MASTROBERARDINO RADICI TAURASI - 1996

When I stumbled upon this one at the local wine store, I was perplexed. A 1996 on sale for $9.99? Ok, what gives? How often do you come across a 10 year old bottle of wine for less than ten bucks? I looked at the back of the label: made from 100% Anglianico grapes. This is an ancient, rarely talked about grape. It is centuries old and has often been referred to as the "Nebbiolo of the South." I had never tried it.

So why the late release? Sometimes wines just aren't ready for consumption for a long time after bottling. They need time to age before they are even ready to be approached. Keeping this in mind, I made sure I let the wine breathe for quite awhile after I popped the cork.

TASTING NOTES:

Old wine doesn't always mean good wine. This had a distinct mineral quality to it with strong, pungent berry flavors. It reminded me of Gattinara, but sadly bad Gattinara. The wine was out of balance and quickly fell apart. By the next day, the wine continued to show poorly and was pretty much undrinkable. I salvaged one cup of it for a rather mediocre Arrabbiata pasta sauce before the remainder of the bottle ended up down the drain.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

72 PTS
Not an enjoyable wine. Unfortunately at $10, I can't even recommend this one as a cooking wine.