So, as I said in the last post, part of the inspiration for the boar stew was some nebbiolo that I wanted to drink. Tom and I headed down to my family's house with a bottle of 2000 Produtorri del Barbaresco. It was from the Pora vineyard and although it probably could've aged a bit more, I had a taste for Piedmont. The wine worked beautifully with the dish as its relative youthful nature helped it stand up to the potent flavors fo the stew. The fruit was still very bright showing dark cherries, followed by the classic leather and tobacco notes. The structure of the wine was a highlight with the finish returning to ripe fruit.
As I have been placed as the steward/ cellar manager of my father's collection I picked out one of his old bottles that was in need of drinking. I stumbled upon an obscure petit chateau from Bordeaux that was of the '82 vintage. I wasn't really familiar with the producer, but the vintage certainly warranted giving the bottle a try. I tried doing some research but couldn't figure anything else about the producer. I don't know how my dad got his hands on this, but it had peaked my interest. It was labelled as a Vin de Bordeaux, which didn't provide any help either. I was sceptical that this wine would've held up well. Even in a good vintage these are the wines that normally get consumed shortly after release.
Upon opening it, I was at least happy that it wasn't corked and hadn't turned to bordeaux vinegar. The nose was a bit tired, but it had that wonderful earthy/ dank basement smell of well aged Bordeaux. All in all the wine still had some life to it. It probably should've been drunk earlier in its life, but I really enjoyed the slightly oxidized quality and the minerality that was still there. Not much to say in the way of fruit, but if I want fruit I'll drink juice. It was a pleasant surprise that shows that you don't always have to buy those damn expensive classed growths to enjoy well aged Bordeaux.
Cheers
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