Oddero, Luigi
Certainly less well known that the Fratelli Oddero, other half of the split family estate, Luigi Oddero has struggled to find a voice for their wines. The death of Luigi left the winery rather rudderless for several years but the addition of Dante Scaglione as consultant two years ago, and Francesco Versio as winemaker this last year has given the winery two guides who are righting the ship and refining the traditional winemaking style that Luigi pursued.
The wines are not quite there yet, at least what is in the marketplace. There are good, even spectacular bottlings already available but what has been tasted out of botte, or the recent vintages of less important grapes promises great things from this address. We will have to wait and see but I think it won’t be long before people realise what is going on chez Luigi Oddero, so my advise is to try the wines sooner rather than later to see if they’re made in a style you like. They find a way to buy what you can going forward.
35hl. 18hl for nebbiolo atto al barolo
Segni di la Langhe winemaker from Reva
Val faccenda
Red soil rich in clay
2014 Francia, Rionda no problem, lamorra monforte had more rain and hail and more problems,
In serralunga 800-900mm monforte saw 1200mm water less hail
Belvedere is in baudana, on the right before you enter,
2015 Luigi Oddero Langhe Bianco.
75% chard/ 25% viognier
Finishes fermentation in two new tonneaux, stays in wood for one year including this end of fermet period, on e the lees in wood, new tonneaux this vintage but will not replace tonneaux
Sweet floral and apricot fruit with a buttery wood layered edge to it. Rich in the mouth, opulent, voluptuous even though with mineral accents serving as a counterpoint to the notes of barrel fermentation. Bright acids support a nice golden apple core of fruit, fresh and clean enough but this is a bit cougar juicy. 84pts
2015 Luigi Oddero Dolcetto d’Alba 13%
estate fruit, in concrete
Very fruity and gently candied on the nose with a nice green streak that runs through this with a little potting soil and geranium note. Playful on entry, then showing good cut in the mouth. Fruit is fresh but a bit bitter though very perfumed in the mouth with jasmine and violet floral notes. Real cut on the back end, no fat but no lack of richness, either. This is surprisingly taut and tense. 91pts
2015 Luigi Oddero Barbera d’Alba 15%
Tank sample
Part in wood part in concrete. Saw 2-3 monthsin new 85hl French oak barrels, 6.4gramz acid
Tight on the nose with subtle notes of, leather, dry blackberry fruit and a hint of nuttiness and tea. Rich, seamless wine, powerful and juicy with a vague plummy jam undercurrent. Taut and driven by good acidity the acid is so well integrated just popping on the refreshing finish. This demands a. nice steak as it has a bloody nuance to the wild berry fruit on the palate which develops some aromatic herb stem complexity. There's a lot of extract here, and this is remarkably long. 93pts
2014 Luigi Oddero Langhe Nebbiolo 14.3%
12 monthes in botte, 7-8 monthes in concrete then bottled,
Salt aria and the low parts orrocche riviera I castiglione
Deeply aromatic with a lactic wash to the rich, ripe red and white cherry fruit of the nose. Fine if a bit lean in the mouth, but well balanced, elegant, and tight. Fine grained tannins are succulent and support small but fresh with red and white cherry fruit in a rather open knit package with terrific drinkability. Fairly long and savory sandalwood laced finish, this is pure and precise, with a lovely balsamic wash to it, tension in the mouth and terrific freshness. 91pts
2014 Luigi Oddero Barbaresco Rombone 14%
Treiso, Lots of limestone I. The soil,
Lends complexity and structure
18 months in oak
Tight, initially topped with soil tones on the nose, then turning classically floral, more violet than rose but very pretty and sweetly fruited. Small red berry fruit dominates the entry, rich with wild strawberry flavors supported by finely knit acids. There's hint of briariness to this on the palate that adds texturally complexity. Very strong aromatically, and tauter on the backend turning a bit tight and austere on the backend though the fruit appears to have the legs to hang on with a ovely finish, a bit short but pure with sandalwood and red fruit complexity. 89pts
2014 Versio Barbaresco 14.5%
2600 bottles. About half the usual production, Second vintage, sancristoforoinneive, curator,Manichaeism has a little sand also, planted in 1969,40% we replaced, usually in20hl stock inger barrel but here too little so two used tonneaux.
12 days do tot he skin not being in perfect condition,
Very balsamic on the nose, floral, high toned and intense. Elegant in the mouth, yet with power and depth, a bit fruity in style but with significant backing nuance, rich and balanced in the mouth, a lIttle bit chewy, really very fine though with beautifully rendered fruit that lacks a little follow through but the texture, and dimension in the mouth of this wine remains compelling. Finishes with citrus and raspberry fruit that shows fine definition. A great 2014, a very good wine in any vintage. 92pts
2013 Luigi Oddero Barolo 14.5%
Serralunga, Castiglione, Santa Maria,
24 monthsin botte two three month I concrete
Tight mineral laced nose is reticent, showing a little menthol,r though not really giving up much. On entry this is so supple and tender, it's low and tight in the mouth too but with fine grained tannins. A good core of fruit emerges in the mouth, rather Smith Brothers menthol wild cherry like, though balanced and harmonious, if a bit chewy and tannic on the finish, I'm sure this will be good but I can't score it today.
2011 Luigi Oddero Barolo Specola 14.5%
2600-3000 bottles
Around the tower old vines, 40 yo, prone to hail, about 36-38 months in oak, then concrete, then bottled, minimum two years in bottle before relate ase
Fruity on the nose and fragrant with white cherry and plummy fruit aromas laced with licorice accents, a touch of nutmeg, and hints of rust and white clay. Lively and bright in the mouth if less fruity than many 2011s but still round and quite plump. Open and moderately rich, if a bit short, this is lovely a touch simple, and a touch marine on the back end with blue floral accents, blue plum skins, and wild cherries in alcohol. So much fun and yet not facile. 92pts
2011 Luigi Oddero Barolo Rocche Riviera 14.5%
38 months in barrel of 65hl
A little ivy greets the nose with layers of whites soil tones, high toned, floral notes, ivy, and a cardoon nuance. A bit flatter than the Specola of the same vintage, deeper and more mineral inflected in the mouth but less complex. There’s an appealingly round, supple, mouthfeel, good acidity, and nice cut, but also a bit less finesse, more flesh, chewier, with a fine herbal accent. Pretty complete but without the harmony and elegance of the Specola. 91pts
Rocche rivière
From scarrone and last name of old owner
2011 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda 14%
3400-5000 bottles
35_-40 yo
Tight, again a reticent wine but one that slowly reveals nuanced aroams of ffrutti del Bosco crushed on limestone. Surprisingly the fruit leans toward red currants. This is the most complete of these three wines, but also the tightest with a deep core of gentle austerity, fine depth of clear, tense red raspberry and red currant fruit and good length with camphor and tobacco gracing the finish along with lingering minerality. Just another example of the grand cru nature of the site. This does have a hint of oak on the nse, but it's going to disappear. Superb, so fine and large scaled, yet ephemeral, Barolo doesn't get much better. 96pts
2010 Luigi Oddero Barolo Specola 14%
A real distinct bbw sauce bbw potato chip note here which is quite smoky layered over little ink and iodine notes perhaps, showing some wood notes, like creamy cognac and spicy base notes as well. Rich, round, and powerful in the mouth, impressive richness and roundness in fact and today that lends this an impression of chunkiness on the plate. Tannins are a bit dry, a bit chewy but fresh and generous. Decidedly more structured than eleven, and in fact this seems to be a bit too tannic right now. 89pts
2009 Luigi Oddero Barolo Specola 14.5%
Fruity with an herbal wash and incipient truffle note over plummy fruit. Fresh in the mouth, if nicely evolved with some dark spice notes, pruny notes and a little matchstick accent. Tannins are crude, a touch green. A raw wine with the nose that is ahead of the palate, finishing with modest length. Slow.y the oak, focused and precise, but persistent, emerges moving from the finish to the mid-palate. A touch rough going. 87pts
2008 Luigi Oddero Barolo Rocche Riviera
Burnished cherry fruit greets the nose along with a hint of brown spice, some terpenes from the wood here, and light mineral notes Tight and focused in the mouth, the base here, limestone built, is much more noble than the Specola, but this shows a rather firm inlay of oak. It remains fresh and youthful, if a bit short, and very austere. A wine of potential,reticent but balanced and harmonious with a real echo of fruit on the finish that is promising for the future. There's a mineral water quality to the finish, with hint of rose petal. 91pts
2010 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda 14.5%
There's a slight cinnamon like note on the nose that reminds me of those cinnamon candy dots on paper. Rather tight, if wild with cherry, cardamom, and astringent soil aromas. Rich sheer, and elegant, in the mouth with fine balance. This is reserved and elegant, cylindrical in the mouth, then a bit of a powerhouse on the backend with chewy tannins gracing the long finish, all mineral, limestone soil laced. There’s a fascinating blend of power and lace here. I’m not sure which direction cellaring will take it but I think it’s worth finding out. 93pts
2003 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vig,na Rionda 14.5%
Shows someodd thehet of the vintage, ity morethancooked fruit, in the mouth the story is a bit different, there is freshness, a layered quality, fairly bright, a bit herbal inthe mouth, ripe pliant tannins, good length, esvn, pleasant, still red fruited, nicely blanced buts till a bit chunky, lots of tobacco here,
2003 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vig,na Rionda t 14.5%
Seashells, balsamic, sliced cherry, blood orange, a bit rusty, uanced and lovely, remarkably supple rich, broad inthe mouth an almost herbal liquory, note, meaty and fine a touch more rustic than the more recent wines, warm, generous. Old school, burnished
The wines are not quite there yet, at least what is in the marketplace. There are good, even spectacular bottlings already available but what has been tasted out of botte, or the recent vintages of less important grapes promises great things from this address. We will have to wait and see but I think it won’t be long before people realise what is going on chez Luigi Oddero, so my advise is to try the wines sooner rather than later to see if they’re made in a style you like. They find a way to buy what you can going forward.
35hl. 18hl for nebbiolo atto al barolo
Segni di la Langhe winemaker from Reva
Val faccenda
Red soil rich in clay
2014 Francia, Rionda no problem, lamorra monforte had more rain and hail and more problems,
In serralunga 800-900mm monforte saw 1200mm water less hail
Belvedere is in baudana, on the right before you enter,
2015 Luigi Oddero Langhe Bianco.
75% chard/ 25% viognier
Finishes fermentation in two new tonneaux, stays in wood for one year including this end of fermet period, on e the lees in wood, new tonneaux this vintage but will not replace tonneaux
Sweet floral and apricot fruit with a buttery wood layered edge to it. Rich in the mouth, opulent, voluptuous even though with mineral accents serving as a counterpoint to the notes of barrel fermentation. Bright acids support a nice golden apple core of fruit, fresh and clean enough but this is a bit cougar juicy. 84pts
2015 Luigi Oddero Dolcetto d’Alba 13%
estate fruit, in concrete
Very fruity and gently candied on the nose with a nice green streak that runs through this with a little potting soil and geranium note. Playful on entry, then showing good cut in the mouth. Fruit is fresh but a bit bitter though very perfumed in the mouth with jasmine and violet floral notes. Real cut on the back end, no fat but no lack of richness, either. This is surprisingly taut and tense. 91pts
2015 Luigi Oddero Barbera d’Alba 15%
Tank sample
Part in wood part in concrete. Saw 2-3 monthsin new 85hl French oak barrels, 6.4gramz acid
Tight on the nose with subtle notes of, leather, dry blackberry fruit and a hint of nuttiness and tea. Rich, seamless wine, powerful and juicy with a vague plummy jam undercurrent. Taut and driven by good acidity the acid is so well integrated just popping on the refreshing finish. This demands a. nice steak as it has a bloody nuance to the wild berry fruit on the palate which develops some aromatic herb stem complexity. There's a lot of extract here, and this is remarkably long. 93pts
2014 Luigi Oddero Langhe Nebbiolo 14.3%
12 monthes in botte, 7-8 monthes in concrete then bottled,
Salt aria and the low parts orrocche riviera I castiglione
Deeply aromatic with a lactic wash to the rich, ripe red and white cherry fruit of the nose. Fine if a bit lean in the mouth, but well balanced, elegant, and tight. Fine grained tannins are succulent and support small but fresh with red and white cherry fruit in a rather open knit package with terrific drinkability. Fairly long and savory sandalwood laced finish, this is pure and precise, with a lovely balsamic wash to it, tension in the mouth and terrific freshness. 91pts
2014 Luigi Oddero Barbaresco Rombone 14%
Treiso, Lots of limestone I. The soil,
Lends complexity and structure
18 months in oak
Tight, initially topped with soil tones on the nose, then turning classically floral, more violet than rose but very pretty and sweetly fruited. Small red berry fruit dominates the entry, rich with wild strawberry flavors supported by finely knit acids. There's hint of briariness to this on the palate that adds texturally complexity. Very strong aromatically, and tauter on the backend turning a bit tight and austere on the backend though the fruit appears to have the legs to hang on with a ovely finish, a bit short but pure with sandalwood and red fruit complexity. 89pts
2014 Versio Barbaresco 14.5%
2600 bottles. About half the usual production, Second vintage, sancristoforoinneive, curator,Manichaeism has a little sand also, planted in 1969,40% we replaced, usually in20hl stock inger barrel but here too little so two used tonneaux.
12 days do tot he skin not being in perfect condition,
Very balsamic on the nose, floral, high toned and intense. Elegant in the mouth, yet with power and depth, a bit fruity in style but with significant backing nuance, rich and balanced in the mouth, a lIttle bit chewy, really very fine though with beautifully rendered fruit that lacks a little follow through but the texture, and dimension in the mouth of this wine remains compelling. Finishes with citrus and raspberry fruit that shows fine definition. A great 2014, a very good wine in any vintage. 92pts
2013 Luigi Oddero Barolo 14.5%
Serralunga, Castiglione, Santa Maria,
24 monthsin botte two three month I concrete
Tight mineral laced nose is reticent, showing a little menthol,r though not really giving up much. On entry this is so supple and tender, it's low and tight in the mouth too but with fine grained tannins. A good core of fruit emerges in the mouth, rather Smith Brothers menthol wild cherry like, though balanced and harmonious, if a bit chewy and tannic on the finish, I'm sure this will be good but I can't score it today.
2011 Luigi Oddero Barolo Specola 14.5%
2600-3000 bottles
Around the tower old vines, 40 yo, prone to hail, about 36-38 months in oak, then concrete, then bottled, minimum two years in bottle before relate ase
Fruity on the nose and fragrant with white cherry and plummy fruit aromas laced with licorice accents, a touch of nutmeg, and hints of rust and white clay. Lively and bright in the mouth if less fruity than many 2011s but still round and quite plump. Open and moderately rich, if a bit short, this is lovely a touch simple, and a touch marine on the back end with blue floral accents, blue plum skins, and wild cherries in alcohol. So much fun and yet not facile. 92pts
2011 Luigi Oddero Barolo Rocche Riviera 14.5%
38 months in barrel of 65hl
A little ivy greets the nose with layers of whites soil tones, high toned, floral notes, ivy, and a cardoon nuance. A bit flatter than the Specola of the same vintage, deeper and more mineral inflected in the mouth but less complex. There’s an appealingly round, supple, mouthfeel, good acidity, and nice cut, but also a bit less finesse, more flesh, chewier, with a fine herbal accent. Pretty complete but without the harmony and elegance of the Specola. 91pts
Rocche rivière
From scarrone and last name of old owner
2011 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda 14%
3400-5000 bottles
35_-40 yo
Tight, again a reticent wine but one that slowly reveals nuanced aroams of ffrutti del Bosco crushed on limestone. Surprisingly the fruit leans toward red currants. This is the most complete of these three wines, but also the tightest with a deep core of gentle austerity, fine depth of clear, tense red raspberry and red currant fruit and good length with camphor and tobacco gracing the finish along with lingering minerality. Just another example of the grand cru nature of the site. This does have a hint of oak on the nse, but it's going to disappear. Superb, so fine and large scaled, yet ephemeral, Barolo doesn't get much better. 96pts
2010 Luigi Oddero Barolo Specola 14%
A real distinct bbw sauce bbw potato chip note here which is quite smoky layered over little ink and iodine notes perhaps, showing some wood notes, like creamy cognac and spicy base notes as well. Rich, round, and powerful in the mouth, impressive richness and roundness in fact and today that lends this an impression of chunkiness on the plate. Tannins are a bit dry, a bit chewy but fresh and generous. Decidedly more structured than eleven, and in fact this seems to be a bit too tannic right now. 89pts
2009 Luigi Oddero Barolo Specola 14.5%
Fruity with an herbal wash and incipient truffle note over plummy fruit. Fresh in the mouth, if nicely evolved with some dark spice notes, pruny notes and a little matchstick accent. Tannins are crude, a touch green. A raw wine with the nose that is ahead of the palate, finishing with modest length. Slow.y the oak, focused and precise, but persistent, emerges moving from the finish to the mid-palate. A touch rough going. 87pts
2008 Luigi Oddero Barolo Rocche Riviera
Burnished cherry fruit greets the nose along with a hint of brown spice, some terpenes from the wood here, and light mineral notes Tight and focused in the mouth, the base here, limestone built, is much more noble than the Specola, but this shows a rather firm inlay of oak. It remains fresh and youthful, if a bit short, and very austere. A wine of potential,reticent but balanced and harmonious with a real echo of fruit on the finish that is promising for the future. There's a mineral water quality to the finish, with hint of rose petal. 91pts
2010 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda 14.5%
There's a slight cinnamon like note on the nose that reminds me of those cinnamon candy dots on paper. Rather tight, if wild with cherry, cardamom, and astringent soil aromas. Rich sheer, and elegant, in the mouth with fine balance. This is reserved and elegant, cylindrical in the mouth, then a bit of a powerhouse on the backend with chewy tannins gracing the long finish, all mineral, limestone soil laced. There’s a fascinating blend of power and lace here. I’m not sure which direction cellaring will take it but I think it’s worth finding out. 93pts
2003 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vig,na Rionda 14.5%
Shows someodd thehet of the vintage, ity morethancooked fruit, in the mouth the story is a bit different, there is freshness, a layered quality, fairly bright, a bit herbal inthe mouth, ripe pliant tannins, good length, esvn, pleasant, still red fruited, nicely blanced buts till a bit chunky, lots of tobacco here,
2003 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vig,na Rionda t 14.5%
Seashells, balsamic, sliced cherry, blood orange, a bit rusty, uanced and lovely, remarkably supple rich, broad inthe mouth an almost herbal liquory, note, meaty and fine a touch more rustic than the more recent wines, warm, generous. Old school, burnished