What do we know about this producer and these wines? Rare Wine has an offer that looks tempting but I am uninformed. So inform me!
Neal, the winemaker is Valter Fissore, who I believe is Cogno’s son-in-law. Since he has taken over, the wines (IMO) have definitely taken a qualitative step up. He was at Antonio’s La Festa del Barolo a couple years back that featured the 2008 vintage, and the wine he poured that day was one of the highlights for me.
Can’t speak to the Barbaresco, but Ravera is a good vineyard, and he is doing good work in the cellar. He leans traditional.
Walter is the son in law of Elvio Cogno. The wines are traditional and they are spectacular. I visited the winery in November 2014 and tasted multiple vintages of all of the wines in barrel and bottle. The 2010 Ravera is great as well as the Vigna Elena and Bricco Pernice. The 2011 Vigna Elena is unbelievablle. Great winery, winemaker, and family producing fabulous wines from Novello (Ravera cru).
Hi Neal, by chance some 2010 Elvio Cogno Ravera was sitting on the porch when I got home today. Was about to open one, but pulled the cork on a E.Pira & Figli Chiara Boshis Via Nuova which also came. So many great 2010’s out there, all to be discovered while I let my Burgundies sit a little longer. Cheers Mike
A different reference point: I just tried the 2007 Vigna Elena Riserva over a period of several days, and it was a bitter, flawed wine from start to finish that I ended up pouring out. It could have just been the bottle, although there was nothing to suggest that. Also, if you like the recent wines and decide to backfill, the pre-2005 Ravera is severely oaked and not nearly as good as the later vintages…
I opened tasted the Elvio Cogno Ravera recently - my impression
Dark brooding. Good intensity. Just opened. Will give it more air and re assess.
Later on- bit more open. Structured wine. Good mouth feel. Decent length.
Its a well made wine. Not in the league of of E Grasso’s wines from 2010 which I really enjoyed.
To drink now the open and bit more supple Elio Cogno Casina Nouva is bit better.
Here is my note from La Festa on the Barolo.
2010 Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno Barolo Bricco Pernice - (2/7/2015)
Valter Fissore says his father in law, Elvio Cogno bought their piece of Ravera in 1990. it is adjacent to the Vietti parcel. Nose of black fruits with a hint of walnuts. Expansive, complex, long. Wow! So fragrant in the mouth. Terrific wine. (96 pts.)
I honestly didn’t know they made a Barbaresco until I saw Mannie’s email.
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the input.
Oops, I just noticed my note is on the Pernice, not the Ravera. The Pernice is a subplot. FWIW Antonio rated the Pernice 96 (as I did) and the Ravera 95. So hopefully they are fairly comparable.
Did you bite, Ken?
Neal -
I tasted with Valter at the winery about a month ago, as well as at Fiesta del Barolo. Very well made wines in a traditional style. The closest stylistic comparison I can make is Massolino - precise wines with a strong balance of fruit and earthy elements (some tar in the Bricco Pernice, etc). I purchased the 2011 Ravera, 2010 Bricco Pernice and 2009 Vigna Elenena at the winery, then sought out the 2010 Ravera (from Flatiron wines in NY) when I got home. Definitely a winery I’ll support moving forward
Brian
What is RW’s offer on the Ravera? I bought a 6-pack of this late last year for $60/btl. Going rate seems to be $60-65 US.
Cheers,
Blair
Welcome to the board Sheila. Good to have another nebhead in the mix.
Thanks I have lurked long enough. You guys can be pretty tough.
The Cogno wines are really great and I am a big fan of the house style.
Some facts: Kerin O’Keefe says that they use very long macerations – up to 40 days. From 1999-2004, the wines went into (mostly used) barriques for a year before botte, but they eliminated barriques after that. The Ravera site is quite high – 380 meters.
Ironically enough I had pictures from Elvio Cogno on my phone. This one below was taken from the side balcony on the main house. You can see the Ravera vineyard in the foreground (NOT the snowy vineyard). Fairly steep slope and good south-facing orientation. The house is very beautiful - it’s traditional farmhouse estate immaculately restored
Yes. Asked for 2 6-packs. Was told they’re checking if they can get that much: “We have experienced overwhelming demand for the Cogno packs and we seeing how much more is available before we start to allocate the wine. We should be in contact in the next couple of days.”