2005 Guido Porro Barolo Vigna Lazzairasco- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (3/13/2021)
Interestingly, the notes on this are all over the map. Me, had a decent experience. Some light bottle prep filtering out the sediment, which wasn’t much, then a 2 hour decant. Swirls light in the glass with a fairly dark ruby and some bricking at the edge. Nose is dried cherries, red fruit, earthy-goodness, light menthol, light mint/vanilla, some herbs. Somewhat refined. The palate leads with red fruits, cherry featuring, intertwined with velvety tannins up front, earthy mushrooms heading towards the middle. The fruit can mute out a bit in the middle leaving very subtle minty/vanilla and oak notes. Acidity’s medium crossing the middle, fruit fades in and out a bit, black tea filling some voids heading towards the finish which is definitely on the short side. Not a cliff however does fade fast and hollow. Overall its enjoyable for the nose and the front. Letting this lay down further is kind of a science project. Maybe something unexpected happens in another 5 - 10. That said, I’m in the camp that this will not evolve much further with the fruit and structure being so delicate and the hollow elements in the wrong places. It still has a punch now, 5 years it could just be a light forgettable jab left. To me, drink up.
I’m confused. Just a few days ago virtually everybody agreed that Porro was a very traditionalist producer. Now here’s your tasting note that makes it sound that the wine was very modernist for a Barolo. I’m getting mixed signals here!
Well, definitely seems to be a traditional producer; from Kermit Lynch website: “Almost all barrels used (barriques, tonneaux, and botti) are at least 5th passage; new barrels are introduced occasionally as needed.”
At the same time, I own this same bottling and it is an odd one. I did not get oak (or vanilla), but there was definitely a hollowness to the mid-palate and not a lot of complexity. Perhaps the vintage?
I have just a single bottle from this vintage, initially missing it through going to other places in Italy in the years when the B&B were released. What I’ve read from others points to ‘variable’, hence no effort to backfill when other nearby vintages are more reliable.
Perhaps, I like the way you put it. Its an odd duck. With the fruit fading in and out, you’re left only with this “wooden” complexion as a flavor and a waft of what I was perceiving as a mint/menthol/vanilla thing in and out as that happened. There is something there and that was the lowest branch I reached out to.
@Otto, fair points. That hollowness thing pops in briefly on the mid-palate and then more so on the back-end. I’ll probably edit the note a bit to make sure its more clear that oak and vanilla are not at all major players in hind-sight. On the mid-palate its more super subtle filling a void when the fruit mutes out a bit. On the back end was where it abbreviated the finish however I did not find it to be a nuisance in the whole end-to-end, just an oddity. Plus, I left out the earthy mushroom thing on the front to mid-palate. I tend to scribble notes on paper as I go along then put them in to something legible. Next mornings I like to re-read and see if it still jives.
I still wonder where that vanilla note comes from, if the producer really does only very old oak barrels. While not a major player, it still seems like something that is there - and it isn’t an element native to Nebbiolo. To me, vanilla is not a descriptor that should pop up in a TN on traditionalist Nebbiolo. Savory old oak character maybe, but I’d imagine even such qualities would be rather negligible after the oak vessels are old enough.
But who knows, maybe one’s vanilla is someone else’s - well, I don’t know, something. Or maybe they renewed several oak barrels for the 2005 vintage. Go figure.
For whatever reason, I don’t think this was a very good vintage for this particular bottling - the last time I tried them side by side, I actually preferred his Santa Caterina to the Lazzairasco, and I can’t think of too many vintages where that has happened.
True, tastes and palate sensitivity do vary. After the reading the tomes you’ve written, you’re much more adept at distinguishing the finer details so you raise interesting points worth chasing. Since I have like 5 left and they are in drink now territory to me, I’ll pop another one later; let it sit; see if it all jives the same.
Curious now. All I had with it when writing notes was a brownie that kiddo made. Doubt that would throw anything off unless she was dousing them with vanilla extract .
Here are my notes on this wine from quite some time back. Certainly the fact that the earlier bottle had sur-maturity notes, while the later one didn’t, hints at some variability (though I’m fairly sensitive to Zin-like dried fruit and my ‘calibration’ taste to taste is not perfect).
In 2010 I was trying some rather mediocre warm climate Nebbiolo from California–it was cheap and available where I was–the fact that I found similarity is not the best sign. In hindsight, my note from 2014 does suggest it may not be a 20-30 year wine, though I liked it better.
Recently I’ve been picking up the S. Caterina Cru from this producer, on the basis of it being described as typically a somewhat more elegant style from a higher elevation plot. I have yet to test this hypothesis by direct measurement, however.
2005 Guido Porro Barolo Vigna Lazzairasco- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (2/23/2014)
Powerful Barolo. Open nose of cigar box (cedar in particular), plums and asian spice. More plummy fruit on the attack with high acidity and big tannins. Not the most perfumed Nebbiolo on the finish, yet plenty of interest nonetheless in terms of fruit and spice. I do like where this is at right now as it’s not punishing to drink, yet is open and has plenty of fruit. The structure, however, is unsurprisingly substantial and I’ve opened my bottles early in their window.
2005 Guido Porro Barolo Vigna Lazzairasco- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (7/23/2010)
Bouquet of tar, plums, prunes and anise. Some heat, but very aromatic overall. Actually similar nose to some CA Nebbiolos I’ve had. Lush and approachable flavors with dark plummy fruit, spice and earth. Finishes tannic. Medium acidity, medium-full body. Surprisingly approachable, but with nice structure (superior to its CA peers). Veering a bit to riper, dried fruit though this undoubtedly aids in its youthful pleasure. Check in on 2nd bottle in a few years.
Funny enough, I popped last night’s bottle because of the label. I moved from NY to my current state about a decade ago and many bottles came with me. For the tasting note below (bottle not pic, pic is from CT stock), the label was all kinda bubbly and peeling at the edges, like it sweated off a bit from condensation. The bottle I had last night was pristine, not a hint of anything. So last night, I went with the pristine one based on psychology there was more risk with the bubbly one. I mean it looked like it sat in a car trunk for a few months from over the spring. Here we are, and the jacked looking bottle is far superior to the one that looked like it came from a high-end auction house. Tells you something sometimes. They were all bought together, kept in same conditions otherwise. Not sure why the label even did what it did; was the only that did. And here it is destroying.
2005 Guido Porro Barolo Vigna Lazzairasco- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (3/14/2021)
Giving this another spin, for science and interesting discussions it created (WB). Back to back after an odd night with this seemingly odd vintage, last night’s note gives this one context for those following along. Had a stacked day so I popped early and let the bottle decant for about 7 hours. Perhaps unorthodox vs last night but it worked out. Again swirls lighter in the glass with a fairly dark ruby, some bricking, even a slight orange at the brim. The nose is not as subtle or “refined” as the last bottle; it’s got a great presence. Aromas of dried cherries, licorice and anise notes, less earthy, add a hint of orange as it fades. Almost a different bottle if I put these side by side. The palate on this, there’s nothing muted or hollow, it’s well integrated and connects end-to-end, fires on all cylinders. Starts with dried cherries, licorice, some forest floor, tannins are lovely, gripping from the start and complementary all the way through. Light clove even later in. Mid-palate feels less acidic than the other bottle due to the fruit being a magnitude more engaged; still medium acidity highlighted with a touch of lemon rind and more balanced. Fruit, very present in the finish this time, fading out to black tea and cherries. It’s not the proverbial RP 90 seconds, however it gives you what you need and it leaves you wanting the next sip. Two days, two different experiences. This is what I got a glimpse of last night, then this one delivered. Still gives me pause on what to do with the others. This one could evolved into something super interesting in 5 or even more. That said, given the definite vintage variability I’m going to drink sooner than later regardless to enjoy the sure thing. One more thing to add, much more sediment, like a level 2 up, if that matters.
When I was there 2 years ago all I saw was the big botti, but obviously that doesn’t mean anything for how the 2005 was made.
Otto, it seems that you are a frequent visitor to the Piemonte - you should check them out next time you are there. Very nice people and super easy to get to - right at the top of Lazzarito just outside the village.
I’m just a frequent Piemonte drinker, not visitor. After I found the joys of wine, I’ve visited the region only once, in 2015.
I’d love to visit the producer, but I have a list of a few dozen producers I need to visit the next time I visit the region, so we’ll see if I can fit it into the itinerary…
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After I found the joys of wine, I’ve visited the region only once, in 2015.