Oddero Barolo Brunate 2010

From the importer: The Brunate cru is in the village of La Morra, not far from the Oddero winery. Brunate is one of the very best vineyards in the Barolo appellation, a ‘Grand Cru’ by any measure. Production is tiny; the wine is of course traditionally made, with about a month of skin contact, and about 30 months of aging in large barrels; any attempt to describe it will prove the truth that great wines are almost impossibly to describe adequately, in fact my definition of a truly great wine is that words fail me. Nonetheless, this is exquisite red wine, with the texture of some rare, fine material, an enormous range of aromas and flavors that includes wild strawberries, Ceylon cinnamon, dried orange peel, and sandalwood, finishing with a flash of mint. Ages brilliantly but I have drunk this young with rib-eye or lamb chops and been bowled over.