WTN: Guido Porro Barolo Vigna Lazzairasco

I never heard of this producer, but I was visiting my son in Oakland, CA a few weeks ago, and almost always include a visit to Kermit Lynch and this time I picked up a bottle of this Barolo. My first 2005 and my first KLWM import from Italy.

I opened it about 2 hours before dinner, and I was treated to lovely floral aromas, as well as tar and dark fruit. The palate was very floral with strawberries and cocoa, and tannins that started out soft but firmed up after some time, leading to a satisfying finish. While it is young, it has enough complexity to make it interesting. I like this wine.... a lot.

Doesn't seem to get lots of big press but I liked a bunch of the Porro wines when I lived in Berkeley. They used to be more-or-less fairly priced for Barolo and Barbaresco (especially when they ended up in the closeout bin because people didn't think of KLWM for Italian wine, but that's another story...)

I don't think Porro even makes it to the east coast, and KLWM does not ship...I inquired on my visit last year. I could only fit 1 bottle of this and a bottle of 2006 Dom. du Gros Nore Bandol in my already stuffed small suitcase. Priced at $39.95, the Porro is not much more (or comparable) to several well made Barbera.

If, as you say, Porro does not have a big following, I may just find another bottle on my next visit to the Bay area. I was very surprised to find the '06 Bandol still available. I opened the bottle I purchased a year ago, and enjoyed it enough to seek out a replacement, not actually expecting to find it.