Can't afford BAROLO? Try THESE WINES instead!!!

Barolo and Barbaresco are two of Italy's and the world's greatest spread wines. Both of these are based on the grape Nebbiolo. They've become really collectible as Nebbiolo really shows a sense of place. There are a lot of different contours. Producers in Barolo and Barbaresco are really following the burgundy model and that's why these wines have soared in price because they're delicious, they're age-worthy, and there's a limited quantity. These prices have been just soaring over recent years, which makes a lot of wine lovers sad. However, you can find value in Piedmonte. Piedmonte is so much more than Nebbiolo when it comes to red wine grapes. You have grapes like Fresa, Grignolino, Ruque, Barbera, Croatino, Brachetto, and a lot more. Piedmonte, or Piedmonte in Italian, Italy, it's in the northwest corner of Italy. It's one of the greatest regions in the world for food and wine. It's home of the slow food movement. In Piedmonte, of all the wines produced, there's the highest percentage of Appalachian wine, DOC or DOCG wines, than in any other region in Italy. It's because they care about quality. When it comes to finding good value for money wine, I love the rule of finding a great producer and then purchasing their entry-level wine, and that holds especially true in Piedmonte. I've got seven different wines here. All of them fall under $30. A couple of them in the teens, which is ridiculous value for money, especially considering now, to get an entry-level, Barolo, Barbaresco, a good one. You're gonna look at 40, 50 bucks. It goes up to hundreds of dollars, even thousands of dollars. You look at wines like Montfortino, which goes for $1,000 a bottle, and that's even if you can find it. Okay, let's find some value. Got a new red wine glass today. This was a Christmas present to myself. This is the Rideau Pinot Noir performance glass. I love this glass. Tulip shape has these weird little striations in it. Rideau claims that not only does it look cool, it also increases surface area, which increases the bouquet and the pleasure you get from drinking a wine. I used this glass a few months ago and I was hooked. I just got it, but I think it might be my new favorite glass. I'll leave a link in the description below. It's not cheap, but it is awesome to hold. This is the first video I'm shooting in the start of 2024. I'm excited. Let's start with wine number one. These are not all the same grapes, the same varieties, but I thought, hey, I'd just blind taste them, see which ones I prefer. Number one, light in color, maybe a tip off, probably Nebbiolo or could be one of those unique red wine grapes I was talking about. This smells like Piedmont wines. For me, I think of dried cranberries, which I used to be addicted to when I was a kid. Sour cherry. A lot of people say they get hazelnut type flavors. I get more chestnut, maybe not necessarily hazelnuts. There are a lot of hazelnuts grown in Piedmont. This has sour cranberry. It's just a little bit floral. It's got a tiny bit of nuttiness. I definitely think this is Nebbiolo. This is not the most complex Nebbiolo in the world, but it smells really nice. Some of these value Nebbiolos that aren't Barolo, Barbaresco, can be delicious. They can be enjoyed younger because Nebbiolo is a tannic grape. This is Nebbiolo to a T. It doesn't have all the tar, the crushed rose petal, all the complexities, really the length. There are some small tannins here that fill the mouth, but this is super enjoyable. It really has this cranberry juice aftertaste. I think it's super enjoyable. You get the taste of Piedmont. Let's move on to number two. Two looks a little darker, so tip off. Maybe it's not Nebbiolo, but we'll see. This two is quite complex. Got a little barnyard, sour cherry, the cranberries. This does have hazelnut. The nose on this is quite explosive. It's got like a tad bit of funk, which is fine. Piedmont borders France and Switzerland. There's a lot of French influence in the wines of Piedmont. They can be a little funky in a good way, which I like. Wow, a lot of sweet cherry. This is really complex. Incense. This to me really has the essence of what you want in a Piedmont red wine. I hope it's really good value for money. I think there's a lot of Barbera in it. I don't know if it's a blend or not, but to me this is a fantastic wine. I'm looking forward to revealing it. Let's move on to number three. I love the balance. Big, humongous, wide stand. The bowl is big. I mean, I like this glass a lot. I'll be probably using it a lot. Let's move on to three. Three, lighter in color. Cranberry, sour cherry. This has like kind of a little hay component. This is a tad more complex than wine one. I think one and three are Nebbiolos. This has a little bit of rose petal. This is really nice. This really has some nice tannins. It is like baby Barolo, baby Barbaresco. I think this is excellent, whatever three is. I can't wait for the reveal. That's gonna be a buy, buy, buy. Let's move on to number four. Four, interesting nose. This smells like incense. By the way, I Coravin these wines. I knew what they were beforehand, but they had somebody mix them up for me. This to me really reminds me of the grape Grignolino, which is also in Piemonte, although I don't have a Grignolino here, so that's confusing to me. Incense, like a sour cherry. You do get a fresh cranberry, not dried cranberry smell. The incense, like a little bit of tree bark. Here's the thing when it comes to the wines from Piemonte, you have grapes like Nebbiolo, Grignolino, Maruche, Dolcetto. Those grapes can be pretty tannic. You're gonna want food with this. In Piemonte, there are a lot of long, slow cook, stewed type meats, which I can imagine this is great with. I really like this wine. I think that for a lot of you, it's gonna be too tannic. Although Barolo, Barbaresco are really tannic wines. I remember I was drinking with some collectors once and they were all about Nebbiolo. They're like, man, if you like Nebbiolo, you gotta want the tannins. Number five. Five just smells silky. Black cherry, there's a bit of mocha. There's a little bit of mineral notes. This is like, to me, maybe a little bit of sour cherry. To me, I think this is Barbera because I think of those cherry, cranberry, mocha flavors you get with Barbera. Even sometimes those that don't have oak aging. Tannins are much softer though, they're there. Barbera has acidity. I think this is Barbera. And Barbera wines, they used to be kind of the workhorse, kind of the low quality grape there. But now, especially in recent decades, a lot of producers are making some very serious Barberas. It's a grape that I like. You have to tame it though. I've had some Barberas sometimes that just have so much acidity, so much tartness that it rips enamel off your teeth. This does not. Very good Barbera. Not the best one I've ever had, but very good. Number six. Oh, six is pretty. Flowers, hazelnut. Six is a really pretty nose. There's like a combination of red raspberry, cranberry, sour cherry. Along with the, this smells like Piemonte. It's clean, it's crispy. It's kind of similar to wine two, except wine two had a touch of funk, if you like that. This is crispy, clean. This is so similar to number two, I gotta go back real quick. Two had funkiness, I just gotta decide which one I like more. I kinda like the funkiness in two. Let's go on to the last one. Good classic wines. They all show the Piemonte flair. A lot of times with inexpensive red wines or more inexpensive red wines, they can be somewhat generic. I love in Piemonte, you still get that sense of the region. Let's move on to number seven. Seven definitely smells like a Barbera. It's darker in color. Black cherry. These wines are complex. You have to pay attention to them. Black cherry, mocha, cranberry. This has fresh rose petal smell. A little bit of sand, even. Some good wines, complex wines, but they're not just fruity, straightforward. These have nuances, they have complexities. You ready for the reveal? Okay, we have some value here. Let's start out with number one. I think it's Nebbiolo. Nebbiolo to a key, the cranberry comes out. It's got a cranberry juice aftertaste. Not the most complex Nebbiolo in the world, but this is Nebbiolo light. It's not as tannic, so I think a lot of you are gonna be able to enjoy it. Let's take a look, let's see. I think that this is Nebbiolo. I gave it 88 points. 88 points. This is the Protetori del Barbaresco Lange Nebbiolo 2022. This is 28 bucks. I've scored this wine higher in the past. Fresh wine, I'm quite surprised. Sometimes I've scored this wine super high. I remember buying this even five years ago in Europe for about eight, nine euros. Protetori del Barbaresco is one of the greatest cooperatives in the world, in my opinion. In Barbaresco, they make a lot of single vineyard Nebbiolos. Lange Nebbiolo is the more affordable one. You'll also see Nebbiolo de Alba, which is more close to a Baby Barolo, Baby Barbaresco. I think this is good, 88 points. This age is pretty nice. I'm surprised. I thought it would score a little bit higher, but hey, that's what blind tasting's all about. Let's go on to five and seven here. I've scored them both 89 points. Number five, I thought was Barbera to a tea. Had the mocha, some black cherry, but also cranberry type flavors. I think this is gonna be a crowd favorite. I think five and seven are wines that really a lot of people are going to be able to enjoy. I gave it 89 points. I think it's Barbera de Alba or something like that. Let's take a look. This is a Barbera. This is the Vincchia Valle Sera. This is the Vigne Vecchie 50, 50 year old vines, I think. Barbera de Asti, 2021. This comes in at 16 bucks for an 89 point wine. This is also an excellent cooperative in Piemonte. Maybe not as heralded as Predatory Barbaresco, but I think they make fantastic wines at great price points. 16 bucks, I think this is a crowd favorite. Every time I bring Barbera to a crowd, people love it. You have Barbera de Asti, Barbera de Alba, and in those appellations, you have Barbera de Asta Superiore. You also have Barbera de Alba Superiore. In my opinion, I find the ones of Barbera de Asti to have a little more acidity. Sometimes the Barbera de Albas are a little bit bigger. 89 points, I think that's a heck of a buy. Let's go on to number seven, also Tide. Had similar flavors, but it had rose petal sand type notes. The nose was incredibly complex. The palate, I wanted a little bit more length, but I think this is a wine that's also a crowd pleaser, something that you're going to enjoy. Let's take a look. Here we go, here we go, here we go again. This is, this is Giacomo Finocchio. This is the Lenga Fresa, 2021. This comes in at 24 bucks. Fresa is usually a grape that's blended into a lot of Lenga Rosso's. You don't see a ton of it labeled as a varietal wine. Giacomo Finocchio is a very good producer and I'm impressed. This is a very friendly wine. Fresa is one of those wild card grape varieties. I did stick in this tasting. I also like the grape Grignolino, although I don't have one here. There's also a grape called Rucca that has more intense incense notes that I tend to not like. Another cool thing, I love all these bottles in Piedmonta. You're going to see the Aldesa. These bottles are like a halfway, it's almost if the Bordeaux bottle and the Burgundy bottle had a baby, that's what you would get. It's not as squat and round at the bottom as a Burgundy bottle, but the shoulders aren't quite as high as a Bordeaux bottle. These are a group of producers that were started a long time ago in Piedmont to make sure that the wines separated themselves on the shelves. You'll see a lot of Barolos, Barbarescos, Barberas, all these Langues labeled like that. This is the type of wine I would love to bring to a Wine Geek tasting. Say, have you ever tasted Fresa? And then break it out. That's cool. Okay, I have two tied at 90. I have an easy drinking one and I have a more complex one, more one that's more difficult, more Wine Geek type wine. Let's start with number six. Crispy, clean, delicious. This really smelled like Piedmont. I really compared it to number two. I really liked those wines. They were quite similar. Two is a little funky. This is a little cleaner. You're still gonna get those beautiful cranberry notes, rose petal, things that you like in Piedmont. I think this is clean. I think this is fruity. This is a little bit easier to drink for most people. 90 points. Let's take a look. This is consistently one of the best values in Piedmont. This is the GD Farra. This is the Lange & Rosso 2021. Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, and Fresa. 16 bucks. This is a killer wine. I've drank it a lot before. Every time I give it to somebody, they absolutely love it. GD Farra is a family-owned producer, but they produce a good volume of wine. It's one of these producers of Barolo you're actually gonna be able to find. Fantastic wine, 16 bucks. I cannot harp on this enough as a value buy. Has Dolcetto in it. I don't have a single Verrado Dolcetto. It's not my favorite grape in the world, but a lot of people do like it and they do drink it a lot in Piedmont. Let's go on to number four, also tied for 90 points. I went back and forth, but if it was gonna be 89.90, had this Tree Bark Incense. It was long tannic. I thought this might be the Fresa, actually. This is a wine I'm gonna give 90, but a lot of you, I think, are not going to enjoy because the tannins are so strong. I think, man, this wine has a future in the medium term, 90 points. It's the most distinctive out of all these wines. It's kind of tree bark-y type note with the incense. Let's take a look. This is the Giacomo Finocchio Lange Nebbiolo 2022. This comes in at 26 bucks. This is a unique, complex expression of Lange Nebbiolo. Again, 26 bucks with the price of Barolo going up, 90 point wine, I think is very good. You're gonna wanna have some stewed meat with that. Number two, it was funky, had some incense. It was long. It was delicious. It was really similar to the Gidi Fajra, except this, the Gidi Fajra was a lot cleaner. I think this just had a touch more funk, which I personally liked. It was long, delicious. I gave it 90 plus points. I think it's a blend. Let's take a look. It is. This is the Paul Bocche Piemonte Rosso 2017, a blend of Nebbiolo, Fresa, Barbera. I think it's got some Caratina in it. 28 bucks. The only thing is, I think you can only get this in Europe. Paul Bocche is a guy I know. He's a wine writer. He's produced wines in other people's cellars, made a blend out of this. I think this is good. Very good, 2017. I know it was a warmer vintage in Piemonte. I love it. Just of note, this is a Piemonte Rosso. Piemonte Rosso, the DOC, it encompasses almost all of Piemonte, a big region, whereas Lagai Rosso is a smaller area, although there are similar permitted grape varieties. This showed really well, Paul, if you're watching. Really nice. I just wish that was more widely available. The top wine, Rose Petal, Complex, Sour Cranberry, Sour Cherry. I said when I was tasting it, this is definitely Baby Barolo, Baby Barbaresco. I think this is outstanding. I gave it 91 points. I think it's delicious. Let's take a look. This is the Monchiero Lenge Nebbiolo, 2021. This comes in at 24 bucks. Fantastic producer that's kind of off the radar. $24, you're gonna get a Baby Barolo, Baby Barbaresco. Outstanding wine, Monchiero. Kudos to you. So tell me, do you love Barolo, Barbaresco? Do you love some of the other unique varieties in Piemonte? I'd love to hear. Drop it in the comments below.