Brovia Barolo 2005

We just picked up the 2005 Brovia Barolo at Jar and, having not tasted the 2005 yet, I figured I might as well pick one up and give it a shot. I've been on a Nebbiolo kick lately and any excuse to dive into one is welcome.

While not profound, the Brovia 2005 Normale is everything I look for in a Barolo at a young age. The core of cherry fruit is there with the roses, tar, dusty spices and gripping tannins. This is Barolo in the classic style: light-bodied, elegant and built for hearty foods to tear down that wall of tannin.

An interesting point: There is a small blurb in "What to Drink with What You Eat" from Silverlake Wine owner (and former somm at Campanile) George Cosette about Barolo. He says that people are sometimes surpised when they taste Barolo at how "light" it is when they were told or think that it's a "big" wine. I encountered this last night when I served a bottle and the table was surprised at the light color and light body with jarringly (no pun intended) firm tannin.

This brings up the issue of wine vocabulary. "Big" can mean a lot of things. Big fruit, big tannin, big alcohol, big body. My buddy Josh means big tannin. Most people seem to mean big body or dark fruit. So, in that sense, Barolo is not a big wine.

Yes - back to the Barolo at hand. By the time said table had food, the Barolo had been open and was singing with the dishes. While still not a full-bodied wine, it was better with food. Personally, I was hoping they'd refure the wine so I could taste the staff on it and maybe pour it to some cool guests in the dining room. Or worse, drink it at the end of the night! No such luck.