Barolo 2009
2009 Barolo
Having just returned from visiting three dozen wineries in Piedmont I sit ready to start processing all that I’ve learned but to be honest I have come away from my annual visits distinctly confused. Perhaps it’s the vintage I’ve just tasted, 2009 in Barolo, a wildly inconsistent and unusual vintage to say the least. Then again perhaps it’s the producers themselves, a cross section of styles that span from the most modern to the most traditional. Before I get into the styles it’s worth spending some time on the vintage itself to help frame what is to come.
2009 is being described as a vintage much like the 2007s, a product of a warm vintage reflected in the wines. That is a lazy way to go about describing 2009, easy to explain yet essentially meaningless as the two vintages produced crops that were quite disparate, and for notably different reasons. Today the fashion is to simply split the vintages in Piedmont into two categories, conveniently denoted by the year. Even years since 2004 have been cooler and more classic while odd years have been hotter and more opulent. The quality of the weather on the face of it is relatively true, but the wines each vintage has produced are distinctly different.
If you speak with winemakers you’ll hear a broad diversity of opinions on 2009, with each winemaker speaking of their own experiences, but if you take the time to pull all the details together a clear picture emerges. 2009 was irregular, born of a cool damp spring issues at flowering emerged later in the year, and were surprisingly exacerbated by fine weather towards the end of the growing season. A better way of separating the even and odd years might be along the division of work that went into making great wines. In the even years the quality of the wines could be made in the cellar, but in those odd years if you didn’t get everything right in the vineyards you were toast.
I don’t want to go into too much detail about the 2007 vintage, what I wrote two years ago <http://www.snooth.com/articles/2007-barolo/?viewall=1>>still stands as correct and my opinion of the vintage remains largely unchanged, though some wines have managed to avoid the excess of that year and are evolving quite nicely. In contrast the harvest in 2009 occurred under warm skies, and in fact under weather that was almost perfect allowing for an extended hang time, which worked to some producer’s advantage, but not all.
To begin with it’s worth noting that the winter of 2008-2009 was one of abundant snowfall, which lead to a cool damp spring, which interfered with flowering. Here is where the story really begins. Rains in 2009 came right during flowering, along with cool temperatures. This resulted in an unusually long and in effect two phase flowering. Unlike in 2007 when flowering occurred a week early, in 2009 the flowering occurred relatively on schedule. Temperatures throughout May and June were typical for the season then towards the end of July the heat set it in, an unrelenting heat that was not far above normal but was uninterrupted leading to an accumulation of heat that tightened up the diurnal shift that is so important for maintaining freshness in Nebbiolo. That heat that stressed the vines to their limits but in most cases the vines did not suffer significant hydric stress. All the water reserves from the previous winter’s snows and spring’s rain proved sufficient to get the vines through the worst of the heat, which included ten days of very hot weather towards the second half of August.
Interestingly most producers seem to feel that while the season was hot it was not the heat in and of itself that formed the character of the vintage. More than one producer commented on the unrelenting sunshine that was both unusual and posed problems for them. Skilled canopy management was of the utmost importance in 2009, and not everyone was up to that task.
Two things happened in late August that began to shape the character of the vintage. The first was that the weather began to break. Producer’s recollections vary but towards the very end of August or early September the nights in particular began to cool down and the weather returned to the typical end of summer pattern that featured seasonally warm days and cool nights. The second was that split flowering in the spring began to pose problems for producers with vineyards bearing two crops, one in line with the season, another lagging behind by a few weeks. How producers dealt with this odd hand ultimately determined what their wines would be like.
Here’s where things gets a bit sticky. It’s worth noting that some producers really nailed the 2009s. Those who harvested a bit early, ten days seems to be their average, produced lovely wines, ripe and full of fruit, but with good acidity and fine tannins supporting that fruit. Others, who missed the mark, and in this vintage that seems to mean most producers ended up producing a range of wines that featured low acids, hard tannins, high alcohols, and amazingly immediate and sweetly fruited wines.
There are two explanations for the character of the vintage, and they seem to fit together seamlessly. The first was that split flowering. Producers, like Aldo Conterno for example, who made multiple passes through the vineyards dropping fruit managed to discard the fruit that was lagging and ended up with an evenly ripened crop. Other producers who chose not to be as diligent had two choices, pick early when the main crop was ripe, or later when everything was past a certain measure of ripeness. Neither choice produced great wines. Those who chose the first option produced medium bodied fruity wines with big everything, fruit, acids, and tannins, many of which where green. Those who waited until everything was ripe ended up with high alcohols and low acids, and even some green tannin since their crop loads were a bit high.
Interestingly this was not a vintage that favored those who cropped too low. Many producers managed to achieve higher alcohols in 2009 than they did in the so-called cool vintage of 2008. When asked how they managed such a feat I was repeatedly told that they got through the season with more canopy and higher yields, which allowed the vines to stay in balance given the heat, sunshine, and water that was available to them.
The party line on 2009 is that it is a warm vintage, fruity with supple tannins, but honestly nothing could be further from the truth. There really is no way to generalize about this vintage. Those who nailed it produced rich wines, full of fruit but with good acidity and plenty of ripe tannins for support. Not the stuff legends are made of but very complete in a somewhat softer style, a successful warm climate wine that is perfect for early consumption, and yet should age well for up to three decades. There are plenty of tannins to these wines, the question I have as tot heir ageing is more related to the powerful rich fruit which may not stand the test of time.
Now it’s the time to take a look at the style of wine, loosely placed on a spectrum from modernist to traditionalist for whatever that might be worth. There comes a point when a wine has to stand for something. As it turns out the modernist-traditionalist spectrum is no longer a satisfactory way to identify wines that seem to stand for Barolo, another gradation is needed. We as Barolo lovers need to identify what marks Barolo. For me it is simple, the wines need to taste like Nebbiolo grown in a certain place, and there are quite a few wines that simply taste like Nebbiolo, Nebbiolo grown in any place. Simply put that is not enough to be great Barolo. There are many wines that continue to be intriguing examples of Barolo but I won’t be putting them in my cellar.
I’ve struggled with the issue of how to deal with these wines. They are well thought of and highly regarded but they just don’t taste like Barolo to me. In large part it is the same old problem with the extreme modernist wines, very short macerations and excessive use of oak. To say that these wines are difficult to taste in their youth is an understatement, and that was the goal of the modernists at their outset. In that regard they have failed miserably. Perhaps they will age into something more resembling Barolo, which is entirely possible, but I am not convinced, though I remain open-minded. In fact I’ve already begun organizing a blind tasting of the 2001 vintage which will include two dozen producers, both my favorites as well as these most modern of modernists.
In an effort to put the notes that follow in context I’m including a brief synopsis of the house style for each of the wineries I visited on this trip. I’ve placed them in an order of sorts using imprecise yet familiar nomenclature.
First Growth
Giacomo Conterno – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Giuseppe Mascarello – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Cappellano- A traditionalist producing classic, old school Barolo
Elvio Cogno – A traditionalist producing classic elegant wines.
Produttori del Barbaresco - – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Domenico Clerico – A modernist producing powerful wines closely tied to their terroir.
Giuseppe Rinaldi – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Bartolo Mascarello - A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Second growths
Luigi Baudana (produced by Vajra) – Traditional wines that blend in some modernist softness and purity yet retain the rusticity and power of their terroir
Francesco Rinaldi – A traditionalist producing classic if sometimes delicate wines.
E. Pira - A straddler moving from more modern to more traditional producing elegant, refined, aromatic wines.
Gianni Canonica – A traditionalist producing exceptionally pure and transparent wines.
Elio Grasso – Another stylistic straddler producing surprisingly elegant and bright wines.
Cascina delle Rose - – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Fratelli Oddero - A traditionalist producing classic, old school Barolo
Vietti – A winery that now straddles the line between modern and traditional, with wines that are elegant and perfumed.
Third growths
Barale – A traditionalist producing classic, old school Barolo
Guido Porro – A traditionalist who coaxes tons of fruit from his vines that conceal big structure and rarely obscures terroir.
Rivella Serafino – A traditionalist producing classic old-school Barbaresco.
Cavallotto – A mostly traditional producer whose wines have been irregular but are true to their terroir
Massolino – Moving back to the traditionalist camp, these are fine, somewhat fruity and supple examples from Serralunga with a new Barolo from Castiglione that is a powerhouse in 2009.
Aldo Conterno – A straddler producing remarkably fruity wines that have significant terroir fingerprints and some classic Barolo character.
G. D. Vajra – Mostly a traditionalist whose wines are pretty and easy but lack some depth
Luciano Sandrone – More modern that not, these are well made wines that lack some complexity for me
Fourth growths
Luigi Pira – A bit of a modernist with the rotofermenters wines that can make the wines seem over extracted and clumsy at times.
Josetta Saffirio – Modern approachable wines that are curiously fruity and on that level a success.
Cantina del Pino – A straddler producing elegant, delicate wines.
Tenuta Montanello – A straddler producing elegant wines where the oak seems a bit obvious.
Fifth growths
Cordero de Montezemolo Monfalletto - A winery that produces fairly soft, modern wines using fairly traditional techniques. Their Enrico VI Barolo is a step above the rest of the wines produced here.
Marchese di Gresy – Another straddler where the use of oak can be inelegant
Scavino – A modernist producing soft, supple wines that lack some typicity
Elio Altare – A modernist producing light, perfumed wines that are very fruit forward.
Roberto Voerzio – A modernist producing powerful fruit driven wines.
Wineries visited this year
Josetta Saffirio - Monforte
Josetta Saffirio is a winery still finding their way, though it does seem as though they have found a path forward. The wines are very drinkable in a fruity, fairly modern but not oaky nor extracted style. Some may find them to be too fruity and frankly graph but for what they are they are quite attractive and easy to enjoy.
2008 Josetta Safffirio Barolo Persiera 14%
2000 bottles produced
Spicy on the nose and tight with a dusty overtone to the rosepetal and slightly minty wild cherry fruit framed with rose hips and camphor. Soft on entry, then this shows fine acid and lovely, slightly aggressive crisp tannins. The fruit has a bit of black raspberry to it and is very fresh and clear on the palate with just a hint of wood sweetness and oak flavors contributing complexity. Rather classically structured with lovely herb tinged wild cherry fruit on the moderately long finish. Has a nice, expressive core of fruit. 91pts
2007 Josetta Saffirio Barolo 14%
10,000 bottles produced
Chalky on the nose with an herbal extract note with leathery and slight campfire like accents. A little compact but with excellent depth and a lovely roundness that doesn't obscure the detail here. There's fine acidity and plenty of ripe tannins supporting the slightly medicinal core of wild blackberry and slightly grapy fruit. The finish is short and tight at this point, but this gains fine length with rich fruit and a fine spiced edge all leading up to a finely fruited finale. Excellent for the vintage. 90pts
2007 Josetta Saffirio Barolo Reserva Millenovecento48 14%
2000 bottles produced
A little tight, just a touch fudgy with black fruit and some attractive spice notes all wrapped up with sweet rose petals and a touch of chocolate covered orange peel. Silky on entry with soft burnished black cherry fruit that is supported by finely integrated acidity. This peaks early in the mouth and shows a hint of dryness on the midpalate that leads to a bit of a short finish. Very refined and broad on the palate but this lacks some freshness and detail. The finish shows good fruit and significant powerful tannins. There's a little sweetness here that sort of balances the dryness but it's a powerfully built wine that also shows a bit of heat.
2009 Josetta Saffirio Barolo 14%
A tight little nose with gamy rose hips, rose petals, and faint red curranty fruit. This is round and immediately red fruited on entry with red cherry and raspberry fruit that shows a soft sweetness and fine strawberry seed spice. Tannins are well managed, present but unobtrusive with juicy acidity and a nice watermelon undertone to the fruitiness. Really fine wild cherry fruit on the moderately long finish that shows a fine medicinal edge. Fruity yet in a fairly classic style with super ripe tannins. 91pts
2009 Josetta Saffirio Barolo Persiera 14%
This opens with a deep herbal streak on the nose full of ivy and cactus, followed by an assertive floral note and fine raspberry fruit over sandy soil tones with a hint of wood spice. Showing a little roundness early on the palate, this has slightly more aggressive tannins than the 2009 Barolo Classico from Saffirio, with more savory complexity but less obviously sweet fruit. The finish is long and taut with a deep mineral streak and wild bitter cherry fruit. Another wine that shows abundant ripe tannins supporting savory complexity. 91pts
Monfalletto Cordero de Montezemolo - La Morra
Monfalletto is a historic property in La Morra that has managed to straddle the modernist/traditional line in many ways. The wines are solid and reliable, if rarely exciting though their Barolo from the Villero cru, Enrico VI does outperform the line-up.
Barolos see six days of maceration, then another ten days or so off the skins to ferment until dry. The Crus here are aged exclusively in barrique while the Monfalleto sees a larger variety of wood, toast, and size depending on the vintage.
2009 Cordero de Montezemolo Barolo Bricco Gattera
5000-5500 bottles produced
The best part of the Cru with the maximum expression of Monfalleto.
Cedary, spicy, and floral on the nose with rose notes and incipient aromas of tobacco, Round and rather rich in the mouth with dark, almost meaty cherry fruit framed by nice spice notes and a touch of camphor and tobacco. There are plenty of tannins and good acidity here though a little too much oak with some wood tannin obvious on the palate but this has some very attractive fruit with incipient tobacco and macerated floral notes. 90pts
2009 Cordero de Montezemolo Barolo Monfalletto
Draws fruit from nine hectares, 45,000 bottles
Toasty wood, cherries in alcohol and a touch of truffle greets the nose with a hint of herb adding some detail. Silky and soft on entry with nice ripe cherry fruit framed with hints of strawberry. This is broad and relatively clear on the palate with good acids and fine grained tannins that build on the moderately long finish. Nice if a bit simple. 88pts
2009 Cordero de Montezemolo Enrico VI - Castiglione Falletto (Villero)
9000 to 10000 bottles produced
More masculine with earthy base notes of fine dark fruit and black tea on the nose. This works with the wood better than the other wines here, showing a richness on entry, deep and elegant with a fleshy feel to the dark cherry fruit with a little black currant note and a fine earthy herbal edge to it. This has fine depth on the palate, powerful and complex with very pretty fruit that really pops on the backend and excellent length to the licorice and spice toned finish. This shows a fleshy richness that the others bottlings here don't with apparently softer acids,or simply more buffering flesh, 92pts
Vietti - Castiglione Falletto
The wines of Vietti have been somewhat of a moving target over the past decade or so, with changes from vintage to vintage. Today they've settled down into a style that is very clean and fruit driven, though the wines are classically structured. These have for years been among my favorite Piedmontese wines, but with the change in style I'm not as convinced as tot heir long term arability, not that that is a sign of quality.
The protocol for Barolo since 2010 is roughly:
All Barolo is fermented with a submerged cap and the length of fermentation/maceration is dictated by the development of the tannins in the wine though typically Brunate goes for about 21 too 24 days, Lazzarito a few days more, Villero about 30 days and Rocche five weeks
Brunate and Lazzarito then spend 3 to 5 months in barrique then at least two years in botte
Roche and Villero undergo malo in barrique then right to botte for at least two years
Typically about 20% of barriques are new
2009 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Castiglione Falletto
Spicy on the nose with notes of salted plum, dark cherry in alcohol with a touch of prune, tar and menthol, This is a little soft on entry though with nice tannic cut to the burnished fruit, that turns spicy and mineral earth rich on the back end, This is quite clear in the mouth, full of liquory wild strawberry and wild bitter cherry fruit and packed with fruit tannins on the fine aromatic finish with it’s hints of of citrus rind, and sapid, spiky acids that lead to a pop of cherry fruit on the finale. A pretty elegant wine in the making. 93pts
2009 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito - Serralunga
This is tighter on the nose with wood that is a touch more obvious though fairly well integrated into the dark and earthy aromas of chalk and bitter medicinal herb roots that yield to lovely notes of dried roses, balsamic, strawberry fruit, necco wafers, and a touch of menthol. At first spicy, then a little soft on entry, if decidedly clear and firm on the full bodied mid-palate that is tannic but not weighty. There are lots of dark, earthy flavors here that lead to a big cherry in alcohol finish that is long, focused and full of lots of firm tannins all culminating in a hint of truffle on the finale. 92pts
2009 Vietti Barolo Brunate - La Morra
Balsamic on the nose with a bit of new wood showing over sadny soil tones and dusty, perfumed rose and strawberry aromas. Soft on entry with a chewy, fruit driven feel that features small red fruits with a slight jammy edge and a pop of strawberry on the backend. While this seems plush at first it’s actually packed with with plenty of angular tannins that cut the finish short, though the hints of lingonberry and very aromatic rose petals and balsamic aromas on the finish are promising. 90pts
2009 Vietti Barolo Castiglione
Attractive mint, herb, and watermelon aromas greet the nose. On entry one finds tart cherry fruit delivered in a soft, broad style that is wide open today. Easy to drink already, this shows flashes of mushrooms and an earthiness that helps to frame the red fruit, turning fairly tannic on the modest finish. Perhaps a little light but elegant and really quite attractive and freshening. 88pts
Elio Grasso - Monforte
I've had a bit of a difficult time over the years with the wines of Elio Grasso, finding them excellent in the late 1980s-1990s, then less attractive through the early 2000s when the style, or perhaps it was just the weather at these warm vineyards, seems to have changed. The wines seem to have recently taken on a more elegant feel to them with a decidedly fresher palate profile.
2009 Elio Grasso Barolo Vigna Chiniera - Monforte
Tends to have more sandy in soil, and is cooler than Casa Mate
Jammy fruit on the nose with a prune edge to the strawberry jam aromas that picks up subtly sweet and herbal rose petal note and a hint of cooked beetroot with some air. Broad with some tannin showing up before the acidity kicks in, this is a touch on the soft side full of ripe if slightly dull cherry fruit and packing considerable tannin. The tannin really clamps down on the finish and it's a bit on the dry side. Powerful but without finesse, though it does have a lovely core of limestone backed wild cherry fruit. 91pts
2009 Elio Grasso Barolo Casa Mate - Monforte
Spicy nose with deep earth, leather, tar and cherries in alcohol aromas. This is rather more classic than the Chiniera with incipient fungi and first floor aromas. Rich and round with riper tannins than the Chiniera, this has a lovely core of fruit, lightly spicy yet very aromatic in the mouth with tar, soil, and herb nuances framing the bitter cherry fruits. Really finely structured and balanced with excellent length, This has some palate staining depth of flavor and while it is a touch on the rich, soft side reflecting the vintage it is really finely crafted. 93pts
2007 Elio Grasso Barolo Runcot - Monforte
Lots of fine wild raspberry and strawberry aromas framed with some sweet vanilla and smoky cedary notes and a touch of fennel and rosehips greet the nose. Opulent and lush on the palate, this is packed with rich red fruits framed with a hint of coffee bean and some gentle herbal nuances. The oak is remarkably well integrated on the palate but does become more obvious on the finish with a drying center back of tongue quality to the tannins. Slightly chewy red cherry fruits on the palate, with some light mint and spice notes on the backend that drive the moderately long licorice laced finish that is cut short by the wood tannins, this is awfully good but the load of wood tannins is slightly troubling. 92pts
2001 Elio Grasso Barolo Casa Mate
A little tight and herbal on the nose with lovely small cherry fruit, that really explodes on the nose showing a macerated edge and lovely leather and clay accents, with a slight hint of carob on the nose that grows in intensity, Fine acids greet the palate, with tannins showing a touch of roundness supporting lovely strawberry and tobacco laced fruit with wild bitter cherry notes. This is lovely with raspberry tinged fruit still very young but in an in-between phase. There’s lots of licorice on the backend and through the long finish, which shows some beet root. There’s lovely richness here with ripe tannins lending attractive tension to the elegant and long palate. No rush to drink this. 92pts
Guido Porro - Serralunga
Guido Porro is no longer the secret it once was, and the prices for the wines have increased, though they remain among the greatest bargains in Piedmont. There is no doubt that Guido's wines are rich and frankly fruity, particularly for Serralunga, but his wines are very convincing with a fairly traditional feel to them. The only knock against his wines would be that he is not afraid of alcohol, though I have only rarely felt the wines to be out of balance.
2009 Guido Porro Barolo Seivi
A new name for the base blended Barolo
Tight, sharp, and spicy on the nose with herbal notes framing black cherry in alcohol aromas and just a touch of truffle and dried orange peel working their way in here. This is wide open, on the palate with soft tannins, fine acids, and lovely burnished cherry fruit that shows off woodsy accents and deep rose petals on the lively, rich, firm mid-palate. This finishes with a long, aromatic and bright amarena cherry and floral quality but it certainly doesn't lack alcohol. Nicely done if a bit hot. 89pts
2009 Guido Porro Barolo Santa Caterina- Serralunga
Produced from 40 year old vines with South Eastern exposure in Lazzairasco Cru. 28 days on the skins in 2009, though the minimum is 15 to 18 days vintage dependant. This spends three years in 25 Hl slavonian oak.
4000 bottles
Production will go up to 6,000 bottles with new plantings that replaced dolcetto and small additions to the bottom of the vineyard.
This has a very direct nose with an early hint of tobacco, followed by icy mineral notes framed with an herbal nuance. This smells icy cool. On entry this is a little tight if fine and firm with tannins that show an edge of austerity. The mid palate is rich with lovely mineral laced rose petal and bramble framed black cherry fruit, that leads to a finish that is a bit tight and short, but does show some sneaky length,
A second bottle open three days prior was, more open but still tight if spicy with limestone notes and some small wild black raspberry flavors. Broader but still tense in the mouth, it displayed a really nice combination of rich ripe fruit that doesn't cross the line and fine lacy structure, with a modesty minty and medicinal finish.
An aggregate score for the two bottles: 91pts
2009 Guido Porro Barolo Lazzairasco - Serralunga
Produced from 70 year old vines with a south/southwest exposition within the cru, this saw 24 days of skin contact and three months in botte.
More direct on the nose, which is really enticing with a slightly dusty, tea leaf, medicinal, and faintly woodsy aspect to the big prune in alcohol aromas. This is more open on the palate with that little woodsy, note accenting the core of dark cherry and plum fruit. This falls somewhere in the middle of the vintage stylistically with soft tannins, nice depth of fruit, and an excellent open feel, al leading to nice tension on the finish which shows dusty tannins and big licorice aromas,
A second bottle which had been opened ten days prior
Shows some evolution with a spicy, mushroom and camphor framed core of wild macerated raspberry fruit. This really broadens on the palate and sweetness up in the mouth with excellent late arriving depth of herb flecked macerated cherry and plum fruit, finishes with full tannins that are a touch dry,
An aggregate score for the two bottles: 93pts
Massolino - Serralunga
Massolino has gone back and forth over the years in regards to their style. Franco Massolino freely admits to trying just about everything to improve his wines, and also freely admits that some efforts were mistaken. Today the wines have returned to a rather classic style and are as good or better than ever. the 2009 Margheria in particular was a beautifully elegant wine deserving more attention.
2009 Massolino Barolo - Serralunga
15 to 18 days of maceration then aged in botte
Tight and small on the nose with wet dark earth, rose hips, fine earth, camphor, and wild cherry Aromas. This is soft and easy on entry with a nice freshness to the earthy wild cherry fruit. This is quite simple, hitting that earthy wild cherry note right through the moderately long finish and while this may not be the most complex Barolo around it is an excellent entry point for people. This shows the soft tannins that were possible in 2009. 88pts
2009 Massolino Barolo Margheria - Serralunga
1985 was the first year of production for Margheria
Produced from 35 year old vines in soils that are relatively sandy and chalky so the cru tends to produce wines that are lighter and more elegant. This wine comes from vines that face southeast and are located mid-slope within the cru.
Maceration typically lasts for 3 weeks followed by two and a half years in wood.
Super fine on the nose with high toned wild strawberries framed with fine spice notes. This shows a gentle sweetness on entry in a style that is very open and very transparent. There are lovely mineral notes early on the palate followed by pure red fruit with very clean woodsy spice notes and rose hip accents powering the moderately long finish. This is very pretty, and elegant really remarkable clarity on the palate, 93pts
The wines are vilified pretty much the same to underline the difference terroir makes
2009 Massolino Barolo Parafada
From vines that are about sixty years old, with full southern exposure planted on compact soils of fossil rich marn that deliver low yields and powerful wines.
Big and intense on the nose with lots of spice, licorice, strawberry jam, bit of prune, touch of cocoa and something gently floral. This is dense and a touch raw in the mouth with lovely freshness to the fruit, Again one finds nice clarity but the Margheria has this beaten on texture today. There’s big depth of to the wild cherry and stone flavors that lead to a clean finish that shows quite a bit tannic weight and minty and camphor aromatics. This show age quite well. 91pts
2009 Massolino Barolo Parussi - Castiglione Falletto
First vintage was 2007
Big fruit on the nose, which shows of aromas of cherries and rose petals along with something sweet and carob like topped with a touch of watermelon rind. Dusty, and deceptively soft and broad on entry, this shows an early hint of lime zest on the palate before this turns rather intense with lots of tart red fruit and masses of tannins. There’s less detail than with the Serralunga crus but more weight with intense raspberry fruit that trades power for focus. his s a wild card, it might turn into velvet monster or may just remain the chunky powerhouse it is. 90pts
2007 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
From the central part of the hill, 1.5 hectares facing south, 1 hectare facing southeast.
Very ripe if rather classic with aromas of over ripe red fruits in alcohol, a bit of a balsamic tone, some waxy lipstick, some white soil tones as well. In the mouth this is rich, clear and fairly broad retaining great focus to the raspberry, mineral and slightly herb tinged flavors really pop on the palate. The fine grained tannins add gentle support here and while this does taper off a bit on the finish, showing a bit of heat, this remains fairly elegant in light of the vintage. 91pts
2004 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
Opened the day prior to tasting
What an explosive nose filled with spices, ripe fruit, tar, a big limestone note and some nettles and just a hint of nuttiness. This is silky in the mouth with lovely acids and super fine tannins showing excellent integration and yielding a gorgeous mouthfeel. This already has lots of truffle and mineral notes forming around the youthful core dark fruit with big tannins clamping down on the chewy finish. With time that completely knit together mouthfeel while extend over the finish, and this remains very young but full of promise. 94pts
1996 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
Opened the day prior to tasting
Gorgeous on the nose,just filed with tar, earth, animal, wild herbs, spiced cherry and plum aromas with a hint of root beer. Silky and perhap a touch faded from being opened for 24 hours and a little warm to boot, but this shows exceptional power, with cool firm fruit that is slightly more rustic than what get made today. The long finish shows mineral and superb fine grained tannins in an elegant but powerful style. This should continue to improve for quite some time, though the fruit seems to have already taken a back seat. 92pts
1989 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
Opened the day prior to tasting
Classic Rionda nose of iron, seeds, dried rose petals, spice and small red fruits shows lovely freshness and detail. This is another silky wine though it’s a bit tired and lacks some focus on the palate, again from having been opened the day earlier, though it is chewy and powerfully with late arriving acidity and truffle notes layered over faded rose petals and spicy red fruit with lots of mineral notes and still with tons of fine grained tannins, While not fruity this remains powerful and young with a long limestone finale, 94pts
1978 Massolino Barolo Classico Riserva
Opened the day prior to tasting
Leafy and evolved on the nose but with fine mineral and red fruit notes. This remains powerful if somewhat rustic in the mouth with red cherry fruit and fine mineral cut. This is quite remarkable with distinctly evolved flavors and yet a lovely youthful texture and a ong, fine finish. Could stand some more fruit but it had been opened for 24 hours. 90pts
Luigi Pira - Serralunga
The wines of Luigi Pira definitely lean towards the modernist side of the equation, though working with fruit from Seralunga it seems as though the effects are less obvious than for other producers. In the past the wines struck me as frequently too extracted having traded elegance for power, and while this still seems to be the case with the Vigna Rionda, the other bottlings from 2009 show much more restraint, particularly the very attractive straight Barolo.
2009 Luigi Pira Barolo Serralunga
9000 bottles produced from three small vineyards, all aged in 25 HL wood
Meaty, spicy, and rather nicely expressing Serralunga terroir, on the nose. This is a bit spicy on entry with a slight black medicinal tone, a light touch of wood and wild strawberry fruit in a lean, fresh, crisply styled wine. The tannins are abundant though ripe, showing a hint of dryness, and the acidity pronounced if well balanced, all contributing to the lovely clarity on the palate. There’s nice length to the earthy finish with an incipient hint of porcini. You could teach a class with this. Classic Serralunga Barolo 92pts
2009 Luigi Pira Barolo Margheria - Serralunga
1.5 hectares of 53 year old vines planted in chalky, clay soils producing 7,000 bottles per year. Aged in large format wood for two years.
Limestone immediately on the nose over dark, dried black cherry fruit with hints of kind of black small seeds/watermelon seeds the way they are aromatic in the mouth. This feels a bit forced perhaps but it delivers big black fruit that is medicinally framed and full of minerality, with nice cut on the palate, a touch of late arriving dried mushroom, and tar, and a big finish with lot of power to the long clear black fruit finale, 92pts
2009 Luigi Pira Barolo Marenca - Serralunga
A little over 2 hectares yeilding about 9,000 bottles a year. This is aged in 500 liter barrels, 25 to 30 percent new for the first year before being transferred for a second year in big wood,
Meaty and floral on the nose with rose petals and some nice minerality but the red currant fruit shows both sweetness and assertive medicinal notes. This is broader on the palate, richer with a little less verve than the Margheria, though it does show fine minerally and tarry depth with gentle wild raspberry notes over the mineral cut, The tannins are also softer and the wine fades away on the finish more quickly ending on a somewhat diffuse note. 90pts
2009 Luigi Pira Barolo Vigna Rionda
One hectare producing about 4,000 bottles a year. This spends one year in barrique, about a third new, then a second year in larger format wood.
Shows some toast and vanilla on the nose over black fruit, shoe polish, tight, small red berry fruit, and a bit of dr pepper spiciness with that hint of vanilla married to black cherry fruit. Soft and supple on entry, and surprisingly open, showing good focus on the mid palate with lots of mineral laced fruit and very fine tannins but the tannins continue building in the mouth cutting the finish a bit short. Wow this is extracted with massive tannins on the finish but even through the tannins the fruit, with hints of rust and red currant, is fighting to get out. This might very well prove to be too tannic for the fruit here. Time will tell. 88pts
Cappellano - Serralunga
I'm not sure there is much to say here. Classicism defined
2008 Cappellano Barolo Rupestris
Tight on the nose which is a bit leathery and gamy, with hints of a little campfire, some nuanced stone, mint and medical notes, and then a really pronounced rose stem aroma. This is incredibly fruity early on the palate, before displaying tense tannins and gaining earth, dried herb, and dried rose petal notes that flood the palate, The tannins are nervy and the acids pronounced if buffered nicely by the density of fruit. Today there's a certain softness, laid back style here, and this lacks the vivacity of the top vintages, but the long finish full of cherry and licorice notes, and the very fresh, clean style is promising, though this closed quickly in the glass so beware its closed phase. A classic Barolo in a clean, enlightened style.
Luciano Sandrone - Barolo
Long one of the leading modernists, the winemaking of Sandrone has changed little over the years, though the wines do strike me as more elegant and transparent than those produced even just a few years ago.
2009 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - Barolo
Lots of prune and dark berry in alcohol on the nose framed with notes of wood spice and a touch of chocolate. This is rich and soft,with good depth of fruit and lots of tannin that turns a bit dry and splintery on the palate. There’s decent acidity supporting a nice jammy core of raspberry, blackberry fruit that finishes a bit tightly and lacks some drive but makes up for it with length of fruit, with a bit of alcohol showing up on the finale. 88pts
2009 Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis - Barolo
Perfumed with aromas of cut red fruit and chalky soil tones over a nice base of oak spice. Air brings out classic roses and cherry in alcohol with a fine white soil tone. This is rich with soft, opulent fruit that remains fresh even though it's quite ripe. While not particularly tannic, there is nice cut to the fruit, and a bit of austerity to help play off the sweetness of the fruit. That cherry fruit lingers on the fairly long finish which is bit spicy with coffee tones and a hint of tar arriving late. Easy, and yet fairly intense. There’s a fair amount of wine here. 91pts
2008 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - Barolo
Tight wild berry fruit on the nose shows off a bit of earthiness with fine dried herb notes and soft toasty oak adding detail. Fresh, angular tannins pop on entry followed by lovely tiny cherry fruit, roses, pomegranate, and a little purple fruit on the palate. This shows silky integration with aromatic fruit on the moderately long finish. This is tense and precise with good aromatic freshness, 92pts
2008 Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis - Barolo
Tight and a bit oaky on the nose with a little black cherry framed with some rose notes. This is soft if texturally complete in the mouth silky without being opulent and showing fine cut cherry fruit on the palate, with a late arriving herb and limestone note, This is just a bit austere and dour today,with the wood tannins showing a bit on the finish, which shows a lovely blend of fresh fruit and soil tones. This is tense and elegant, showing classic Cannubi austerity, but the wood is a touch intrusive. 89pts
Brovia - Castiglione Falletto
As I have said before, I don't think anyone is making better wines today than Brovia, with one or two very expensive exceptions. Over the past 15 years the quality here has improved vintage to vintage, and the access the brovia family has to some of the best Crus in the region has resulted in a line-up of spectacular wines. My preference has been and remains the Rocche and Ca Mia bottlings, but it is tough to go wrong with any of these classically styled wines. Withtheir current pricing, I would say that if you wanted to buy only one producer's Barolos it would have to be brovias.
2009 Brovia Barolo
More or less three week long fermentation, the crus get fermented in wood, other wines in SS, 100 Hl aging,
Twenty to thirty percent of the crus, and Brea’s (Ca’mia) younger vines, which here means about twenty five years old as the fruit from the really young vines gets sold off, goes into the Barolo Classico, meaning more than seventy percent comes from Serralunga,
Awesome nose, full of balsamic notes with a green pine edge to the small red fruits, with an assertive camphor top note. This shows fine intensity, focus and balance on the nose Round and powerful on entry this shows slightly pruny fruit , in a good way over a base of rich cooked cherry character that is laced with minerality through the moderately long finish. Yes this is quite ripe in flavor but it does manage to retain excellent freshness and is really a gorgeous wine, 92pts
2009 Brovia Barolo Rocche - Castiglione Falletto
A tight nose with fine herbal, mineral and black spice notes and a touch of musty earth sits cool and compact in the glass. This is intensely fruited,full of bitter cherry fruit supported by superb ripe tannins, showing super integration, This has the slightly austere aggressive quality of Rocche, but in a particularly open style, that is nonetheless not easy to understand. The nose and long finish share emerging smoky herbal and licorice notes and a pop of wild strawberry fruit . There’s a lot going on here, with tremendous potential for the future but this is a bit hard to get a handle on today. 94pts
2009 Brovia Barolo Villero - Castiglione Falleto
Lots of dark fruit on the nose which offers up a nice blend of balsamic and rose notes. This is soft and broad in the mouth, with good acidity and modest tannins supporting simple red fruit framed with a hint of camphor. This is wide open and easy to drink already with a clear fresh feel that turns a touch short on the finish. A rare miss from Brovia. 88pts
2009 Brovia Barolo Garblet Sue - Castiglione Falleto
Very ripe cherry fruits in alcohol on the nose are framed by sandlewood, a hint of nutmeg, some meaty nuances and late arriving jammy strawberry notes. There’s an initial opulence to this wine, though the early arriving acids lend brightness to the plump, slightly jammy cherry fruit. This is a little spicy on the palate with a touch of minerality, and lush tannins, really beautiful in an immediately approachable style that is packed with fruit. Slightly less evolved and more tannic than the Villero, this is very typical of the vintage. 92pts
2009 Brovia Barolo Ca’mia - Serralunga
Deeply earthy on the nose which shows hints of slightly peppery spice along with meaty/umami prosciutto and hoisin aromas. Tight and reserved on entry, one can sense an innate sweetness here, wrapped as it is in soft tannins. This is lovely, very ripe but with typically dark and savory Serralunga fruit, that gains detail from late arriving sandalwood, strawberry and rosehip notes. There’s plenty of tannin here, even if they are a bit soft, This is opulent if not quite as open as the Villero and Garblet Sue, opulent in a Serralunga kind of way, silky and long. 93pts
2010 Brovia Barolo Rocche - barrel sample
Wow this is filled with slightly figgy, slightly smoky configure of wild cherry and plum fruit on the nose. In the mouth this is almost salty due to the profound minerality. There’s a core of tobacco framed fruit that is powerful with cool fruit, incredible depth, real complexity and brightness to the fruit, and finesse in the mouth. The tannins pop on the long finish, and this is really packed and chiseled that I would expect it to be a tannic beast soon, but today it’s just firm with so much buffering material that the massive, noble tannins, don't appear until the long finish. 94-97pts
2010 Brovia Barolo Ca Mia - barrel sample
Camphor, leather, dark earthy, and damp cigar butt nose come together on the slightly spicy nose, which is tight but does show hints of a bit of hot tile, and mineral notes that recall magnesium or aluminum all topped with a suggestion of eucalyptus. Smooth and seamless on entry, this is weighty, powerful and deep with a backend that is packed with mineral notes and precise tannins. This shows incredible depth but it does lack some of the finesse of the Rocche. AIr slowly brings out some aromatic complexity with herbal and medicinal notes growing in the glass but this will require patience. It has incredible power and should turn out to be epic. 94-96pts
2011 Brovia Barolo Rocche - barrel sample
Lovely aromas of spiced red fruit, a little bramble, and a little meatiness gains a nice dusting of salty minerality over sour plum fruit with some air. This is a bit sweet on entry, with a nice slightly chewy texture featuring balanced acids and tight grained tannins acids. There’s a touch of alcohol showing, along with some dark plummy fruit on the finish which picks up tar and balsamic notes. Shows an approachability already that is surprising. 90-93pts
2011 Brovia Barolo Ca Mia - barrel sample
Very pretty pale cherry fruit on the nose with a tart edge that is joined by sweet tobacco, a little sage, mint and licorice accents. This is very well integrated already, smooth and rather lush, with lovely ripe tannins. This has power and elegance in a slightly warm vintage style, well knit together. Today this is much more integrated and better balanced than Rocche with lovely rich dark fruit and a slight bitter/medical edge on the slightly minty long finish. 92-94pts
2005 Brovia Barolo Riserva Speciale
A special bottling to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Brovia. A historical blend of Rocche and Villero, one that was very popular before Crus took over, that spent 5 years in botte. Bottled exclusively in magnum.
Lovely sandalwood, red licorice, and dried peach aromas greet the nose followed by light grey/black spice tones, a touch of ash and dry white clay. This is silken on entry, with burnished cherry fruit that is a touch lean and mineral before gaining nice black cherry pit fruit framed by licorice notes on the mid-palate. This has a sweetness to the tannins, and lovely wild cherry fruit on the backend that leads to a long savory finish, showing rosehip and mint nuances, along with a bit of alcohol on the finale. This is old school to the max, their Monfortino to their Giacosa-esque regular crus. 93pts
Elvio Cogno - Novello
The wines of Elvio Cogno have struck me int he past as dependable but these recent releases are on another level. Great traditionally produced wines that combine power and a cool elegance, I found these immensely attractive and worth searching out.
2009 Elvio Cogno Barolo Cascina Nuova - Novello
15 year old vines 100% Lampia clone, that spend about 30 days on the skins, aged in botte.
A lit fleshy on the nose with hints of bologna and nuttiness under some dried peach notes, with smoky, tart red fruit. Soft and broad in the mouth with good acidity providing nice cut to the wild cherry fruit on the palate, which is just a little loose. This might be a little simple but with an attractive combination of power and transparency, with the fruit turning a little black cherried on the backend. The long finish shows nice length with fine slightly dry tannins, and hints of licorice and plum. 90pts
2009 Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera - Monforte
50 year old vines, 10,000 bottles produced , thirty five days ferment, then aged in botte
Deep on the nose with hints of iron, fennel, a bit of herb, and a bit of wood here as well. Rather compact and cooler than the Cascina Nuova, soft and very approachable in the mouth with nice tannins supporting stony cherry pit fruit that shows nice detail and clarity in the mouth. The tannins here are well managed yet retain a nice touch of austerity lending this lovely depth on the backend with a deep stemmy, herbal incipient mushroom note. This is elegant and refined, in a pure and authentic Monforte style of Barolo. 93pts
2008 Elvio Cogno Barolo Bricco Pernice
22 year old vines at the top of the cru and 64 year old vines lower on the slope, in a vineyard that straddles the Monforte/Novello border. Always thirty five days ferment, then aged in botte
A fairly big confiture nose of red and dark fruit with a hint of plumminess that turns a bit smoky, deep, and soil driven with air showing lots of tobacco and cherry in alcohol, and a little mint. On entry this is a little chewy and powerful, with an elegance to the tannins, but lots of power, packed tight with fine grained tannins that supports black licorice and black cherry fruit on the mid palate and through the nice powerful finish. 92pts
2007 Elvio Cogno Barolo Vigna Elena - Novello
100% Rose clone, which is notoriously scarce in pigment so to help fix color consistent temps during maceration, are important along with a very slow fermentation, 28C normal, 22C during last days of a 20 days fermentation, with cappello sommerso for 10 to 12 days. 8,000 bottles produced
Very pretty if rustic nose rich with strawberry, limestone, rose petals, candied cherry aromas. This starts out a bit hollow on the palate, lacking some height in the mouth with decent acids, and tannins that are a little raw, turning quite assertive on the back end The modest red fruit on the palate show a bit of woodsy character turning a bit tough and a bit compact on the backend which shows nice wild strawberry and lemon zest notes that leads to a moderately finish full of tannin and a bit of heat. The balance is a little off here. 92pts
Paolo Scavino - Castiglione Falletto
Scavino is a name that is virtually synonymous with the modernist movement in Piedmont. the wines have always struck me as rather soft, fairly heavily oaked, and a little chunky. the line-up tasted today certainly illustrates that they are taking a different tact with each of their wines and some appear to more successful than others, though my old impressions hold generally true. Taken as a whole these remain rather soft, fruity, and oaky wines.
All new barriques are used first for barbera, second and third passage used for Barolo which see six to seven months of small wood then passes to botte for one year
Ferments with natural yeasts, about 20 to 25 days to go dry, maceration depends on vintage, can go from six days in very warm years like 2003 up to 18 days in more classic vintages, depends on the skins and maturity of vintage, really like elegance in the wine don't want extremes, fruity and opulent or hard with tannins or austere.
2009 Scavino Barolo
25,000 bottle production from a little less than a hectare in San Bernardo, maybe ten percent of Barolo is Serralunga, Vignane two hectare, Terlo a little more than half hectare, Albarello less than a hectare, Mariondino a hectare, Altenasso and Vignolo less than half a hectare each
Smelling like a bowl of cherry fruit topped with hints of sandalwood, rose hips, and other woodsy spice. Sweet and round on entry, this shows off lots of red fruit and soft tannins in a rather loose and fleshy style that finishes quickly with a pop of black cherry fruit. A bit pedestrian. 86pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Carobric
60 to 70 year old vines from Rocche, Bric del Fiasco, and and Cannubi in roughly equal parts.
This has a pretty nose, noticeably toasty though with strawberry seeds, a little tar and licorice, and milk chocolate, aromas. Noticeably soft and supple on entry with nicely presented fruit on the mid palate showing good tension and a fairly long finish. There's a sneaky touch of sweetness here early on that minerality washes away on the backend. Soft, supple and fruity with creamy and sweet oak accents. 89pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Bricco Ambrogio - Novello
Purchased in 2000
The high toned nose shows toasty spice but more floral edged raspberry and strawberry fruit, macerated Frutti del Bosco and rose petals. This is showing very well, silky with soft rich tannins and very expressive fruit, very aromatic in the mouth, and showing some nice soil tones. The fruit here lacks some brightness, but shows assertive fruitiness in a rather soft style. 88pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Monvigliero - Verduno
From 40 year old vines, first produced in 2007
Has a suggestion of thyme on the nose that could lead to tapenade with time. This is a rather gentle nose, showing a hint of white mushroom and a bit of raw milk chocolate oak. Very supple tannins great the palate followed by red fruits with a hint of apple skins on the mid palate along with a small spice note. This is very easy drinking with a decent length finish showing red fruit with some spice and obvious wood tannins. A bit on the lean side. 88pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Cannubi - Barolo
Sixty to seventy year old Michet vines. started in 1985 to makes this cru.
Lovely red cherry fruit in alcohol on the nose which is fairly ripe with accents of white soil, tobacco, sweet floral notes and a bit of talc. Rather elegant on entry with early notes of wild cherry and small raspberry fruit followed by a bit of toasty wood, then rose petals, soil tones, and incipient tobacco tones. This shows some of the classic Cannubi character, focused lean and slightly austere with a moderately long limestone and wild cherry finish. 91pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc - Castiglione Falletto
Cut plum, smoke, tobacco and chamomile come together on a very floral and spiced nose with the wood playing a supporting role and late arriving dried fruit accents that turn into chocolate covered cherries with time along with strong minty top note. Powerful and broad on entry with dried cherry fruit and some nice limestone notes, along with a touch of savory beef jerky on the palate. This has a softness that covers the palate, a pretty feminine style in a voluptuous way, with good length and a bit of wood tannins lingering and building on the finish. the oak is quite obvious here. 90pts
2007 Scavino Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata Riserva
Big fruit on the nose that shows lots of dried fruit character along with savory, sweet root beer notes, a bit gummi bear like with some heat, and camphor and menthol top notes. This is very rich on entry with lots of red fruit that shows a bit matte in the mouth. There’s a fair amount of tannin right up front along with bright, candied dark cherry/black cherry fruit with a touch of coffee on the longish finish. Not terribly 2007 in fact, if one ignores the alcohol. The finish shows some really lovely red fruit and rose floral notes, with the wood being fairly well integrated. 91pts
Cavallotto - Castiglione Falletto
The wines of Cavallotto tend to be rather traditionally made, though with some exceptions, such as that rotofermentor int he cellar. Still the wines are quite attractive, and show a remarkable consistancy, faithful both to their terroir and the house style. On this day the wines showed an assertive herbal edge which was not off-putting to be but certainly more pronounced than I am familiar with.
2009 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis
This is pretty complex on the nose starting out in an earthy vein with a sweet carob note that's almost fudgy, then deep herbal notes with hints of quinine and mint that are almost peppery followed by cherry pit fruit with a hint of dried meats. Nice tannins are supple if abundant on entry with lively acidity supporting a nice core of cherry fruit that shows a hint of tobacco and some roasted fruit edges. The finish is a touch short with dry tannins shutting things down fairly quickly. 89pts
2008 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis
More directly quinine and herb scented on the nose with ripe dark fruits, a bit of plum and dark berry. Smooth and finely balanced on entry with soft tannins and integrated acids underpinning nice wild cherry/ touch of black raspberry fruit with nice dried herb hints. This is very elegant, with lovely darkly ripe fruit that remains fresh, with good focus and excellent flavor definition in the mouth. The small but classic tannins add a nice dry edge to the finish, which turns a bit chunky and inelegant, and almost sweet with fruit. This just needs some time to fully integrate. 91pts
2007 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo
A bit of rose over strawberry confiture greets the nose followed by a little meaty braised veal sweetness along with limestone, quinine and mint accents. Soft and open on entry with juicy acidity highlighting the small cherry fruit. This is a bit simple but shows a nice blend of richness and freshness, with good power and follow through on the long, limestone edged, small cherry fruits and gently herbal finish. 91pts
2007 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva San Giuseppe
A bit stinky on the nose and not particularly clean. This offers up unusual aromas of grass, toast, and some beefy aromas along with a very earthy licorice root note. Soft in the mouth with decent acids and a cooked fruit profile of plum and dark cherry with a strong medicinal overlay that has an earthy sweetness to it. This is quite tannic and dry, the tannins seem a bit woody and seem out of proportion with the wine here. Not a good showing for this wine. 80pts
2006 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo
Limestone on the nose is followed by notes of cut grass, sweet mint, a little root veg , and a hint of toasty coffee. There is lovely balance and elegance in the mouth with its black cherry core framed by gentle notes of peach and limestone. There’s a great aromatic lift to the lovely finish, which shows great tannins in a cool and compact style that is full of fresh fruit accented with a tarry note and lent real drive by the juicy acidity. 92pts
2006 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva San Giuseppe
Big red fruit, floral, and leather aromas dominate the nose over a minty base note with hints of tar creeping in along with a lightly spicy note. This is elegant and finely balanced, very broad on the palate but this lacks a touch of height at the moment. The tannins here are quite refined, allowing the lovely bright juicy fruit with layers of mint and tar to flow across the palate and through the fine long finish. Showing nice tension in the mouth, this just needs a bit of time to fill out a bit but it doesn’t strike me as a wine for long ageing. 91pts
1998 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo
A little steeped herbal, marmite nose, with a touch of caramel and root vegetables filling in under the core of small, slightly stewy red berry fruit topped with a touch of espresso foam. This shows some big fruit on any, that leads to a nice core of tarry dark fruit and tobacco, all nicely cut with soft tannins. Like the nose this is very savory, and not terribly fruity, but intense and fresh with a big tannic finish that does soften nicely with air. The finish is a little medicinal with a cherry cough syrup aspect and a hint of pomegranate fruit. This really does soften quickly with air, don’t hang on to these. 89pts
Burlotto - Verduno
G. D. Vajra - Barolo
Luigi Baudana - Serralunga
Francesco Rinaldi - Barolo
E Pira Chiara Boschis - Barolo
Canonica - Barolo
Domenico Clerico - Monforte
Giuseppe Rinaldi - Barolo
Bartolo Mascarello - Barolo
Fratelli Oddero - La Morra
Elio Altare - La Morra
Roberto Voerzio - La Morra
Aldo Conterno - Monforte
Giuseppe Mascarello- Monchiero
Giacomo Conterno - Monforte
Tenuta Montanello - Castiglione Falletto
Burlotto - Verduno
I've been a big fan of Burlotto's wines for some time now, and while this line-up is excellent they don't rinf my bell in the same way as some prevous vintages. This is entirely due to the vintage though, as Burlotto's wines are remarkably free of winemaking, with the exception of the Monvigiero of course. These are enlightened traditionalist wines in the best sense, and even in a vintage wth challenges like 2009 you really should give them a try. They remain great values.
2009 Burlotto Barolo Classico
Tight and lightly herbal on the spicy, rather focused nose that gives up a little white soil and green herb note over fine tight red fruit aromas. This is immediately transparent and crisp, in the mouth with lovely tannins, integrated acidity supporting fresh red fruits in a rather vibrant and clear style for the vintage. It is is still on the fruity side but with firm acids and a touch of heat on the finish. A very nice expression of the vintage. 89pts
2009 Burlotto Barolo Acclivi - Verduno
Three week maceration on the skins
Lightly green on the nose in a very fresh way, with hints of lightly toasty leather, dried orange rind and fresh camphor laced wild rainier cherry fruit. The fruit is quite full here but it is super fresh with the sweetness of the vintage and yet it retains a fabulous clarity. Elegant and refined, this is a gorgeous 09 with exceptional inner mouth perfumes, fine ripe yet firm tannins, and a long finish rich with a hint of orange rind accenting long delicate strawberry fruit, with just a bit of heat on the finish. 92pts
2009 Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Verduno
60 day maceration on the skins
This has a hugely aromatic nose that explodes with savory, tapenade, thyme, light geranium notes, followed by a spicy truffle precursor and rich, dark fruit. This is fairly ripe, packed with soft abundant tannins and integrated acidity, this will be ready quite early. The fruit here freshens up on the backend showing a little ripe strawberry, strawberry seeds, building with great intensity and clarity on the backend and showing great brilliance on the finish. 93pts
2009 Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Barolo
This is all limestone, tobacco, and incense on the nose with late arriving dried herb stems, and rose petals. Relatively open on entry then this tightens up considerably though it does reveal nice kernel of fruit, elegant, smoky, taut fruit with hints of watermelon freshness supported by super tannins, love the cut of these tannins. The finish shows great persistence and clarity to the fruit, but the tannins continue to be impressive, so ripe, well integrated, and yet firm. 93pts
G. D. Vajra - Barolo
Vajra's wines have always struck me as quite pretty with early appeal yet the seem to lack a bit of depth in some cases. Today's wines continue in that vein with very pretty fruit and good aromatic complexity, yet the wines seem to lack a little follow through. The style straddles the line between modern and traditional and the house style definitely seems aimed for those who prefer not to have to wait for their Barolo to mature.
2009 G. D. Vajra Barolo Albe - Barolo
From vineyards in Fossati, Coste, and la Volta
Very fruit driven on the nose, bright and fresh and full of strawberry fruit edged with hints of tar, dried herbs, camphor, and white soil. With very soft tannins this is easy on entry showing some polish to the dark berry fruit, that is fresh a little spice note. The tannins and a hint of mint build on the backend. Elegant if seemingly a bit simple in the mouth though the finish shows more depth and complexity than the midpalate, with tannins are abundant but the ripe soft tannins of the vintage. 89pts
2008 G. D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole - Barolo
Deeply profound nose, with layers of spice, black cherry, woodsy spice, and camphor. This really is very precise and perfumed on the nose with lovely floral top notes, though in the mouth it is rather assertively fruity for the vintage but not in the frooty sense, with some tarry notes adding some detail to the core of wild strawberry and wild cherry fruit. On the backend this turns a little woodsy aromatically. This is relatively open though it is noticeably less complex and interesting on the palate than the nose. 91pts
Luigi Baudana
Luigi Baudana was purchased by the Vajra family several years ago and today serves as an excellent contrast to their wines from Barolo vineyards. The family has worked dilligently to improve the quality here and today's line-up shows the results of their efforts. These are more taditional feeling wines than the Vajra wines, very possibly due to the simple fact that they come from vineyards in Serralunga. Whatever the precise set of causes these are wines to watch out for. They are nuanced, complex and powerful wines.
2008 Luigi Baudana Barolo - Serralunga
Lovely nose, perfumed and earthy with aromas of dark fruit, a touch of fig, and subtle hints of iron and spearmint. In the mouth this shows slighty softer acids than I expected given the vintage though they do offer fine cut to the cherry fruit, with a backing notes of something vaguely leafy that adds freshness here. With lovely tannins and a savory/leathery edge, this shows a hint of black fruit on the clean precise finish that ends with hints of smoke and mint. . This is really rather focused and pure expression of the vintage. 90pts
2008 Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana - Serralunga
Very similar to the Serralunga bottling with a richly savory nose that shows a bit of a balsamic top note along with slightly stewy strawberry fruit framed with hints of pink peppercorn, carob and cola. Soft on entry though with acids that are more present than in the Serralunga bottling. This is showing some dark fruit, a touch of date perhaps, though with an attractive freshness as the flavors unfold on the muscular but fruit driven palate. This is flecked with mineral and faint dried fennel notes, in a style that is a little chewy and a little leathery but very nicely done, with lovely rasp/strawberry fruit on the moderately long finish. 91pts
2008 Luigi Baudana Barolo Cerretta - Serralunga
Perfumed and precise on the nose with lovely wild cherry fruit and mineral notes early on the nose followed by tobacco, smoke, rosehips, and a dusty sheen. On entry one is greeted by firm small black cherry fruit that shows nice tension and a lovely tannin structure that is lacy and yet firm. Offering good midpalate complexity with earthy, herbal and camphor notes, this retains a lovely brightness right through the excellent length finish which reveals the elegant side of this wine. 93pts
2006 Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana - Serralunga
Opened 24 hours
Nice dried plum in alcohol, tobacco, and rose stem aromas greet the nose followed by hints of mint, wood spice and prosciutto. Rather relaxed in the mouth, in fact surprisingly so, this is a touch chunky, wide open and soft with late arriving drier tannins that make this a little chewy. The fruit is fading here though this does have some attractive complexity with hints of mint late on the palate, though this does remain a bit lean with some fuzzy peach skin tannins on the modest finish. 88pts
Francesco Rinaldi
The wines of Francesco Rinaldi have for some reason been slow to receive the recognition they deserve. Very traditional wines, that in the case of the Barolos at least smell immediately of old school winemaking and botte in particular. These can be divisive wines in that they are not always perfectly clean but they have immense character, ageing potential, and consistancy.
These wines smell very much of botte
2009 Francesco Rinaldi Barolo Le Brunate - la Morra
10,000 bottles produced, ferments for 21-30 days, cultured yeasts are sometimes used but sometimes, as with 2008 they are not necessary
This has shockingly evolved nose right out of the battle with lots of sweet old wood, a little dirty and funky, lots of cured pork, with a bit of hay and quinine adding complexity. The dirty aromas blow off quickly revealing a tight core of wild yellow cherry fruit and dried citrus pith, with a balsamic note. This is showing superb freshness on the palate, full of red fruit and orange peel flavors that are nice and fresh, really transparent and high toned on the palate, with lovely, very ripe soft tannins on the finish which shows bright tart cherry fruit. This is very 2009 in that it is really almost ready but with classic flavors and structure. A very good 2009 that is a little light on the palate at this point. 91pts
2009 Francesco Rinaldi Barolo Cannubbio - Barolo
Immediate dirty barrel on the nose, this also takes air to clean up, and when it does there’s great tobacco, rosebud, dried herb, and baked soil aromas here. On entry this is cool, crisp, and open with fine ripe tannins, great focus and good complexity on the palate. There are lovely flavors of wild raspberries layered with savory, umami notes of tobacco and lardo. Somewhat cool and compact on the palate at this point, this is pretty classic cannubi expression with a gorgeous mouthfeel and a long ripe if slightly drying tannic finish. This has really fine energy in the mouth on the backend and through the finish. 93pts
E Pira Chiara Boschis
Chiara Boschis is one of the most passionate producers in Piedmonte. Decidedly of a modernist ilk in the cellar, yet commited to traditional, low impact farming methods, her wines speak for themselves. You can almost guess that these were wines made with a woman's touch. They are elegant, and detailed with a gentle sense of restraint and while they do see time in barrique, though much lesss new wood than they had seen in the past, they absorb the wood quite well. One of my two favorite 'modernist' producers.
2009 is the last vintage of Via Nuova as a Cru bottling. Instead of producing a Cru Terlo, which is the new appellation for the vineyards formerly known as Via Nuova, the name has been retained as a proprietary name for a base Barolo blended with parcels from Serralunga and Monforte.
Two week ferments for the Barolo, approximately 30% new wood
2010 E Pira Chiara Boschis Cannubi - Barolo
Barrel Sample - Some obvious oak, and wood spice is present on the nose though it is very well integrated and already elegant. On the palate this shows superb integration, fabulous tannins, awesome ripeness to the fruit. Depth, power and aromatics, this needs time for the oak to integrate, but the underlying wine is awesome with everything in balance. 94-96pts
2010 E Pira Chiara Boschis Via Nuova - Barolo
Barrel sample - A little less wood on the nose, still perfumy new wood top notes, over aromas of rose petals, raspberry fruit, and a touch of sandalwood. This is rather round and open in the mouth, both very transparent and rich, with amazing fruit, quite fresh plummy, with nice acidity keeps things really bright.This is packed with ripe tannins, nice high toned slightly vegetal aromatics in the mouth with a bitter orange rind note on the finish. 92-94pts
2010 E Pira Chiara Boschis Mosconi - Monforte
Barrel sample - Muscular, tight, and almost Serralungan on the nose with its assertively medicinal aspect. The oak works better here, melding well with the medicinal, tight dark fruit that is packed with mineral and earth aromas though this is softer than Serralunga on the palate. Rich, and a little chewy in the mouth, this shows tons of dark fruit that is powerful and intense though this lacks a bit of elegance. One finds lots of cut plum and spice on the backend, along with huge ripe fruit tannins on the finish with pomegranate fruit. A powerhouse 93-95pts
2009 E Pira Chiara Boschis Cannubi - Barolo
Ripe fruit that is a touch jammy greets the nose followed by lots of very mineral, limestone notes along with oak that is fairly well integrated already, still obvious but in balance with the raspberry in alcohol fruit. This turns a touch balsamic with air and the oak presence increases a touch with a hint of nuttiness. Smooth, soft, and rather 2009 in the mouth this shows slightly syrupy raspberry and wild cherry fruit, with a Iittle hazelnut accent. There's an underlying sweetness here, though this tightens up on the finish, showing lots of late tannins. Both rather tense and very ripe this is a bit unfocused in the mouth. 89pts
2009 E Pira Chiara Boschis Via Nuova - Barolo
A bit chocolatey on the nose with accents of ivy, black fruit, and carob adding detail to the rather floral and high-toned nose. Here you get lots of ripeness with an underlying vegetal freshness on the powerful entry, which is followed by deep fruit on the palate that is a touch intense and yet fresh with ripe tannins and good acidity. Complexity creeps in slowly with a little mint and a little leathery and animal nuance. This is showing really compelling freshness and complexity of fruit, even if it is fairly ripe. 92pts
2009 E Pira Chiara Boschis Mosconi - Monforte
Bit of confiture and campfire greets the nose which is deep and powerful with a fudgy edge to the very ripe dark cherry and plum fruit, gaining some slow to emerge rose petal accents. This is fairly fruity but bright on the palate with slightly exotic red fruits. Snowing more elegance and less 2009 vintage character than the other wines here, this has a restrained opulence to it with the ripe darkness of fruit touched with a hint of espresso foam. The finish shows some peach character, good length, and really attractive refinement to the tannins. 92pts
2004 E Pira Chiara Boschis Cannubi - Barolo
Open from yesterday
Wild and intense notes of ass, soil, a little egg, a hint of carrot/beet vegetal sweetness, and a creamy almost black cherry fruitiness on the nose. Opulent and bright in the mouth with very ripe tannins, very ripe yet clear fruit and great follow through on the palate. Bright and decisive in the mouth this exhibits good energy though a little older wood note lingers on the nose and there are still wood tannins here obscuring the finish. 92pts
2005 E Pira Chiara Boschis Cannubi - Barolo
Probably on 80% new barrique at this point, maybe 70% but something like that
Very low production from before the rain
Still shows some new wood on the nose along with tight, fine cherry fruit, almond oak, lots of herbal eucalyptus notes all come together on the slow to build nose. Silky and elegant on the palate with a touch of dry tannins adding an edge of nervousness. This shows a lovely spicy fruit quality, with an incipient sweetness to the core of wild cherry lozenge fruit with its menthol and medical notes. The long finish shows a touch of minerality and a light licorice tone, along with more almond on the finale. 91pts
Canonica
Gianni Canonica is somewhat of a pioneer in Piedmont, one of the very few producers who has stuck with both traditional methods and organic farming for over 20 years. The results speak for themselves, though the Barolo tends to be almost modern with it's purity and freshness of fruit. I admittedly do not have significant experience with these wines, especially as to their ageing potential, but the wines do have excellent balance in their youth and so much fruit that I look forward to trying these with some frequency as they age.
2009 Canonica Barolo Paiagallo - Barolo
6,000 bottles
Barolo ferments for forty days, in cement or resin depending where he has space, open top, two punch downs a day, malo occurs when it warms up, then it goes in wood, 25 Hl barrels of Slavonian oak.
Minty and intense on the nose with lots of floral and licorice aromas layered over all sorts of raw Middle Eastern spices. Powerful and elegant in the mouth, there’s lots of depth here to the intense fruit. Very fresh in the mouth with nice tannins, a little rounded but not soft, this shows a beautiful expression of fruit, not as precise as the 2008 but more intense and complex, with huge follow through that drops off a touch easy on the finish. Air brings out rich wild cherry fruit, that smells so fresh, in the mouth, full of nuanced woodland flowers and soil and vegetable full of dirt aromas. This shows the soft tannins of the vintage but not with the excessively easy structure. 92pts
Domenico Clerico - Monforte
Clerico is one of the original forces behind the modernist movement and I have to admit to being an admirer for years, though with some reservations. The wines produced here through the 1980s and into the mid-1990s seem to have not really evolved particularly well. It's not that they evolved poorly but rather seem to be a bit frozen and simply fading away with time rather than gaining nuance and complexity. I have to believe that this current set of releases will not undergo the same fate. As far as modernist wines go these are among the very best. Powerful, some loaded up with too much oak, but when Clerico gets everything right, which is more often than not, you do end up with a very fine, complex, and wonderful balanced bottle of Barolo.
2009 Clerico Barolo Bricotto - Monforte
The Bussia bottling was produced from 1978 through 1995. Clerico stoppedstopped production out of respect for Aldo Conterno: “Bussia is Aldo Conterno’s”. All production went into Arte, until 2007 when Clerico had decided that he had found his way with this Cru and Aldo Conterno had found a different way. Thus Bussia has returned with the name Bricotto.
Sold only in mags
Lovely woodsy aromas married to a dry toasted oak nose that shows light vanilla and milk chocolate notes over a base of floral, fine red fruits, red currant notes with a touch of herb spice. The oak becomes a decidedly spicy aspect here. Powerful, silky and open in the mouth with a rich core of cherry fruit touched with strawberries, and wrapped in oak tannins and wood spice, this reveals dry wood tannins on the midpalate with nice herb notes emerging on the backend followed by cut sour cherry fruit and tart strawberry notes. This is high acid and very tart red fruited for 2009 with plenty of oak showing. 90pts
2008 Clerico Barolo Pajana - Monforte
The chocolate woody nose is dark and slightly stewy with simple, sweet wood and vanilla aromas. This is a bit thick on entry, blocky with less underlying fruit, and a lot of wood tannin here, packed with tannins in fact. Fairly compact in the mouth with small red fruits and a little tobacco that is having a tough time competing with all the wood. 87pts
2008 Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin - Monforte
Earthy on the nose with layered notes of tobacco, some licorice, fennel, and much more Nebbiolo character. The oak is well integrated, with sweet toast here and vanilla notes along with some weedy character and red berry fruit. with some weedy character. Round, opulent and powerful in the mouth with wild red fruits, some lingonberry, currant and raspberry, all showing lots of depth. This is showing sweeter tannins than the other 08s here with good clarity, and good length in a very powerful style. Rich and harmonious. 93pts
2007 Clerico Barolo Aeroplan Servaj - Serralunga
Badarina cru
A bit stewy on the nose with dark fruit, framed by sweet medicinal notes, a bit of grilled beef, and sweet wild red fruits topped with a hint a of prune. Smooth on entry, and fairly high acid with dry tannins this shows a touch of cooked fruit quality in a very beefy, powerful without being dense style. Turning a bit ferrous on the palate, with some small wild cherry fruits and rich wild medicinal herbs, the oak grows on the nose turning the finish a bit peppery. A fairly good expression of Serralunga, sucking up the oak fairly well. 92pts
2005 Clerico Barolo Per Cristina - Monforte
Mosconi Cru
Lots of wood on the nose, a bit chocolately, with tobacco, mint, chocolate covered cherry aromas. This is surprisingly elegant on entry with nice focus, then the midpalate shows lots of wood tannin breaking above the dark fruit, rendering the wine rather simple. There’s nice depth on the palate, and this does show fine, tense sweet and slightly bitter herb tinged fruit under all the wood, but this is ultimately slathered in oak. 87pts
Giuseppe Rinaldi
One of the most traditional producer in all of Piedmont, and practicing organic to boot, these are wines that combine the power and elegance of Barolo in a fairly fruity style. In some ways these are some of the greatest tradional versions of Barolo, seeing as both wines are in fact blends and not crus. Recent changes in labelling laws might change things on that front but having tasted the 2010 Brunate from cask I have to admit that I would love to have that single vineyard wine in my cellar. In magnums please. These are wines that have their funky moments but a little bit of time, and faith seems to have worked wonders for me. Truly great wines that really must be tried and don't shy away from lesser vintages, they are often spectacular.
2009 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi Ravera
Bottled in March
Big fruit on the nose has a slight blueberry cast to it along with tobacco, nettle and spice accents and some sandy soil base notes. Elegant fine and transparent in the mouth this is fairly fruity, with nice inner mouth energy but it's not nervous The lovely wild raspberry fruit on the palate is supported by very ripe tannins and shows just a hint of tar on the backend with superb ripe fruit tannins This is really quite fruity today. 92pts
2009 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate le Coste
Smoky on the nose with deep notes of wild berry confiture topped with soil, tobacco, and rosebud aromas. This is dense, polished, and spicy on entry with wild berry fruit that shows a forest floor edge. Very tight today but with fabulous balance, this exhibits ripe tannins and integrated acids in a very elegantly balanced, if large scaled entry turning finer on the finish. No doubt that this needs time to knit together, but already shows excellent length, and lovely clarity on the back end, if a bit of heat on the finish. 93pts
Bartolo
Another arch traditionalist, who in this case produces a single Barolo blended from four vineyards. This is the epitome of elegance in Barolo, with a deceptive early stage when the wine can seem to light and easy followed by a long, slow growth curve as the wines add weight, power, depth and complexity. These wines have been getting better and better with the passage of time and continue to help set the benchmark for what Barolo can and should be. I hope these wines remains with us forever as they are a touchstone for the region.
2009 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo
Intense raspberry fruit, ripe with woodsy edges and mineral, tea, and tobacco highlights topped with a touch of red rose petals all greet the nose. Wide open, and a bit soft on entry then full of intriguing rosehip and raspberry fruit with a little apple skins note and hints of sandalwood on the palate. The tannins here are pretty ripe, but certainly prominent right through the slightly austere finish which shows some alcohol that is just barely perceptible. This has height and perfume in the mouth that is unusual for the vintage, with a fresh and traditional feel. 93pts
Oddero
Oddero continues to fly somewhat under the radar though with thier vineyard holdings in some of the top crus being produced in a fairly traditional style one has to wonder why that still is. The quality here can be a bit variable, due in part to the variety of crus, as well as the winemaking, which has varied a bit in the past for various wines. Today all the crus undergo malo in barrique before being transferred to large format wood while the Classico Barolo sees only large format wood. These are wines that almost always have surprised on the upside after cellaring, turning out quite elegant.
2009 Oddero Barolo Classico
From vineyard in Chiese, Fiasco, and Capalot
This sees 60 days with cappelllo somersso and large format wood. The crus see about 27 days followed by malo in barrique and a year in botte.
Light incense on the nose tops sweet raspberry and dusty cherry fruit aromas that pick up a cooked hot red soil, with an almost bricky and metallic tone to it. This is soft and almost lazy in the mouth, with decent tannin though this lacks focus in the mouth. There are nice flavors on the palate but this is not special, with a short finish in a style that is a bit clumsy. 86pts
2008 Oddero Barolo Classico
No cappello sommerso, 28 days fermentation. Cappello sommerso only used when the vintage allows for full ripeness of stems and seeds
Much more perfumed than the 09 with the same profile rich with soil tones, licorice, rose petals, and a nice deep green anise seed savoriness and minty top notes. Again this is a bit soft, and a bit round in the mouth with a opulence that's unusual for the vintage This shows fine depth, very classic Classico, rich with great follow through, nice tannic cut and red fruit on the finale. 88pts
2009 Oddero Barolo Villero - Castiglione Falletto
High toned and soil driven on the nose, which is a bit smoky with subtle, stemmy herb notes and a base of clay. Direct and aromatic on entry is a soft and opulent style that is fruit driven. This has a seamless fell to it but is lacking some energy in the mouth. There’s a rich core with big slightly leathery tannins that lead to a bright finish with impressive cut and fine complexity but again it lacks some energy. 89pts
2008 Oddero Barolo Villero - Castiglione Falletto
Tight and herbal on the nose with hints of rose petals and sweet bay leaf, over tight, focused rusty red fruits. This is a bit tight on entry but it shows lovely focus, with significant potential for complexity. Lively and long on the palate this shows great freshness to the tannins which build on the plum skin toned finish. 90pts
2009 Oddero Barolo Rocche - Castiglione Falletto
A little reticent on the nose but this builds fine tobacco notes, over great lingonberry fruit that shows a little wood sweetness, cigar box, and a little sweet Cognac cream note. Clear, firm, austere and bright in the mouth with red fruit cut by mineral notes in a powerful yet precise style. The tannins are ripe if just a touch bitter perhaps, though the are very well integrated with the black cherry fruit on the long, elegant finish. 93pts
2008 Oddero Barolo Rocche - Castiglione Falletto
A nice herbal edge shows up early on the nose followed by a fair amount of oak and leather. This is a bit soft with black fruit in the mouth in a fairly tannic, broad and low in the mouth style that is dark and muscular. It a bit small scaled, this none the less delivers lovely bitter black cherry fruit with a touch of a wild, animale character to it. 89pts
2008 Oddero Barolo Brunate - La Morra
Fresh if perhaps slightly fudgy on the nose which shows lots of ripe fresh fruit, a little smoky accent and a tight slightly vegetal floral topnote with lots of incipient tobacco character. In the mouth this is very fresh and a little tight, with good acids and nice abundant but ripe tannins supporting deep fresh if dark berry fruit, almost a little. Boysenberry. This finishes with power and depth delivering clean and bright fruit with excellent soil tone accents. A very complete wine. 93pts
2006 Oddero Barolo Brunate - La Morra
This and Bussia 2006 are being released this year
Tight and showing some woody spice sweetness on the nose along with hints of a fudge and camphor framing ripe cherry pit fruit. Here the tannins are starting to show some softness. This is rich and powerful with an elegance, firm tannin, and a savory finish, that remains firm, clear and youthful, if tight, with big tannins. This has a beautifully spiced nose with an attractive incense character. 93pts
2006 Oddero Barolo Bussia - Monforte
Soil, leather, and spiced black cherry fruit greet the nose topped with a bit of cocoa, rose petal and baked peach pie. Air reveals a bit of VA here along with a huge leather note, tinges of balsamic, and a touch of game. Really a killer nose with super complexity. This is big and rich on the palate with dark clear fruits that show a bit of herbal/vegetal character in a root vegetable kind of way along with great fennel notes. With a long ripe finish, dusty tannins, and fine extraction of clear black fruit this is a resounding success. 94pts
2005 Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda - Serralunga
What a gorgeous nose with fine, focused rose notes along with tobacco, a little spice, mineral, a touch of flint, blood and aged beef all coming together. This shows a tight and focused feel though it is fairly open on the midpalate but with tight tannins that through a net over the finish, which does shows a touch of heat. The flavors of red fruits on the palate gain a little smoky edge to them and while this is a bit reticent, and perhaps slightly small scaled, the balance is compelling, lending this a bit of a regal feel. 92pts
Altare - La Morra
Altare has been a leading light of the modernist movement for decades now and is probably the producer that stick as closely as possible tot he style that the modernists emerged with in the late 1990s. I have had and enjoyed several of those wines but have to say that the wines tasted here today are disappointing to say the least. I found them light in a way, with very hightoned aroamtics, but at the same time over-oaked and a bit inky on the palate. Maybe the oak will integrate well and I will be proven wrong about these wines ut at this stage they struck me as neither complete wines nor well balanced. I can't say I see the appeal in these wines.
2009 Altare Barolo
From vineyards just under the winery in La Morra, Pernanno in Castiglione, adjacent to Cerretta in Serralunga, no new wood though it does stay in barrique for two years.
Nice dried fruit base notes greet the nose along with a touch of oak, and hints of rose petals and licorice in this simple, high-toned and nicely aromatic wine. There are nice acids early on the palate with a little touch of heat followed by lots of woody tannins that may be sweet but they are there. There’s a nice core of fresh fruit here though the savory wood influences tend to cover most of it up, and the finish is all tannins both fruit and wood. A modest wine with a lot of tannin. 85pts
2009 Altare Barolo Arborina - La Morra
High toned and aromatic on the nose but with lots of wood spice, making this simple but intense. This is smooth and polished in the mouth with fine grained tannins, broad wild macerated cherry flavors with hints of licorice, medicinal herbs and a little bit of mint on the back end. Another wine with lots of tannins, just wood and fruit and not much follow through, collapsing on itself on the finish into a black hole extracted fruit and oak. 84pts
2007 Altare Barolo Cerretta - Serralunga
Two extra years in bottle
Dark and earthy on the nose with some prune fruit aromas integrating with toasty wood, medicinal herbs, and some baking spices. This is opulent with lots of power on entry, in a focused and relatively elegant style that is absorbing the tannin fairly well. Filled with dark and slightly anonymous fruit, there’s nice weight here, if this is a touch dense, with very attractive wild red berry fruit powering through on the rather short finish. This is still simple, very tannic and chewy. 87pts
Voerzio
Voerzio is among the most modern of producers, stressing low yields in the vineyard, and a modern style of winemaking that relies on tonneaux and barrique in the cellar. I have had a few Voerzio wines that I have enjoyed over the years, though they tend to not loose their oak but rather retain the powerfully concentrated fruit for quite some time. Today we were "lucky" to try the full line-up, though we were lead to believe these bottles were open only a day early, they all showed signs of oxidation that could lead to only two conclusions. Either these bottles had been opened for much longer, three or four days feels about right, or else these wine just will not age that well. Since I can't know for sure I will leave the conclusion up to you. These are divisive wines, powerful, packed and chewy but for the style they are not unsuccessful, tending to be richly packed with fruit and alcohol with rather soft, mature tannins.
2009 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio - La Morra
40 yo
Opened twenty hours
A nice lightly jammy wild cherry note spread over a cedar shingle that has that dry wood note of old grey wood greets the nose. This shows nice liquory red fruit, a little red curranty, in a smooth style with good clarity on the palate, nice acid cut and fine grained tannins that build on the palate. Fairly crisp, spicy strawberry fruit has to compete with lots of wood tannins on the finish, which is a bit short and fairly alcoholic, if filled with red fruits. 87pts
2009 Roberto Voerzio Barolo la Serra - La Morra
20 Year old vines, high density plantings
Nice notes of macerated flowers greets the nose along with wood spice, toasty oak, and some balsamic top notes. Nicely rich and powerful on entry with good clarity on the palate and lots of ripe fruit supported by nice ripe tannins lending this a broad and yet transparent feel on the palate. This shows a little oxidation on the backend with a little rusty edge and finishes fairly short, though this shows some potential. A bit chunky and fruity. 88pts
2008 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata Toriglione - La Morra
Filled with aromas of dark ripe fruit that have a bit of a sweet wild cherry coulis aspect to them are topped with meaty, balsamic, and dried beef perfumes. This is tight and slightly austere, very 2008 in character with nice acids and structural integration, though a little vegetable bouillon appears on the midpalate. This is integrating the wood fairly well, considering the powerful style here and the finish shows great length and good complexity. 91pts
2008 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate - La Morra
Older vines, low density plantings
Powerful aromas of beef blood, cinnamon, nutmeg, a touch of rust, dark fruit, and macerated medicinal herbs greet the nose. This is texturally packed on the palate, rich and yet with a touch of austerity. Nicely rounded tannins supported flavors that show flashes of mint and something vegetal along with a big follow through of root beer on the finish. This shows just a touch of alcohol and dry, chewy tannins on the moderately long finish. There’s a lot going on here but this is awfully dense today. 90pts
2003 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Fossati - Case Nere- La Morra
100% barrique, 20% new
Lots of ripeness on the nose, stewy and still oaky. This is fairly fresh on the palate considering the vintage, though it still shows some wood along with flavors of rich red fruits. This is a powerful wine with a rustic finish that shows a green edge to the tannins here. You can sense that this might be an elegant wine in another vintage, even here it has rather succulent acidity that help to support the cola backend and rather liquory dense, chewy finish. 88pts
Aldo Conterno
The wines of Aldo Conterno have gone through changes over the years, being among the top wines in the late 1980s before losing ground to other producers as the family went through a period of transition and change. Today the wines produced here are real standouts for the region. They are among the frankly fruitiest Barolos produced, and yet they retain the structure and feel of a more traditional wine. They are proving to be hugely successful with consumers, and while they are not exactly the style of Barolo I prefer, one can hardly argue with the hedonistic pleasure these wines provide. Given the changing of styles here it's hard to get a read on how these wines will age, but I would guess that for the most part they will be medium term as opposed to long term wines, best consumed within their first 20 years or with all that fruit, though I would be happy to be proven wrong.
“I'm tired of people betting on Barolo, Barolo is not a gamble, I feel that our Barolo should be expressing more primary fruit.” Giacomo Conterno
2009 Barolo Bussia - Monforte
26 months in Slavonian botte
Plots outside of the crus yet within Bussia
Wow wild cherry, menthol, rose petal, a touch of exotic fruit, pomegranate maybe with a hint of India ink all greet the nose with power and clarity. In the mouth this is pretty easy going with lots of pretty fresh yet simple if juicy, red fruits. There’s a nice tannic finish here with tons of licorice flavors and this is awfully well behaved, holding its alcohol very well at 15.3%. This is a bit Barolo-lite in a way, but this is very true to type and enjoyable, tart cherry, raspberry and plum notes with hints of rosehips and dried citrus rinds adding some detail to the inner mouth perfumes. This is a very fruity Barolo. 89pts
2009 Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello - Monforte
5400 bottles
More la morra style soil, more florl, more magnesium and manganese in the soil, others more clay in the soil so earthier, 360 meters, cicada is 405, romirascois 410
6 weeks skin contact, 26 months in botte
Rather perfumed and frankly fruity on the nose with a touch of carob and anise seed accenting rose petal flecked sour cherry and pomegranate fruit,all gaining a hint of white pepper and dusty white soil tones with air. Very smooth in the mouth with good acids and ripe tannins creating a wine that is both a bit dense and relaxed in the mouth with a fine core of wild red berry fruit, more lingonberry than cherry with leather, tree bark, soil and mineral notes all adding details. This does lack some energy in the mouth which may be a result of the vintage but this is rich and a little chewy on the back end, followed by a moderately long finish that shows a hint of mushroom and well framed, slightly candied raspberry fruit. 91pts
2009 Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala - Monforte
3.2 hectares, the steepest portion of the vineyard, 5800 bottles
Six weeks of skin contact, 29 months wood
Deep and rich on the nose with intense fruit, mineral and floral aromas that are a little wild, a little sauvage with salumi and cocoa accents, topped by slightly medicinal and minty accents. Cool and compact on the palate, this has both richness and edginess with a lovey hint of sweetness to the wild cherry fruit on the palate. Here are some savory notes here, something minty/licorice and aromatic in the mouth. The tannins here are more angular than with the previous wines, and while this might be a little dense and weighty in the mouth this is a classy, intense, powerful and fruit driven wine. 92pts
2009 Aldo Conterno Barolo Romirasco - Monforte
3.8 hectares, 4900 bottles
31 months in wood
Super floral on the nose with intense perfumes of Middle Eastern spices, green spices, and turmeric. Smooth, polished and elegant on entry this exhibits lots of depth on the palate with good clarity even if this is a little chewy. The wild cherry fruit on the palate is intense without being frooty, carrying with it a lovely astringent edge. The fruit here definitely has wild candy notes with an innate sweetness one the palate, but it is also quite seamless with tannins that float away on the finish. This shows more heat than the previous two wines, though it also finishes with more savory and mineral accents to the small astringent red fruits that show fine persistence, though in the end one does find a little bubble gum fruitiness. People are going to love this. It’s structured and fruity! 93pts
2005 Aldo Conterno Barolo Granbussia - Monforte
Used to be five week skin contact, malo during assembly of the crus, now starting with 2005 two months skin contact and co-fermented crus
Tight, muscular and angular on the mineral laced nose that shows excellent perfumes of rosehips, orange rind, dried flowers with a hint of iron and spice. This is gorgeous with excellent integration in the mouth. Just lovely with wide open fruit that shows a lightly burnished edge, with a light sweetness to the fruit but this is layered with savory, spiced, and dried herbs and floral elements. There’s a reserved sense of power to this wine with lovely follow through to the dusty, wild raspberry fruit on the finish. This is elegant and refined, with excellent complexity and length. 94pts
Giuseppe Mascarello
As we end this tour of Piedmont we come to my two favorite producers. First we arrive at Guiseppe Mascarello, a traditionalist who might even be doing something that are perhaps considered technically incorrect, and whose wines can be among the most deceptive, reticent, and frankly disappointing during periods in their youth but given time these wines explode with complexity and richness. These are terroir wines, very much of their place, and in the case of Monprivato are made from one of the few grand Cru vineyards in the Langhe. The track record established by Monprivato is an enviable one and the fact that the wine is produced in relatively large quantities, for the region,means that this world class wine remains affordable. I can't stress enough how fantastic these wines are and how they remain great values. Other vineyards also have produced some amazing wines, though with less consistency. The 2008 Santa Stefano is a knockout, as was the 2006 Villero.
2008 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Villero - Castiglione Falletto
Freshly opened bottle
Tight and clay driven on the nose, which also features aromas of rosehips, hot tar, fennel and wild strawberry. This is a pretty powerful wine, deep round and balsamic with very clear, lovely minerality, balsamic and floral highlights to the rusty red fruit all coming together in a light tight finish. There’s a beautiful ripeness to the tannins here with a little baking spice on the moderately long finish. This is decisive and elegant. 93pts
2008 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Santo Stefano – Monforte
Freshly opened bottle
25 to 27 days on the skins, aged in 30HL to 35HL botte depending on quantities.
Dark slightly minty and slightly herbal carob tinged wild raspberry fruit greets the nose followed by deep rosepetals and a little thistle. Powerful and dry on entry with superb acidity supporting raspberry fruit with a hint of red plum, pomegranate , and some rust notes on the transparent mid-palate. The finish is long, powerful and austere with a nice herb tinged spiciness to it. There might be a touch of alcohol showing on the finish but this is exceptionally well balanced and complete. 94pts
2008 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato - Castiglione Falletto
From a bottle open for 24 hours
Gorgeous nose filled with small strawberry and lingonberry fruit topped with intense rose petal aromatics, a little almost cinnamon sweetness, a hint of hazelnut nutella and a nice dusting of talc. Bright and decisive on entry with soft tannins gently supporting almost sweet wild strawberry fruit. There are accent notes of rust, macerated flowers, and a hint of spice here all presented in a clear and tense style built upon lovely acidity. This exhibits length, purity and elegance, with such such clarity on the palate. It is a classic in the making. 94pts
2004 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Riserva Monprivato Ca d'Morissio - Castiglione Falletto
Herb stem notes and limestone greet the nose followed by tart fruits, watermelon rind, salami, hanging game, and an incipient truffle note. This is tense in the mouth and showing a bit of density but remains wildly transparent. Elegant and with the sneaky power of Mascarello, this is a tough stage to be trying this as it’s chewy and long with tons of tightly packed sweet fine grained tannins leading to a long mineral laced and woodsmoked topped finish. This is just beautiful, but it does need 20 years. 95pts
2003 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Riserva Monprivato Ca d'Morissio - Castiglione Falletto
Big fruit on the nose but it's fresh, lightly smoky, broad, and sweet with dried orange rind notes, and hints of earth and rosewater. Very front loaded in the mouth with a round feel and nice mineral cut leading to a mid-palate that shows acids that seem a touch low. This is fairly classic with good complexity but this shows a little simple today, though with excellent freshness and power through the rich, tannic finish. This still has a lot in reserve. 93pts
Giacomo Conterno
Who produces the single finest wine of Barolo? You might get quite a few different answers tot his question but if you take a considered look that includes a historical perspective as well as the current release wines you would be hard pressed not to select Giacomo Conterno's Monfortino. For me there is no doubt and over the years I have put more Giacomo Conterno wines in my cellar than any other producer's. Having said that I buy very little today, not because the wines aren't still among the very best, in the world that is, but rather because the wines are receiving the recognition that they deserve and prices have risen accordingly. In absolute terms though these wines remain fairly priced, they are gorgeous wines, traditional yet cleaner and more precise than they have been in the past. The mMnfortino though is a wine for young people, as it takes two to three decades in the cellar in order to really hit its sweet spot. These are simply amazing wines and if you can't afford them you should make friends with someone who can. They are simply not to be missed.
2009 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - Serralunga
A bit of wild mint and diesel shows up early on the nose along with some macerated huckleberry fruit. In the mouth this is tight, powerful and smooth, with acidity that is perhaps a touch low. Building slowly on the palate, this shows lots of chewy fruit skin tannins in a very young and unformed stage of its evolution. There’s real lightness and elegance here with limestone on the backend that really grows on the finish. The elegance and purity of fruit is attractive here but this does seem a bit soft and reticent today. Everything is in its place and the acidity does add some lift on the backend so I can’t imagine this not improving, still it seems like it will be fairly obvious. 92pts
2010 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - Serralunga
Barrel sample - Incredible nose powerful and already complex, really like potpourri on the nose along with the essence of Nebbiolo black cherry fruit. This is mouth filling if transparent, with, awesome acidity, ripe tannins that are totally refined, really perfect ripeness, and fine stony fruit in the mouth and through the exceptionally long finish. This is going to make people cry. Best ever? 96-98pts
Elegance of 1985 with the power of 1989
2010 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cerretta – Serralunga
Two hectares, 6000 bottles
Thinking of bottling in magnum single bottle case
Barrel sample - Powerful on the nose in a dark, tarry, stepped tea kind of way with aromas that are a little nutty and slightly vegetal with a touch of marmite, herbal/floral inky violets undertone. Powerful and smooth with bigger sweeter fruit than the Cascina Frnancia supported by super ripe tannins and great acidity. The succulent fruit is a little chewy and a touch rustic on the finish with real persistence to the fruit. The alcohol shows a touch on the finish. 93-95pts
2006 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino - Serralunga
A saturation of wild cherry, chamomile, slightly spicy heather and pink peppercorn aromas fill the nose. This is just so intensely fruity, with smoky, mineral and menthol notes adding complexity. Chewy with powerful acidity and packed with ripe tannins, this is powerful, deep and packed with wild berry fruit, steeped tea, and dried herbs flavors. The mineral backbone here is phenomenal, and while this is very tannic, it is also very focused and tense with a long finish that, this keeps hammering away on the palate. Imagine smashing cherries on limestone with an old wooden hammer. Now imagine loving that. 96pts
Tenuta Montanello
Tenuta Montanello is a large estate in Castiglione Falletto occupying the ridge just to the north of Monprivato and roughly adjacent to Cavallotto's Bricco Boschis. The wines have improved during the relatively brief existence of the winery, since about 2000, and additional replantings of the vineyard should yield positive results in the coming decades. Today the Barolo is a little on the light side and as such shows its oak rather obviously, though I expect the potential of this Cru to slowly reveal itself as the vines mature and the proprietors become more confident with their work
2008 Tenuta Montanello Barolo - Castiglione Falletto
One year in French barrique, on third new. A second year in botte in six to eight-year-old Slavonian botte.
Wood on the nose immediately, a little sweet, cinnamon sugar and toasty spice lends this a nice woodsy note with a little stemmy spice just a touch green adding some freshness and detail. This is soft broad and a bit diffuse on the palate with a nice load of tannins but the wood tannins are more obvious. Showing nice fruity aromas of wild cherries, this shows good integration of oak on the backend as the wine finds a bit of a center. A bit small scaled and leaning more towards the modern than the traditional this retains a light, fairly airy feel to it. 87pts
Having just returned from visiting three dozen wineries in Piedmont I sit ready to start processing all that I’ve learned but to be honest I have come away from my annual visits distinctly confused. Perhaps it’s the vintage I’ve just tasted, 2009 in Barolo, a wildly inconsistent and unusual vintage to say the least. Then again perhaps it’s the producers themselves, a cross section of styles that span from the most modern to the most traditional. Before I get into the styles it’s worth spending some time on the vintage itself to help frame what is to come.
2009 is being described as a vintage much like the 2007s, a product of a warm vintage reflected in the wines. That is a lazy way to go about describing 2009, easy to explain yet essentially meaningless as the two vintages produced crops that were quite disparate, and for notably different reasons. Today the fashion is to simply split the vintages in Piedmont into two categories, conveniently denoted by the year. Even years since 2004 have been cooler and more classic while odd years have been hotter and more opulent. The quality of the weather on the face of it is relatively true, but the wines each vintage has produced are distinctly different.
If you speak with winemakers you’ll hear a broad diversity of opinions on 2009, with each winemaker speaking of their own experiences, but if you take the time to pull all the details together a clear picture emerges. 2009 was irregular, born of a cool damp spring issues at flowering emerged later in the year, and were surprisingly exacerbated by fine weather towards the end of the growing season. A better way of separating the even and odd years might be along the division of work that went into making great wines. In the even years the quality of the wines could be made in the cellar, but in those odd years if you didn’t get everything right in the vineyards you were toast.
I don’t want to go into too much detail about the 2007 vintage, what I wrote two years ago <http://www.snooth.com/articles/2007-barolo/?viewall=1>>still stands as correct and my opinion of the vintage remains largely unchanged, though some wines have managed to avoid the excess of that year and are evolving quite nicely. In contrast the harvest in 2009 occurred under warm skies, and in fact under weather that was almost perfect allowing for an extended hang time, which worked to some producer’s advantage, but not all.
To begin with it’s worth noting that the winter of 2008-2009 was one of abundant snowfall, which lead to a cool damp spring, which interfered with flowering. Here is where the story really begins. Rains in 2009 came right during flowering, along with cool temperatures. This resulted in an unusually long and in effect two phase flowering. Unlike in 2007 when flowering occurred a week early, in 2009 the flowering occurred relatively on schedule. Temperatures throughout May and June were typical for the season then towards the end of July the heat set it in, an unrelenting heat that was not far above normal but was uninterrupted leading to an accumulation of heat that tightened up the diurnal shift that is so important for maintaining freshness in Nebbiolo. That heat that stressed the vines to their limits but in most cases the vines did not suffer significant hydric stress. All the water reserves from the previous winter’s snows and spring’s rain proved sufficient to get the vines through the worst of the heat, which included ten days of very hot weather towards the second half of August.
Interestingly most producers seem to feel that while the season was hot it was not the heat in and of itself that formed the character of the vintage. More than one producer commented on the unrelenting sunshine that was both unusual and posed problems for them. Skilled canopy management was of the utmost importance in 2009, and not everyone was up to that task.
Two things happened in late August that began to shape the character of the vintage. The first was that the weather began to break. Producer’s recollections vary but towards the very end of August or early September the nights in particular began to cool down and the weather returned to the typical end of summer pattern that featured seasonally warm days and cool nights. The second was that split flowering in the spring began to pose problems for producers with vineyards bearing two crops, one in line with the season, another lagging behind by a few weeks. How producers dealt with this odd hand ultimately determined what their wines would be like.
Here’s where things gets a bit sticky. It’s worth noting that some producers really nailed the 2009s. Those who harvested a bit early, ten days seems to be their average, produced lovely wines, ripe and full of fruit, but with good acidity and fine tannins supporting that fruit. Others, who missed the mark, and in this vintage that seems to mean most producers ended up producing a range of wines that featured low acids, hard tannins, high alcohols, and amazingly immediate and sweetly fruited wines.
There are two explanations for the character of the vintage, and they seem to fit together seamlessly. The first was that split flowering. Producers, like Aldo Conterno for example, who made multiple passes through the vineyards dropping fruit managed to discard the fruit that was lagging and ended up with an evenly ripened crop. Other producers who chose not to be as diligent had two choices, pick early when the main crop was ripe, or later when everything was past a certain measure of ripeness. Neither choice produced great wines. Those who chose the first option produced medium bodied fruity wines with big everything, fruit, acids, and tannins, many of which where green. Those who waited until everything was ripe ended up with high alcohols and low acids, and even some green tannin since their crop loads were a bit high.
Interestingly this was not a vintage that favored those who cropped too low. Many producers managed to achieve higher alcohols in 2009 than they did in the so-called cool vintage of 2008. When asked how they managed such a feat I was repeatedly told that they got through the season with more canopy and higher yields, which allowed the vines to stay in balance given the heat, sunshine, and water that was available to them.
The party line on 2009 is that it is a warm vintage, fruity with supple tannins, but honestly nothing could be further from the truth. There really is no way to generalize about this vintage. Those who nailed it produced rich wines, full of fruit but with good acidity and plenty of ripe tannins for support. Not the stuff legends are made of but very complete in a somewhat softer style, a successful warm climate wine that is perfect for early consumption, and yet should age well for up to three decades. There are plenty of tannins to these wines, the question I have as tot heir ageing is more related to the powerful rich fruit which may not stand the test of time.
Now it’s the time to take a look at the style of wine, loosely placed on a spectrum from modernist to traditionalist for whatever that might be worth. There comes a point when a wine has to stand for something. As it turns out the modernist-traditionalist spectrum is no longer a satisfactory way to identify wines that seem to stand for Barolo, another gradation is needed. We as Barolo lovers need to identify what marks Barolo. For me it is simple, the wines need to taste like Nebbiolo grown in a certain place, and there are quite a few wines that simply taste like Nebbiolo, Nebbiolo grown in any place. Simply put that is not enough to be great Barolo. There are many wines that continue to be intriguing examples of Barolo but I won’t be putting them in my cellar.
I’ve struggled with the issue of how to deal with these wines. They are well thought of and highly regarded but they just don’t taste like Barolo to me. In large part it is the same old problem with the extreme modernist wines, very short macerations and excessive use of oak. To say that these wines are difficult to taste in their youth is an understatement, and that was the goal of the modernists at their outset. In that regard they have failed miserably. Perhaps they will age into something more resembling Barolo, which is entirely possible, but I am not convinced, though I remain open-minded. In fact I’ve already begun organizing a blind tasting of the 2001 vintage which will include two dozen producers, both my favorites as well as these most modern of modernists.
In an effort to put the notes that follow in context I’m including a brief synopsis of the house style for each of the wineries I visited on this trip. I’ve placed them in an order of sorts using imprecise yet familiar nomenclature.
First Growth
Giacomo Conterno – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Giuseppe Mascarello – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Cappellano- A traditionalist producing classic, old school Barolo
Elvio Cogno – A traditionalist producing classic elegant wines.
Produttori del Barbaresco - – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Domenico Clerico – A modernist producing powerful wines closely tied to their terroir.
Giuseppe Rinaldi – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Bartolo Mascarello - A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Second growths
Luigi Baudana (produced by Vajra) – Traditional wines that blend in some modernist softness and purity yet retain the rusticity and power of their terroir
Francesco Rinaldi – A traditionalist producing classic if sometimes delicate wines.
E. Pira - A straddler moving from more modern to more traditional producing elegant, refined, aromatic wines.
Gianni Canonica – A traditionalist producing exceptionally pure and transparent wines.
Elio Grasso – Another stylistic straddler producing surprisingly elegant and bright wines.
Cascina delle Rose - – A traditionalist producing classic wines.
Fratelli Oddero - A traditionalist producing classic, old school Barolo
Vietti – A winery that now straddles the line between modern and traditional, with wines that are elegant and perfumed.
Third growths
Barale – A traditionalist producing classic, old school Barolo
Guido Porro – A traditionalist who coaxes tons of fruit from his vines that conceal big structure and rarely obscures terroir.
Rivella Serafino – A traditionalist producing classic old-school Barbaresco.
Cavallotto – A mostly traditional producer whose wines have been irregular but are true to their terroir
Massolino – Moving back to the traditionalist camp, these are fine, somewhat fruity and supple examples from Serralunga with a new Barolo from Castiglione that is a powerhouse in 2009.
Aldo Conterno – A straddler producing remarkably fruity wines that have significant terroir fingerprints and some classic Barolo character.
G. D. Vajra – Mostly a traditionalist whose wines are pretty and easy but lack some depth
Luciano Sandrone – More modern that not, these are well made wines that lack some complexity for me
Fourth growths
Luigi Pira – A bit of a modernist with the rotofermenters wines that can make the wines seem over extracted and clumsy at times.
Josetta Saffirio – Modern approachable wines that are curiously fruity and on that level a success.
Cantina del Pino – A straddler producing elegant, delicate wines.
Tenuta Montanello – A straddler producing elegant wines where the oak seems a bit obvious.
Fifth growths
Cordero de Montezemolo Monfalletto - A winery that produces fairly soft, modern wines using fairly traditional techniques. Their Enrico VI Barolo is a step above the rest of the wines produced here.
Marchese di Gresy – Another straddler where the use of oak can be inelegant
Scavino – A modernist producing soft, supple wines that lack some typicity
Elio Altare – A modernist producing light, perfumed wines that are very fruit forward.
Roberto Voerzio – A modernist producing powerful fruit driven wines.
Wineries visited this year
Josetta Saffirio - Monforte
Josetta Saffirio is a winery still finding their way, though it does seem as though they have found a path forward. The wines are very drinkable in a fruity, fairly modern but not oaky nor extracted style. Some may find them to be too fruity and frankly graph but for what they are they are quite attractive and easy to enjoy.
2008 Josetta Safffirio Barolo Persiera 14%
2000 bottles produced
Spicy on the nose and tight with a dusty overtone to the rosepetal and slightly minty wild cherry fruit framed with rose hips and camphor. Soft on entry, then this shows fine acid and lovely, slightly aggressive crisp tannins. The fruit has a bit of black raspberry to it and is very fresh and clear on the palate with just a hint of wood sweetness and oak flavors contributing complexity. Rather classically structured with lovely herb tinged wild cherry fruit on the moderately long finish. Has a nice, expressive core of fruit. 91pts
2007 Josetta Saffirio Barolo 14%
10,000 bottles produced
Chalky on the nose with an herbal extract note with leathery and slight campfire like accents. A little compact but with excellent depth and a lovely roundness that doesn't obscure the detail here. There's fine acidity and plenty of ripe tannins supporting the slightly medicinal core of wild blackberry and slightly grapy fruit. The finish is short and tight at this point, but this gains fine length with rich fruit and a fine spiced edge all leading up to a finely fruited finale. Excellent for the vintage. 90pts
2007 Josetta Saffirio Barolo Reserva Millenovecento48 14%
2000 bottles produced
A little tight, just a touch fudgy with black fruit and some attractive spice notes all wrapped up with sweet rose petals and a touch of chocolate covered orange peel. Silky on entry with soft burnished black cherry fruit that is supported by finely integrated acidity. This peaks early in the mouth and shows a hint of dryness on the midpalate that leads to a bit of a short finish. Very refined and broad on the palate but this lacks some freshness and detail. The finish shows good fruit and significant powerful tannins. There's a little sweetness here that sort of balances the dryness but it's a powerfully built wine that also shows a bit of heat.
2009 Josetta Saffirio Barolo 14%
A tight little nose with gamy rose hips, rose petals, and faint red curranty fruit. This is round and immediately red fruited on entry with red cherry and raspberry fruit that shows a soft sweetness and fine strawberry seed spice. Tannins are well managed, present but unobtrusive with juicy acidity and a nice watermelon undertone to the fruitiness. Really fine wild cherry fruit on the moderately long finish that shows a fine medicinal edge. Fruity yet in a fairly classic style with super ripe tannins. 91pts
2009 Josetta Saffirio Barolo Persiera 14%
This opens with a deep herbal streak on the nose full of ivy and cactus, followed by an assertive floral note and fine raspberry fruit over sandy soil tones with a hint of wood spice. Showing a little roundness early on the palate, this has slightly more aggressive tannins than the 2009 Barolo Classico from Saffirio, with more savory complexity but less obviously sweet fruit. The finish is long and taut with a deep mineral streak and wild bitter cherry fruit. Another wine that shows abundant ripe tannins supporting savory complexity. 91pts
Monfalletto Cordero de Montezemolo - La Morra
Monfalletto is a historic property in La Morra that has managed to straddle the modernist/traditional line in many ways. The wines are solid and reliable, if rarely exciting though their Barolo from the Villero cru, Enrico VI does outperform the line-up.
Barolos see six days of maceration, then another ten days or so off the skins to ferment until dry. The Crus here are aged exclusively in barrique while the Monfalleto sees a larger variety of wood, toast, and size depending on the vintage.
2009 Cordero de Montezemolo Barolo Bricco Gattera
5000-5500 bottles produced
The best part of the Cru with the maximum expression of Monfalleto.
Cedary, spicy, and floral on the nose with rose notes and incipient aromas of tobacco, Round and rather rich in the mouth with dark, almost meaty cherry fruit framed by nice spice notes and a touch of camphor and tobacco. There are plenty of tannins and good acidity here though a little too much oak with some wood tannin obvious on the palate but this has some very attractive fruit with incipient tobacco and macerated floral notes. 90pts
2009 Cordero de Montezemolo Barolo Monfalletto
Draws fruit from nine hectares, 45,000 bottles
Toasty wood, cherries in alcohol and a touch of truffle greets the nose with a hint of herb adding some detail. Silky and soft on entry with nice ripe cherry fruit framed with hints of strawberry. This is broad and relatively clear on the palate with good acids and fine grained tannins that build on the moderately long finish. Nice if a bit simple. 88pts
2009 Cordero de Montezemolo Enrico VI - Castiglione Falletto (Villero)
9000 to 10000 bottles produced
More masculine with earthy base notes of fine dark fruit and black tea on the nose. This works with the wood better than the other wines here, showing a richness on entry, deep and elegant with a fleshy feel to the dark cherry fruit with a little black currant note and a fine earthy herbal edge to it. This has fine depth on the palate, powerful and complex with very pretty fruit that really pops on the backend and excellent length to the licorice and spice toned finish. This shows a fleshy richness that the others bottlings here don't with apparently softer acids,or simply more buffering flesh, 92pts
Vietti - Castiglione Falletto
The wines of Vietti have been somewhat of a moving target over the past decade or so, with changes from vintage to vintage. Today they've settled down into a style that is very clean and fruit driven, though the wines are classically structured. These have for years been among my favorite Piedmontese wines, but with the change in style I'm not as convinced as tot heir long term arability, not that that is a sign of quality.
The protocol for Barolo since 2010 is roughly:
All Barolo is fermented with a submerged cap and the length of fermentation/maceration is dictated by the development of the tannins in the wine though typically Brunate goes for about 21 too 24 days, Lazzarito a few days more, Villero about 30 days and Rocche five weeks
Brunate and Lazzarito then spend 3 to 5 months in barrique then at least two years in botte
Roche and Villero undergo malo in barrique then right to botte for at least two years
Typically about 20% of barriques are new
2009 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Castiglione Falletto
Spicy on the nose with notes of salted plum, dark cherry in alcohol with a touch of prune, tar and menthol, This is a little soft on entry though with nice tannic cut to the burnished fruit, that turns spicy and mineral earth rich on the back end, This is quite clear in the mouth, full of liquory wild strawberry and wild bitter cherry fruit and packed with fruit tannins on the fine aromatic finish with it’s hints of of citrus rind, and sapid, spiky acids that lead to a pop of cherry fruit on the finale. A pretty elegant wine in the making. 93pts
2009 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito - Serralunga
This is tighter on the nose with wood that is a touch more obvious though fairly well integrated into the dark and earthy aromas of chalk and bitter medicinal herb roots that yield to lovely notes of dried roses, balsamic, strawberry fruit, necco wafers, and a touch of menthol. At first spicy, then a little soft on entry, if decidedly clear and firm on the full bodied mid-palate that is tannic but not weighty. There are lots of dark, earthy flavors here that lead to a big cherry in alcohol finish that is long, focused and full of lots of firm tannins all culminating in a hint of truffle on the finale. 92pts
2009 Vietti Barolo Brunate - La Morra
Balsamic on the nose with a bit of new wood showing over sadny soil tones and dusty, perfumed rose and strawberry aromas. Soft on entry with a chewy, fruit driven feel that features small red fruits with a slight jammy edge and a pop of strawberry on the backend. While this seems plush at first it’s actually packed with with plenty of angular tannins that cut the finish short, though the hints of lingonberry and very aromatic rose petals and balsamic aromas on the finish are promising. 90pts
2009 Vietti Barolo Castiglione
Attractive mint, herb, and watermelon aromas greet the nose. On entry one finds tart cherry fruit delivered in a soft, broad style that is wide open today. Easy to drink already, this shows flashes of mushrooms and an earthiness that helps to frame the red fruit, turning fairly tannic on the modest finish. Perhaps a little light but elegant and really quite attractive and freshening. 88pts
Elio Grasso - Monforte
I've had a bit of a difficult time over the years with the wines of Elio Grasso, finding them excellent in the late 1980s-1990s, then less attractive through the early 2000s when the style, or perhaps it was just the weather at these warm vineyards, seems to have changed. The wines seem to have recently taken on a more elegant feel to them with a decidedly fresher palate profile.
2009 Elio Grasso Barolo Vigna Chiniera - Monforte
Tends to have more sandy in soil, and is cooler than Casa Mate
Jammy fruit on the nose with a prune edge to the strawberry jam aromas that picks up subtly sweet and herbal rose petal note and a hint of cooked beetroot with some air. Broad with some tannin showing up before the acidity kicks in, this is a touch on the soft side full of ripe if slightly dull cherry fruit and packing considerable tannin. The tannin really clamps down on the finish and it's a bit on the dry side. Powerful but without finesse, though it does have a lovely core of limestone backed wild cherry fruit. 91pts
2009 Elio Grasso Barolo Casa Mate - Monforte
Spicy nose with deep earth, leather, tar and cherries in alcohol aromas. This is rather more classic than the Chiniera with incipient fungi and first floor aromas. Rich and round with riper tannins than the Chiniera, this has a lovely core of fruit, lightly spicy yet very aromatic in the mouth with tar, soil, and herb nuances framing the bitter cherry fruits. Really finely structured and balanced with excellent length, This has some palate staining depth of flavor and while it is a touch on the rich, soft side reflecting the vintage it is really finely crafted. 93pts
2007 Elio Grasso Barolo Runcot - Monforte
Lots of fine wild raspberry and strawberry aromas framed with some sweet vanilla and smoky cedary notes and a touch of fennel and rosehips greet the nose. Opulent and lush on the palate, this is packed with rich red fruits framed with a hint of coffee bean and some gentle herbal nuances. The oak is remarkably well integrated on the palate but does become more obvious on the finish with a drying center back of tongue quality to the tannins. Slightly chewy red cherry fruits on the palate, with some light mint and spice notes on the backend that drive the moderately long licorice laced finish that is cut short by the wood tannins, this is awfully good but the load of wood tannins is slightly troubling. 92pts
2001 Elio Grasso Barolo Casa Mate
A little tight and herbal on the nose with lovely small cherry fruit, that really explodes on the nose showing a macerated edge and lovely leather and clay accents, with a slight hint of carob on the nose that grows in intensity, Fine acids greet the palate, with tannins showing a touch of roundness supporting lovely strawberry and tobacco laced fruit with wild bitter cherry notes. This is lovely with raspberry tinged fruit still very young but in an in-between phase. There’s lots of licorice on the backend and through the long finish, which shows some beet root. There’s lovely richness here with ripe tannins lending attractive tension to the elegant and long palate. No rush to drink this. 92pts
Guido Porro - Serralunga
Guido Porro is no longer the secret it once was, and the prices for the wines have increased, though they remain among the greatest bargains in Piedmont. There is no doubt that Guido's wines are rich and frankly fruity, particularly for Serralunga, but his wines are very convincing with a fairly traditional feel to them. The only knock against his wines would be that he is not afraid of alcohol, though I have only rarely felt the wines to be out of balance.
2009 Guido Porro Barolo Seivi
A new name for the base blended Barolo
Tight, sharp, and spicy on the nose with herbal notes framing black cherry in alcohol aromas and just a touch of truffle and dried orange peel working their way in here. This is wide open, on the palate with soft tannins, fine acids, and lovely burnished cherry fruit that shows off woodsy accents and deep rose petals on the lively, rich, firm mid-palate. This finishes with a long, aromatic and bright amarena cherry and floral quality but it certainly doesn't lack alcohol. Nicely done if a bit hot. 89pts
2009 Guido Porro Barolo Santa Caterina- Serralunga
Produced from 40 year old vines with South Eastern exposure in Lazzairasco Cru. 28 days on the skins in 2009, though the minimum is 15 to 18 days vintage dependant. This spends three years in 25 Hl slavonian oak.
4000 bottles
Production will go up to 6,000 bottles with new plantings that replaced dolcetto and small additions to the bottom of the vineyard.
This has a very direct nose with an early hint of tobacco, followed by icy mineral notes framed with an herbal nuance. This smells icy cool. On entry this is a little tight if fine and firm with tannins that show an edge of austerity. The mid palate is rich with lovely mineral laced rose petal and bramble framed black cherry fruit, that leads to a finish that is a bit tight and short, but does show some sneaky length,
A second bottle open three days prior was, more open but still tight if spicy with limestone notes and some small wild black raspberry flavors. Broader but still tense in the mouth, it displayed a really nice combination of rich ripe fruit that doesn't cross the line and fine lacy structure, with a modesty minty and medicinal finish.
An aggregate score for the two bottles: 91pts
2009 Guido Porro Barolo Lazzairasco - Serralunga
Produced from 70 year old vines with a south/southwest exposition within the cru, this saw 24 days of skin contact and three months in botte.
More direct on the nose, which is really enticing with a slightly dusty, tea leaf, medicinal, and faintly woodsy aspect to the big prune in alcohol aromas. This is more open on the palate with that little woodsy, note accenting the core of dark cherry and plum fruit. This falls somewhere in the middle of the vintage stylistically with soft tannins, nice depth of fruit, and an excellent open feel, al leading to nice tension on the finish which shows dusty tannins and big licorice aromas,
A second bottle which had been opened ten days prior
Shows some evolution with a spicy, mushroom and camphor framed core of wild macerated raspberry fruit. This really broadens on the palate and sweetness up in the mouth with excellent late arriving depth of herb flecked macerated cherry and plum fruit, finishes with full tannins that are a touch dry,
An aggregate score for the two bottles: 93pts
Massolino - Serralunga
Massolino has gone back and forth over the years in regards to their style. Franco Massolino freely admits to trying just about everything to improve his wines, and also freely admits that some efforts were mistaken. Today the wines have returned to a rather classic style and are as good or better than ever. the 2009 Margheria in particular was a beautifully elegant wine deserving more attention.
2009 Massolino Barolo - Serralunga
15 to 18 days of maceration then aged in botte
Tight and small on the nose with wet dark earth, rose hips, fine earth, camphor, and wild cherry Aromas. This is soft and easy on entry with a nice freshness to the earthy wild cherry fruit. This is quite simple, hitting that earthy wild cherry note right through the moderately long finish and while this may not be the most complex Barolo around it is an excellent entry point for people. This shows the soft tannins that were possible in 2009. 88pts
2009 Massolino Barolo Margheria - Serralunga
1985 was the first year of production for Margheria
Produced from 35 year old vines in soils that are relatively sandy and chalky so the cru tends to produce wines that are lighter and more elegant. This wine comes from vines that face southeast and are located mid-slope within the cru.
Maceration typically lasts for 3 weeks followed by two and a half years in wood.
Super fine on the nose with high toned wild strawberries framed with fine spice notes. This shows a gentle sweetness on entry in a style that is very open and very transparent. There are lovely mineral notes early on the palate followed by pure red fruit with very clean woodsy spice notes and rose hip accents powering the moderately long finish. This is very pretty, and elegant really remarkable clarity on the palate, 93pts
The wines are vilified pretty much the same to underline the difference terroir makes
2009 Massolino Barolo Parafada
From vines that are about sixty years old, with full southern exposure planted on compact soils of fossil rich marn that deliver low yields and powerful wines.
Big and intense on the nose with lots of spice, licorice, strawberry jam, bit of prune, touch of cocoa and something gently floral. This is dense and a touch raw in the mouth with lovely freshness to the fruit, Again one finds nice clarity but the Margheria has this beaten on texture today. There’s big depth of to the wild cherry and stone flavors that lead to a clean finish that shows quite a bit tannic weight and minty and camphor aromatics. This show age quite well. 91pts
2009 Massolino Barolo Parussi - Castiglione Falletto
First vintage was 2007
Big fruit on the nose, which shows of aromas of cherries and rose petals along with something sweet and carob like topped with a touch of watermelon rind. Dusty, and deceptively soft and broad on entry, this shows an early hint of lime zest on the palate before this turns rather intense with lots of tart red fruit and masses of tannins. There’s less detail than with the Serralunga crus but more weight with intense raspberry fruit that trades power for focus. his s a wild card, it might turn into velvet monster or may just remain the chunky powerhouse it is. 90pts
2007 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
From the central part of the hill, 1.5 hectares facing south, 1 hectare facing southeast.
Very ripe if rather classic with aromas of over ripe red fruits in alcohol, a bit of a balsamic tone, some waxy lipstick, some white soil tones as well. In the mouth this is rich, clear and fairly broad retaining great focus to the raspberry, mineral and slightly herb tinged flavors really pop on the palate. The fine grained tannins add gentle support here and while this does taper off a bit on the finish, showing a bit of heat, this remains fairly elegant in light of the vintage. 91pts
2004 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
Opened the day prior to tasting
What an explosive nose filled with spices, ripe fruit, tar, a big limestone note and some nettles and just a hint of nuttiness. This is silky in the mouth with lovely acids and super fine tannins showing excellent integration and yielding a gorgeous mouthfeel. This already has lots of truffle and mineral notes forming around the youthful core dark fruit with big tannins clamping down on the chewy finish. With time that completely knit together mouthfeel while extend over the finish, and this remains very young but full of promise. 94pts
1996 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
Opened the day prior to tasting
Gorgeous on the nose,just filed with tar, earth, animal, wild herbs, spiced cherry and plum aromas with a hint of root beer. Silky and perhap a touch faded from being opened for 24 hours and a little warm to boot, but this shows exceptional power, with cool firm fruit that is slightly more rustic than what get made today. The long finish shows mineral and superb fine grained tannins in an elegant but powerful style. This should continue to improve for quite some time, though the fruit seems to have already taken a back seat. 92pts
1989 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
Opened the day prior to tasting
Classic Rionda nose of iron, seeds, dried rose petals, spice and small red fruits shows lovely freshness and detail. This is another silky wine though it’s a bit tired and lacks some focus on the palate, again from having been opened the day earlier, though it is chewy and powerfully with late arriving acidity and truffle notes layered over faded rose petals and spicy red fruit with lots of mineral notes and still with tons of fine grained tannins, While not fruity this remains powerful and young with a long limestone finale, 94pts
1978 Massolino Barolo Classico Riserva
Opened the day prior to tasting
Leafy and evolved on the nose but with fine mineral and red fruit notes. This remains powerful if somewhat rustic in the mouth with red cherry fruit and fine mineral cut. This is quite remarkable with distinctly evolved flavors and yet a lovely youthful texture and a ong, fine finish. Could stand some more fruit but it had been opened for 24 hours. 90pts
Luigi Pira - Serralunga
The wines of Luigi Pira definitely lean towards the modernist side of the equation, though working with fruit from Seralunga it seems as though the effects are less obvious than for other producers. In the past the wines struck me as frequently too extracted having traded elegance for power, and while this still seems to be the case with the Vigna Rionda, the other bottlings from 2009 show much more restraint, particularly the very attractive straight Barolo.
2009 Luigi Pira Barolo Serralunga
9000 bottles produced from three small vineyards, all aged in 25 HL wood
Meaty, spicy, and rather nicely expressing Serralunga terroir, on the nose. This is a bit spicy on entry with a slight black medicinal tone, a light touch of wood and wild strawberry fruit in a lean, fresh, crisply styled wine. The tannins are abundant though ripe, showing a hint of dryness, and the acidity pronounced if well balanced, all contributing to the lovely clarity on the palate. There’s nice length to the earthy finish with an incipient hint of porcini. You could teach a class with this. Classic Serralunga Barolo 92pts
2009 Luigi Pira Barolo Margheria - Serralunga
1.5 hectares of 53 year old vines planted in chalky, clay soils producing 7,000 bottles per year. Aged in large format wood for two years.
Limestone immediately on the nose over dark, dried black cherry fruit with hints of kind of black small seeds/watermelon seeds the way they are aromatic in the mouth. This feels a bit forced perhaps but it delivers big black fruit that is medicinally framed and full of minerality, with nice cut on the palate, a touch of late arriving dried mushroom, and tar, and a big finish with lot of power to the long clear black fruit finale, 92pts
2009 Luigi Pira Barolo Marenca - Serralunga
A little over 2 hectares yeilding about 9,000 bottles a year. This is aged in 500 liter barrels, 25 to 30 percent new for the first year before being transferred for a second year in big wood,
Meaty and floral on the nose with rose petals and some nice minerality but the red currant fruit shows both sweetness and assertive medicinal notes. This is broader on the palate, richer with a little less verve than the Margheria, though it does show fine minerally and tarry depth with gentle wild raspberry notes over the mineral cut, The tannins are also softer and the wine fades away on the finish more quickly ending on a somewhat diffuse note. 90pts
2009 Luigi Pira Barolo Vigna Rionda
One hectare producing about 4,000 bottles a year. This spends one year in barrique, about a third new, then a second year in larger format wood.
Shows some toast and vanilla on the nose over black fruit, shoe polish, tight, small red berry fruit, and a bit of dr pepper spiciness with that hint of vanilla married to black cherry fruit. Soft and supple on entry, and surprisingly open, showing good focus on the mid palate with lots of mineral laced fruit and very fine tannins but the tannins continue building in the mouth cutting the finish a bit short. Wow this is extracted with massive tannins on the finish but even through the tannins the fruit, with hints of rust and red currant, is fighting to get out. This might very well prove to be too tannic for the fruit here. Time will tell. 88pts
Cappellano - Serralunga
I'm not sure there is much to say here. Classicism defined
2008 Cappellano Barolo Rupestris
Tight on the nose which is a bit leathery and gamy, with hints of a little campfire, some nuanced stone, mint and medical notes, and then a really pronounced rose stem aroma. This is incredibly fruity early on the palate, before displaying tense tannins and gaining earth, dried herb, and dried rose petal notes that flood the palate, The tannins are nervy and the acids pronounced if buffered nicely by the density of fruit. Today there's a certain softness, laid back style here, and this lacks the vivacity of the top vintages, but the long finish full of cherry and licorice notes, and the very fresh, clean style is promising, though this closed quickly in the glass so beware its closed phase. A classic Barolo in a clean, enlightened style.
Luciano Sandrone - Barolo
Long one of the leading modernists, the winemaking of Sandrone has changed little over the years, though the wines do strike me as more elegant and transparent than those produced even just a few years ago.
2009 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - Barolo
Lots of prune and dark berry in alcohol on the nose framed with notes of wood spice and a touch of chocolate. This is rich and soft,with good depth of fruit and lots of tannin that turns a bit dry and splintery on the palate. There’s decent acidity supporting a nice jammy core of raspberry, blackberry fruit that finishes a bit tightly and lacks some drive but makes up for it with length of fruit, with a bit of alcohol showing up on the finale. 88pts
2009 Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis - Barolo
Perfumed with aromas of cut red fruit and chalky soil tones over a nice base of oak spice. Air brings out classic roses and cherry in alcohol with a fine white soil tone. This is rich with soft, opulent fruit that remains fresh even though it's quite ripe. While not particularly tannic, there is nice cut to the fruit, and a bit of austerity to help play off the sweetness of the fruit. That cherry fruit lingers on the fairly long finish which is bit spicy with coffee tones and a hint of tar arriving late. Easy, and yet fairly intense. There’s a fair amount of wine here. 91pts
2008 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - Barolo
Tight wild berry fruit on the nose shows off a bit of earthiness with fine dried herb notes and soft toasty oak adding detail. Fresh, angular tannins pop on entry followed by lovely tiny cherry fruit, roses, pomegranate, and a little purple fruit on the palate. This shows silky integration with aromatic fruit on the moderately long finish. This is tense and precise with good aromatic freshness, 92pts
2008 Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis - Barolo
Tight and a bit oaky on the nose with a little black cherry framed with some rose notes. This is soft if texturally complete in the mouth silky without being opulent and showing fine cut cherry fruit on the palate, with a late arriving herb and limestone note, This is just a bit austere and dour today,with the wood tannins showing a bit on the finish, which shows a lovely blend of fresh fruit and soil tones. This is tense and elegant, showing classic Cannubi austerity, but the wood is a touch intrusive. 89pts
Brovia - Castiglione Falletto
As I have said before, I don't think anyone is making better wines today than Brovia, with one or two very expensive exceptions. Over the past 15 years the quality here has improved vintage to vintage, and the access the brovia family has to some of the best Crus in the region has resulted in a line-up of spectacular wines. My preference has been and remains the Rocche and Ca Mia bottlings, but it is tough to go wrong with any of these classically styled wines. Withtheir current pricing, I would say that if you wanted to buy only one producer's Barolos it would have to be brovias.
2009 Brovia Barolo
More or less three week long fermentation, the crus get fermented in wood, other wines in SS, 100 Hl aging,
Twenty to thirty percent of the crus, and Brea’s (Ca’mia) younger vines, which here means about twenty five years old as the fruit from the really young vines gets sold off, goes into the Barolo Classico, meaning more than seventy percent comes from Serralunga,
Awesome nose, full of balsamic notes with a green pine edge to the small red fruits, with an assertive camphor top note. This shows fine intensity, focus and balance on the nose Round and powerful on entry this shows slightly pruny fruit , in a good way over a base of rich cooked cherry character that is laced with minerality through the moderately long finish. Yes this is quite ripe in flavor but it does manage to retain excellent freshness and is really a gorgeous wine, 92pts
2009 Brovia Barolo Rocche - Castiglione Falletto
A tight nose with fine herbal, mineral and black spice notes and a touch of musty earth sits cool and compact in the glass. This is intensely fruited,full of bitter cherry fruit supported by superb ripe tannins, showing super integration, This has the slightly austere aggressive quality of Rocche, but in a particularly open style, that is nonetheless not easy to understand. The nose and long finish share emerging smoky herbal and licorice notes and a pop of wild strawberry fruit . There’s a lot going on here, with tremendous potential for the future but this is a bit hard to get a handle on today. 94pts
2009 Brovia Barolo Villero - Castiglione Falleto
Lots of dark fruit on the nose which offers up a nice blend of balsamic and rose notes. This is soft and broad in the mouth, with good acidity and modest tannins supporting simple red fruit framed with a hint of camphor. This is wide open and easy to drink already with a clear fresh feel that turns a touch short on the finish. A rare miss from Brovia. 88pts
2009 Brovia Barolo Garblet Sue - Castiglione Falleto
Very ripe cherry fruits in alcohol on the nose are framed by sandlewood, a hint of nutmeg, some meaty nuances and late arriving jammy strawberry notes. There’s an initial opulence to this wine, though the early arriving acids lend brightness to the plump, slightly jammy cherry fruit. This is a little spicy on the palate with a touch of minerality, and lush tannins, really beautiful in an immediately approachable style that is packed with fruit. Slightly less evolved and more tannic than the Villero, this is very typical of the vintage. 92pts
2009 Brovia Barolo Ca’mia - Serralunga
Deeply earthy on the nose which shows hints of slightly peppery spice along with meaty/umami prosciutto and hoisin aromas. Tight and reserved on entry, one can sense an innate sweetness here, wrapped as it is in soft tannins. This is lovely, very ripe but with typically dark and savory Serralunga fruit, that gains detail from late arriving sandalwood, strawberry and rosehip notes. There’s plenty of tannin here, even if they are a bit soft, This is opulent if not quite as open as the Villero and Garblet Sue, opulent in a Serralunga kind of way, silky and long. 93pts
2010 Brovia Barolo Rocche - barrel sample
Wow this is filled with slightly figgy, slightly smoky configure of wild cherry and plum fruit on the nose. In the mouth this is almost salty due to the profound minerality. There’s a core of tobacco framed fruit that is powerful with cool fruit, incredible depth, real complexity and brightness to the fruit, and finesse in the mouth. The tannins pop on the long finish, and this is really packed and chiseled that I would expect it to be a tannic beast soon, but today it’s just firm with so much buffering material that the massive, noble tannins, don't appear until the long finish. 94-97pts
2010 Brovia Barolo Ca Mia - barrel sample
Camphor, leather, dark earthy, and damp cigar butt nose come together on the slightly spicy nose, which is tight but does show hints of a bit of hot tile, and mineral notes that recall magnesium or aluminum all topped with a suggestion of eucalyptus. Smooth and seamless on entry, this is weighty, powerful and deep with a backend that is packed with mineral notes and precise tannins. This shows incredible depth but it does lack some of the finesse of the Rocche. AIr slowly brings out some aromatic complexity with herbal and medicinal notes growing in the glass but this will require patience. It has incredible power and should turn out to be epic. 94-96pts
2011 Brovia Barolo Rocche - barrel sample
Lovely aromas of spiced red fruit, a little bramble, and a little meatiness gains a nice dusting of salty minerality over sour plum fruit with some air. This is a bit sweet on entry, with a nice slightly chewy texture featuring balanced acids and tight grained tannins acids. There’s a touch of alcohol showing, along with some dark plummy fruit on the finish which picks up tar and balsamic notes. Shows an approachability already that is surprising. 90-93pts
2011 Brovia Barolo Ca Mia - barrel sample
Very pretty pale cherry fruit on the nose with a tart edge that is joined by sweet tobacco, a little sage, mint and licorice accents. This is very well integrated already, smooth and rather lush, with lovely ripe tannins. This has power and elegance in a slightly warm vintage style, well knit together. Today this is much more integrated and better balanced than Rocche with lovely rich dark fruit and a slight bitter/medical edge on the slightly minty long finish. 92-94pts
2005 Brovia Barolo Riserva Speciale
A special bottling to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Brovia. A historical blend of Rocche and Villero, one that was very popular before Crus took over, that spent 5 years in botte. Bottled exclusively in magnum.
Lovely sandalwood, red licorice, and dried peach aromas greet the nose followed by light grey/black spice tones, a touch of ash and dry white clay. This is silken on entry, with burnished cherry fruit that is a touch lean and mineral before gaining nice black cherry pit fruit framed by licorice notes on the mid-palate. This has a sweetness to the tannins, and lovely wild cherry fruit on the backend that leads to a long savory finish, showing rosehip and mint nuances, along with a bit of alcohol on the finale. This is old school to the max, their Monfortino to their Giacosa-esque regular crus. 93pts
Elvio Cogno - Novello
The wines of Elvio Cogno have struck me int he past as dependable but these recent releases are on another level. Great traditionally produced wines that combine power and a cool elegance, I found these immensely attractive and worth searching out.
2009 Elvio Cogno Barolo Cascina Nuova - Novello
15 year old vines 100% Lampia clone, that spend about 30 days on the skins, aged in botte.
A lit fleshy on the nose with hints of bologna and nuttiness under some dried peach notes, with smoky, tart red fruit. Soft and broad in the mouth with good acidity providing nice cut to the wild cherry fruit on the palate, which is just a little loose. This might be a little simple but with an attractive combination of power and transparency, with the fruit turning a little black cherried on the backend. The long finish shows nice length with fine slightly dry tannins, and hints of licorice and plum. 90pts
2009 Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera - Monforte
50 year old vines, 10,000 bottles produced , thirty five days ferment, then aged in botte
Deep on the nose with hints of iron, fennel, a bit of herb, and a bit of wood here as well. Rather compact and cooler than the Cascina Nuova, soft and very approachable in the mouth with nice tannins supporting stony cherry pit fruit that shows nice detail and clarity in the mouth. The tannins here are well managed yet retain a nice touch of austerity lending this lovely depth on the backend with a deep stemmy, herbal incipient mushroom note. This is elegant and refined, in a pure and authentic Monforte style of Barolo. 93pts
2008 Elvio Cogno Barolo Bricco Pernice
22 year old vines at the top of the cru and 64 year old vines lower on the slope, in a vineyard that straddles the Monforte/Novello border. Always thirty five days ferment, then aged in botte
A fairly big confiture nose of red and dark fruit with a hint of plumminess that turns a bit smoky, deep, and soil driven with air showing lots of tobacco and cherry in alcohol, and a little mint. On entry this is a little chewy and powerful, with an elegance to the tannins, but lots of power, packed tight with fine grained tannins that supports black licorice and black cherry fruit on the mid palate and through the nice powerful finish. 92pts
2007 Elvio Cogno Barolo Vigna Elena - Novello
100% Rose clone, which is notoriously scarce in pigment so to help fix color consistent temps during maceration, are important along with a very slow fermentation, 28C normal, 22C during last days of a 20 days fermentation, with cappello sommerso for 10 to 12 days. 8,000 bottles produced
Very pretty if rustic nose rich with strawberry, limestone, rose petals, candied cherry aromas. This starts out a bit hollow on the palate, lacking some height in the mouth with decent acids, and tannins that are a little raw, turning quite assertive on the back end The modest red fruit on the palate show a bit of woodsy character turning a bit tough and a bit compact on the backend which shows nice wild strawberry and lemon zest notes that leads to a moderately finish full of tannin and a bit of heat. The balance is a little off here. 92pts
Paolo Scavino - Castiglione Falletto
Scavino is a name that is virtually synonymous with the modernist movement in Piedmont. the wines have always struck me as rather soft, fairly heavily oaked, and a little chunky. the line-up tasted today certainly illustrates that they are taking a different tact with each of their wines and some appear to more successful than others, though my old impressions hold generally true. Taken as a whole these remain rather soft, fruity, and oaky wines.
All new barriques are used first for barbera, second and third passage used for Barolo which see six to seven months of small wood then passes to botte for one year
Ferments with natural yeasts, about 20 to 25 days to go dry, maceration depends on vintage, can go from six days in very warm years like 2003 up to 18 days in more classic vintages, depends on the skins and maturity of vintage, really like elegance in the wine don't want extremes, fruity and opulent or hard with tannins or austere.
2009 Scavino Barolo
25,000 bottle production from a little less than a hectare in San Bernardo, maybe ten percent of Barolo is Serralunga, Vignane two hectare, Terlo a little more than half hectare, Albarello less than a hectare, Mariondino a hectare, Altenasso and Vignolo less than half a hectare each
Smelling like a bowl of cherry fruit topped with hints of sandalwood, rose hips, and other woodsy spice. Sweet and round on entry, this shows off lots of red fruit and soft tannins in a rather loose and fleshy style that finishes quickly with a pop of black cherry fruit. A bit pedestrian. 86pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Carobric
60 to 70 year old vines from Rocche, Bric del Fiasco, and and Cannubi in roughly equal parts.
This has a pretty nose, noticeably toasty though with strawberry seeds, a little tar and licorice, and milk chocolate, aromas. Noticeably soft and supple on entry with nicely presented fruit on the mid palate showing good tension and a fairly long finish. There's a sneaky touch of sweetness here early on that minerality washes away on the backend. Soft, supple and fruity with creamy and sweet oak accents. 89pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Bricco Ambrogio - Novello
Purchased in 2000
The high toned nose shows toasty spice but more floral edged raspberry and strawberry fruit, macerated Frutti del Bosco and rose petals. This is showing very well, silky with soft rich tannins and very expressive fruit, very aromatic in the mouth, and showing some nice soil tones. The fruit here lacks some brightness, but shows assertive fruitiness in a rather soft style. 88pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Monvigliero - Verduno
From 40 year old vines, first produced in 2007
Has a suggestion of thyme on the nose that could lead to tapenade with time. This is a rather gentle nose, showing a hint of white mushroom and a bit of raw milk chocolate oak. Very supple tannins great the palate followed by red fruits with a hint of apple skins on the mid palate along with a small spice note. This is very easy drinking with a decent length finish showing red fruit with some spice and obvious wood tannins. A bit on the lean side. 88pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Cannubi - Barolo
Sixty to seventy year old Michet vines. started in 1985 to makes this cru.
Lovely red cherry fruit in alcohol on the nose which is fairly ripe with accents of white soil, tobacco, sweet floral notes and a bit of talc. Rather elegant on entry with early notes of wild cherry and small raspberry fruit followed by a bit of toasty wood, then rose petals, soil tones, and incipient tobacco tones. This shows some of the classic Cannubi character, focused lean and slightly austere with a moderately long limestone and wild cherry finish. 91pts
2009 Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc - Castiglione Falletto
Cut plum, smoke, tobacco and chamomile come together on a very floral and spiced nose with the wood playing a supporting role and late arriving dried fruit accents that turn into chocolate covered cherries with time along with strong minty top note. Powerful and broad on entry with dried cherry fruit and some nice limestone notes, along with a touch of savory beef jerky on the palate. This has a softness that covers the palate, a pretty feminine style in a voluptuous way, with good length and a bit of wood tannins lingering and building on the finish. the oak is quite obvious here. 90pts
2007 Scavino Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata Riserva
Big fruit on the nose that shows lots of dried fruit character along with savory, sweet root beer notes, a bit gummi bear like with some heat, and camphor and menthol top notes. This is very rich on entry with lots of red fruit that shows a bit matte in the mouth. There’s a fair amount of tannin right up front along with bright, candied dark cherry/black cherry fruit with a touch of coffee on the longish finish. Not terribly 2007 in fact, if one ignores the alcohol. The finish shows some really lovely red fruit and rose floral notes, with the wood being fairly well integrated. 91pts
Cavallotto - Castiglione Falletto
The wines of Cavallotto tend to be rather traditionally made, though with some exceptions, such as that rotofermentor int he cellar. Still the wines are quite attractive, and show a remarkable consistancy, faithful both to their terroir and the house style. On this day the wines showed an assertive herbal edge which was not off-putting to be but certainly more pronounced than I am familiar with.
2009 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis
This is pretty complex on the nose starting out in an earthy vein with a sweet carob note that's almost fudgy, then deep herbal notes with hints of quinine and mint that are almost peppery followed by cherry pit fruit with a hint of dried meats. Nice tannins are supple if abundant on entry with lively acidity supporting a nice core of cherry fruit that shows a hint of tobacco and some roasted fruit edges. The finish is a touch short with dry tannins shutting things down fairly quickly. 89pts
2008 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis
More directly quinine and herb scented on the nose with ripe dark fruits, a bit of plum and dark berry. Smooth and finely balanced on entry with soft tannins and integrated acids underpinning nice wild cherry/ touch of black raspberry fruit with nice dried herb hints. This is very elegant, with lovely darkly ripe fruit that remains fresh, with good focus and excellent flavor definition in the mouth. The small but classic tannins add a nice dry edge to the finish, which turns a bit chunky and inelegant, and almost sweet with fruit. This just needs some time to fully integrate. 91pts
2007 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo
A bit of rose over strawberry confiture greets the nose followed by a little meaty braised veal sweetness along with limestone, quinine and mint accents. Soft and open on entry with juicy acidity highlighting the small cherry fruit. This is a bit simple but shows a nice blend of richness and freshness, with good power and follow through on the long, limestone edged, small cherry fruits and gently herbal finish. 91pts
2007 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva San Giuseppe
A bit stinky on the nose and not particularly clean. This offers up unusual aromas of grass, toast, and some beefy aromas along with a very earthy licorice root note. Soft in the mouth with decent acids and a cooked fruit profile of plum and dark cherry with a strong medicinal overlay that has an earthy sweetness to it. This is quite tannic and dry, the tannins seem a bit woody and seem out of proportion with the wine here. Not a good showing for this wine. 80pts
2006 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo
Limestone on the nose is followed by notes of cut grass, sweet mint, a little root veg , and a hint of toasty coffee. There is lovely balance and elegance in the mouth with its black cherry core framed by gentle notes of peach and limestone. There’s a great aromatic lift to the lovely finish, which shows great tannins in a cool and compact style that is full of fresh fruit accented with a tarry note and lent real drive by the juicy acidity. 92pts
2006 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva San Giuseppe
Big red fruit, floral, and leather aromas dominate the nose over a minty base note with hints of tar creeping in along with a lightly spicy note. This is elegant and finely balanced, very broad on the palate but this lacks a touch of height at the moment. The tannins here are quite refined, allowing the lovely bright juicy fruit with layers of mint and tar to flow across the palate and through the fine long finish. Showing nice tension in the mouth, this just needs a bit of time to fill out a bit but it doesn’t strike me as a wine for long ageing. 91pts
1998 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo
A little steeped herbal, marmite nose, with a touch of caramel and root vegetables filling in under the core of small, slightly stewy red berry fruit topped with a touch of espresso foam. This shows some big fruit on any, that leads to a nice core of tarry dark fruit and tobacco, all nicely cut with soft tannins. Like the nose this is very savory, and not terribly fruity, but intense and fresh with a big tannic finish that does soften nicely with air. The finish is a little medicinal with a cherry cough syrup aspect and a hint of pomegranate fruit. This really does soften quickly with air, don’t hang on to these. 89pts
Burlotto - Verduno
G. D. Vajra - Barolo
Luigi Baudana - Serralunga
Francesco Rinaldi - Barolo
E Pira Chiara Boschis - Barolo
Canonica - Barolo
Domenico Clerico - Monforte
Giuseppe Rinaldi - Barolo
Bartolo Mascarello - Barolo
Fratelli Oddero - La Morra
Elio Altare - La Morra
Roberto Voerzio - La Morra
Aldo Conterno - Monforte
Giuseppe Mascarello- Monchiero
Giacomo Conterno - Monforte
Tenuta Montanello - Castiglione Falletto
Burlotto - Verduno
I've been a big fan of Burlotto's wines for some time now, and while this line-up is excellent they don't rinf my bell in the same way as some prevous vintages. This is entirely due to the vintage though, as Burlotto's wines are remarkably free of winemaking, with the exception of the Monvigiero of course. These are enlightened traditionalist wines in the best sense, and even in a vintage wth challenges like 2009 you really should give them a try. They remain great values.
2009 Burlotto Barolo Classico
Tight and lightly herbal on the spicy, rather focused nose that gives up a little white soil and green herb note over fine tight red fruit aromas. This is immediately transparent and crisp, in the mouth with lovely tannins, integrated acidity supporting fresh red fruits in a rather vibrant and clear style for the vintage. It is is still on the fruity side but with firm acids and a touch of heat on the finish. A very nice expression of the vintage. 89pts
2009 Burlotto Barolo Acclivi - Verduno
Three week maceration on the skins
Lightly green on the nose in a very fresh way, with hints of lightly toasty leather, dried orange rind and fresh camphor laced wild rainier cherry fruit. The fruit is quite full here but it is super fresh with the sweetness of the vintage and yet it retains a fabulous clarity. Elegant and refined, this is a gorgeous 09 with exceptional inner mouth perfumes, fine ripe yet firm tannins, and a long finish rich with a hint of orange rind accenting long delicate strawberry fruit, with just a bit of heat on the finish. 92pts
2009 Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Verduno
60 day maceration on the skins
This has a hugely aromatic nose that explodes with savory, tapenade, thyme, light geranium notes, followed by a spicy truffle precursor and rich, dark fruit. This is fairly ripe, packed with soft abundant tannins and integrated acidity, this will be ready quite early. The fruit here freshens up on the backend showing a little ripe strawberry, strawberry seeds, building with great intensity and clarity on the backend and showing great brilliance on the finish. 93pts
2009 Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Barolo
This is all limestone, tobacco, and incense on the nose with late arriving dried herb stems, and rose petals. Relatively open on entry then this tightens up considerably though it does reveal nice kernel of fruit, elegant, smoky, taut fruit with hints of watermelon freshness supported by super tannins, love the cut of these tannins. The finish shows great persistence and clarity to the fruit, but the tannins continue to be impressive, so ripe, well integrated, and yet firm. 93pts
G. D. Vajra - Barolo
Vajra's wines have always struck me as quite pretty with early appeal yet the seem to lack a bit of depth in some cases. Today's wines continue in that vein with very pretty fruit and good aromatic complexity, yet the wines seem to lack a little follow through. The style straddles the line between modern and traditional and the house style definitely seems aimed for those who prefer not to have to wait for their Barolo to mature.
2009 G. D. Vajra Barolo Albe - Barolo
From vineyards in Fossati, Coste, and la Volta
Very fruit driven on the nose, bright and fresh and full of strawberry fruit edged with hints of tar, dried herbs, camphor, and white soil. With very soft tannins this is easy on entry showing some polish to the dark berry fruit, that is fresh a little spice note. The tannins and a hint of mint build on the backend. Elegant if seemingly a bit simple in the mouth though the finish shows more depth and complexity than the midpalate, with tannins are abundant but the ripe soft tannins of the vintage. 89pts
2008 G. D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole - Barolo
Deeply profound nose, with layers of spice, black cherry, woodsy spice, and camphor. This really is very precise and perfumed on the nose with lovely floral top notes, though in the mouth it is rather assertively fruity for the vintage but not in the frooty sense, with some tarry notes adding some detail to the core of wild strawberry and wild cherry fruit. On the backend this turns a little woodsy aromatically. This is relatively open though it is noticeably less complex and interesting on the palate than the nose. 91pts
Luigi Baudana
Luigi Baudana was purchased by the Vajra family several years ago and today serves as an excellent contrast to their wines from Barolo vineyards. The family has worked dilligently to improve the quality here and today's line-up shows the results of their efforts. These are more taditional feeling wines than the Vajra wines, very possibly due to the simple fact that they come from vineyards in Serralunga. Whatever the precise set of causes these are wines to watch out for. They are nuanced, complex and powerful wines.
2008 Luigi Baudana Barolo - Serralunga
Lovely nose, perfumed and earthy with aromas of dark fruit, a touch of fig, and subtle hints of iron and spearmint. In the mouth this shows slighty softer acids than I expected given the vintage though they do offer fine cut to the cherry fruit, with a backing notes of something vaguely leafy that adds freshness here. With lovely tannins and a savory/leathery edge, this shows a hint of black fruit on the clean precise finish that ends with hints of smoke and mint. . This is really rather focused and pure expression of the vintage. 90pts
2008 Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana - Serralunga
Very similar to the Serralunga bottling with a richly savory nose that shows a bit of a balsamic top note along with slightly stewy strawberry fruit framed with hints of pink peppercorn, carob and cola. Soft on entry though with acids that are more present than in the Serralunga bottling. This is showing some dark fruit, a touch of date perhaps, though with an attractive freshness as the flavors unfold on the muscular but fruit driven palate. This is flecked with mineral and faint dried fennel notes, in a style that is a little chewy and a little leathery but very nicely done, with lovely rasp/strawberry fruit on the moderately long finish. 91pts
2008 Luigi Baudana Barolo Cerretta - Serralunga
Perfumed and precise on the nose with lovely wild cherry fruit and mineral notes early on the nose followed by tobacco, smoke, rosehips, and a dusty sheen. On entry one is greeted by firm small black cherry fruit that shows nice tension and a lovely tannin structure that is lacy and yet firm. Offering good midpalate complexity with earthy, herbal and camphor notes, this retains a lovely brightness right through the excellent length finish which reveals the elegant side of this wine. 93pts
2006 Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana - Serralunga
Opened 24 hours
Nice dried plum in alcohol, tobacco, and rose stem aromas greet the nose followed by hints of mint, wood spice and prosciutto. Rather relaxed in the mouth, in fact surprisingly so, this is a touch chunky, wide open and soft with late arriving drier tannins that make this a little chewy. The fruit is fading here though this does have some attractive complexity with hints of mint late on the palate, though this does remain a bit lean with some fuzzy peach skin tannins on the modest finish. 88pts
Francesco Rinaldi
The wines of Francesco Rinaldi have for some reason been slow to receive the recognition they deserve. Very traditional wines, that in the case of the Barolos at least smell immediately of old school winemaking and botte in particular. These can be divisive wines in that they are not always perfectly clean but they have immense character, ageing potential, and consistancy.
These wines smell very much of botte
2009 Francesco Rinaldi Barolo Le Brunate - la Morra
10,000 bottles produced, ferments for 21-30 days, cultured yeasts are sometimes used but sometimes, as with 2008 they are not necessary
This has shockingly evolved nose right out of the battle with lots of sweet old wood, a little dirty and funky, lots of cured pork, with a bit of hay and quinine adding complexity. The dirty aromas blow off quickly revealing a tight core of wild yellow cherry fruit and dried citrus pith, with a balsamic note. This is showing superb freshness on the palate, full of red fruit and orange peel flavors that are nice and fresh, really transparent and high toned on the palate, with lovely, very ripe soft tannins on the finish which shows bright tart cherry fruit. This is very 2009 in that it is really almost ready but with classic flavors and structure. A very good 2009 that is a little light on the palate at this point. 91pts
2009 Francesco Rinaldi Barolo Cannubbio - Barolo
Immediate dirty barrel on the nose, this also takes air to clean up, and when it does there’s great tobacco, rosebud, dried herb, and baked soil aromas here. On entry this is cool, crisp, and open with fine ripe tannins, great focus and good complexity on the palate. There are lovely flavors of wild raspberries layered with savory, umami notes of tobacco and lardo. Somewhat cool and compact on the palate at this point, this is pretty classic cannubi expression with a gorgeous mouthfeel and a long ripe if slightly drying tannic finish. This has really fine energy in the mouth on the backend and through the finish. 93pts
E Pira Chiara Boschis
Chiara Boschis is one of the most passionate producers in Piedmonte. Decidedly of a modernist ilk in the cellar, yet commited to traditional, low impact farming methods, her wines speak for themselves. You can almost guess that these were wines made with a woman's touch. They are elegant, and detailed with a gentle sense of restraint and while they do see time in barrique, though much lesss new wood than they had seen in the past, they absorb the wood quite well. One of my two favorite 'modernist' producers.
2009 is the last vintage of Via Nuova as a Cru bottling. Instead of producing a Cru Terlo, which is the new appellation for the vineyards formerly known as Via Nuova, the name has been retained as a proprietary name for a base Barolo blended with parcels from Serralunga and Monforte.
Two week ferments for the Barolo, approximately 30% new wood
2010 E Pira Chiara Boschis Cannubi - Barolo
Barrel Sample - Some obvious oak, and wood spice is present on the nose though it is very well integrated and already elegant. On the palate this shows superb integration, fabulous tannins, awesome ripeness to the fruit. Depth, power and aromatics, this needs time for the oak to integrate, but the underlying wine is awesome with everything in balance. 94-96pts
2010 E Pira Chiara Boschis Via Nuova - Barolo
Barrel sample - A little less wood on the nose, still perfumy new wood top notes, over aromas of rose petals, raspberry fruit, and a touch of sandalwood. This is rather round and open in the mouth, both very transparent and rich, with amazing fruit, quite fresh plummy, with nice acidity keeps things really bright.This is packed with ripe tannins, nice high toned slightly vegetal aromatics in the mouth with a bitter orange rind note on the finish. 92-94pts
2010 E Pira Chiara Boschis Mosconi - Monforte
Barrel sample - Muscular, tight, and almost Serralungan on the nose with its assertively medicinal aspect. The oak works better here, melding well with the medicinal, tight dark fruit that is packed with mineral and earth aromas though this is softer than Serralunga on the palate. Rich, and a little chewy in the mouth, this shows tons of dark fruit that is powerful and intense though this lacks a bit of elegance. One finds lots of cut plum and spice on the backend, along with huge ripe fruit tannins on the finish with pomegranate fruit. A powerhouse 93-95pts
2009 E Pira Chiara Boschis Cannubi - Barolo
Ripe fruit that is a touch jammy greets the nose followed by lots of very mineral, limestone notes along with oak that is fairly well integrated already, still obvious but in balance with the raspberry in alcohol fruit. This turns a touch balsamic with air and the oak presence increases a touch with a hint of nuttiness. Smooth, soft, and rather 2009 in the mouth this shows slightly syrupy raspberry and wild cherry fruit, with a Iittle hazelnut accent. There's an underlying sweetness here, though this tightens up on the finish, showing lots of late tannins. Both rather tense and very ripe this is a bit unfocused in the mouth. 89pts
2009 E Pira Chiara Boschis Via Nuova - Barolo
A bit chocolatey on the nose with accents of ivy, black fruit, and carob adding detail to the rather floral and high-toned nose. Here you get lots of ripeness with an underlying vegetal freshness on the powerful entry, which is followed by deep fruit on the palate that is a touch intense and yet fresh with ripe tannins and good acidity. Complexity creeps in slowly with a little mint and a little leathery and animal nuance. This is showing really compelling freshness and complexity of fruit, even if it is fairly ripe. 92pts
2009 E Pira Chiara Boschis Mosconi - Monforte
Bit of confiture and campfire greets the nose which is deep and powerful with a fudgy edge to the very ripe dark cherry and plum fruit, gaining some slow to emerge rose petal accents. This is fairly fruity but bright on the palate with slightly exotic red fruits. Snowing more elegance and less 2009 vintage character than the other wines here, this has a restrained opulence to it with the ripe darkness of fruit touched with a hint of espresso foam. The finish shows some peach character, good length, and really attractive refinement to the tannins. 92pts
2004 E Pira Chiara Boschis Cannubi - Barolo
Open from yesterday
Wild and intense notes of ass, soil, a little egg, a hint of carrot/beet vegetal sweetness, and a creamy almost black cherry fruitiness on the nose. Opulent and bright in the mouth with very ripe tannins, very ripe yet clear fruit and great follow through on the palate. Bright and decisive in the mouth this exhibits good energy though a little older wood note lingers on the nose and there are still wood tannins here obscuring the finish. 92pts
2005 E Pira Chiara Boschis Cannubi - Barolo
Probably on 80% new barrique at this point, maybe 70% but something like that
Very low production from before the rain
Still shows some new wood on the nose along with tight, fine cherry fruit, almond oak, lots of herbal eucalyptus notes all come together on the slow to build nose. Silky and elegant on the palate with a touch of dry tannins adding an edge of nervousness. This shows a lovely spicy fruit quality, with an incipient sweetness to the core of wild cherry lozenge fruit with its menthol and medical notes. The long finish shows a touch of minerality and a light licorice tone, along with more almond on the finale. 91pts
Canonica
Gianni Canonica is somewhat of a pioneer in Piedmont, one of the very few producers who has stuck with both traditional methods and organic farming for over 20 years. The results speak for themselves, though the Barolo tends to be almost modern with it's purity and freshness of fruit. I admittedly do not have significant experience with these wines, especially as to their ageing potential, but the wines do have excellent balance in their youth and so much fruit that I look forward to trying these with some frequency as they age.
2009 Canonica Barolo Paiagallo - Barolo
6,000 bottles
Barolo ferments for forty days, in cement or resin depending where he has space, open top, two punch downs a day, malo occurs when it warms up, then it goes in wood, 25 Hl barrels of Slavonian oak.
Minty and intense on the nose with lots of floral and licorice aromas layered over all sorts of raw Middle Eastern spices. Powerful and elegant in the mouth, there’s lots of depth here to the intense fruit. Very fresh in the mouth with nice tannins, a little rounded but not soft, this shows a beautiful expression of fruit, not as precise as the 2008 but more intense and complex, with huge follow through that drops off a touch easy on the finish. Air brings out rich wild cherry fruit, that smells so fresh, in the mouth, full of nuanced woodland flowers and soil and vegetable full of dirt aromas. This shows the soft tannins of the vintage but not with the excessively easy structure. 92pts
Domenico Clerico - Monforte
Clerico is one of the original forces behind the modernist movement and I have to admit to being an admirer for years, though with some reservations. The wines produced here through the 1980s and into the mid-1990s seem to have not really evolved particularly well. It's not that they evolved poorly but rather seem to be a bit frozen and simply fading away with time rather than gaining nuance and complexity. I have to believe that this current set of releases will not undergo the same fate. As far as modernist wines go these are among the very best. Powerful, some loaded up with too much oak, but when Clerico gets everything right, which is more often than not, you do end up with a very fine, complex, and wonderful balanced bottle of Barolo.
2009 Clerico Barolo Bricotto - Monforte
The Bussia bottling was produced from 1978 through 1995. Clerico stoppedstopped production out of respect for Aldo Conterno: “Bussia is Aldo Conterno’s”. All production went into Arte, until 2007 when Clerico had decided that he had found his way with this Cru and Aldo Conterno had found a different way. Thus Bussia has returned with the name Bricotto.
Sold only in mags
Lovely woodsy aromas married to a dry toasted oak nose that shows light vanilla and milk chocolate notes over a base of floral, fine red fruits, red currant notes with a touch of herb spice. The oak becomes a decidedly spicy aspect here. Powerful, silky and open in the mouth with a rich core of cherry fruit touched with strawberries, and wrapped in oak tannins and wood spice, this reveals dry wood tannins on the midpalate with nice herb notes emerging on the backend followed by cut sour cherry fruit and tart strawberry notes. This is high acid and very tart red fruited for 2009 with plenty of oak showing. 90pts
2008 Clerico Barolo Pajana - Monforte
The chocolate woody nose is dark and slightly stewy with simple, sweet wood and vanilla aromas. This is a bit thick on entry, blocky with less underlying fruit, and a lot of wood tannin here, packed with tannins in fact. Fairly compact in the mouth with small red fruits and a little tobacco that is having a tough time competing with all the wood. 87pts
2008 Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin - Monforte
Earthy on the nose with layered notes of tobacco, some licorice, fennel, and much more Nebbiolo character. The oak is well integrated, with sweet toast here and vanilla notes along with some weedy character and red berry fruit. with some weedy character. Round, opulent and powerful in the mouth with wild red fruits, some lingonberry, currant and raspberry, all showing lots of depth. This is showing sweeter tannins than the other 08s here with good clarity, and good length in a very powerful style. Rich and harmonious. 93pts
2007 Clerico Barolo Aeroplan Servaj - Serralunga
Badarina cru
A bit stewy on the nose with dark fruit, framed by sweet medicinal notes, a bit of grilled beef, and sweet wild red fruits topped with a hint a of prune. Smooth on entry, and fairly high acid with dry tannins this shows a touch of cooked fruit quality in a very beefy, powerful without being dense style. Turning a bit ferrous on the palate, with some small wild cherry fruits and rich wild medicinal herbs, the oak grows on the nose turning the finish a bit peppery. A fairly good expression of Serralunga, sucking up the oak fairly well. 92pts
2005 Clerico Barolo Per Cristina - Monforte
Mosconi Cru
Lots of wood on the nose, a bit chocolately, with tobacco, mint, chocolate covered cherry aromas. This is surprisingly elegant on entry with nice focus, then the midpalate shows lots of wood tannin breaking above the dark fruit, rendering the wine rather simple. There’s nice depth on the palate, and this does show fine, tense sweet and slightly bitter herb tinged fruit under all the wood, but this is ultimately slathered in oak. 87pts
Giuseppe Rinaldi
One of the most traditional producer in all of Piedmont, and practicing organic to boot, these are wines that combine the power and elegance of Barolo in a fairly fruity style. In some ways these are some of the greatest tradional versions of Barolo, seeing as both wines are in fact blends and not crus. Recent changes in labelling laws might change things on that front but having tasted the 2010 Brunate from cask I have to admit that I would love to have that single vineyard wine in my cellar. In magnums please. These are wines that have their funky moments but a little bit of time, and faith seems to have worked wonders for me. Truly great wines that really must be tried and don't shy away from lesser vintages, they are often spectacular.
2009 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi Ravera
Bottled in March
Big fruit on the nose has a slight blueberry cast to it along with tobacco, nettle and spice accents and some sandy soil base notes. Elegant fine and transparent in the mouth this is fairly fruity, with nice inner mouth energy but it's not nervous The lovely wild raspberry fruit on the palate is supported by very ripe tannins and shows just a hint of tar on the backend with superb ripe fruit tannins This is really quite fruity today. 92pts
2009 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate le Coste
Smoky on the nose with deep notes of wild berry confiture topped with soil, tobacco, and rosebud aromas. This is dense, polished, and spicy on entry with wild berry fruit that shows a forest floor edge. Very tight today but with fabulous balance, this exhibits ripe tannins and integrated acids in a very elegantly balanced, if large scaled entry turning finer on the finish. No doubt that this needs time to knit together, but already shows excellent length, and lovely clarity on the back end, if a bit of heat on the finish. 93pts
Bartolo
Another arch traditionalist, who in this case produces a single Barolo blended from four vineyards. This is the epitome of elegance in Barolo, with a deceptive early stage when the wine can seem to light and easy followed by a long, slow growth curve as the wines add weight, power, depth and complexity. These wines have been getting better and better with the passage of time and continue to help set the benchmark for what Barolo can and should be. I hope these wines remains with us forever as they are a touchstone for the region.
2009 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo
Intense raspberry fruit, ripe with woodsy edges and mineral, tea, and tobacco highlights topped with a touch of red rose petals all greet the nose. Wide open, and a bit soft on entry then full of intriguing rosehip and raspberry fruit with a little apple skins note and hints of sandalwood on the palate. The tannins here are pretty ripe, but certainly prominent right through the slightly austere finish which shows some alcohol that is just barely perceptible. This has height and perfume in the mouth that is unusual for the vintage, with a fresh and traditional feel. 93pts
Oddero
Oddero continues to fly somewhat under the radar though with thier vineyard holdings in some of the top crus being produced in a fairly traditional style one has to wonder why that still is. The quality here can be a bit variable, due in part to the variety of crus, as well as the winemaking, which has varied a bit in the past for various wines. Today all the crus undergo malo in barrique before being transferred to large format wood while the Classico Barolo sees only large format wood. These are wines that almost always have surprised on the upside after cellaring, turning out quite elegant.
2009 Oddero Barolo Classico
From vineyard in Chiese, Fiasco, and Capalot
This sees 60 days with cappelllo somersso and large format wood. The crus see about 27 days followed by malo in barrique and a year in botte.
Light incense on the nose tops sweet raspberry and dusty cherry fruit aromas that pick up a cooked hot red soil, with an almost bricky and metallic tone to it. This is soft and almost lazy in the mouth, with decent tannin though this lacks focus in the mouth. There are nice flavors on the palate but this is not special, with a short finish in a style that is a bit clumsy. 86pts
2008 Oddero Barolo Classico
No cappello sommerso, 28 days fermentation. Cappello sommerso only used when the vintage allows for full ripeness of stems and seeds
Much more perfumed than the 09 with the same profile rich with soil tones, licorice, rose petals, and a nice deep green anise seed savoriness and minty top notes. Again this is a bit soft, and a bit round in the mouth with a opulence that's unusual for the vintage This shows fine depth, very classic Classico, rich with great follow through, nice tannic cut and red fruit on the finale. 88pts
2009 Oddero Barolo Villero - Castiglione Falletto
High toned and soil driven on the nose, which is a bit smoky with subtle, stemmy herb notes and a base of clay. Direct and aromatic on entry is a soft and opulent style that is fruit driven. This has a seamless fell to it but is lacking some energy in the mouth. There’s a rich core with big slightly leathery tannins that lead to a bright finish with impressive cut and fine complexity but again it lacks some energy. 89pts
2008 Oddero Barolo Villero - Castiglione Falletto
Tight and herbal on the nose with hints of rose petals and sweet bay leaf, over tight, focused rusty red fruits. This is a bit tight on entry but it shows lovely focus, with significant potential for complexity. Lively and long on the palate this shows great freshness to the tannins which build on the plum skin toned finish. 90pts
2009 Oddero Barolo Rocche - Castiglione Falletto
A little reticent on the nose but this builds fine tobacco notes, over great lingonberry fruit that shows a little wood sweetness, cigar box, and a little sweet Cognac cream note. Clear, firm, austere and bright in the mouth with red fruit cut by mineral notes in a powerful yet precise style. The tannins are ripe if just a touch bitter perhaps, though the are very well integrated with the black cherry fruit on the long, elegant finish. 93pts
2008 Oddero Barolo Rocche - Castiglione Falletto
A nice herbal edge shows up early on the nose followed by a fair amount of oak and leather. This is a bit soft with black fruit in the mouth in a fairly tannic, broad and low in the mouth style that is dark and muscular. It a bit small scaled, this none the less delivers lovely bitter black cherry fruit with a touch of a wild, animale character to it. 89pts
2008 Oddero Barolo Brunate - La Morra
Fresh if perhaps slightly fudgy on the nose which shows lots of ripe fresh fruit, a little smoky accent and a tight slightly vegetal floral topnote with lots of incipient tobacco character. In the mouth this is very fresh and a little tight, with good acids and nice abundant but ripe tannins supporting deep fresh if dark berry fruit, almost a little. Boysenberry. This finishes with power and depth delivering clean and bright fruit with excellent soil tone accents. A very complete wine. 93pts
2006 Oddero Barolo Brunate - La Morra
This and Bussia 2006 are being released this year
Tight and showing some woody spice sweetness on the nose along with hints of a fudge and camphor framing ripe cherry pit fruit. Here the tannins are starting to show some softness. This is rich and powerful with an elegance, firm tannin, and a savory finish, that remains firm, clear and youthful, if tight, with big tannins. This has a beautifully spiced nose with an attractive incense character. 93pts
2006 Oddero Barolo Bussia - Monforte
Soil, leather, and spiced black cherry fruit greet the nose topped with a bit of cocoa, rose petal and baked peach pie. Air reveals a bit of VA here along with a huge leather note, tinges of balsamic, and a touch of game. Really a killer nose with super complexity. This is big and rich on the palate with dark clear fruits that show a bit of herbal/vegetal character in a root vegetable kind of way along with great fennel notes. With a long ripe finish, dusty tannins, and fine extraction of clear black fruit this is a resounding success. 94pts
2005 Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda - Serralunga
What a gorgeous nose with fine, focused rose notes along with tobacco, a little spice, mineral, a touch of flint, blood and aged beef all coming together. This shows a tight and focused feel though it is fairly open on the midpalate but with tight tannins that through a net over the finish, which does shows a touch of heat. The flavors of red fruits on the palate gain a little smoky edge to them and while this is a bit reticent, and perhaps slightly small scaled, the balance is compelling, lending this a bit of a regal feel. 92pts
Altare - La Morra
Altare has been a leading light of the modernist movement for decades now and is probably the producer that stick as closely as possible tot he style that the modernists emerged with in the late 1990s. I have had and enjoyed several of those wines but have to say that the wines tasted here today are disappointing to say the least. I found them light in a way, with very hightoned aroamtics, but at the same time over-oaked and a bit inky on the palate. Maybe the oak will integrate well and I will be proven wrong about these wines ut at this stage they struck me as neither complete wines nor well balanced. I can't say I see the appeal in these wines.
2009 Altare Barolo
From vineyards just under the winery in La Morra, Pernanno in Castiglione, adjacent to Cerretta in Serralunga, no new wood though it does stay in barrique for two years.
Nice dried fruit base notes greet the nose along with a touch of oak, and hints of rose petals and licorice in this simple, high-toned and nicely aromatic wine. There are nice acids early on the palate with a little touch of heat followed by lots of woody tannins that may be sweet but they are there. There’s a nice core of fresh fruit here though the savory wood influences tend to cover most of it up, and the finish is all tannins both fruit and wood. A modest wine with a lot of tannin. 85pts
2009 Altare Barolo Arborina - La Morra
High toned and aromatic on the nose but with lots of wood spice, making this simple but intense. This is smooth and polished in the mouth with fine grained tannins, broad wild macerated cherry flavors with hints of licorice, medicinal herbs and a little bit of mint on the back end. Another wine with lots of tannins, just wood and fruit and not much follow through, collapsing on itself on the finish into a black hole extracted fruit and oak. 84pts
2007 Altare Barolo Cerretta - Serralunga
Two extra years in bottle
Dark and earthy on the nose with some prune fruit aromas integrating with toasty wood, medicinal herbs, and some baking spices. This is opulent with lots of power on entry, in a focused and relatively elegant style that is absorbing the tannin fairly well. Filled with dark and slightly anonymous fruit, there’s nice weight here, if this is a touch dense, with very attractive wild red berry fruit powering through on the rather short finish. This is still simple, very tannic and chewy. 87pts
Voerzio
Voerzio is among the most modern of producers, stressing low yields in the vineyard, and a modern style of winemaking that relies on tonneaux and barrique in the cellar. I have had a few Voerzio wines that I have enjoyed over the years, though they tend to not loose their oak but rather retain the powerfully concentrated fruit for quite some time. Today we were "lucky" to try the full line-up, though we were lead to believe these bottles were open only a day early, they all showed signs of oxidation that could lead to only two conclusions. Either these bottles had been opened for much longer, three or four days feels about right, or else these wine just will not age that well. Since I can't know for sure I will leave the conclusion up to you. These are divisive wines, powerful, packed and chewy but for the style they are not unsuccessful, tending to be richly packed with fruit and alcohol with rather soft, mature tannins.
2009 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio - La Morra
40 yo
Opened twenty hours
A nice lightly jammy wild cherry note spread over a cedar shingle that has that dry wood note of old grey wood greets the nose. This shows nice liquory red fruit, a little red curranty, in a smooth style with good clarity on the palate, nice acid cut and fine grained tannins that build on the palate. Fairly crisp, spicy strawberry fruit has to compete with lots of wood tannins on the finish, which is a bit short and fairly alcoholic, if filled with red fruits. 87pts
2009 Roberto Voerzio Barolo la Serra - La Morra
20 Year old vines, high density plantings
Nice notes of macerated flowers greets the nose along with wood spice, toasty oak, and some balsamic top notes. Nicely rich and powerful on entry with good clarity on the palate and lots of ripe fruit supported by nice ripe tannins lending this a broad and yet transparent feel on the palate. This shows a little oxidation on the backend with a little rusty edge and finishes fairly short, though this shows some potential. A bit chunky and fruity. 88pts
2008 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata Toriglione - La Morra
Filled with aromas of dark ripe fruit that have a bit of a sweet wild cherry coulis aspect to them are topped with meaty, balsamic, and dried beef perfumes. This is tight and slightly austere, very 2008 in character with nice acids and structural integration, though a little vegetable bouillon appears on the midpalate. This is integrating the wood fairly well, considering the powerful style here and the finish shows great length and good complexity. 91pts
2008 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate - La Morra
Older vines, low density plantings
Powerful aromas of beef blood, cinnamon, nutmeg, a touch of rust, dark fruit, and macerated medicinal herbs greet the nose. This is texturally packed on the palate, rich and yet with a touch of austerity. Nicely rounded tannins supported flavors that show flashes of mint and something vegetal along with a big follow through of root beer on the finish. This shows just a touch of alcohol and dry, chewy tannins on the moderately long finish. There’s a lot going on here but this is awfully dense today. 90pts
2003 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Fossati - Case Nere- La Morra
100% barrique, 20% new
Lots of ripeness on the nose, stewy and still oaky. This is fairly fresh on the palate considering the vintage, though it still shows some wood along with flavors of rich red fruits. This is a powerful wine with a rustic finish that shows a green edge to the tannins here. You can sense that this might be an elegant wine in another vintage, even here it has rather succulent acidity that help to support the cola backend and rather liquory dense, chewy finish. 88pts
Aldo Conterno
The wines of Aldo Conterno have gone through changes over the years, being among the top wines in the late 1980s before losing ground to other producers as the family went through a period of transition and change. Today the wines produced here are real standouts for the region. They are among the frankly fruitiest Barolos produced, and yet they retain the structure and feel of a more traditional wine. They are proving to be hugely successful with consumers, and while they are not exactly the style of Barolo I prefer, one can hardly argue with the hedonistic pleasure these wines provide. Given the changing of styles here it's hard to get a read on how these wines will age, but I would guess that for the most part they will be medium term as opposed to long term wines, best consumed within their first 20 years or with all that fruit, though I would be happy to be proven wrong.
“I'm tired of people betting on Barolo, Barolo is not a gamble, I feel that our Barolo should be expressing more primary fruit.” Giacomo Conterno
2009 Barolo Bussia - Monforte
26 months in Slavonian botte
Plots outside of the crus yet within Bussia
Wow wild cherry, menthol, rose petal, a touch of exotic fruit, pomegranate maybe with a hint of India ink all greet the nose with power and clarity. In the mouth this is pretty easy going with lots of pretty fresh yet simple if juicy, red fruits. There’s a nice tannic finish here with tons of licorice flavors and this is awfully well behaved, holding its alcohol very well at 15.3%. This is a bit Barolo-lite in a way, but this is very true to type and enjoyable, tart cherry, raspberry and plum notes with hints of rosehips and dried citrus rinds adding some detail to the inner mouth perfumes. This is a very fruity Barolo. 89pts
2009 Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello - Monforte
5400 bottles
More la morra style soil, more florl, more magnesium and manganese in the soil, others more clay in the soil so earthier, 360 meters, cicada is 405, romirascois 410
6 weeks skin contact, 26 months in botte
Rather perfumed and frankly fruity on the nose with a touch of carob and anise seed accenting rose petal flecked sour cherry and pomegranate fruit,all gaining a hint of white pepper and dusty white soil tones with air. Very smooth in the mouth with good acids and ripe tannins creating a wine that is both a bit dense and relaxed in the mouth with a fine core of wild red berry fruit, more lingonberry than cherry with leather, tree bark, soil and mineral notes all adding details. This does lack some energy in the mouth which may be a result of the vintage but this is rich and a little chewy on the back end, followed by a moderately long finish that shows a hint of mushroom and well framed, slightly candied raspberry fruit. 91pts
2009 Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala - Monforte
3.2 hectares, the steepest portion of the vineyard, 5800 bottles
Six weeks of skin contact, 29 months wood
Deep and rich on the nose with intense fruit, mineral and floral aromas that are a little wild, a little sauvage with salumi and cocoa accents, topped by slightly medicinal and minty accents. Cool and compact on the palate, this has both richness and edginess with a lovey hint of sweetness to the wild cherry fruit on the palate. Here are some savory notes here, something minty/licorice and aromatic in the mouth. The tannins here are more angular than with the previous wines, and while this might be a little dense and weighty in the mouth this is a classy, intense, powerful and fruit driven wine. 92pts
2009 Aldo Conterno Barolo Romirasco - Monforte
3.8 hectares, 4900 bottles
31 months in wood
Super floral on the nose with intense perfumes of Middle Eastern spices, green spices, and turmeric. Smooth, polished and elegant on entry this exhibits lots of depth on the palate with good clarity even if this is a little chewy. The wild cherry fruit on the palate is intense without being frooty, carrying with it a lovely astringent edge. The fruit here definitely has wild candy notes with an innate sweetness one the palate, but it is also quite seamless with tannins that float away on the finish. This shows more heat than the previous two wines, though it also finishes with more savory and mineral accents to the small astringent red fruits that show fine persistence, though in the end one does find a little bubble gum fruitiness. People are going to love this. It’s structured and fruity! 93pts
2005 Aldo Conterno Barolo Granbussia - Monforte
Used to be five week skin contact, malo during assembly of the crus, now starting with 2005 two months skin contact and co-fermented crus
Tight, muscular and angular on the mineral laced nose that shows excellent perfumes of rosehips, orange rind, dried flowers with a hint of iron and spice. This is gorgeous with excellent integration in the mouth. Just lovely with wide open fruit that shows a lightly burnished edge, with a light sweetness to the fruit but this is layered with savory, spiced, and dried herbs and floral elements. There’s a reserved sense of power to this wine with lovely follow through to the dusty, wild raspberry fruit on the finish. This is elegant and refined, with excellent complexity and length. 94pts
Giuseppe Mascarello
As we end this tour of Piedmont we come to my two favorite producers. First we arrive at Guiseppe Mascarello, a traditionalist who might even be doing something that are perhaps considered technically incorrect, and whose wines can be among the most deceptive, reticent, and frankly disappointing during periods in their youth but given time these wines explode with complexity and richness. These are terroir wines, very much of their place, and in the case of Monprivato are made from one of the few grand Cru vineyards in the Langhe. The track record established by Monprivato is an enviable one and the fact that the wine is produced in relatively large quantities, for the region,means that this world class wine remains affordable. I can't stress enough how fantastic these wines are and how they remain great values. Other vineyards also have produced some amazing wines, though with less consistency. The 2008 Santa Stefano is a knockout, as was the 2006 Villero.
2008 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Villero - Castiglione Falletto
Freshly opened bottle
Tight and clay driven on the nose, which also features aromas of rosehips, hot tar, fennel and wild strawberry. This is a pretty powerful wine, deep round and balsamic with very clear, lovely minerality, balsamic and floral highlights to the rusty red fruit all coming together in a light tight finish. There’s a beautiful ripeness to the tannins here with a little baking spice on the moderately long finish. This is decisive and elegant. 93pts
2008 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Santo Stefano – Monforte
Freshly opened bottle
25 to 27 days on the skins, aged in 30HL to 35HL botte depending on quantities.
Dark slightly minty and slightly herbal carob tinged wild raspberry fruit greets the nose followed by deep rosepetals and a little thistle. Powerful and dry on entry with superb acidity supporting raspberry fruit with a hint of red plum, pomegranate , and some rust notes on the transparent mid-palate. The finish is long, powerful and austere with a nice herb tinged spiciness to it. There might be a touch of alcohol showing on the finish but this is exceptionally well balanced and complete. 94pts
2008 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato - Castiglione Falletto
From a bottle open for 24 hours
Gorgeous nose filled with small strawberry and lingonberry fruit topped with intense rose petal aromatics, a little almost cinnamon sweetness, a hint of hazelnut nutella and a nice dusting of talc. Bright and decisive on entry with soft tannins gently supporting almost sweet wild strawberry fruit. There are accent notes of rust, macerated flowers, and a hint of spice here all presented in a clear and tense style built upon lovely acidity. This exhibits length, purity and elegance, with such such clarity on the palate. It is a classic in the making. 94pts
2004 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Riserva Monprivato Ca d'Morissio - Castiglione Falletto
Herb stem notes and limestone greet the nose followed by tart fruits, watermelon rind, salami, hanging game, and an incipient truffle note. This is tense in the mouth and showing a bit of density but remains wildly transparent. Elegant and with the sneaky power of Mascarello, this is a tough stage to be trying this as it’s chewy and long with tons of tightly packed sweet fine grained tannins leading to a long mineral laced and woodsmoked topped finish. This is just beautiful, but it does need 20 years. 95pts
2003 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Riserva Monprivato Ca d'Morissio - Castiglione Falletto
Big fruit on the nose but it's fresh, lightly smoky, broad, and sweet with dried orange rind notes, and hints of earth and rosewater. Very front loaded in the mouth with a round feel and nice mineral cut leading to a mid-palate that shows acids that seem a touch low. This is fairly classic with good complexity but this shows a little simple today, though with excellent freshness and power through the rich, tannic finish. This still has a lot in reserve. 93pts
Giacomo Conterno
Who produces the single finest wine of Barolo? You might get quite a few different answers tot his question but if you take a considered look that includes a historical perspective as well as the current release wines you would be hard pressed not to select Giacomo Conterno's Monfortino. For me there is no doubt and over the years I have put more Giacomo Conterno wines in my cellar than any other producer's. Having said that I buy very little today, not because the wines aren't still among the very best, in the world that is, but rather because the wines are receiving the recognition that they deserve and prices have risen accordingly. In absolute terms though these wines remain fairly priced, they are gorgeous wines, traditional yet cleaner and more precise than they have been in the past. The mMnfortino though is a wine for young people, as it takes two to three decades in the cellar in order to really hit its sweet spot. These are simply amazing wines and if you can't afford them you should make friends with someone who can. They are simply not to be missed.
2009 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - Serralunga
A bit of wild mint and diesel shows up early on the nose along with some macerated huckleberry fruit. In the mouth this is tight, powerful and smooth, with acidity that is perhaps a touch low. Building slowly on the palate, this shows lots of chewy fruit skin tannins in a very young and unformed stage of its evolution. There’s real lightness and elegance here with limestone on the backend that really grows on the finish. The elegance and purity of fruit is attractive here but this does seem a bit soft and reticent today. Everything is in its place and the acidity does add some lift on the backend so I can’t imagine this not improving, still it seems like it will be fairly obvious. 92pts
2010 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - Serralunga
Barrel sample - Incredible nose powerful and already complex, really like potpourri on the nose along with the essence of Nebbiolo black cherry fruit. This is mouth filling if transparent, with, awesome acidity, ripe tannins that are totally refined, really perfect ripeness, and fine stony fruit in the mouth and through the exceptionally long finish. This is going to make people cry. Best ever? 96-98pts
Elegance of 1985 with the power of 1989
2010 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cerretta – Serralunga
Two hectares, 6000 bottles
Thinking of bottling in magnum single bottle case
Barrel sample - Powerful on the nose in a dark, tarry, stepped tea kind of way with aromas that are a little nutty and slightly vegetal with a touch of marmite, herbal/floral inky violets undertone. Powerful and smooth with bigger sweeter fruit than the Cascina Frnancia supported by super ripe tannins and great acidity. The succulent fruit is a little chewy and a touch rustic on the finish with real persistence to the fruit. The alcohol shows a touch on the finish. 93-95pts
2006 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino - Serralunga
A saturation of wild cherry, chamomile, slightly spicy heather and pink peppercorn aromas fill the nose. This is just so intensely fruity, with smoky, mineral and menthol notes adding complexity. Chewy with powerful acidity and packed with ripe tannins, this is powerful, deep and packed with wild berry fruit, steeped tea, and dried herbs flavors. The mineral backbone here is phenomenal, and while this is very tannic, it is also very focused and tense with a long finish that, this keeps hammering away on the palate. Imagine smashing cherries on limestone with an old wooden hammer. Now imagine loving that. 96pts
Tenuta Montanello
Tenuta Montanello is a large estate in Castiglione Falletto occupying the ridge just to the north of Monprivato and roughly adjacent to Cavallotto's Bricco Boschis. The wines have improved during the relatively brief existence of the winery, since about 2000, and additional replantings of the vineyard should yield positive results in the coming decades. Today the Barolo is a little on the light side and as such shows its oak rather obviously, though I expect the potential of this Cru to slowly reveal itself as the vines mature and the proprietors become more confident with their work
2008 Tenuta Montanello Barolo - Castiglione Falletto
One year in French barrique, on third new. A second year in botte in six to eight-year-old Slavonian botte.
Wood on the nose immediately, a little sweet, cinnamon sugar and toasty spice lends this a nice woodsy note with a little stemmy spice just a touch green adding some freshness and detail. This is soft broad and a bit diffuse on the palate with a nice load of tannins but the wood tannins are more obvious. Showing nice fruity aromas of wild cherries, this shows good integration of oak on the backend as the wine finds a bit of a center. A bit small scaled and leaning more towards the modern than the traditional this retains a light, fairly airy feel to it. 87pts