Raineri Gianmatteo, Barolo (Piedmont, Italy) 2010

This isn’t a cru-designated wine, but rather a straight Barolo DOCG release from a producer based in Monforte D’Alba.  Nevertheless, it certainly performed on a par with other excellent cru wines, and indeed surpassed many of them in quality when tasted blind in Alba in May of 2014.  Dark and deeply pigmented, with a big, expressive bouquet that isn’t dominated by any particular element, it gets off to a great start before one has even tasted it.  Tasting doesn’t disappoint, as the fruit is ripe and expressive despite the fact that there’s plenty of supporting oak to help structure the flavors.  An excellent example of the modern style of Barolo that is likely to be reasonably affordable to boot, this will need some time to fully integrate its oak, but the craftsmanship of the wine is obviously outstanding, and there’s no gamble involved in buying this for the cellar.