My first time back to this address since tasting the '12s. We started with barrel samples. They have recently acquired some land in Monvigliero and we started with the barrel sample if the '18.
[*]2018 Oddero Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Barrel Sample
Dark nebbiolo fruit with raspberry, and at this stage still pretty grape fruit. It has good balance and freshness. Still way too young for any meaningful insight, but it seems promising[/list]
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[*]2017 Oddero Barbaresco Gallina - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (5/22/2019)
Barrel sample
Nice perfume with rose, cherry fruit, and spice. On the palate, it is supple with sap and good density and focus. More on the red fruited side of nebbiolo, roses and good inner mouth perfume. Good acidity and freshness for a 17. Very good.
[]2016 Oddero Barbaresco Gallina - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (5/22/2019)
Red fruited with nice florals and red licorice on the nose. A little plum along with more classic nebbiolo fruit. Good balance and depth with a sense of minerality and focus . This is outstanding, but the least strong of the '16 offerings.
[]2016 Oddero Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Nice perfumed nose. On the palate, it has depth and sap that is impressive for a base Barolo. Structured, with lovely fruit, lift and freshness. It has a cooler more reserved fruit profile that seems to be the mode in '16. Harmonious. Outstanding base Barolo
[]2016 Oddero Barolo Villero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
At this point a little reduced. Under the reductive notes, it is Perfumed with rose petal, quite floral considering its state. Supple and round great sap but plenty of structure to carry its breath. Balsamic on the back end. Great balance. Cohesive. Beautiful.
[]2016 Oddero Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Stony and earthy violets. It’s structured, meaty and deep on the palate with great sap and density. Cured meats, tar, violets. Structured yet elegant. Power without weight. A great contrast in terroir expression compared with Villero, and both terrific.
[*]2016 Oddero Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Balsam, rose and tar on the nose, very perfumed. There is sap and a sense of weightlessness to it’s power. This really is iron fist in velvet glove with great inner mouth perfume. Outstanding, harmonious Barolo.
Now on to the finished wines in bottle:
[]2015 Oddero Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Nice perfume with balsamic note more prevalent than in the '16. This has sap and breadth above and beyond what I would ask for from a base Barolo. It has good perfume in the mouth, is supple yet structured with excellent clarity and focus. Outstanding, graceful base Barolo. (91 pts.)
[]2015 Oddero Barolo Villero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Floral , balsamic notes, roses, and tar. On the palate this has terrific breadth and sap. Expansive on the palate while maintaining excellent balance and no sense of heat. Sap and density with a softness to it’s power. A harmonious, regal, graceful, archetypal Barolo. Love it. (95 pts.)
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2015 Oddero Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Lovely floral nose with violets and rose. There is power, yet with focus and finesse, with tremendous minerality and clarity. Lovely fruit tar, balsam. Delicious and serious wine. Structured with grace. Terrific. (95 pts.) -
2015 Oddero Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Balsamic and a little lactic at this point. This is richer than the other '15 crus, but still with excellent perfume. Sappy on the palate, with density and a little less lift than the other offerings. More overt power and breadth. It is a little broad if I were picking nits, with it is still broad in a giving and pleasing way even it f it lacks the intrigue of the other cru bottling. (93 pts.) -
2009 Oddero Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Medicine cabinet., jaegermeister and olive on the nose. I do not get much Rionda fruit or perfume here. Muddled fruit and a lack of cohesion. There is sap and density but no grace and it lacks harmony. Much less lifted than the newer releases. A tough year for sure, but also a sign of the improvements made at the address since then. -
2011 Oddero Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
Olives, medicine cabinet, jaegermeister, on the nose. On the palate, there is richness and sap, with balsamic notes, but it all comes across muddled and blurry compared to freshness of the newer vintages. The tannins are coarse for nebbiolo and I do not think that will change. This is a testament to their improvements in elevage since then. I am very excited to see tis wine from '13 forward. -
2013 Oddero Barolo Riserva Bussia Vigna Mondoca - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/22/2019)
A more savory wine with iron, meatiness, and nettles. There is good sense of minerality and density, structured but very well balanced with a sense of sap while still focused and deep -
2016 Oddero Langhe Riesling - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (5/22/2019)
Fresh and grassy with a little early petrol. It has good fruit and acid balance, reasonable depth, and an oyster shell feel to it. It comes across a little broad and if I were to compare it to another region, more Alsace than elsewhere. This is certainly drinkable and enjoyable, but I do not think I would choose this over riesling from another region.
Overall this was my best surprise on the upside of my trip this year. The last time I tasted there, I left very disappointed. I felt that I could see great fruit whose potential was being lost post harvest. This year, they were terrific, pure, structured, graceful, complex wines that embody what great nebbiolo can achieve. Each wine spoke of it’s terroir and had a sense of harmony and ease to it. Great fruit allowed to be great. I was so happy after this tasting, and I will be seeking out these wines for my cellar.
Thanks for reading