2008 Nerelo Del Bastardo

65473The 2008 Nerelo Del Bastardo is imported for Trader Joe’s and sells for $7.99. The Bastardo is the Italian equivalent of the French negotiant wines. The wine makers in the Italian DOCG’s are allowed to produce only a certain amount of their top wines and the wines that don’t make the cut cannot be labeled as Barolo, etc. The left over wine, Bastardo, must be labeled as a table wine (vino da tavola) or  IGT. The back label only says the grapes came from “Big” wines and this is a blend of several leftover top notch wines. So who made it and what grapes are in the bottle is unknown. The blended wine is aged in oak barrels for 3 months and the alcohol content is 13.5%.

The color is a dull purple with a clear halo. The nose is cherry and raspberry, a little cinnamon and a whiff of new mown hay. It starts with cherry juice and Nestle’s chocolate and then blackberry, raisin and then a light touch of spice. For a wine that hints that it comes  from Barolo’s and Super Tuscan Chianti, it is a fairly uncomplicated wine. The mouthfeel is smooth and velvety and the flavors are rounded and tasty and it makes a pretty decent 9 buck wine, but downgraded expensive stuff, I don’t know about that.

The 2008 Nerelo Del Bastardo is a soft, easy drinking, pretty tasty, what you get upfront is all you are going to get, kind of wine. Don’t be expecting Barolo on the cheap, but if you can settle for a solid tuesday night on the balcony or back porch wine, this is $9 well spent.

See also  Cherry Blossom Pinot Noir 2013

 

 

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Don’t tell anyone, but there is absolutely no correlation between the cost of wine and the quality of wine.

1 comment on “2008 Nerelo Del Bastardo

  1. Fausto Ramirez says:

    We’ve enjoyed Nerello del Bastardo for many years now. We’ ve got it from Trader Joe’s San Diego. It’s a very good table wine for its price. Ocasionally we update our treat trying the Monte Cristo variety, the father of Nerello.

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