Barbaresco

Today was full of Bacchanalian goodness. We began in Barbaresco at Bruno Rocca. We were pleased to be greeted by Luisa Rocca, Bruno's daughter, who led us into the tasting room to begin. No tour, just right down to business--we didn't object! We learned about the vineyards that Bruno Rocca owns throughout the region and all of the different wines that are produced. Then we tasted three of them: Bruno Rocca Dolcetto d'Alba Vigna Trifole' 2007 (unrated), Bruno Rocca Barbaresco Coparossa 2004 (93), and Bruno Rocca Barbaresco Rabaja' 2005 (unrated). The Dolcetto was a wonderfully balanced value wine and the Barbarescos were divine. The day had started off right.

We then made our way into the little town of Barbaresco itself for lunch. We ate at a little trattoria in the shadow of the town's main tower, wandered around a bit, then headed back to Barolo for our afternoon appointment at La Spinetta. La Spinetta held special significance for me since its mascot is a rhino and only a few weeks ago I was being chased by a rhino in Kenya. We arrived early and were offered a glass of champagne while we waited--off to a good start!

We toured the Barolo Campe' winery then tasted six wines, beginning with the La Spinetta Barbera d'Alba La Gallina 2006 (unrated). We then tasted the three single-vineyard Barbarescos: La Spinetta Barbaresco Starderi 2005 (92), La Spinetta Barbaresco Valeirano 2005 (unrated), and La Spinetta Barbaresco Gallina 2005 (94). The one from the Valeirano vineyard was my favorite as it was spicier than the other two, which were lighter and showed wonderful finesse. Our final red wine was the La Spinetta Barolo Campe' 2004 (95), one of the few La Spinetta wines without a rhino label. Its label featured a lion instead, because Barolo is the king of wines. And wow, what a king this was--all hail! We wrapped up with the La Spinetta Moscato d'Asti Bricco Quaglia 2007 (unrated), which was a light, refreshing way to finish.

Finally, we met the La Spinetta guard puppy, a border collie who chases tennis balls and nibbles on low hanging fruit (i.e. helps out with the green harvest!) all day. Adorable! After a day of such great wines, we didn't even go out to dinner. We made it back to the villa early and I am heading to bed a super happy boy.

Pictures are in my facebook album.