Dolceaqua

Blind tasted and completely stumped me. The nose is aggressively sulphury - like someone lit matches in a jam factory. Toasted seeds and overripe black fruit compote fighting through the reduction. On the palate it's powerful stuff, sweet tannins and good juiciness, but the whole thing feels disjointed. That long, kidney-like finish isn't doing it any favours either. Two weeks of foot-treading and a year in old barrels should have knitted this Rossese together better. Those century-old vines deserve more finesse. It's drinkable, sure, but makes you reach for food more out of necessity than pleasure. Sometimes natural wine shows its rough edges a bit too proudly.