Barololand 2015 Day 4

Well, our visit with Roberto Conterno was as rich as was to be expected. The attention to detail here is legendary, and continuing. Robert is trying to raise the quality of his wines each vintage, 2% a year if he is lucky. And he is lucky, or call it providence. Consider that over the last several years he has expanded his cellars, to accommodate his acquisition of Cerretta of course, but with additional incremental space to allow for future expansion. Two weeks after the completion of the cellars the opportunity to acquire virtually all of Arione presented itself. About 6 hectares of vineyards, four in Serralnuga and 2 in Roddino. Not an inconsequential volume of wine and one that will bring production up to 85,000 bottles in a generous vintage, from the current 60,000.

Roberto Conterno in his new fermentation cellar.

2010 Monfortino from botte

The plans for the Arione parcels are up in the air, awaiting the results of his first vinification with the fruit later this year though it seems as though the Serralunga parcels are in good shape, while those in Roddino might need to be replanted. Obviously there was no Arione to be tasted today, though the wines from Cerretta are ample proof that something profound will come from Arione someday. A bit sandier than Cascina Francia, and with a full southern exposition, the vines might suffering warm vintages but when everything is dialed in to Roberto's liking expect great things.

And about that attention to detail, not only does the Conterno cellar have a brand new bottling line, which not only can handle 3-liter bottles, but washes itself, removing the potential of human error from one of the trickier operations in the cellar, but also has a new machine that analyzes the corks used. After laser imprinting each cork has its ends scanned for defects. The less attractive side then has the vintage plied to it, while the better side comes in contact without he cork, previously  both ends had been branded with the vintage. This not only ensures a better seal int he bottle, but does not expose a branded bit of cork to the wine. Remember that 2%? Well this is .1%, a detail of a detail as Robert said. The drive to continue to improve here is try impressive considering the quality and consistency of the wines here over the year. Hats off!

The wines all showed well, Cerretta being fruitier, rounder, and less crystal clear than the Francia for both Barbera, which I would prefer today over the Francia, and the Barolo, but as usual the highpoint here were the Monfortini. 2008 out of bottle and 2010 out of cask. I can't afford these wines anymore, who can? But wow, absolutely gorgeous purity and definition on the palate, even if both are excruciatingly youthful.

After our visit with Roberto we returned to Montanello for lunch, a brilliant frittata with fresh peas, sage, and local tom cheese, the usual salad, grilled vegetables, and coffee before heading back out for the day. Second visit at Scarzello where we tatted through Several vintages of Barolo and Barolo Vigna Merenda. The 2009s here will make a believer out of anybody, really fine stuff though in an arch-traditionalist style that can take a bit of getting used to. These wines seem to have everything in place to age like classics from the 60s and 70s, sweetly fruited but savory and subtle.

The point of reference wine here is, oddly enough, not a red wine, or even a white, but rather the sparkling Epecrife. A Nebbiolo rose method classico. Originally intended, in 2000, to be a blanc de noir, the producers, four young friends from enological school, found that to remove even the lightest of rose tints from Nebbiolo required so much carbon that the aromatics were crushed. The solution? Make a rose, and it is a lovely wine. Pas dose, fresh, notably fruity, but in a subtle and refined way.

Our final visit today was at Cantina Bartolo Mascarello, and sadly Maria-Theresa was in Torino, but we were treated to a grand visit with Alan Manley, long time employee and great tour guide chez Mascarello. I've been here many times so there was little new or novel, though there are two new tinis and Alan's project of organizing, touching up, and inventorying the cellar is now virtually complete making for a less dangerous and prettier walk through the cantina.

Nothing really ever changes here, different pieces of the vineyard get replanted, San Lorenzo this year for example, but the wines, vinification, work int he cellar, and philosophy in article remain consistent. As does the quality of the wines. We focused on Nebbiolo today, tasting four wines. The 2013 Nebbiolo is gorgeous, the 2010 Barolo we should probably not talk about since there is none left anywhere in the world. The 2011 Barolo is just a delicious wine, pretty, a bit more powerful than usual perhaps but with the grace and transparency that are the hallmarks of these wines. The 2001 Barolo was a treat. Perhaps advancing on a fast track, I think it still has a decade of positive improvement left in a cold cellar but there is no harm in drinking it now.

For dinner we headed to our favorite, Bercau in Verduno, where Massimo conducted a near perfect dinner serif consisting of fabulous ravioli burro salvia, feather weight gnocchi, verdure fritti that were gorgeous, and crisp chicken and braised sausages that were the perfect accompaniment to our wins of the evening. A doublemag of 1985 Burlotto Monvigliero, ditto for the 97, and several other magus of 1990s Barolo. I won't mention those simply because they were totally outclassed by the Burlottos. Admitedly the 1997 was brought by Fabio Alessandria himself from the cellars some 100 meters distant, but the 1985 was purchased, on Ebay of all places, by an expat member of the group. Since we had this gem, a surprise t us all, and were in Verduno, I called Fabio as we started our meal and invited him to join s. It was a real treat to have him there. The 1985 Monvigliero built all night long,  after having been double decanted at 10 am that morning, and turned out to be the near consensus wine of the night. Those who preferred another wine all preferred the 1997 Monvigliero, a wine that is unmistakably Monvigliero, remarkably fresh and juicy, and with nary a hint of its birth year. Granted with impeccable provenance out of the preferred format for aging, but I wouldn't hesitate in sharing a bottle, if I had any!

That's the day in total, back at Montanello at 1am, making this a bit of a rough morning. Now it's back to Verduno for a tasting with Fabio of all the current release Burlotto wines. More to come tomorrow!