Quarantine Favorites: Barolo

What have you been up to during lockdown?

I have to say I've been drinking a lot of wine. Without being able to go out to restaurants and bars, I've been splurging more at local wine stores and been casually drinking at home probably more than I should. More frequent visits to wine stores also means more opportunity to venture out and try new wines that I normally wouldn't drink. I'm glad that I've learned to appreciate many wines that I wasn't too crazy about before and have had a chance to discover several new wonderful ones.

To be honest, I haven't had too many Barolo wines and still have a lot more to learn about them. I picked up a bottle of the 2015 Cascina del Torcc Barolo DOCG a few weeks ago to have with some dinner and have been wanting to try it again, so I went back to the store and got myself another bottle.

A few quick facts about Barolo, also known as "The King of Wine" (yeah, wow!):

• Barolo is a red wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piedmont

• The wines are made from Nebbiolo, a small, thin skinned red grape varietal which are generally high in acid and tannins

• There is a minimum aging requirement of 3 years before release, of which 18 months must be in wood

• Typically rich and full-bodied with a strong presence of acidity and tannins. Aromas of tar and roses are often associated with Barolo wines

On the 2015 Casino del Torcc Barolo:

• See: The wine has beautiful garnet, deep ruby color. It also kind of reminded me of the pretty color that some of the lighter Ports have.

• Swirl: A lot of legs!

• Sniff: It is quite fruit forward with initial notes of cherries and black currants, followed by black licorice, cigar, and spices that make you immediately forget about any hints of berries from your first sniff. There are also notes of pepper and smoke, and I was even able to smell the alcohol (it is 14%), which wasn't too surprising to me given the many legs I saw on the glass.

• Sip: At the first sip, the first word that came to my mind was "tart". The wine is quite high in acidity and tannin - at the first sip, I could feel the dryness inside my mouth immediately as I swirled the wine. At the second sip, there is strong tart cherry, lacking sweetness of berries. There is a kick that follows with hints of licorice and smoke. The wine has a quite intense but complex profile - where the beginning and end of the tasting experience take you from one end to the opposite.

• Savor: I paired this wine with Gouda with truffles, which worked quite well. The wine pleasantly brought out the flavor of the Gouda and balanced out the taste of truffles without one overpowering the other.

• I would highly recommend decanting the wine for 30 minutes, allowing some time for the wine to settle out and become balanced with air. It made a huge difference in toning down the wine's first impressions of high acidity and brought out the hidden elegance of the wine. Air also helped bring out minerals and highlighted the bright fruits. It became easier to drink in many ways, smoother and velvety in each sip. It's a wine you may have mixed feelings about at first, but will learn to enjoy with each sip as your evening goes on.

Given the hotter than usual summer temperatures, 2015 is a mixed vintage for Barolo with varying personalities and qualities. I am looking forward to trying other 2015 Barolos and see how the wines compare.