#335 An aged bargain

Older wines are becoming scarce in most wine shops nowadays, such is the need for a quick turnaround of stock to maintain a fluid cash flow.  Long gone are the days that you could saunter into your nearest specialist and find a few aged gems for very little money.  If you want wine with significant age, you have to rely upon specialist merchants such as Peter Wylie Fine Wine or producers like Tondonia, Chateau Cissac or Chateau Tour de By, both of whom tend to hold back stock and release as mature wines. 

So this wine, the 1994 Corino Barolo Vigneto Rocche at £23.99 is a great buy.  Firstly, a Barolo at twenty four quid is a steal anyway, but for it to have 17 years of age on it is unheard of.  The nose is lovely, with stoney fruit aromas, a little blackberry and a bit of tobacco coming off too.  Then a lovely light tar like aroma - so soft though - and some hints of dried leather and maybe beef jerky.  The palate shows its age, with the fruit definitely on its way out and some more savoury secondary flavours including dark chocolate, more meaty notes, a little bit of alcohol spiking and a touch of liquorice.  It is very gently delivered though, and when paired with some Lamb Koftas, the pairing was superb. (7/10 on its own, 9/10 with the food) 

It reminded me why I love older wine.