INSIDER'S PICK: 2019 DACAPO RUCHE DI CASTAGNOLE MONFERRATO $22.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
Despite all the fame and international attention a wine region like the Piedmont has in Italy, they can still contain some unfamiliar or forgotten treasures that deserve to be re-discovered. Ruche is admittedly a bit of an odd duck relative to the more noted grapes of the region like Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera, but that exotic side is what makes it so worthwhile. You also don't find much if any of it made as an inexpensive 'jug wine' as it isn't an easy or high volume grape from a growing perspective, so it's always been a niche wine for those willing to really go off the beaten path. The uniqueness comes from the nose, a surprising dichotomy of white wine flowery aromatics naturally overlaid with savory red tones, so much so you would swear it had been blended versus naturally occurring. Poured in a dark glass (or done blindfolded if you really trust your drinking companions) the burst of wildflowers and red citrus don't call many other red wine comparisons to mind, though after some time open the cherry, dried strawberry and savory tones do start poking through. On the palate the  roles are reversed, showing a lot more of the red fruits and wild game with just a touch of white fruits coming through on the juicy texture, finishing on a drying note with fine but firm tannins. This has a similar appeal to a Beaujolais but with more intensity and a bit more body, and can do the same type of pairing of cured meats, as well as stuffed pastas with blue cheese, aromatic meat dishes like strongly fennel-d sausages.

---