgers with this wine, it worked out great, I have to say. The wine was particularly floral (most would call it rose petals) on the nose. The fruit was ripe almost to point of raisiny, but also fresh cherry at the same time. An odd, underlying jalapeno/tobacco green note as well. The tannins were present, but not stripping. This bottling was meant for early consumption. I must say, the wine worked pretty well with the burger. The tannins were stripped by the meat and cheese, while the raisined tone was brought to balance as well.

Ultimately, I guess I haven't changed my opinion on this wine at all. I still think it's overpriced for what it delivers. But, I do like it. Kara, not knowing the cost, also really liked it. Although, her comments did elude to the fact that she assumed it might be in the "value" range as pricepoint goes. Oh, well.

If you want to experiment and you've got a few extra bucks, check this one out. Sandrone's wines are not cheap, in general. Even his Barbera is over $30. I don't think it will disappoint. But if you're a hardcore Barolo fan, I'd likely just put the money toward a more classic producer's Barolo.