Having had some of the most memorable food experiences of my life in Piedmont during the truffle season, eating al tartufo, made with fresh tarjarin pasta, butter, eggs and shavings of truffle, it’s hard for me to conceive of a better match than the local ethereal red wines made from the nebbiolo variety. Barolo is the most famous of these and, like white truffles, it doesn’t come cheap, starting at £20 for the very pretty, floral example at M&S and soon reaching £84 for a bottle of the magnificent Paolo Conternor Barolo Ginestra Montforte d’Alba.

Observer Magazine, Wines of the Week, p 29, 10th November 2024