1999 Pio Cesare Il Bricco Barbaresco

1999 Pio Cesare Il Bricco Barbaresco

Served double blind in a Grassl 1855 glass. A whiff and I was confused, there were a blended character of minty and eucalyptus in the nose, implying it’s probably using new oak. The mouthfeel was very Cabernet Sauvignon, so I veered towards new world wine, I zoomed into American wines, boldly calling it a Dominus but I know the bouquet profile didn’t quite match Dominus profile, so I just randomly thought it’s probably some obscure wines from Sonoma County or along West Coast of America. I was quite shock to find it an Italian Piedmont wine, as it didn’t possess any Nebbiolo grapes character of the big, bold and powerful structure, although there was a trace of spiciness as well as unresolved tannins (and I called the vintage in the early 2000), perhaps I have not drank enough Piedmont wines. Later I found out they actually age the wines in large French oak for 30 months. It was really educational to drink the wines blind.