Marchesi di Montecristo Nerello di Bastardo, 2000

I paid $5.99 for this wine many years ago at Trader Joe's, but it does not surprise me at all that it is still drinking fabulously at 18 years of age. At this time, anyway, Bastardo was primarily Nebbiolo from the Italian Piedmont. The back label talks about DOCG laws that limit the production of Barolo and Barbaresco and force winemakers to put excess grapes into table wine. Bastardo is not Barolo or Barbaresco, but it is clearly made from mostly Nebbiolo and exhibits many of the hallmarks of that grape.

Deep color with less of the brownish-orange color than you might expect from a Barolo of the same vintage. But, then, the back label also mentions a "secret" ingredient, which is probably Cabernet or Sangiovese. The bouquet is glorious: plenty of roses along with dark cherries and the dark qualities that are sometimes described as tar. And there is more of the same on the palate. Rich mid-palate and a very dry but also lengthy finish.

I still have another bottle of this 2000 Bastardo plus two bottles of the 1999. I'm not worried about their longevity.