It is argued that Barolo and Barbaresco wines share some similarity with Burgundy.
So that begs the question how many Burg lovers also like Barolo and Barbaresco wines?
Whether there are any particular producers that are preferred?
Personally, over the past decade my exposure to Piedmonte wines has increased and I have developed a greater fondness for Barbarescos than Barolos esp those from Giacosa and Gaja. One is traditional and one arguably more modern.
Love it! G. Mascarello, Vajra, Conterno, Giacosa are some of my favorites.
+1
hell yeah!!
Add Gaja (although I have to depend on a friend’s cellar for that)
Like a lot, don’t love.
In my own opinion, I find well aged Hermitage sharing more in common with Burgundy than Barolo does.
Hell yes, I cut my teeth on a '67 Gaja. Slowly working up a collection of Piedmontese wines too.
Love it and am a big fan of Gaja
As a Burgundy lover I was late to the Neb party, but now buy as much Barolo & Barbaresco as I do Burgundy, and the wines now account for 20% of my collection.
favourites include:-
Aldo Conterno - supple, perfumed
Giacosa
Marcarini - elegant, fine boned, balanced
Sottimano
Cavallotto
Vietti - getting very difficult to procure - the Rocche rocks my socks!
Mauro Veglio - vg QPR
Azalea - bigger wines
Massolino
Albino rocca - their 07 Barbaresco at aroung $40 to $50 is teh buy of the year!
Brezza
Much the same. Sandrone and Massolini arrived this week, G Conterno, Elio Altare and Sottimano week before…
What timing! I was recently wondering the same thing: “beyond Burgundy what wine regions / wine types should I be adding to the cellar?”
Piedmonte seems to make a lot of sense and was also thinking about the Northern Rhone…but would have thought Cote-Rotie rather than Hermitage.
Ive had some impressive aged ones but I like younger burgundy more than younger nebbiollo (sp?) wines
Definitely! There is much that ties the two areas together, not least the emphasis on terroir and ageability, and in the clarity, elegance and food-friendly freshness of the wines (in most cases!).
I would say though, taking the lead from Berry, that we should probably caveat this by only comparing older Piedmont and older Burgundy. One thing young Neb has in spades that young Burgundy does not is firm tannins. Past the 20 years mark though, and the differences become narrower.
Sure, and also Ghemme, Gattinara, Valtallina, Carema, Lessona…
I love a wide range of modern and traditional producers of Barolo and Barbaresco just as I love a wide range of modern and traditional producers of Burgundy. I love the food of Piedmont just as I love the food of Burgundy. When tasting in the cellars of Piedmont there is the same generous spirit one finds in the cellars of Burgundy. I love Piedmont.
Okay people, let’s get this straight. It’s either Piedmont (in English) or Piemonte (in Italian). It is NOT Piedmonte. There is no such place.
I think most (well at least the half dozen or so that I know well) producers in Piemonte also LOVE Burgundy… Those that have done apprenticeships outside of Italy believe that good Cabernet (bdx) makes itself but that with thin skinned, temperamental grapes such as nebbiolo/pinot noir, it takes a lot more talent (and help from mother nature) to make a great wine. Each trip they make to SoCal inevitably includes a burg dinner at Palate in Glendale.
Like them, not sure if I love them…want to like them more than I perhaps do…
Good thread, and the answer is clearly yes for me. It is a shame that access to many of the finest old Nebbioli is so difficult, because the old wines prove the similarity, while younger wines may make the comparison seem a stretch. Great Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo often converge with age, exhibiting various earth, truffle and floral (typically violet or rose) elements, as well as sweet, enticing red fruit flavors (black fruit less often). Up to a point, Nebbiolo displays its classic “road tar” aroma, which would allow one to readily distinguish it from most Burgundies. However, the road tar note often fades in old Nebbioli, and the line between the wines blurs.
One apocryphal fact that strongly suggests the tie is the ready acceptance that the Piemontese have for Burgundy, when they are otherwise rigid and chauvinistic in their preference for their own wines. And, of course, there is the oft-cited “finicky grape” tie of Pinot Noir to Nebbiolo, and the fact that, pre-global warming, both locales had significant annual weather problems that limited each area to only several strong vintages per decade. As that is no longer the case, it will be interesting to see if the warm-weather Burgundies and Nebbioli of the 21st century will continue to exhibit common characteristics. (I did take Piemontese friends to a Slow Food-sponsored tasting of all of the 2002 Dugat-Py crus except his Chambertin, and while his Burgundies are a little “internationally styled” for some classicists, my friends nonetheless loved the event.) I second Giacosa, Giacomo Conterno and wines like Aldo Conterno’s elegant 1989 Barolo Gran Bussia, but I would probably mistake the older single-vineyard Barbareschi of Gaja for Burgundy more often than not. I am confident that I could serve Allen Meadows the 1971 Gaja San Lorenzo and have him scratching his head trying to decide which Vosne-Romanee vineyard the wine came from!
After Burgundy, Barolo/Barbaresco is the second largest portion of my small cellar.
I agree with Efrain, I find Cote Rotie to be closer to Burgundy than Hermitage, but I have limited experience with northern Rhones.
Thank you! And just for the record, Piemont in local dialect and Piémont in French.
A friend of mine did a tasting of hand-carried Fontanafreddas from the 60s and 70s. I was blown away by their similarities to aged Burg.
It’s nice to have friends!