Nebbiolo

I discovered a bottle of this in a wine shop in Lörrach. The only other Nebbiolo produced in Germany that I can think of is from Brenneis-Koch in Leistadt in the Pfalz.

Winzergenossenschaft Laufen, Laufener Altenberg Nebbiolo trocken 2008, Baden, Germany
Bright ruby with a beige rim. Redcurrant, then blackcurrant, then redcurrant again. Some rusty iron hints and leathery notes.

Similar red/blackcurrant ping-pong on the palate. And then come the tannins... Whooomph! They pucker the mouth almost instantly. The acids, on the other hand, are keen but no more than that. Once the tannic attack subsides, the aftertaste lingers a fair while and reminds me of black chocolate.

I really shouldn't be surprised by all this, given that Nebbiolo is the sole constituent of Barolo which, on account of said tannins, often takes at least a decade to soften. However, all is not lost. Combined with food, the tannins show themselves in a more merciful state, allowing the wine to mellow nicely. This saves the day to a certain extent, leading me to conclude that this particular Nebbiolo is still just about worth the experiment (on my part), the effort (on the part of the vintners' cooperative in Sulzburg-Laufen) and the cost (EUR 17.50).