I am 28 vintages into tasting Barolo on release. I’ve been fortunate to spend 3 or 4 weeks a years there for the better part of a decade.
Things have changed a lot over these nearly three decades, critics being one thing. But even without critics in 1982 I bought Cascina Francia, Monprivato, Vajra, Azelia, Marcarini, Aldo Conterno, and Vietti. Those were some of the top wines available to me then and they would make for a fine haul in almost any vintage since. The wines might be better today, though perhaps not. Certainly the critics don’t make the wines taste any better, unless you are easy influenced.
Last year I put together a rather extensive 2001 tasting, to see how the wines were faring, primarily due to an early test of the waters. A test with those 1982s in 1994 when they showed terribly. Still closed as it were. Between 1986 and 1994 something happened with Barolo. I wasn’t learning much about it because my wines remained mostly closed and the supply of older vintages was indeed spotty, but Barolo began to garner more widespread attention. Critics were not only reviewing more of the wines, but were lavishing them with great praise. Sandrone, Clerico, Scavino, Altare, Rocche dei Manzoni, Parusso, Veglio, Corino… They got big scores, often bigger than the old guard. The scores meant something to me, and I bought the wines. Or I should say I bought the scores. I didn’t know any better because I didn’t know exactly what Barolo could become. So I bought by scores.
And then the 1982s opened up, and then the 1985s, and the 1988s, and the 1989s, and the 1990s. All of a sudden scores meant less to me. These wines with equal scores were not equal wines. In many cases not even close. Points without context turned out to be meaningless. Some of these modernist wines, with incredible scores, turned out to be really quite mediocre, and some of course have proven to be quite good. At least they were cheap, which made life easy.
Barolo was almost totally ignored by most in the US market for the majority of that time. I purchased Monfortino on close-out, long time ago, cases of 1985 Castello de Neive Santa Stefano that they were basically giving away, and even fairly recently Giuseppe Rinaldi on close-out, 2001 vintage. Those days are gone. Points sell wine. Points always find a new audience. We are a fertile crowd. You can’t blame folks for following the lead of someone whose motives we do not doubt. But that is not enough. You still have to like the wines.
So here we are in 2010. Greatest Barolo vintage in the existence of Barolo we’re told! Highest scores ever! I don’t know that any wine might top the 1989 Rionda from Giacosa or the 78 or 82 Monfortino, not to mention the 58, but that is beside the point. We have been told. I’ve tasted maybe 60 examples, most on multiple occasions and I have to admit that it is a very exciting vintage. It reminds me of older vintages, not recent vintages. It will be tough, not voluptuous, but it is remarkably well scored so there is demand for the wines.
I mentioned this a year ago, perhaps longer. The Burgundification of Barolo. A few guffawed but it was all out there to be seen. I mean these are the best wines on earth, and with painful few exceptions they were selling for village Burgundy prices. Maybe fancy villages but villages just the same. And then there is the urge to collect.
No Bordeaux, no Burgundy, why these Barolos have millions of points, lets just buy them instead. So demand is up, and prices are rising too. Elio Grasso up by 9%, Monprivato and Cascina Francia 30% ex-cellars if memory serves me well. Quantities were down, that is true, and prices had remained pretty stable for quite a few years, so how can you fault produces for striking while the iron is hot. It’s the best vintage ever, come on.
There will be additional pressure on some of these wines. Bartolo Mascarello and Giuseppe Rinaldi in particular. They both produce stunning wines in small quantities. They both have loyal followings who drink the wines rather than flip them. And as Daniel Mattisson wrote
With some of the 2010 increases I am shifting some purchases from G Mascarello/Conterno/Vietti/Rinaldi to a level cheaper (Grasso/Vajra/Cavallotto/Cappellano/Produttori). Backfilling the more expensive producers instead.
Money moves down stream, though I would take issue with the idea that some of these less expensive wines are in fact inferior to their more expensive brethren. The top producers in the next tier will see their p[rices rise as well. Brovia, Burlotto, Cappellano…
And then there is 2011, almost ready to be reported on. It’s a fabulous vintage, just wait until you see the scores. Or maybe not. Maybe the scores will make you like the vintage less, but my money is on the scores making you like it even more. There will be so much joy in those wines that I expect demand will rise from 2010 levels. I hope that amidst all this preaching about the 2010s that someone has at least pointed out that these wines will require time in the cellar, and that some wines simply aren’t really fully ripe. It’s not an across the board slam dunk.
You still have to like the wines.
So that’s it. We don’t know, so we follow others. The hyperbole machine is in fully gear because of the growing and adoring audiences. Producers in Piedmont are finally getting the recognition they deserve, and more money is flowing into wine that ever before. I’m not sure there was a question that I answered, but as for a statement on the situation this is how I see things.
If you buy 2010s with a long time frame, and have good storage, I can’t imagine that you will be gravely disappointed. The scores many wines receive are too high, and may influence your expectations and therefore the fulfillment, or lack thereof, of your expectations, but many wines really are remarkable and remain fairly priced. Some remarkably so. I have gone deep and broad in 2010, very possibly the last vintage I do so with. Both because of my age, and because of the prices too many of these wines are fetching.
I will buy half as much 2011 and that probably is ass backwards as I expect 2011s to mature earlier and have a longer plateau, at least that I will be able to enjoy, but even I am not immune from the excitement.
But you still have to like the wines.
As far as Mascarello goes, full disclosure I consider the family to be good friends, but I’ve had good luck with Mauro’s wines. I’ve had bottles of Dolcetto and Barbera that were wrong, and some runs of corked wines, though from what I understand not on the scale of others. In general the wines are among my favorites. I have not tasted the 2010 Monprivato, though I have bought some based on the track record of the wine. I honestly would be very surprised if it turned out to be less than impressive but look forward to trying it for myself.