The Indigenous Nebbiolo d’Alba 2015 is 100% Nebbiolo grape sourced from a family owned Estate in the Roero district of Piedmont in northern Italy. Indigenous Selection is an importer representing a carefully curated portfolio of wineries mainly in the Piedmont and Tuscany areas of Italy. The Indigenous label was created to be an old school second label, today 2nd and 3rd labels are often conceived to be their own separate category, but traditionally a second label was produced by what was left-over or declassified from the 1st label. There are a variety of reasons for wine to be declassified, the vineyard yield was greater than they needed or these grapes had characteristics similar to wine that already made it into the top label, the reasons for not making the cut don’t have to have anything to do with being of lesser quality. The second label will have a different oak barrel program from the top label and typically will be in barrel a for a shorter period of time and see less aging. The result is a wine that may be a little more fruit-forward and “easy drinking“, but at a significant cost reduction from the top wine label. If you are not familiar with the Nebbiolo, it is the grape used to make Barolo, one of the great wines of Italy, a wine with tremendous aging potential and a wine that almost never falls into the CheapWineFinder’s price range. But, the Indigenous Nebbiolo d’Alba 2015 should be well under $20. The alcohol content is 14.%.
The color is a beautiful strawberry jelly red. The nose is stringent, ripe red berries, smokey with oak spice, pepper, plums, and exotic spices. This is a taut, sleek, focused wine, with balanced acidity. It tastes of blackberry, blueberry, licorice, and tobacco. The mid-palate adds cherry, tart cranberry, and vanilla cream. The tannins add structure but don’t interfere with the tasting profile. The finish is long and full.
The Indigenous Nebbiolo d’Alba 2015 is a wine that drinks above its price point, a quick check of the web showed it selling for $14 or $15. Barolo is out of reach for most value priced wine drinkers, but the Nebbiolo grape can provide great value if you know what you are looking for. The Indigenous label is a simple way of finding that value, otherwise you need to know which Piedmont producer is declassifying his good stuff and sticking it on his second label and then you have to figure out the name of the 2nd label. Now, the leg work is done for you. Drink Nebbiolo, it is a great grape that makes great wine and here it is also an affordable wine.
