Impressive and attractive bottle which the wine doesn't quite live up to, but nevertheless does a very good job with anti pasti or any cold cuts and pickles.

Typical cherry flavours and bit of spice with an acidity that slices through oily food and copes well with tomatoes. If you're trying to be stylish and impress folks with some Italian nibbles then it's worth a try.

Hi Wizzy, yeah HNY,

You been away for a while ?

Hmnnnn... Barbera d'Alba, a friend use to bring me back some from Italy, when you could shove half a dozen bottles in a holdall, and ease into the overhead locker - Now that's all been ruined. ....Pissed off with the modern world today

I like Barbera from a good producer - this Villa Lanata is cheap with the Maj multi discount.

Wizzy, If you look through stock in Maj, you may find the 2005. The 2005 vintage in the Piedmonte was better, and firmer, more tannic amd more concentrated wines were made there. The '05 could be capable of improving to something rather nice - it needs to be firm and reasonably tannic now to do that. 2006 is generally too easy at the budget level.

See if you can find some '05, it may overcome one or two of the soft and silly faults you have detected with that wine.
Yeah ....I shall make a note to myself to check when I'm next in my local

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Duncan

Can I teach people to suck eggs. It's something I learnt relatively recently and is of no importance at all, but might as well pass it on.

The Italian region that Barolo is in, in the NW armpit of Italy, is spelt in two ways.

You either have the d in the middle or the e at the end, but not both, so:

Piemonte or Piedmont

End of irritating lesson of the day.

Do we get more wine labels today? Snowed in, fire lit, fridge full, need fun.

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mel

Ok, will put one up shortly, am well behind on my work today, just cant seem to get motivated.....

Yep, Glad you said something, before I got caned by the clan. Looking at it now, it just looks all wrong.
When I was posting, I went back and put the e on the end, cos it looked weird 1st time without the d.

Thanks

Feeling smug on account of:-

Got to Waitrose yesterday, just before the snow, and picked up the last of the Ogier Vacqueras on the 2007 with 25% disco (Almost all WR Rhone has moved over to 2008 in my local) - just two left and they are nicely oaked - For Forum readers - Sorry tho, cos I won't write a tasting note until at least 2011 for this one.

Ogier, best fruit for a decade or more, quality oak - Don't rush it.

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Duncan