I would like to recommend Sobrero. They’ve been around since the 40s, but it’s the current generation that have improved them and made them great buys. They’re very reasonably priced and the wines are open and elegant from the start. Haven’t had a chance to age them for long yet as the first vintage I had was 2013, and they’re hard to stay away from, but they are great as young wines for sure.
1 Like
If you are interested in new faces in the Barolo winemaking scene, I recommend that you subscribe to Stefano Moiso’s YouTube channel, Stefun wine, or directly on his website at Stefunwine.it as he has been posting videos of visits with several new or unknown producers of interest. The most recent visits have been with Giacolino Gillardi and Cesare Bussolo, along with a visit in the San Rocco vineyards with Lorenzo Scavino of Azelia.
Stefano and his wife Elisabetta, operate an enoteca in Barolo called La Vite Turchese. I highly recommend it.
I think that’s what the vintage brings as opposed to winemaking. Brezza is about as a traditional as it gets and their wines can be beautifully heady and elegant. I’m a big big fan of them
Thanks. I visited there in 2015 and it was very old school.
we can now stop talking about them before people figure out how good the wines are ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Speaking of which, I opened a 2010 Guido Porro Vigna Lazzairasco tonight and I am just amazed how good it was. Classical, traditionally made cru Barolo from Serralunga. $45 for 750ml. I should have bought more.
I find all of their Barolo wines, save their top Cru, to be rich and polished - not to say their blowsy and fat, just not a fan.
Would there be any valid argument that Barolo wine prices could exceed those of Burgundy at some point?
The Ceretta is aged for two years in mid-sized barrels, but not barriques, according to Oliver’s website.
These are also favorites of Alessandro’s team at Rimessa in Rome, which tends to be a pretty good indicator for under the radar quality. I have a few, but have not tried them yet.
I don’t think the current Sobrero is a continuation of the old Sobrero operation, which produced some truly memorable wines. As I recall, one of the older Sobrero brothers died in the early 80s and the survivor just couldn’t carry on. They owned a good chunk of Monprivato – which probably explains why the wines were so good – which was sold to Mauro Mascarello of G Mascarello. I believe the brand went out of existence
The website for Francesco Sobrero refers to the long family history but says the first vintage was 1993.
I paid $25 for the 2009 Lazzairasco and Santa Caterina and each time I open a bottle I have the same response.
1 Like
A smart buy, had the 2016 Lazzairisco and S. Caterina relatively recently. Both very good wines and while enjoyable, patience will be reward (with complexity).
I would highly doubt that. Burgundy is simpler to understand, and has a classification system that really helps prices. Barolo’s MGAs are semi-useful in some places, like Serralunga, and completely useless in others, like Monforte. But even then, there is no classification system - you can’t just look at a wine list in a restaurant and have the words “Grand Cru” to let you know it is supposed to be a fancy vineyard.
Barolo prices are going to continue to increase - but I can’t imagine a world where they are higher than those in the cote d’or.
Thanks for the response. I hesitated to even ask because it seems like such a ridiculous notion, at least as things stand today, but was curious what people think nonetheless.
In my view the prices of the top wines of the cote d‘or are comparable with the prices of kryptocurrencies nowadays. You can‘t calculate a fair value, it‘s just the market who determine the price. Why costs a Grand Cru 500 - 1000$? Isn’ t what cracy? Obviously some people think No.
Is it really not imaginable that that will also happen with the elite vineries of Piedmont (e.g. G. Conterno, B. Mascarello)?
Giovanni Rosso : I don’t wanna sound repetitive but ester canale 2016 is as good as any barolo out there . A total stunner of a wine .
Cogno : wait until he comes out with vigna Elena 2016
Sandri : Ciman , if you haven’t tried it you should .
Fratelli Alessandria : in the same class of burlottos or very very close at 1/3 of the price.
Many more are growing very rapidly . Barolos are getting the recognition they deserve
Does this actually taste like a Barolo? I was wondering about it since it sees no oak, only cement. Not that oak is any essential part of Barolo when it comes to aromatics/flavors but obviously it’s always there, even if older oak was used.
I think you’re right, Michael, though as best I can tell, the production areas are similar, so supply will be similar.
There are about 2,500 hectares of Barolo and Barbaresco combined (=1.3 million cases annually). I believed that red grand cru and premier cru wine account for about 2,400 hectares in the Cote d’Or. (To my surprise, I couldn’t find many figures online, either in hectares or liters, so my Burgundy figure involves some extrapolating from various websites. If someone has Burgundy reference works at hand, maybe they can supply better figures.)
A number of factors work against B&B prices converging with Burgundy, I think:
(1) The weather in Piedmont is more even, so there have been very few poor vintages in the last 25 years (only 2002 and 2003 come to mind), while Burgundy has suffered a number of challenging vintages over the last decade in which production fell by big double-digit figures due to hail or rain or frosts. That’s been a huge factor in the runup of Burgundy prices in recent years that many people forget. Production has been off 30-50% in some vintages for some producers.
(2) There is still a portion of the fine wine consuming world who doesn’t see the same prestige in B&B. I think that’s true in the UK, which is a huge market for Burgundy.
(3) There seems to be a great deal more very high quality B&B normale, so you can find a lot of very enjoyable wines in the $35-$50 range, not to mention all the terrific Nebbiolo d’Albas around $20. I.e., there’s more supply in Piedmont. For most people, finding a really enjoyable Cote d’Or red requires paying well over $30.
(4) The acreage devoted to nebbiolo in B&B has expanded substantially over the last 20 years, as dolcetto and barbera has been replaced. I’m not sure how much more room there is for expansion, but there was no room for comparable expansion in Burgundy.
A handful of trophy wines – e.g., Giacosa, G. Conterno, R. Voerzio, B. Mascarello – command huge prices as label chasers have entered the market, and no doubt more will be added to that list. Burlotto has joined it in recent years. But apart from those, prices haven’t gone so crazy.
It is worth bearing in mind that Burgundy has also been subject to the 25% tariff for more than a year now, so retail prices in the US reflect that.
1 Like
I agree with several already mentioned, but I would add Claudio Viberti. He started bottling his Roccheviberti Bricco Boschis in 2014. 14 and 15 were reasonably approachable after a good bit of air and showed great potential.