As many of you know by now, I was in Italy on a three week trip through Rome and several wine regions. Although I have not taking notes on most of the wines I have tried as those were in social situations and I didn’t want to be that guy, here are a few that I really enjoyed and jotted down a few thoughts.

After three days on Lago d’Iseo, I left the Franciacorta wine region and headed west and south, to Alba, the center of the Piedmontese wine region. There, I got some good riding in and also tried some of the wines that many of the locals drink.

2020 Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco DOCG, Italy: Restaurant 50€. 100% Nebbiolo. It was my first night in Alba, and I found a nice little restaurant in the center of town with some local specialties and a decent wine list (although said wine list consisted of the various labels of the wines in their cellar; while I understand the concept, it is far too time-consuming to leaf through–yeah, I am that guy). I settled here since I did not want to break the bank on the first night but I knew this would be a solid choice from a fantastic producer. I was right (I like when that happens). Fairly dark in the glass with lovely aromas of bright red berry fruit (black cherry, naturally, but I am also getting some ripe strawberry), along with a delightful herbal quality (sweet basil), a touch of earth, and maybe just a hint of anise. The palate is also a delight with oodles of red fruit throughout, a balancing acidity, considerable spice (particularly on the backend), and enough silky tannins on the finish to suggest some further cellaring potentail. Fantastic. Outstanding. 93 Points.

The Pappardelle with Wild Boar Ragù and Truffle at Trattoria del Bollito. Amazing. But this was before I understood what Tamarin was…

2022 Roccheviberti Langhe Nebbiolo, Langhe DOC, Italy: Restaurant 30€. 100% Nebbiolo. I was in perhaps the *most* local restaurant in Alba, having just returned from a ride, without a reservation, and the place was full. As in several-locals-waiting-for-a-table-too, kinda full. I persisted and was eventually awarded a table where I had one of my more memorable meals in Italy. Ever. It was not haute cuisine. It was local, it was traditional, it was fresh, and it was fast. The hand-written wine list (the menu was also hand-written on a piece of what seemed like butcher paper) was about 15 pages long and loaded with the wines that locals drink: Barbara, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo d’Alba, et al. I was lost. I could have managed through the Barbaresco and Barolo pages in the back, but I put my hands in the restaurateur, and he chose this. Perfect. Initially, fruity and fun, loaded with acidity, which paired wonderfully with my Vitello Tonnato and then my Tajarin ragu. Yeah, I went full-on local and this wine delivered. Back in my hotel room, this medium-colored, translucent ruby wine has plenty of blackberry and black cherry as well as rose petal and earth on the nose. The palate is initially dominated by the fruit, so much so that it would be easy to dismiss as a fun, fruity quaffer. But. It has layer upon layer and developed more complexity as it opened up. the fruit is always present, but some earth and even some silky tannins come in on the mid-palate, and whoa, the finish. Sure, this is likely on the shelf for around $25(?) in the US, but this drinks like a wine at twice that price. Outstanding. 94 Points.

I made up for that the following night as I had the Tajarin Ragu at Osteria dei Sognatori. Whoa. More on that meal soon.

2024 Marco Riva G.B., Roero Arneis DOCG, Italy: Retail 18€. Under screw cap. A haphazard visit to Corte Fusia in Franciacorta led me to Marco Riva in Roero. There will be a more extensive write-up on both later, but I eventually found Marco in the vineyard and we spent the next two hours traipsing through his leased vines, on steep hillsides, about 1,000 feet above sea level in the hills of Roero, only stopping on occasion to sip one of his fantastic wines. He is the first one to admit that his wines are not “heavy” or overly complicated, he aims to make clean, thoughtful wines that are easy to drink. While he certainly succeeded, I would argue that his wines do indeed offer plenty of complexity but their inherent deliciousness does lead to an urge to quickly imbibe. But should you land upon one of his bottles, I implore you to take your time, as you will be rewarded. Rich, brilliant straw in the glass with plenty of lovely citrus (more lime than lemon) on the nose. The story here, however, both on the nose and on the palate, is the intense minerality. Being a fan of the variety and region (although I have only tried those readily available in the US), I immediately noticed that this wine was not as “sweet” as those that I have tried back home. Racy and angular, this is really fantastic and underscores the notion that a wine can be both easy-to-drink and complex. Bravo, Marco, bravo. Outstanding. 93 Points.

Nothing beats tasting wines in the vineyard…

…with the winemaker. Grazie mille Marco!