Looking to warm up the dark nights.  Come join us for our Special Barolo & Barbaresco Tasting. We’ll be pulling the corks on Five Nebbiolo kingpins and seeing how they stack up. The tasting starts at 5:30 after the shop closes and we’ll have some tasting appetizers to match the wines. It’s a great way to recover from Thanksgiving. Space is limited so contact us to reserve a spot.
 
2013 Pasquale Pelissero Barbaresco Cascina Crosa  $25
This single-vineyard Nebbiolo from a small family estate has earthy aromas of leather, truffle, violet, ripe black cherry and a funky whiff of game on this. The approachable palate offers fleshy dark cherry, cranberry, clove and a hint of licorice. And it has an incredible price. Was $32 now $25

2012 Podere Ruggeri Corsini, Barolo “Bussia” $40
This single-vineyard Barolo is from Monforte d’Alba. Ripe berry, violet, leather and menthol aromas lead the nose. The firm palate offers mature cherry, crushed raspberry, licorice and sage alongside assertive, tightly wound tannins that need to unwind.
 
2013 Luigi Pira, Serralunga Barolo   $37
Pira’s Serralunga racked up a lot of points from the critics for the money.  “The 2013 Serralunga is a gorgeous Barolo from Pira in this vintage. Attractive aromatics of fresh strawberries and cherries are laced with spices and floral nuances. Balanced, focused and beautifully structured with a lovely polished texture and wonderful length on the finish. This impresses from start to finish, and as always the standard Serralunga Barolo from Pira is simply outstanding”.  93pts IWR
 
2009 Schiavenza di Pira, Broglio Barolo  $50 
Broglio is a village of Serralunga d’Alba with southeast exposure with loamy ground, and slimy deeply calcareous  soils. A combination of cherry, licorice, leather, spice and tobacco notes gives way to solid tannins. All the elements are there, and the long finish picks up a black tea accent.
 
2008 Borgogno, Barolo Le Teorie  $80
A special bottling of the 2008 Barolo, the le Teorie is from Cannubi, Liste, Fossati and San Pietro delle Viole vineyards. After at least four years aging, it is bottled and labelled and is ready to stimulate intellectual reflection. A wine which at table can stimulate discussion of the most refined topics. Six different labels take your pick or get the set. The regular labeled 2008 got 92pts from Vinous.

Madrona Wine Merchants offers free wine tastings featuring 4-5 selections on a theme every Saturday from 2 until the bottles run out and on Sunday we offer a mini-tasting of two wines all day from 11-5.