Arrivo 2008 Nebbiolo

I was just rushing out of a wine tasting, en route to another wine tasting, when fellow scribe Max Allen suggested I hold my horses and check out the Arrivo nebbiolos. Max, as usual, was right on the money. Wine scientist Peter Godden and his partner Sally McGill handcraft tiny quantities of stylish wines in the Adelaide Hills, paying tribute to the great wines of Piedmont. Even though this beautifully savoury and structured wine is four years old, it will ideally be consumed in 15-20 years down the track. It is a wine with impressive architecture, a vinous cathedral with many elements to admire. I loved its brambly intensity and length, tannin structure and its peacock's tail of intense dark fruit and earthy, mushroomy flavours. $48. www.arrivo.com.au.