Barolo and Burgundy

                     Dinner at Villa Russo  
                            👍🍷😊🍕

1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero 
14% abv
Double decanted and then aerated in decanter for an hour. Lots of sediment. 
Nice florals upon uncorking the bottle. Palate was a very elegant and lithe expression of the famed Villero terroir. 
Medium bodied red cherry, with balsamic and earthy character. Tannins are completely resolved, leaving behind a lithe structure as a foundation for the tertiary nuances of aged Nebbiolo fruit, leather and spice. 
Poured into decanter again at dinner. Wine gained presence over the coarse of several hours with sweetness and structure coming more to to the forefront of the flavor profile, complemented by a savory dusty character on the finish. 
A very enjoyable example of this wine. No reason to hold onto it much longer. It is good to go now. It doesn't need a lot of air to show its stuff. 
Paired nicely with homemade pizza...

2002 Joseph Faiveley Volnay Santenots 
13% abv
Beautifully mature red cherry fruit, exhibiting savory tartness and pleasing acidity that makes pinot noir from Burgundy one of the most food friendly wines in the world. The tertiary stage interplay of sweet tannins, sour cherry and sous bois provides such a satisfyingly elegant experience. 
This wine showed wonderfully with the pizza. 

Pizza 1 was a red sauce pizza with Mozzarella, marinated baby portobello mushrooms, sweet and hot Italian sausage and black olives. 

 Pizza 2 (pictured) was a white pizza with olive oil, parmigiano reggiano, Prosciutto, swiss chard, carmelized onions, Gorgonzola and farm fresh egg.