Wines of the week: big Italian reds

Tuscan reds, along with those of Piemonte from further north, include some of Italy’s greatest wines. But should you buy them in supermarkets, where some of them, such as Barolo, are increasingly available?

Only if you have to, and only if the  label information means something to you, would be the sensible answer, high-falutin’ though it may sound. Barolo does not come cheaply, and a reduction in price should not necessarily be treated as good news. The best place to buy it is from a reliable wine merchant, and if he is asking what you would regard as too much, buy something else he recommends.

Many Barolos, even at high prices, can seem chewy and unyielding. You need to develop a taste for them. The same can be said for Barbera and Barbaresco, to name two other Piemontese wines, and, turning to Tuscany, even a big muscular Chianti can seem too hard and bitter. Which is my way of saying play safe and buy a lighter Dolcetto d’Alba, which can be one of Piemonte’s glories, even though less famous.

Valvona and Crolla 2010 Prunotto Dolcetto is  a good plummy  example, which can be recommended.  This is a subject to which I shall return in a later blog.
30 September 2014