Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo tastes of prunes, roses, truffle, leather, and tar (with age). It has high acidity, high tannins, and high alcohol. It ages well in new oak. This grape is primarily grown in Piedmont in Northern Italy. The main wines are Barolo and Barbaresco. These are very dry, full-bodied wines, Barolo being the fuller which requires more aging.
Nebbiolo takes its name from the Italian "nebbia" (fog) that forms over the vineyards during harvest season.
Nebbiolo blends
well with Ibores and Taleggio. (McCalman) Nebbiolo may also go with a mild
blue cheese such as Gorgonzola or Maytag, aged goat cheeses, hard aged cow
cheeses such as Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago, pungent cheeses, Cheddar, Fontina,
Gouda, Jarlsberg, Swiss, and soft-rinded cheeses such as Brie or Camembert.
Barbaresco, Produttori del Barbaresco 2001 (Tasted in 2006) $29.99 at Austin Wine Merchant. 14% alcohol. DOCG wine. Made entirely from Nebbiolo grapes. Aromas of black cherry and violet with spicy notes. This wine has enough tannins to age. This is delicious. This is my favorite type of wine in the world -- great acidity, earthiness, medium body, drinkable without too extensive of an aging period and downright fun. This has a little wood and leather flavor. Excellent, and what a great price.
Barbaresco Produttori with Castelbelbo. Castelbelbo is a typical Piedmontese cheese, but lighter. Made from both cow and sheep milk. This is ok. Bitter on the finish, but pleasant. I like a fuller bodied cheese, though.
Barbaresco Produttori with Castelmagno. Awful. The cheese is too much like a Parmesan taste, like bile when it gets with the wine.
Barbaresco Produttori with Fontina Val d'Aosta. Excellent. Great blend. Bitter on the finish, but they match because of the earthiness.
*Barbaresco Produttori with Taleggio. Perfection. This is a younger Taleggio, so it really likes this wine since they both have that tanginess going on.
Langhe Nebbiolo 2001 (Tasted in 2004) $19.99 at Grapevine Market. I have never seen a Nebbiolo for so cheap. Chuck said this was good, even at this low price. 13% alcohol. This is from the the area around the town of Barbaresco. From http://www.winebow.com: "First produced in 1987, the wine is made is very small quantities, only 8000 bottles. 100% Nebbiolo grown in the San Francesco and Fontanazza vineyards. The wine spends 18 months in oak followed by six months in stainless steel tanks before bottling. Very rich with excellent structure and intense, elegant color. Nebbiolo typically is light in color but powerful and intensely flavored. Will age well for 8-10 years if not longer. Recommended with full bodied dishes. Excellent with meat and game." It is a pretty, dark-garnet color. I smell cherries, grilled meat (kind of a woody, salty flavor). Very high acidity and tannins, dry. It doesn't seem as full-bodied as I would expect. In fact, it feels light to medium on my palate. It tastes like cherries and wood, herbs, and maybe plums. Clean finish. Burning from the alcohol and tannins. Bitter tea flavor at the end, but not bad. I like this a lot.
Langhe Nebbiolo with Ibores. Spanish raw goat's milk cheese, semi-hard and salty. This is nice. Somehow I didn't expect it to work, but I like the spicy, sharpness of the cheese with the cherries in the wine. Well-matched in texture and weight. Together, they are nutty, earthy, woody, fruity, spicy, and tingly. At the end, they are bitter together, but it's not bad. It just tastes kind of rustic.
*Langhe Nebbiolo with La Tur. This is a Piedmontese cheese made from cow, sheep, and goat milk. It is fresh, tangy, soft, and pungent. I thought these might go together since the cheese is from the Langhe as well. I am so excited! This actually went together. I have been looking for a wine for my favorite fresh cheese, La Tur, for so long. This worked out splendidly. It is delicious together. Both are light, but have so many interesting flavors that they come off as heavy -- but are still light. The wine just tingles in my mouth. The cheese is so complex and full. No bitterness, really. The cheese flavors stand up. The nice cherry and herbs are good in the wine. They are very much countryside types together. This is so wonderful. The wine brings out a nice sharpness in the cheese while still retaining all its fruit. Yum. Tingly wine and creamy, fragrant cheese. Tangy cheese and sour wine.
Langhe Nebbiolo with Montegrappa, aged. Not good. I figured this would go together, but the cheese is too sour and the tannins come out way too strong. The cheese sucks the life out of the wine.
Langhe Nebbiolo with Pecorino Toscano. Good. I like Pecorino Toscano better with Sangiovese. These play well together, but they don't really do much for each other. The cheese outlasts the wine.
Langhe Nebbiolo with Taleggio. This is a young Taleggio, not too stinky. In fact, it's not stinky at all. It's about as pungent as a Reblochon. Salty, buttery. It's ok, but not perfect because they don't really blend together. Bitter, but not too bad. The cheese melts in my mouth. It makes a nice chocolate nut flavor with the wine. Then it's a little bitter and then astringent.
Virna Nebbiolo d'Alba 2001 (Tasted in 2005) 13% alcohol. This retails for about $23, so it is comparable to the Produttori Nebbiolo in price. It is made in Barolo. It is imported by http://www.roseimporting.com, but it's not on the list. Wonderful for a value Nebbiolo. Meaty, savory wine, full of spice and pepper. Leathery texture. Powerful, but not overpowering. It has a long finish with spice and berry towards the end. It is amber-colored, aromatic, leathery, fresh, earthy, spicy, and not super heavy. I liked this wine a lot, especially since it is affordable. I tasted this again and it seemed lighter than the first time around and not quite as earthy. Very elegant. This wine seemed to go best with washed rind cheeses.
*Virna Nebbiolo d'Alba with Gorgonzola Dolce. Very very good. The nuttiness in the cheese shines through here. Even though this cheese can be pungent, it is still sweet and mild. The more delicate wine works nicely with it. Usually I like a Gorgonzola Piccante with Nebbiolo, but this time, I prefer the Dolce. There is a nice earthiness, spice, and nuttiness that comes together with the fruit.
Virna Nebbiolo d'Alba with Gorgonzola Piccante. Not so great. Bitter and burning together.
Virna Nebbiolo d'Alba with La Tur. Stinky cow, sheep, goat blend. I love to serve this with Nebbiolo. This was very good together, but in some ways, the cheese was more sour than the wine, possibly because this was a younger La Tur. Still, it was very good together. I enjoy this pairing, though my students don't always appreciate it. Super salty and sour cheese. A little bit of a bad aftertaste, but pretty good. I think a Robiola might work better.
Virna Nebbiolo d'Alba with Sottocenere. This was good together because the truffle flavors mixed well with the earthiness and spice of the wine. However, I felt like this wine was a little more delicate than the cheese.
*Virna Nebbiolo d'Alba with Taleggio. Fairly stinky Taleggio. Yes, very stinky, even on the palate. Sticky. This cheese is a little much for me at the moment, but oddly enough, I like it with the wine. I prefer a slightly less "robust" Taleggio to go with my wines. What comes out in this pairing is the fruit -- both in the wine and the cheese. Spicy.