I should have said that the level of knowledge and passion shown by many on this board exceeds that of many people I have known in the trade. I have never memorized Wasserman’s book, for example.
My blood type is Nebbiolo too.
I’m up for palate-brutalization if you want to extend that offer. I went with Jamie Wolff and GdP in 2014 on their annual pilgrimage and really enjoyed tasting from barrel as well as new vintages of bottled wine. Going with a couple old hands who have experience projecting where the wines would go was really valuable.
You know I’d be up for that!
I survived the marathon 2016 Barbaresco tasting that Jancis Robinson and Chambers Street sponsored in October 2019, which was really a tannin-endurance test (thread with notes here).
John,
maybe one day we’ll get to do it together. Mutual palate destruction.
In the case of nebbiolo, mutually assured palate destruction.
Not Barolo, but anyone know why Produttori didn’t bottle single vineyards in '18? Thought it was a pretty good vintage, but interestingly enough the base '17 has better reviews than the '18 (even with the single vineyards rolled into it)
Had the base '17 a couple weeks ago and was not expecting much and really liked it… good QPR… made me interested in the SVDs which have been offered at attractive prices, but I own so many of the 2016s and am looking to buy more 2019s…
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Galloni did a report on '18 and '19s where he briefly mentioned the winemakers noted high disease pressure, diurnal shifts at the end of the season, and a random warm week before the temps cooled down. They said the wines didn’t have the color and depth they like relative to stronger vintages.
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They also make the decision to bottle all the single vineyards or none of them. It’s somewhat inflexible if there were some vineyards did well while others had some issue, but that’s the rule they stick to.
It is nice to see the ‘17 Riservas being offered at more ‘normal’ prices relative to historical levels. ‘14 and ‘15 seem like better vintages though, around the same prices.
We just finished 3 days of tasting and exploring in Barolo. We stayed in La Morra which was a perfect spot for our first time. We had an excellent time and got a good feel for the vintage. All the producers shared the feedback around how difficult a vintage 2018 was for them but prior tough vintages had helped them prepare. The good news is how good 19 and 21 will be and 20 will be nice as well. A lot of concern now around 22. It is so hot and dry. It rained last week I think for only the 2nd time this year and there was very little if any snow during the winter. Climate change is unfortunately top of mind for many.
Brief notes and impressions
F. Alessandria- tough battle between Vittore’s line up and Vietti for our favorite 18’s. first tasting and my most detailed notes.
2018 San Lorenzo Barolo - dark and a bit serious with black cherry a bit of tar and spice this was very nice but had a tough compare to the next 2.
2018 Monvigliero Barolo- wow I had a big smile on my face at the first taste. Good depth with serious red and dark fruit and a wonderful spice element. This kept revealing more as it sat in the glass. The tannin while fine are somewhat firm and this will certainly reward several years. Loved it.
2018 Gramolere Barolo - what a way to finish the tasting. The Gramolere is so open and expressive. Red fruit and spice in abundance this was delicious and showing so well right now. How could it feel so light but have so much going on. Not sure I will be able to let these age. This is so good right now.
This was an excellent group of wines and Vittore is very happy as he should be with their 2018 Barolo. Each really represented each vineyard distinctively with their own personality. The 2019 Barbera Superior also stood out. We bought a mixed case of barolo and the Barbera.
F. Rinaldi
Probably our least favorite visit. Nothing specific but we tasted less wines and just a tough compare after F. Alessandria.
2018 Barolo Classico- found it a bit ho hum and just lacking in body and charm. I have loved the 10 and 13 so really not a fair compare but least favorite Classico of the trip
2018 Cannubi- different story here, bright red fruit, classic lines and feel and rather expressive. It opened nicely in glass. A very nice wine and well worth the price. This is showing nicely now straight from pnp as it was a new bottle opened. We’re taking a few back with us.
Will circle back with the rest. We went to Cavallotto, Elio Grasso( tasted the 17’s which were fantastic), Cordero di Mont and Vietti.
Ciao
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Many thanks for the notes and the vintage insight Fred.
In times gone by, it used to be that a good year for wines would mean a bad year for truffles and vice-versa, the rain that harmed many wine vintages gratefully received by the white truffles. Sadly a too dry year for wines is likely to result in an extremely scarce year for truffles.
Whilst it’s not (yet) a San Gimignano or the villages as touristic as Cinque Terre (and most definitely not at Venezia levels), yes I’ve also noticed the tourism rise (and for me, the overall experience drop a little) over the last 2 decades. Mostly this is seen in the eponymous villages of Barolo and Barbaresco (the latter to a lesser degree). The eagle-eyed may spot changes in the other villages, but it’s more subtle and the likes of Treiso or Verduno are unlikely to see tourist buses dropping ‘*see Italy in 2 weeks’ holidaymakers off for a 2-3 hour excursion as can now be seen in Barolo.
Outside of Barolo and Barbaresco villages, the experience still rewards those that are learning the language, but is absolutely fine for those that aren’t. Piemontese hospitality remains strong and whilst you’ll see other tourists, they’ll still form a distinct minority.
- I daresay the ‘see Italy in 1 week’ itinerary wouldn’t stretch to Barolo. Small mercies!
Interesting, i think we made it to 6-7 of the 11 villages. We did not go to Alba or Barbaresco. The towns were all very quiet. Our driver said a lot of tourists were in the area but we didn’t see them in the villages during the day. The restaurants were full though at night. It seemed much quieter than when we’ve been in the small villages of Tuscany.
It’s also really hot now. We spent most afternoons back at our hotel in the pool.
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2 more 18’s we got to try on the trip
2018 Cavallotto Bricco Boschi- This is serious and firm. Big red cherry and iron it really woke the palate up for our first tasting of day 2. It really should develop nicely but will need quite a while for everything to come together. I believe it had been opened that morning. Would be nice to try this after 2 days of being open. Should be lovely later and bury it deep in the cellar.
We had a 2012 Bricco in Turino before heading to La Morra. It was really good and in a perfect spot. Not the depth of the 16 and not a fair comparison but it showed very well. Worth picking up if you see any. One last note on Cavallotto. They don’t make a classico. Sometimes folks will compare the Bricco to one but it’s at Cru level. Their Nebbiolo is really a baby barolo and I believe all estate fruit. I asked about it as it’s priced on the high end for other Nebbiolo’s. The 2019 is a beautiful wine and one to age 4-5 years. They were sold out but found a 6 pack at one of the Enotecca’s.
2018 Oddero- like a few other wineries Oddero blended most of their fruit into their Classico. Picked up a bottle to try while we were in town. This is excellent with a bright red expressive nose it has nice energy and a bit of depth. It needed about an hour in glass to really hit it’s stride. Nice depth and weight and drinking very well right now. Excellent buy as well. This ones a no brainer.
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I’m starting to work my way through some 2018s that have made it to the U.S. I’ve tasted 3 of the Vietti 2018s (Rocche, Cerequio, Monvigliero). I think the Monvigliero & Cerequio are very pretty wines, with the Monvigliero showing some of the very distinct whole cluster + Monvigliero, ‘burgundian’ aromatics I get from Burlotto’s Monvigliero, and the Cerequio being a very classic Nebbiolo with pure, sweet red fruit. These are very pretty wines, but also on the medium to light bodied end of the spectrum, and I didn’t find a ton of complexity in either, but liked the flavor profile of what was there a lot. The Rocche to me was a disappointment, showing the most diluted of the bunch, with the aromatics still showing pretty nicely, but a bit too thin on the palate for me. I usually find the Vietti Rocche to be one of the most consistent wines from vintage to vintage, so this was a surprise to me. Full notes for these three on CT.
I’ll be interested at tasting the Rocche again at some point given my impressions vs. the critical reviews and some of the other notes i.e. Eric Guido tasted it out of barrel and left a very favorable review on CT, but I have no reason to think there was an issue with the bottle (all three from Flatiron Wines).
My impression is there is enjoyment to be had in the 2018 vintage, but it’s a vintage to be cautious about buying without tasting first.
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Hi Rob- echo your comments about tasting first before jumping in. We tasted the Brunate, Rocche and Ravera at our Vietti tasting. We enjoyed them all and I found the Rocche to have very nice depth and energy. It was our favorite of the 3. It was from a fresh bottle and it was a 375 they pour from so perhaps it’s developed a bit more since you tried it ? Lovely wine but I struggle with the price point it’s reached though it was a bit better pricing we were able to purchase from the winery.
If you can find the Fratelli Alessandria Monvigliero I’d recommend trying. We loved it though it needs time the nose was fantastic. My wife is still talking about the Gramolere as her favorite wine of the trip. It’s so expressive and just flat out terrific.
My tasting of the Rocche was this past weekend from 750ml, and I did try it again on day 2 & 3, where I found my impressions largely the same (but no worse, so I guess it held up for several days). For what it’s worth in the Vietti tasting room, I find the wines can show quite variably because they sometimes have wines open for a while and sometimes it’s fresh.
Young Barolo can be so finicky so very possible I’ll find the wine different the next time I try it. I’ll try to taste another bottle in the next few months.
Yeah I think pricing is going to be a problem with all '18s. Pricing is flat to up on initial release vs. prior vintages but clearly this is a weaker vintage than most.
I’ll definitely try the Alessandria wines. I thought the '17 Alessandria Monvigliero was one of the better wines of the vintage.
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This all sounds like a positive to me. The opportunity to drink a young Barolo still on the fruit without oppressive tannins.
The “great” vintages are usually too big and tannic for me.
Of course, Richard. (I missed this the first time around.) Drop me an email when you’re going.