As I have mentioned before, I occasionally receive some wine to review. Before you get all hot and bothered, I do not get a ton of it by any means. This week, I received a bottle of the 2008 Terre da Vino Barolo Tor di Vento from the Wine Château in Metuchen and Piscataway, NJ. The wine is available on their website for $19.99 (they have the list price at $46). Other than that, I was not able to find a bunch of information on the wine–it seems that the Wine Château is the only one selling it in the U.S.

It was a night when my wife had to work late and I had to pick up the kids, so there was really not a lot of time to do anything for dinner. So I did what anybody else in my position would do–I grabbed the bottle of Barolo and headed out to the restaurant down the street., Hickory Lane. The restaurant used to be a BYOB, but recently went over to the dark side. On Monday nights, however, they allow you to BYO without a corkage fee. I like to think that they do that just for me, but they probably just think that I am a cheap SOB, so no need to go there.The guy is a fantastic chef, but unfortunately he makes one of the best hamburgers I have ever had. I say ‘unfortunately’ because even though everything on the menu is outstanding, that burger is always right there at the bottom, screaming my name. I try at least every other time I go to order something else, but tonight I was getting the burger.

The boys split an order of mussels (which are fantastic as well) and they were rather happy. Watching them devour the mollusks I thought back to growing up in the midwest where I did not even know what a mussel was, let alone would I ever consider eating one. As soon as my younger son started to pilfer some of my fries, I requested an order of fries of their own and I was ready to turn my attention to the Barolo.

As I have mentioned here a few times, I am no expert in Italian wines–for that you need to check out Vino in Love, but I am a big fan of Barolo since many figure it is the ‘Burgundy of Italy’. That was enough to get me interested.

2008 Terre da Vino Barolo Tor di Vento: Available HERE for $19.99. Popped and poured at my local restaurant–rather tight on the nose–mainly getting some heat and a hint of cherry.  On the palate, the sour black cherry really comes through with a hint of bret. I know a lot of people can’t stand bret, but I m not one of them–I do not go looking for it, but it is hard to be a Burgundy fan without encountering it on a regular basis. After a little bit of time, the bret faded and the wine opened up quite a bit with more fruit on both the nose and the palate. The wine is rather austere, but there is nice acidity and really needs food–preferably a roast chicken, a pork chop, or even some skirt steak. This is not a mind blowing Barolo, but it is very nice once it gets a chance to air out a bit.  Very Good to Excellent. 87-89 Points.

I only had a glass of the wine at the restaurant and poured another for one of the owners, deciding to take the rest home to watch the 60 Minutes episode that I had recorded. By the time that I had put the kids to bed, located my favorite glass and poured a bit a good 90 minutes had passed since I had opened the bottle.  There was a noticeable difference in both the fruit and the intensity, proving once again that I should decant wines far more than I do. The wine had improved so much, that I upped the score a bit. 89-91 Points.

I went into this wine not really sure what to think and came out a fan.  For $20 (and free shipping on cases), this might be a hard deal to pass up.