Wine: 2004 Aldo Conterno Barolo
Region: Piedmont
Sokolin Price: $54.99/btl
Rating: 91 RPWA

Wine: 2006 Guado Al Tasso
Region: Tuscany
Sokolin Price: $84.99/btl
Rating: 95 WS

We had some friends in the wine business over for dinner this weekend, so we knew we couldn't go wrong with serving up a few great Italian wines.  With sopressata and various cheeses (white truffle goat, triple crème to die for and a nice mild blue) for appetizers, we served the 2004 Aldo Conterno Barolo, which hails from the Piedmont region of Italy.  This wine was a light but brilliant shade of burgundy in color, and the bouquet had undertones of cherries, dark berries and even a hint of earth.  On the palate, it was smooth, elegant and very well balanced.  The wine was a fabulous complement to our appetizers.  It is drinking well now and should continue to do so for the next 10+ years.

As we poured the last drop of Barolo, the next bottle needed to be opened.  This bottle was to be paired with a carnivore's delight.  The main course was a grilled rare sirloin steak, a grilled rare skirt steak and grilled rare lamb loin.  Who can even remember the sides with that lineup?

We decided to give one guest the opportunity to select the next bottle from our cellar.  This is always fun to watch, although if you have a lot of expensive bottles around, this can be a pricey experiment.  Most of the time, we think our guests are more nervous about inadvertently picking a top dollar wine than we are.  So, what did our guest pick?  He chose another Italian wine, the 2006 Guado Al Tasso, a Super Tuscan, so not too much damage was done...although it is a bit pricier than its northern counterpart we had earlier in the night. 

The Guado Al Tasso (comprised of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Syrah) was lush, with hints of dark fruit and pepper.  The wine had such power and depth, but at the same time, was not too overwhelming.  Some of us liked the Guado Al Tasso better than the Aldo Conterno Barolo, but a few others ranked the Aldo Conterno the wine of the night.  That's the beauty of wine - it's such a subjective topic, and a good wine is a wine that delights your palate. 

Our recommendation: Both wines are excellent, satisfying choices.  We'd say that the 2004 Aldo Conterno Barolo is probably the better value wine if that's what you're looking for.  We are selling it at 63% off the release price!  We've already sold hundreds of bottles, and customers are coming back for more once they taste its stunning quality.