Italian wine duo for baked Lasagna dinner
We were invited to neighbors Richard and Adessa’s for dinner of baked lasagna, salad and garlic bread. We took a cheese plate of artisan cheeses with fresh pear and from our cellar a duo of Italian wines, a white and a red.
I wrote recently about a red wine we acquired from the WSJ - Wall Street Journal wine club. This was the other wine included in that offer which I was eager to try.
It’s always caveat emptor when sampling wines from one of these sources. Both of these labels exceeded our expectations offering wonderful wines at tremendous QPR - Quality Price Ratio value.
With the cheese and fruit starter course we enjoyed a traditional Italian Piedmont Moscato - perfect for a hot summer evening.
Albino Rocca Rosso di Rocca Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 2021
This was a perfect pairing with the delicious baked lasagna - amplifying the enjoyment of both the food and the wine!
This is from the
Albino Rocca Barbaresco vineyards and winery family owned and operated over four generations dating back to the 1940's, when Giacomo Rocca began bottling wine in demijohns. In the 1960's, his son, the proprietors’ grandfather, Albino, expanded the vineyard holdings, eventually operating by his son Angelo Rocca, father of the current generation.
The family has vines in some of the most prestigious Crus of Barbaresco: Ronchi, Ovello, Montersino and Cottà. Albino Rocco produce a dozen labels all sourced from their four estate vineyards located in the most noble areas of production of Barbaresco DOCG, which consist of Nebbiolo and also include Barbera, Dolcetto, Cortese, Chardonnay and Moscato.
They strive to produce the highest quality wines that express the characteristics, purity and elegance that are so recognizably linked with the terrior of their estate.
While their winemaking activities started in the 1940’s, they had previous experience in viticulture starting from the nineteenth century. The family’s vineyard area is almost 50 acres, located in three out of the four productive communes; Barbaresco, Neive, and San Rocco Seno d’Elvio (Alba) as well as various cultivated vines: primarily Nebbiolo, then Barbera, Dolcetto, Cortese, Moscato, and Chardonnay.
This label is sourced from a vineyard in Magliano Alfieri, a municipality on the left side of the river Tanaro, which gave birth to this new version of Nebbiolo, acquired by the family in 2016, with current production wines planted between 1967 and 2002.
Nebbiolo is the native varietal synonymous with and originated in Piedmont in Italy, where it remains the region's most important red grape. Its name comes from the Italian word nebbia, which means fog, a feature of the hills where the grape traditionally grows. Nebbiolo is thick-skinned, early-budding and late-ripening; it needs long periods of sunshine to ripen fully and is often planted on south- or southwest-facing hillsides for maximum exposure. The best examples come from calcareous marl vineyards, with some planted in sandy soils.
The result was a highly fragrant red wine, with young fruit and flower aromas, fresh flavors that are ready to enjoy.
This is a blend of Nebbiolo (97%) augmented with a slight bit of Cabernet Franc (3%) which adds some color, structure and flavors of spice.
Average annual production is about 9000 bottles.
Bright ruby red colored, light-medium bodied, vibrant aromas and flavors of juicy ripe red berry, cherry and pomegranate fruits with floral and subtle earth tones, balanced by vibrant acidity and ultra-fine tannins, with a refreshing lingering finish.
RM 89 points.
