Yes, I’m a fan of Rizzi.
Where did you see the list of participants?
I posted a link a couple posts up thread.
Ha! Scanned the thread looking for links and missed that. Duh.
Among names you might not know:
Anna Maria Abbona makes terrific dolcetto in Dogliani. So do Chionetti and Pecchinino. Not sure if they produce nebbiolo/Barolo.
Aurelio Settimo is a good traditional producer in La Morra with vines in Rocche del’Annunziata. You don’t see their wines here that often.
Barale is another good traditionalist that’s now getting play at Chambers St. and Astor.
Brezza has some prime vineyards in Barolo and is very serious. They’ve acquired new distributors on both coasts in the last couple of years (our own Oliver McCrum in California) and are getting more shelf space.
Ettore Germano is a very good producer in Serralunga. Moore Bros. brings them in the NY area, so you don’t seem them much elsewhere. Oliver also imports them on the West Coast.
You’re more likely to have heard of Fratelli Allesandria, but I don’t think it gets the attention it deserves.
Schiavenza is another good Serralunga producer that you don’t see around much.
Find it hard to taste 15+ young nebbiolos based on my last experience tasting the '16 barbaresco at Chambers. I have a list of 20 wines I hope to try, ranked them, and not sure how I will actually get it done…
A well laid out event. I got through about half of the 148 wines before my palate gave out.
Have a ticket for this evening. Best offer accepted.
tried about 40 wines in an hour or so. there is a lot of very not good wine out there. great tasting for calibration, i’d say.
A few producers I wanted to see where not there, but still an informative event. Overall the 2016s showed best. The 2015s sometimes lacked acidity, with occasionally huge structures that made them difficult to try. 2013s were all very good, but very structured to taste through. Brovia and Fennochio impressed the most. Haven’t been as big a fan of Brovia in the past, but these 2016s look like a step up from what I remember. Fenocchio is a producer that warrants more of my attention in 2016, the Villero was very good. A few Barbaresco 2013s that were really good, but I think 2016 will bring a little more beneficial concentration. Palate faded, otherwise I would revisit a few at the end Sordo, Scarzello, Rizzi for QPR race.
2015 Vajra BdV: A bit candied
2015 Gaja Sperrs Barolo: Oaky
2016 Brovia Rocche: Softer, finer and darker than Ca’Mia. Slightly more spice. But overall really soft and elegant. Brovia kinda killed it in 2016.
2016 Brovia Ca’Mia: More over bright fruit than Rocche, and more rustic on the tannin. Still very good.
2013 Massolino Vigna Riserva: Really good. Nose potentially off. But a bigger/more concentrated wine with balancing freshness.
2016 Fennichio Villero: Surprising, really good. Pale colored but big flavor and strong tannic structure. Burgundian. One to cellar.
2016 Fennochio Bussia: More fruit concentration that masks structure vs. Villero. Slightly more acidity too. But overall more fruit forward. Will be interesting to compare to Villero 10Yrs from now. I prefer villero
2015 Marcarini Brunate: Strawberry and slightly candied. Big structure. Missing a smidgeon of acidity. Short finish?
2016 Marcarini Serra. Not as big and fresher than the Brunate. Higher elevation than Brunate. Slightly sweet. Wish it had a smidgeon more acidity.
2015 Conterno Francia: Nice nose. Nice fruit, balance, good structure… try again in a decade.
2016 Ratti Conca: In similar wheelhouse as Fennochio and Brovia, but I pefer those o
ther too. This was balanced, but had more fruit, and slightly more rusticity.
2016 Ratti dell’Annunziata: Very good. Not as big as Conca. Pretty red fruit. Lacks a smidgeon of acidity.
2015 Dosio Serradenari. Sweet strawberry too sweet, cotton ball tannin
2015 Alessandria Monvigliero: Recall preferring this to San Lorenzo. A good 2015. But look forward to 2016,
2015 Alessandria San Lorenzo:
2010 Diego Conterno Ginestra: Really good, forgot to visit his table for current poors.
2016 Carlo Revello Normale: Good darker red fruit structure, woodspice, vanilla. Wine maker is young, humble and excited.
2011 Carlo Revello Giachini: Overripe strawberry, lots of structure. Curious to see there 2016 SVDs and future wines.
2012 Rocche dell annunziata. Big red fruit. Big structure. HUGE structure.
2015 Manuel Marinacci: California red with Nebbiolo structure?
2013 Marchesi di Gresi Camp Gros: Fleshier than 2008, but probably wait for 2016 for a little more concentration/fruit. Very refreshing after tasting many fat, unbalanced wines. Was welcome. But perhaps slightly too lean?
2013 Cortese Rabaja Riserva: Excellent. Refreshing, complex with more pronounced fruit than Martinega. But felt slightly thin. A '16 to seek out I imagine.
2016 Sordo Perno: QPR buy. Rich pretty red fruit (strawberry, ripe cherry) and then structure and balancing acidity. Sweet but light. Doesn’t need food but makes you want food.
2015 Osvaldo Viberti: At first I thought this was discovery of the tasting. More concentrated, but not overdone. Serralunga a bit simple ,reminded me of a 90s cali cab in Nebbiolo style. The La Morra was more complex. Took a glass of La Morra to focus on later, and felt this had a little bit of burn on the swallow and the palate was not as good as I thought it would be. Stopped thinking this was discovery of the tasting and was clear my palate was clearly shot by now.
2013 Scarzello: Sweet cherry strawberry, light on feet. So structured cotton ball. Classic. Needs decade or two. Poor man Monprivato? Would like to compare to Sordo Perno, but imagine this wine to be less soft/more layered?
2016 Rizzi: Strawberry balsamic on the nose. Lots of cherry fruit. So structured. Pure cherry fruit and lots of structure
2016 Rizzi Pajore: A harsher wine. Tannins not as fine, finish has more heat.
Jeez you must have had their app! I will say that the tasting ‘round bar’ in the middle for both Barolo and Barbaresco was amazing, it was great to just pour what one wanted. There were so many producers, all pouring various vintages, from 2008 to 2016. The 2008’s were a treat. Some new producers who just started and who I would gladly purchase from. A fun event with a good space, and it was fun to see some fellow bezerkers there as well 
Good to get your impressions Shan. Sounds like a good time had by all.
Ha no app! Iphone chicken scratch. And hard to taste so many in a short time coherently. Would be keen to see other’s notes.
Brief impressions from memory:
Not sure if it’s the vintage or the relative youth, but I didn’t come away in love with a lot of the 2015s - a little simple and candied on the nose. Hard to tell if it’s just still too primary and undeveloped.
The few 2013s that I tasted were excellent, which were the 2013 Oddero Bussia Riserva and the 2013 Cortese Rabaja (much preferred to 2017). Cascina Fontana’s 2013 Barolo was very good, similar to what I remember tasting of their 2010, 2010 might’ve had more transparency.
Many of the 2015s were pretty candied on the nose and were not so much to my taste palate wise. This was a theme in many of the wines I tasted, some of whom I don’t really remember. But I think these were still popular with many, and there was still a lot to like for other palates.
2015s I really enjoyed:
Alessandria’s 2015s seemed a little more classically proportioned. I might’ve preferred San Lorenzo, but the red fruited delicacy of the Monvigliero did come out, I thought. I really liked Casa di Mirafiore’s 2015 single vineyards, with the edge to the Lazzarito over Paiagallo. I think Lazzarito wasn’t quite as big as the Paiagallo, but I can’t remember. Marcarini Brunate was excellent. Warmer and softer than the 2013 I opened a night prior, but still with the clarity of fruit. 2013 Marcarini needs a lot more time. On the other hand, 2012 is drinking really well right now (12/13 from my own time, not the tasting)
Really enjoyed the 2015 Produttori Ovello, which retains its classic sense of balance and proportion relative to other producers. Confirms to me that Produttori is really great. Wish I could’ve tasted the Paje and Muncagota, apparently those went quick. Silvio Giamello’s Vicenziana was also quite tasty
2016s:
Of those I tried, I thought it had more consistency and better balance. Cascaina delle Rose Tre Stelle - balanced, aromatically pure, good clarity of fruit and structure. Brovia’s wines were probably among my favorites, edge going to Rocche over the Brea, but both were pretty great. Vietti Ravera - still pretty primary on the nose, but really open and expansive on the palate.
Of Fenocchio’s wines, I preferred Villero to the Bussia, which felt a little extracted, but neither hit a home run with me.
Didn’t get to try Cavallotto or Francesco Rinaldi, unfortunately. 2012 Sandrone Bricco Boschis was very accessible.
In sum, I didn’t drink the same producers across vintages to be able to make sweeping judgments, but if I had to, I’d say that 2013 continues to impress, 2016 is very promising, 2015 isn’t bad but kind of uneven and one to taste widely before you buy (which is a bit of a trope that is annoying and difficult/impossible for most consumers). Fin.
Missed the Vietti Ravera! How did that show vs the Brovia Rocche or 2015 Vietti Ravera if you have had it? Want to do a Vietti horizontal but haven’t had the opportunity to do so… rather liked the '15 Ravera.
I want to try the Fenocchio Villero again… I rather liked it, but in that setting can be difficult to asses. What I recall is a pale, elegant, finely structured wine with pale but pretty red fruit.