1998 Barolos

I have loved a few of the 1998 Barolos for their pure, penetrating aromatics and balance. And yet not everyone made a good wine in 1998, by a long shot.

If one were to put together a tasting of 98’s, which estates and wines did well in 1998 and would deserve to be included, and conversely, which ones were underacheivers?

I’m not aware of any bad 1998 Barolos from good producers. Really good ones that stick out in my memory include:

Both Giacosas (Falletto and Le Rocche)
Both G. Conternos (Cascina Francia and Monfortino)
Bartolo Mascarello
G. Mascarello Monprivato
G. Rinaldi
F. Rinaldi

IMO 98 was an excellent year for traditional producers since the very ripe fruit worked well for them. Some modern producers had problems with adding too much oak or with too much extraction for this vintage, but that depends on your personal preferences. Now that we’re 13 years past the vintage, some of this has mellowed.

For example, I have had bottles of 1998 Scavino Fiasc that I thought were grossly over-oaked, but more recently, I have been impressed with bottles of the same wine.

Luigi Pira and Seghesio made some very nice wines.

Here are notes from one tasting:

http://www.finewinegeek.com/tn/2010-06-28_BB_1998-Barolo_Paprika-NYC/

Eric Guido also posted notes from this tasting:

Agree traditional did better than modern. I loooved the Luigi Pira’s from 1998’s as well as Cappellano, Cavollotto, Seghesio and Conterno. I normally like Clerico but the 1998 was too rich and heavy for me. Same story for Azelia and Scavino.

The great thing about 1998’s is I don’t remember ever opening a bottle that was shut down.

Brovia’s Rocche has been drinking beautifully for three or four years.

Interesting. I remember tasting them at the cantina in 2002 and thinking the whole 98 line-up there was pretty awful. It seemed like the high water mark that style. (By contrast, most other places I visited, I quite liked the 98s.) Do you think the oak is just integrating?

I guess we’re still waiting for the vintage where the modernists did better!

Thanks, folks, for a lot of quick, pretty comprehensive info. I had Sandrone and A. conterno on the not performing all that well list, but I haven’t had them in quite a while. Also had Scavino on that list because it was just hammered with oak when i had it early on. Good to hear that things have improved. My last two bottles of Clerico Pajana have been beautiful, somehow escaping big oak influence. The CMG was very oaky early, but I haven’t had it in quite a while. Of course, the Giacomo Conterno CF is very nice, and despite a number of comments about it being way too young, has always been quite forthcoming for me whenever I’ve tried it.

Heh. In defense of modernism, 1996 Clerico Ciabot is still one of my epiphany wines for Barolo. I really liked the 1999 Einaudi Cannubi I had recently. 1989 Scavino was pretty exciting too though I have had many more misses than hits with Scavino. Interesting those were all fairly structured vintages.

I tend to think everyone did well in 2001 and 2004 but I don’t have enough datapoints to verify that.

I have enjopyed many 98’s over the past few years. Here is a TN from exactly two years ago, 8/30/09, on a hard to find (well, at least here in DE) Barbaresco from a winery I think highly of.

"Finally, I opened a bottle for Wilma amd myself the other night while cooking duck for dinner, the 1998 Ca’ Rome Barbaresco, “Maria di Brun”. This is Romano Marengo’s top of the line bottling from vines planted in 1969. Named after his mother, this was bottle number 125 of only 4600 produced. I picked this up on sale back in the day for $25, but I see that today one Website I saw it on wanted $200 for the 1998. Hey, it’s good but not THAT good. :~)

This was a very pretty, “feminine” Barbaresco in the old school manner (although I read that a portion of the wine is aged in barriques, with most being aged in Slavonian oak casks). Pretty cherry red color with hints of orange coming on, healthy and mature Barbaresco, ready to drink. Very floral nose, with rose and violet impressions, red cherry and red raspberry fruit with some incense and a touch of tobacco. Drinks medium bodied, well balanced, not a bruiser, with spicy fruit and light tannins, lean structure, very good typicity. I enjoyed this quite a bit with the duck. I am sure Signora di Brun would approve of this wine. Grade: A-."

By 2001, many producers had pulled back on the barriques and other modern techniques, so the split in styles became less extreme.

I think you’re right about the modernists doing better in the structured years. I think 96 was an example of that, where the underlying structure may well win out over the barriques.

How’s the '98 Einaudi Cannubi?

Yes.

I had a '98 Scavino Cannubi recently and while I guess you could say the oak is “integrating” in the sense that it didn’t taste oaky, it didn’t taste like Barolo or nebbiolo either.

Anyone try Marcarini’s '98 La Serra? Should be drinking better that the Brunate, theoretically speaking. The latest CT TN (from Mr Jennings) says 8-10 more.

In terms of some of the mid-tier producers, I’ve also liked what Cavallotto, Veglio & Roagna did in '98 - in fact, for a very modestly priced wine, the Roagna Barbaresco Paje is drinking quite well already, although it still has a lot of potential for further improvement.

I absolutely love the Cascina Francia in this vintage - I think it will be an awesome wine in 2025.

Gregg,
Whilst not up to the minute current, here are my most recent notes on the Brunate (drunk in 2009) and La Serra (drunk in 2007). Just got a small stash of 07’s of these two and will bust one open in the name of science in the next week.
Best Regards
Jeremy

1998 Marcarini Barolo ‘Brunate’: Has loosened considerably over the past couple of years and is now an ‘old school’ Barolo that is starting to drink well. All meat and muscle at first, dripping with blood and full of iron filings. With air you notice the rose petals that are strewn throughout and sweet chestnut and cedar come to the fore. It finishes with a healthy blast of mineral like acidity and the graphite tannins are firm but unobtrusive. A fabulous match with rabbit paella.

1998 Marcarini Barolo ‘La Serra’: This thing had some Bretty elements going on but was essentially structure over fruit. There was plenty of tar, chestnut, coffee and graphite character but the faint glimpses of raspberry fruits were monstered into the background. It was particularly hard going in the mouth and whilst I consider myself a structuralist I was getting hurt while drinking this one. I still have a few bottles of these in the cellar and will let them a rest for a while and hope that they become a little friendlier given time.

I don’t know the exact details, but the Ciabot Mentin Ginestra from Clerico never seemed to me particularly modern, in contrast with the Per Cristina particularly. But I completely agree about the '99 Einaudi Cannubi, I tasted it when very young and you could sort of taste the winemaking but what a good wine.

I didn’t include Barbaresco’s in my post, but it would interesting to include these as well. I poked around in my cellar, and it looks like I don’t have any Produttori’s from that year, or infact any Barbaresco’s. Please feel free to include further comments on Barbaresco’s as well.

Jeremy - Thanks. Very helpful. Sounds like back of the cellar.

Oliver,

I had the same feeling about the Pajana–beautiful aromatics without an overt oak influence, whereas the last time I had the Per Cristina, albeit 2-3 years ago, I was spitting toothpicks.