Barolo / Barbaresco

Hey people!
I’m new to this forum ,but have been working in the wine world for a few years already. I have spent last four years in Piedmont Italy the birthplace of the world famous Barolo/Barbaresco wines ,and I just wanted to know your thoughts and opinions about the region the nebbiolo grape and the wines them selfs.

Which is you favorite Barolo/Barbaresco?
And which one you wish to try?

Thenk you folks

I’d suggest searching for “Barolo” and “Barbaresco” to see the many threads.

Wait a second here.

You’ve tasted the 2010 GC Monfortino Riserva and you want our opinions on Nebbiolo?

There can’t be much more than a handful of guys on this board who have even seen a bottle of that wine, much less opened a bottle and tasted it.

If you’ve spent the last 4 years on the ground in Italy I’d like to hear your thoughts about them, because I’m sure you’ve racked up more experience being there than someone drinking from a winestore in the States could ever tell you. What were you doing there for 4 years?

Kris, your question is too open-ended to be answered in a useful way. There are literally hundreds of barolo/barb threads on all manner of topics. In particular, there is a very long thread in which the cognoscenti discuss at length the various producers and where they fall on the modern/traditionalist continuum. It would be an excellent place to start.

There is a really good thread on the 2013 vintage, too

the region the nebbiolo grape and the wines them selfs

He didn’t ask about the vintages!!! [head-bang.gif]

Or the scores! [head-bang.gif]

What else really matters in the end? [scratch.gif]

Hi Kris
I’m not into the trophy wines, so no great aspirations other than to continue to taste as widely as I can, and follow what I enjoy. Special enjoyment comes from a new discovery, and doubled if it’s a winery off the radar of the usual critics.

I love the grape, and not just from the Langhe but in other forms elsewhere. I like ageing it, though I fear that in the rush to make it more accessible, it may compromise the long term potential, but let’s see what father time says on that.

I’m not sure I can pick out a favourite, but using the Pat Burton scale… I’m averse to the (truly) modernist wines, but have enjoyed across the spectrum from traditional, through to lean modern. I get edgy when the alc% hits 15% or above. That’s not to say I’ve not enjoyed wines at 14.5% and 15%, but in the modern era wines, I generally see problems of too much rather than too little ripeness/alc%.

I love walking the vineyards (yay! for shared ownership) and the typical hospitality when visiting wineries. The food is very good indeed. I fear that Barolo & Barbaresco villages themselves are gradually coming into the sights of ‘see Italy in a week / 2 weeks’ coach tours, but they aren’t yet overrun. I could see that happening to Barolo in the next decade or two though.

Plenty else to enjoy outside of the Langhe, and I really like Cuneo, Torino and even plain old Ghemme & Bubbio.

Where were you staying and any other places you visited that you’d recommend? Places like Tortona and Biella are on our radar for future trips, so I’ve got special interest if you’ve been.

Regards
Ian

I think the OP is trying to start a chat about people’s preferences, what they’ve liked etc.

I don’t think he’s asking people to tell him what Nebbiolo is… and which ones HE should try…

He says he has spent 4 YEARS living in Piedmont and doesn’t know which wines to drink? [wow.gif]

He might be regretting that he drank 2010 Monfortino 30 years too early and wants professional help newhere

nono i think his question is more like
“hey gang, i just spent 4 years in this region… i wanna hear what others experiences of this is… let’s chat about it”.

not 'pls tell me more about the region, i want to learn"…

[winner.gif]

This is funny!

Ahhh … WB is such a welcoming place to newcomers.

Like walking into the corner pub and trying to strike up a conversation with all the grumpy regulars. [stirthepothal.gif]

I’m new here also, so I’m not going to scold you, haha. Angelo Gaja’s 1971 Sori Tilden was one of the best wines I have ever had the pleasure to drink; although that was a long long time ago. Right up there was a 1985 Bruno Giacosa Rionda Serralunga that I had in the mid-90’s. Since then, I’ve enjoyed many nice bottles from the Langhe, but nothing that has knocked my socks off. Maybe that’s because I don’t drink very much these days to cover a lot of ground, or maybe I can’t afford the best of them anymore. when they’rs in top form, the best wines from the Langhe have a certain dramatic cornucopia of bitter, sweet, medicinal, floral, deep dark fruit flavors and aromas, that make them unique experiences; but as in many other wine producing areas, the quality of the wines can be really variable.

You are a class act sir.

Hello Kris, Welcome to the forum. My wife and I visited Piemonte just once about 10 years ago. We have some nice memories and need to get back there soon. You are lucky to have lived there, with the beautiful countryside, the wine and the food. We visited winemakers and tasted wines in both La Morra and Barbaresco. The favorite Barolo that I have tasted is the 2004 Cascina Ballarin Bricco Rocca. I have a few bottles of the 2010 Reverdito that I sampled and enjoyed. Recently I bought a couple of bottles of Paitin Barbaresco and also their Barbera d’Alba , which I have not tasted yet. My wife and I also enjoyed visiting other parts of Piemonte.
Saluti,
-Jim

Hi Jim
Too kind, but thank you.

Have you tried Cascina Ballarin’s langhe nebbiolo? One of the first ‘basic’ langhe nebbiolos that I tasted and enjoyed, as it very much carried recognisable traits seen in their Barolo wines, yet at a fraction of the price, including a hint of truffle that seemed to be a common element of their wines, especially in the 1st year we visited. It’s one I still look out for, though despite the price differential, I’d have no issues buying their Barolo wines.

Amusingly on both visits they forgot about the booking, on the first time we re-arranged for another day (we were staying about 100-150 metres away from them, so easy to re-arrange). On the 2nd visit, the men had gone off to some event, leaving one of the wives temporarily flustered, but gracious enough to run the tasting herself. On both occasions it turned out perfectly fine, but it really was a sense of deja vu all over again ( [wink.gif] ).

Regards
Ian

p.s. and a warm welcome to Kris and Jeff. Hope you enjoy it here.