WTN: Marchesi di Gresy Barbaresco Martinenga 1999

I wandered to my favourite Alko today. They had found one bottle of M. di Gresy's Barbaresco Martinenga '99 in some cupboard - this has been sold out for a couple years already. They asked me if I wanted it and I said I already have two maturing slowly so I said, yes! Two is enough but this gave me a (bad) reason to open one to see what it is like. I rather enjoyed a bottle last summer, so I decided to commit infanticide once again:



Marchesi di Gresy Barbaresco Martinenga 1999 13,5% toomany €

I thought that only Gresy's Gaiun sees some new oak? But I thought I got a tiny whiff of Barrique in this upon opening. Gladly it disappeared and I must have been hallucinating. The nose is bright and red toned in fruit, tarry and earthy - not as floral/rosy as Nebbiolo can be, but it still screams Nebbiolo at me. Though young, the nose is very expressive. The palate has much ripe fruit, refreshing acidity and mouthcleansing tannins. I really love Hugh Johnson's(?) wording that Nebbiolos' tannins are mouthcleansing. This brought me very much pleasure though the food wasn't really a good accompaniment (chicken in a coconut + peanut sauce). But neither did the food overpower the wine so it wasn't a disaster as a combination, rather a "neutral" pairing.

-O-

Marchesi di Gresy Barbaresco Martinenga 1999 13,5% toomany €

Too true!

I tasted a couple of their wines last year (strangely in Barbaresco) and was impressed, but still a lot of €€€ per bottle.

Still the other two 99's should last, so let them sleep well