First it started out forward and surprisingly pleasant.

Then it seemed complex and perfect with the meal.

Then it closed down and got tannic.

At first it tasted modern, by the next day it was traditional.

What makes the best wines interesting is they are always in motion - each sip is a different etude.

Few wines can range more in personality from sip to sip than Barolo and the excellent 2001 Paolo Manzoni Barolo Serralunga fully lives up to that reputation. While this is a producer that gives more than a tip of the hat to the modern school, here is a wine that proves you can’t always pigeon hole a wine based only on barrels. In fact, Mazoni uses 500 L. barrels instead of 225 L. barriques and the results from these larger barrels are very promising both in the Langhe and in Montalcino as many producers in both areas have abandoned small barrels for larger sizes.

Winemaking is an evolutionary process and it is good to see that in the tough world of survival of the fittest that there seems to be a return to terroir movement in winemaking regions throughout the globe. The barrique craze of the 90’s seems to have lost to the process of natural selection and less intrusive winemaking techniques are once again becoming the dominate species.