Burn, Baby, Burn.

It’s not quite a Disco inferno; it’s just a killer Nebbiolo.

Today’s wine is another Italian, from Lombardy—again, right near the Swiss border.

If your primary point of reference to Nebbiolo is Barolo, well, 1) you’re probably a big frickin’ wine snob; and 2) you might think that drinking a 5 year-old Nebbiolo would land you squarely in Dante’s third circle of Hell, with the gluttons (or maybe the fourth circle, with the greedy—or even the sixth circle, with the heretics.)

But Nebbiolo in Valtellina grows up faster than it does in Barolo. No less a luminary than Leonardo Da Vinci was a fan. He described Valtellina in his Codex Atlantico as “Surrounded by tall and terrible mountains,” but noted that they made “really powerful wines.”

Well. We know it wasn’t only wine that Leonardo liked young, so…

How about in modern times?

This stuff just tastes amazing. It’s got that killer brick-orange color that Nebbiolo is known for.

It’s got a nose of stewed fruit. Basically, it smells like an adult Fig Newton. On the palate it’s earthy, and tannic, with enough acidity to balance out the alcohol.  If it cost $50 a bottle, it would be worth it. But it’s half that.

If you can find it—buy it. And drink it now.    

The wine: Nino Negri Inferno Valtellina Superiore

The vintage: 2010

The score: 8.9/10

The price: $25ish

The source: Austin Wine Merchant

How weird is it? Ok. It’s not that weird. This could be a crowd-pleaser. Give it 30 minutes in a decanter, and you’ll be rewarded. Weird level: 4/10.