Rosa dell Olmo Langhe Nebbiolo, 2021

Nebbiolo is the grape of Barolo and Barbaresco. And even lesser produce, as found in Langhe Nebbiolo, is highly regarded and rarely sold for less than $20 a bottle. Tbis Rosa dell Olmo, though, is available for $8 at Trader Joe's and competes quite favorably with bottles selling for twice that much.

Medium light ruby/garnet. A typical Nebbiolo color for wines that have not been aged in small new oak barrels. This wine, I believe, was actually matured in stainless steel. Ideally, I open Nebbiolo wines an hour or two before serving them. I neglected doing that with this bottle, and it was a bit closed and tannic at first but opened up within 15 or 20 minutes. Subtle aromas typical of Nebbiolo. Intense flavors of rose, red raspberry, cherry and spice. Medium full bodied with good acidic structure. Tannins are remarkably supple for a wine this young. The wine will undoubtedly become more complex with aging, but it is drinking beautifully right now.