Folks I’m in the process of expanding my wine knowledge and collection with respect to Barolo. Can someone give me a crash course in what to look for in a good Barolo and make a few recommendations. I’m looking for a few to drink now and a few to add to my collection that will increase in value over the next 10+ years. HELP!
Hi Matthew,
You pose a very broad question here. A good resource for you may be to have a look at Antonio Galloni’s Vinous site. There is a lot of Barolo focus on that site which may be of help for you.
Don Appleton
That’s good advice. I’d also seek out Kerin O’Keefe’s recent book on Barolo and Barbaresco, which does a good job detailing the history of the region and covering the different communes, soil types and wine styles. She also include helpful profiles of many of the leading wineries; while her list certainly has some surprising omissions (as noted by a few different threads here in WB), it still highlights many of the wineries you should become familiar with…
Terrific info here:
I will give you a short list of producers. You should consider tasting many of these producers Nebbiolo. It is a good way to get an understanding of the grape and their wines at less cost. With the added bonus of better drinking at a younger age. Many producers make good base Barolo, and the price is mostly reasonable. As you start to get into the single vineyard wines prices will escalate. Still they are the best value in top wines from anywhere in the world. Pale ruby color, violets/roses, tar and fruit on the nose. Med mouthfeel with flavors of red and black fruit. Accented by leather, tobacco, herbs and soil/earth. All of these are markers for good-great Barolo.
These are all very good-great producers. The 2010 vintage is one you should consider buying.
Fratelli Alessandria
G.D Vajra
Brovia
Vietti
G. Rinaldi
G. Conterno
B. Giacosa - recent problems make focusing on older wine a smart, but expensive move
You might find this interesting since you are new to the wine.
If by saying Barolo you mean Nebbiolo, I would also add that you should consider Barbaresco, and as a “beginner”, specifically Produttori. Their base Nebbiolo is usually around $15 a bottle and intended for short-term consumption. Their entry level Barbaresco is $25 a bottle give or take, and is a wine that can show well on release, but also reward 10-15 years of cellaring as well.
Finally, their single vineyard releases run around $50+ a bottle, and they can provide an interesting study in terroir if you buy several different vineyards from the same vintage. IMO, possibly the best run cooperative in the world, and very good QPR.
Find someone who knows the wines and has the wines and organize a dinner. I’m in NYC if thats convenient.
Follow him up on that,Matthew.You can’t find any better education … 
Bill,
Although you would have to put up with him for an evening. That’s an expensive education.
Tom,
Certainly,but not such a burden…
Hi Matthew
In terms of wine investment I can’t help you. I don’t run a wine investment scheme, and if I did then I’d be the last person to trust! Buy wines that you’d be happy to drink.
Increasing in enjoyment - I reckon the good folks here will furnish you with plenty of good ideas.
A few questions that might help focus the mind (answer what you feel comfortable with - no right or wrong answers - just what you like):
First question: What do you think of tannins? A joyous thing, reasonable in moderation, or merely n obstacle to enjoying the wine? Your answer will change the sort of wines recommended and how long you’d want to hold them for.
2nd Question: Anything you’ve enjoyed? If so, let us know and we may be able to suggest interesting producers in a similar style. Also have a look at Pat Burton’s in depth thread that attempted to broadly characterise Barolo producers along the spectrum from traditional to modernist.
3rd Question: What’s your patience like? If you find yourself opening bottles very young, then we’d suggest a different style of wine than we would if you have nerves of steel and will calmly write “Open in 2035” on the bottle tag / case and fully intend to follow that guidance.
4th Question: Do you like power / intensity more than delicate / complexity? Some modernists are making quite intense wines, whilst some old school producers make wines that can appear deceptively frail.
regards
Ian
And to answer your question of what do I look for?
I like cellaring to enjoy the extra complexity of age. So I look for:
- A producer with a track record of wines that become interesting with age - ideally from first hand experience but I do read widely to bolster what I do know.
- Tannins commensurate with the style of wine I seek. If I’m planning to cellar for 20+ years then often (but not always) the more tannic wines have the ‘backbone’ to go the distance. However a wine where the tannins are disproportionately firm can be a warning sign, as a good number of traditional Barolo wines can lose the fruit entirely before the tannins recede. That said, I’d not consider myself any more than a novice in judging this. For a wine that I might want to drink in 10-15 years time, I’m looking for slightly softer tannins, still with some decent grip, but light enough to suggest it might soften over that timescale.
- Acidity. TBH I can’t recall a Barolo or Barbaresco that lacked any bite, though some of the 1997, 2000 and 2003 wines felt like the acidity was a little light. In maturity the acidity gives the wine freshness but also seems to bring some flavours to the fore. It does also soften, albeit the level of acidity remains as it was when bottled.
- Fruit. Barolo isn’t a ‘fruity’ wine, except perhaps for the ultra modernists, yet the fruit needs to have some depth, and also I’d suggest it ought to be interesting to you now. I have had one or two young bottles where the fruit was quite tightly locked up and of a ‘darker’ fruit profile. I find these harder to judge - I guess even me who likes quite traditional wines is a little cautious if the fruit is completely evasive.
- Balance. So tough this, as young Barolo generally inherently imbalanced. The tannins too big for the fruit & drying on the finish, with perky acidity doing nothing to help, the fruit can be bullied into the background and the colour can look alarmingly advanced… yet with tasting experience you’ll find what feels balanced to you - be that for earlier drinking or the long haul.
regards
Ian
Build a time machine and go back to 1994.
I must admit to being a complete novice here. Embarrassing for a guy who makes his own wine (ok Mike Smith actually makes the wine). I’ve got a locker full of California cab and I enjoy it, but I’m branching out. I’m not a Bordeaux drinker, “cue the gasp”, it’s just never been my thing. So I’m in the process of turning over my cab collection and really trying wine from a global perspective. I’ve had a few Barolos and they pleased my palate.
1st: Tannins: I like them in moderation but I wouldn’t rule out a wine based on them.
2nd: 2007 Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra is a wine I have tried and liked a lot
3rd: I’m a patient man, more than willing to hold for 15+ years
4th: I lean more to the intensity side of the spectrum
Just make sure to sit as far away from me as possible bill and I will be at the end of the table with your wine.
I prefer sitting across from you at the table and drinking our wine…and somebody else’s as well…
Before investing in wines for the cellar, I think you’d be wise to buy some older ones – pre-1990, if you can – as nebbiolo evolves very differently from cabernet.
Then get some from the 90s from both traditional style makers and producers who use new oak, shorter fermentation times, and so on. See whether you like one style or the other, or both. (I suggest from the 90s because the full-on modern winemaking didn’t really come on the scene until the late 1980s.)
You might also try tasting a Barolo from La Morra, Novello or Verduno, on the one hand, next to one from Monforte or Serralunga, on the other. A few producers (Vajra, Vietti) produce from both ends of the district, so you could get pairs with similar winemaking. The former tend to be more elegant; the latter more powerful.
And,for another glimpse of an exciting Nebbiolo,get the 03 Roagna Paje Barbaresco and 05 Vigna Rionda Barolo…and while you’re at it,get a G.Mascarello Monprivato 03 as well…and don’t forget an 05 Bartolo Mascarello and G. Rinaldi…and have fun…not to mention the 06,07 Burlotto Monvigliero.That should provide some accessibility for you in recent vintages…
Given these answers, you might want to start on the modern end of the spectrum. I might humbly suggest the following producers to check out:
Orlando Abrigo
Elio Altare
Gianfranco Bovio
Aldo Conterno
Luigi Einaudi
Renato Ratti
Paolo Scavino
Luciano Sandrone
Roberto Voerzio
These producers span the modern to middle ground range, offering wines that tend to be intense but approachable younger. They also span a pretty wide range of cost. If you want some to try now, you might look at 2003 or 2007 (or as already suggested look for semi-aged examples from the 90s).
I clearly have quite a bit of reading and tasting ahead of me. I can think of worse things in life.