Scrimaglio Piedmont Rosso 2022

fresh red cherries, red licorice, tobacco, rose petals, rosemary and dried porcini mushrooms

You probably know by now that Taylor Swift is Time magazine person of the year for 2023. At Tim’s Wine Market our “Wine of the Year” has to be Piedmont Rosso. This year it seems like we have discovered a bunch of them and they sell like wildfire. In fact, I recently commented to an Italian importer that Barbera and Dolcetto sales have died because so many customers have moved to the blends. It seems a fitting way to end the year with a great new discovery, this one from a Barolo producer.

The blend for this wine is 50% Barbera, 25% Dolcetto and 25% Nebbiolo. Historically these three grapes were vinified and bottled separately, but it makes so much sense to blend them. Barbera is typically low in tannin and high in acid; Dolcetto is low in acid and high in tannin and Nebbiolo is typically high in both, but offers amazing aromatics. While individually they can produce nice wines, as a blend, together they form a great harmony with their sum being greater than the individual parts.

Being a young wine you want to decant this for a half hour before serving and give it a slight chill. Then it delivers a dynamic nose of fresh red cherries, red licorice, tobacco, rose petals, rosemary and dried porcini mushrooms. On the palate this wine shows nice texture and concentration, with surprising length and complexity for such a young wine. Drink 2023-2026 with slow braised pork ribs with rosemary and thyme, or lamb shish kabobs with a yogurt/curry marinade.