20€ Barolo

A couple of days ago, i was at the supermarket and came across this wine. Since I’d heard many people talking about it, I decided to grab a bottle.€20 for the 2020 vintage. Feeling a bit overly optimistic about supermarket storage, i checked the back of the shelf for a bottle of the better 2019 vintage and actually found one. Sink or swim.

The wine poured a deep, intense (for a nebbiolo) ruby color with a slight brick hue. Just popped the bottle, and it revealed fresh, appealing notes of small, unripe red fruits, dried red roses, black pepper, and a hint of licorice. Not much beyond that. Its great acidity made it very enjoyable and approachable, while the relatively low alcohol (13.5% ABV) made it even easier to drink. It felt more like a nebbiolo d’alba but still had traces of its barolo roots. 20€ 86/87pt.
Since it’s already a cheap, simple barolo, I was happy to have picked the 2019 vintage. Thankfully, there were no extreme signs of improper storage.

The next day, however, the wine had pretty much faded. The fruit character was gone, replaced by faint toasty notes and a bit of game, but I really had to stuff my nose into the glass to catch anything. A bit disappointing, as I’d hoped it would develop better.
Pretty sure the year spent on a shelf didn't help.

All in all, it’s a nice drink for €20, but I wouldn’t buy a whole case.

Paired with a 45-day dry-aged polish steak with homemade olive oil.
I thought the wine was going to be overwhelmed but they just ended up clashing awkwardly. There was nothing balancing buttery fat of the meat and the acidity of the wine was just too much.