Nerelo del Bastardo IGT
Wine: Nerelo del Bastardo IGT.
Grapes: Bastardo (40 percent), sangiovese (30 percent), syrah (30 percent)
Region: Puglia, South Italy
Vintage: Nonvintage
Price: $7.99
In the glass: Nerelo del Bastardo is a deeply opaque purplish-red color with a dense blackish core, going out into a fine crimson-violet rim definition with high viscosity.
On the nose: It is all about the berries, with a crushed medley of raspberry, marionberry and a touch of grape-cranberry juice, then sweet minerality and a touch of mint leaf in the herbal department. No traces of wood on the nose.
On the palate: A mouth-filling and juicy sort of wine that just envelopes your taste buds with that same juicy crushed berry character that you first smelled in the glass, then add a bit of blueberry pie and a similar touch of sweetness, coming from the 4 to 5 grams of residual sugar in the wine, which is a measure of its sweet fruit content and character. It holds up nicely through the midpalate and finishes soft and supple with nonobtrusive tannins and that nice kick of jammy fruit on the end.
Odds and ends: This is an interesting mix of grape varieties, with two classic Italian grapes plus one French mixed together. Normally, bastardo is a bit rustic, and sangiovese can be, too, but because this is a nonvintage (NV) wine, there's a bit more room to play under the strict Italian rules. Therefore, this wine is an IGT, or Indicazione Geografica Tipica, meaning from an area in Italy more or less and in this case, the very south, in what is known as the "heel" of the country. It is a hot and arid area that produces big ripe juicy sorts of wine, with this being a good example. Drink Nerelo del Bastardo now through 2013. Serve it with pizza.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.
