So tonight we decided to make taco salad for dinner and in my infinite wisdom I thought a Mexican wine would be nice ... but what is the national grape of Mexico? I've had Petite Sirah and Zinfandel from this same producer (LA Cetto) but what do the Mexicans consider as "their grape" - cerveza? What wine goes with tacos? All very difficult questions to answer. So when I saw I had a bottle of Nebbiolo, an Italian grape variety that`s used to make Barolo, I thought I just have to give this a whirl. Having been to the region of Piedmont (where Nebbiolo is most prevalent) I can tell you that the Italians believe there is no place else on earth that does Nebbiolo like they do ... and no where else on earth does this grape grow as well as it does right there in its "native" home. I have seen bottles of Nebbiolo from some odd places, nowhere odder than Ontario, but Nebbiolo from Mexico struck me as odd too - probably why I bought it in the first place. As for the wine in bottle, I would have to say it was pretty good. The nose had layers of dried blackberry, currants, cinnamon spice, spiced dried cherries and a hint of cedaryness ... these aromas didn't come out all at once, they seemed to pop up throughout the evening as the wine opened. The first thing noticed on the palate was the spiciness and acidity, that soon turned into black currants, spice, sour cherry and later hints of raspberry-balsamic and spice. All very interesting and quite a lot of fun on the tongue. Coating the glass was also a fine dusting of sediment and within an hour of opening tannins and woodsiness started to take over, making the wine seem drier than it previously had. I would have to say I was impressed with the wine ... it might not be their national grape, but it sure is one I wouldn't stop making wine from; though I have never seen a bottle of it since my original purchase many moons ago.
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