Living on the East End of Long Island, one has access to a bounty of great ingredients for cooking, from wonderful local produce to various fish and shellfish from the ocean and bays. If you are a hunter (or in our case, fortunate enough to have a friend who is), there is plenty of venison to be had as well. I know numerous chefs who argue that our venison is "as good as it gets" due to two main reasons: a diverse, healthy diet and relatively flat ground to keep the muscle growth and tension in check. So upon recently being gifted some lovely cuts, I decided to serve them up with a blackberry compote, providing sweet-tart fruit to contrast the flavor of the meat. The only remaining factor was to determine which wine to serve with it?

...and that's when I remembered, we just checked in some 2007 Barolo. I extremely enjoyed every sample of '07 Barolo I tried at tastings throughout the fall, reaffirming the various reports I had read about the caliber of the vintage. Due to a growing season of typical length, but one that started and ended earlier than normal, the wines seem to possess the fleshiness and accessible fruit of a warmer vintage with the aromatics of a cooler one, arguably the best of both worlds. With that in mind, I decided to sample the 2007 Seghesio and Villadoria Barolo with my meal.

There are different ways of judging an excellent vintage. Some say it's when the top wines reach the highest heights, others when excellent wines are made from top to bottom. Though I'm sure the region's most prized houses will no doubt bottle some legendary wines, the 2007 vintage allowed most wineries to produce wonderful entry-level Barolo as well. Seghesio and Villadoria are proof of just that and perfect examples of the quality of the vintage. 

Seghesio is from Monforte and Villadoria from Serralunga, yet both wines displayed cherry, raspberry, blackberry, licorice and leather. Though the Seghesio possessed a stronger perfume with more baking spices coming through, the Villadoria exhibited lifting aromatics of pine needle and resin, with a hint of mushrooms, cola and minerality. Seghesio had a juicier core surrounded by a plusher texture which played well with the venison itself. There was a touch of oak on the Villadoria, but with food, it quickly dissipated, and in my case its touch of acidity seemed to allow the fruit of the wine and the compote to sing. Where the Villadoria finished with black forest cake and espresso, the Seghesio ended on notes of mocha.

Seghesio scored 92 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Antonio Galloni mentioned that it is "one of the under the radar gems of the 2007 vintage, and one of the finest Baroli readers will find in its price range." At $28.99, I tend to agree. Villadoria was awarded 92 points from Wine Spectator, and we currently sell it for $24.99. I call that a deal as well.

Do yourself a favor and pick up some 2007 Barolo. Try these entry-level bargains to follow with me over the next 5 to 10 years, as well as some cellar treasures to pop in the decades to come. 2007 is truly a special vintage for Barolo, and you'll be happy you did.