Germano Angelo Trevigneti Barolo 2018

Dating back to 1908, Germano is classic “old-school” Barolo, with a powerful personality and long-lived (epically long!) structure – as in, get a few extra for your kids or grandkids! It’s amazing we scored a wine at this price, since the vast majority of these wines either go to sommeliers or stay in Europe, snapped up by collectors. This is massively giving and concentrated juice, and stunning for the price, from a steadfast, under-the-radar producer!

Germano boasts a long, rich history of advancing wine quality throughout Piedmonte, and these days is still a leader in modern winemaking schools of thought. The founder, Angelo Germano, was the grandson of the founder of the innovative Barolo wine growers cooperative, Teobaldo Germano, who was a mentor and devoted encourager of Angelo and his winery in its earliest years. The vast majority of Germano is sold in high-end restaurants, and rarely ever leaves Italy, so we’re simply overjoyed to have some – especially for the dizzying price of a hair over $30 at nearly half-off!

The winery vinified almost exclusively Nebbiolo grapes and obtained numerous awards and mentions: in 1903 the gold medal in Alba, in 1905 in Cuneo and Turin, where it was also awarded with the cup of his Majesty the King, at the time the highest honor that a wine could receive. The winery cooperative was active until 1930, when members who provided grapes slowly started their own businesses and came up with the first private wine cellars. From 1908 to 1936, the first Germano cellar was at the family house, and then following the dissolution of the cooperative, the family bought a farm, vineyards, and cellar in Bussia of Monforte d'Alba, in one of the best areas of the entire Barolo territory.

A true gem of Italian and international oenology, Barolo is made from Nebbiolo grapes, with a minimum aging of three years, of which at least two are in wooden barrels. ”Tre Vigneti” is a blend of 3 parcels owned by Germano, and there’s something here to note: it is NOT for the faint of heart! We are talking traditional, powerful, masculine, somewhat old-school Barolo from some 50-year-old vines. In this approachable vintage, it’s already rocking with orange pekoe black tea, toasted cloves, crushed dried purple flowers, blood orange, Bing cherry, red berries, and some exotic cinnamon (but not really oaky, promise). It is altogether wonderfully fun to drink, and it changes drastically all through the time you’re sipping in joyful abandon. Get some for your cellar, too! Nearly $40 off! No one else has this in the U.S., and there’s simply not enough… so, grab yours while it lasts!

FOOD PAIRINGS: Gotta go with cheese here, and preferably some truffles, too. Pick a simple pasta with the best parm or pecorino you can buy to tame the tannins... so good!