TN: Recent Cappellano

• 2012 Cappellano Barbera d’Alba Gabutti - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba (6/20/2018)
  Corked. NR (flawed)
• 2013 Cappellano Barbera d’Alba Gabutti - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba (6/20/2018)
  Stunning barbera – easily the best I’ve ever had. A sappy and fruit-forward nose that shows a light hint of balsamic, as well as plentiful black and red fruit. The palate has more than a dusting of oak, but it’s all wrapped up with that plush fruit so you never feel that it’s out of place. It’s an incredibly expressive wine, with so much to say already. The intensity is there, but it’s never in your face – a gentle giant sort of thing. I’m thinking it may have been a mistake to snooze on these…
• 1998 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (6/20/2018)
  Astoundingly good, and preternaturally young. The fruit profile here is incredibly primary, and I think the only thing that points you to twenty years is that slight bit of earthiness. Otherwise, this is just a maddeningly pretty iteration of Barolo and truly speaks to me of what I seek when I think of Barolo. I can say without exaggeration that Cappellano comes the closest to my own conception of what Barolo should taste like, and this bottle is absolutely no exception. The purity of the fruit and the refined tannins here contribute so much to the beauty and elegance of this wine.
• 2013 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (6/20/2018)
  This is not the most stunning example of young Cappellano I’ve had (cf. 2011), but this is an excellent wine all the same. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this wine that I experienced going into it was the expectation of a ripe and full wine thanks to the solar vintage. But this is not the case with this wine – it is far lighter than I would have expected. It shows a beautiful amount of red cherry, florals, and just a smidgen of licorice, but does not have (though this is not a bad thing) that sweet intensity of fruit I was guessing this would have. There’s a minerality here coupled with the tannins (somehow) that I really like as well. And although it’s not showing the most expressively tonight, I have no doubt this will be a true beauty with time, for what I see here already fits so well with what I want in a nebbiolo.

I’ve had a 2009 recently which was very good, and the 2011 which was a solid step up from that. I love their style, and I would appreciate hearing about differences between the vintages for Cappellano Pie Rupestris from someone who knows them well. Are there any in the last 20 years to avoid?

Thanks for the very vivid notes, Adrian.

Do they age their barbera in barriques?

On the '13 Barolo, were you expecting it to have a riper fruit profile than the '11? In my experience the '11s are generally much riper – a little too ripe in many cases for my palate. I had feared the '13s might lean a little too much in that direction, but, after tasting several dozen, they seem perfectly ripe but not overripe.

I don’t have comprehensive experience, but there have been reports of variability with 2004, which is, of course, the year that I happen to have the most of. I actually haven’t tried any of my own bottles yet.

Ashish, despite my owning a few bottles of various vintages, I haven’t had broad experience with the vintages and I’ve enjoyed every bottle that I’ve tasted (I’ve tasted the 2008 and 2011 most recently). To John’s point, I did notice the concerns about the 2004 on CT, and I plan on opening one soon to investigate this myself (I’ve never had this wine before).

I’m not sure if they do barriques or not – a slightly more than cursory search on the internet didn’t yield anything concrete.

I think you’re right that the 2011 was riper, but I was certainly expecting more flesh on the 2013. I haven’t tasted many 2013s, but have found them in line with your assessment – ripe, but not overripe. I’m a fairly big fan of 2011 – I think the few producers that I care about did very well that year.

Please do report back! I’ve tasted the '08, '09, and '11 and all were excellent ('08 and '11 better than '09). The point about the '04 variability is timely. HDH has a lot on auction and I was going to bid, but reconsidered based on the cellartracker reports. If your bottle is good, I may look for a single bottle elsewhere to try.

I’m pretty certain they don’t do barriques. I’m going to have to go back and have a look at the rest of the photos I took when I visited in late 2015 but from my recollection it was all smaller botti, not barrique. Specifically Stockinger botti. Here’s a couple photos.

As to the 2011 Rupestris, for mine I found it a bit overripe. Much more so when compared to the 2013 Barolos out of botti. That said I’ve not had either '13 out of bottle.

Finally for mine I preferred the 2008 Rupestris over the 2004 when looking at them side by side nearly two years ago now. On Day 1 the '08 was a bit tight but it really blossomed on Day 2. Conversely the '04 showed best on Day 1 and was a bit muddled for lack of a better term on Day 2. Granted I’ve only looked at one bottle of each so ymmv.

Andrew – thanks so much for the added perspective! Even the Barbera is done in botti?

The 2008 is absolutely stunning – I had it a year or so ago – and thought it surprisingly open for business. I’m going to pull a 2004 soon to investigate.

I might be conflating memories from our visits with Bartolo Mascarello and Cappellano but from a high level perspective I’m think a number of traditionalists use Barbera to take the new out of their new botti in their oak rotation regimes. So when they buy a new botti in the first (or first couple) vintages they’ll throw Barbera into it and then use it for Barolo once the newness of the wood has softened. I’ll have another look at my photos from our visit to Cappellano in 2015 to see if I can spot a single barrique but from memory they didn’t have anything quite that small. That said the Cantina is tiny and they had all sorts of things stashed about the place!

Agreed 100%. After having the 2008 in November 2016 I sought one out to lay down it impressed me so much.

I asked because I thought they were arch-traditionalists, and barrique is not by any means universal for barbera. Giacomo Conterno’s barberas are aged botti, for instance.

Thanks for the tasting notes!!

The Barbera surprised me to not be dominated by oak, as many Barbera d’Albas seem to be. I hate when beautiful fruit is married by oakiness.

Come to think of it, the story that they use the new botti for the barbera makes the most sense. I also remember the story of the forgotten botti of 2004 barbera which became the AB Normal.

There’s a saying among journalists, “You could have looked it up.”

And so I (finally) did. Neal Rosenthal’s website says of the barbera:

It is treated in exactly the same manner as the Barolo: a long, natural, traditional fermentation with plenty of time on the skins, aging in well-used casks for over three years, and bottling without fining or filtration.

Oops. Didn’t think to read the importer notes on the wine.

So who thinks Cappellano makes the best chinato?

Although, I’ve noticed though the price creeping up this year. It used to be 50-60 at retailers and now I’m seeing up upwards of $70 at some. However, based on CT notes - it is quite polarizing. I always make that disclaimer when I introduce people to it so they can feel comfortable saying their mouth was offended or something to that effect if that was indeed the case for them.

I think this calls for a comparative blind tasting.

I just bought a bottle to try. I’ve never had it before (or any Chinato). Any serving suggestions? By itself, or in a drink? Serving temperature?

Thanks!