Batasiolo Winery Showcased

The Italian winery of Beni di Batasiolo showcased its outstanding range of wines at a tasting at Cork’s on Tuesday, September 22. Batasiolo export manager Stephano Poggi was on hand to oversee the tasting and provide the background on the wines. Fives wines were featured including the crisp and elegant 2006 Gavi, which is  made from the Cortese grape. The tasting was bookended by two whites, the Gavi and the Moscato d’Asti, which is a fruity, sweet wine with a bit of fizz. Batting second was the Barbera from Alba, a DOC red wine with an earthy, dark berry flavor. DOC is Di Origine Controllata, which is the second highest tier of wines under Italian wine law. KN termed this a musky wine, although not unappealing.

The wonderful Nebbiolo grape was highlighted in the next three selections. The Nebbiolo delle Langhe  was smoother than the Barbera but paled in comparison with the next two. The Barbaresco and Barolo (both named for their respective Italian towns) were beacons of flavor that stood out from the rest. Both are DOCG wines, the highest tier in the Italian wine system. My favorite was the Barolo, perhaps no surprise since Batasiolo is the world’s leading producer of Barolo. My wife favored the Barbaresco. The wines exhibit an elegant flavor of dark berries that is strong but elegant at the same time. Batasiolo terms the wines as “liquid elegance” and we agree! They are termed the Queen and King of Italian wines and were four times in the Wine Spectator’s Top 100. They were wonderful and we left with a bottle of 1999 Barbaresco (the Queen won out).

We finished with a nice glass of Moscato d’Asti. We’ve had some uninspired Moscato in the past, so this was a pleasant surprise. Although certainly the sweetest of the night, it was nowhere near the sweetness of an ice wine. This is also a DOCG wine and this 2007 vintage had a light golden color with a note of peaches. It’s fizz was a nice cap to a great evening of tasting.

Technorati Tags: Batasiolo,Barolo