An Oxymoron

The oxymoron in the title is not the wine, it's the photograph of the 2009 Poderi Aldo Conterno, Langhe Dolcetto, Masante sitting in the snow.  Winter snow is as far from this wine as one can get.

This wine shouts summer from the first whiff after the cork is out to the last slap on the bottom of the bottle to try and force out a final drop or two.  This is crushed blueberries mixed with some strawberries and a stray raspberry or two for good measure.  There's some acid and there's a bit of tannin but mostly this is about ripe, summer berries.   There's an underlying bitter aspect also and that makes this wine fresh and racy and keeps it from being too one dimensional. It's a remarkable balancing act.

Despite the snow there was a thick rib eye steak from the grill and few potatoes cooked in duck fat from a skillet set on the same grill.  Summer meal and summer wine in the dead of winter. 

2009 Poderi Aldo Conterno, Langhe Dolcetto, Masante.  14.5% alcohol and $20