Barolo and Barbaresco

[stevebody]

Must, must, must alert you and anyone else who cares to the 1997 Seghesio Barolo "La Villa". My Gawd, what a beautiful bottle of wine. I poured it for a British symphony conductor - a guy who has a basement full pricey Bordeaux and Burgundy at home - at my restaurant and he swooned, saying it compared with some of the very best Paulliac and Margaux he had ever tasted. Retails in the lower end of the Barolo spectrum, too, about $45. The vintage may have changed over to '98 but a lot of people think this is the Seghesio from CA that makes those nice Zins, when actually the two families are only very distantly related and these guys are old Piedmonte citizens. The '98 is almost as nice but try for the '97. I cannot recommend a wine more highly. WARNING: Italians may say this is not a typical Barolo. Agreed. I'm just saying it's a splendid job of winemaking, not a classic, representative Barolo.