With terrior making up such an important part of the nebbiolo grape what’s your favourite 3 vineyards in the Barolo and/or Barbaresco region?
Standing on a hillside it’s pretty easy to see how complicated this beautiful region really is. Each vineyard/cru site is completely unique with its own elevation, slope, exposure and soil. We even found within these vineyards, parcels would be completely different from other parcels in their expression. Add in year to year weather variation and it becomes incredibly complex!
Yes, the Langhe is like Corton writ large. As you said, different parts of the same vineyard can have completely different exposures, and elevations vary widely on the same slope.
Bussia is the most diverse (because the locals couldn’t agree on subdivisions that would have been more meaningful). This interactive panoramic photo of it is quite cool:
Gosh, in no specific order Monvigliero, Monte Stefano, Cascina Francia? Cannubi? Maybe San Lorenzo? Ginestra would have to be in there as well. Can I have 6?
Monvigliero would be on my list. Also Monprivato, both in Mauro Mascarello’s rendition and that of the Sobrero brothers, who made some stupendous wine from Monprivato decades ago before they sold their part to Mascarello.
What really got me into Barolo/Barbarescos was a '99 Giacosa Santo Stefano (White Label) years and years ago – drunk too young, but still silky and majestic.
So, for nostalgia’s sake, I will say Albesani (the Santo Stefano parcel specifically).
I guess current favorite: Ravera (Novello)? There are just so many producers making incredible wines there – a case of the terroir clearly elevating the producer’s ability to make a great wine. Also, lots of distinctive zones and parcels there that all have distinctive signatures within the cru.
I also think Rocche di Castiglione is another case of many producers making great wines there.
I haven’t had many Vigna Riondas personally, so I can’t say it’s a personal favorite, but based on reputation…
I really enjoy the Ravera wines. A great diversity of producers with access to fruit there.
Under the radar is Arione. I’ve had some fantastic Gigi Rosso wines from that vineyard and it was eventually sold to Giacomo Conterno in 2015 I believe. That alone should validate its quality and potential.
Tried Germano’s latest rendition of the Vignarionda and it was our favourite in their lineup when we visited. Vines only 7 years old, has a very promising future.
My favourite way to drink is to open several related wines and drink side by side over a few hours to really get a feel for how they are similar and different. So some of my favourite vineyards are those that lend themselves to this kind of “research”.
Villero: great producers (Mascarello, Oddero, Fennocchio, Brovia) making great wines so lots of fun comparisons to be had. Common themes between producers of silky, savoury, austere, tart red fruits - all of which appeal to me.
Rabaja: as above, several great producers (Giacosa, Giuseppe Cortese + Riserva, Castello di Verduno) to compare. Spicier, cherry fruit with silty tannins. Could have included Produttori but they’re just so hit and miss.
Ravera: Cogno, Vajra, Vietti doing it proud. Cogno is just doing great things from here with their different labels. Their Elena Riserva is so pretty (100% Nebbiolo Rose biotype), their Ravera (and Vajra’s) can look dark, tannic and imposing to start with but then develop gorgeous raspberry fruit. Vietti’s is dense, layered and high quality.
It’s such a difficult answer and I can imagine that the more one has tried among the various MGAs, vintages and producers, the more difficult it gets to answer the question. There is so much to like and/or love for various reasons.
Whenever I hear Ian D’Agata speaking of Barolo/Barbaresco, it always struck me that he has so many favorites, top 5, top7, top10 entries if I tasted through wines like him I would possibly be the same!
I ones asked Alessandro Masnaghetti which his favorite was. Very difficult to answer was the first comment, and then a maybe came up in Brunate. It was due to the average quality of the wine as well as character, more consistent than others through the years.
Ravera is definitely on my list. With some of my other favorites, I don’t have enough experience across producers to know if it’s the site in general, or just someone’s version of it. Examples are Monprivato, Bricco delle Viole, and Villero.
I wouldn’t say no to any Barolo or Barbaresco cru. The potential is always there for something special. There’s absolutely no way to experience all of the attributes of great Nebbiolo in only three vineyards.
That said, some of my best experiences:
Barolo:
Cannubi, Brunate, Monprivato, Lazzarito, Francia, Prapo, Arborina, Monvigliero, Rocche di Castiglione, Margheria, Bricco delle Viole, Falletto, Gabutti, Bricco Boschis
It’s difficult to generalize about Ravera, which is huge – 130 ha/322 acres – with different exposures. There are ridges, valleys in between, and bowls at the ends. Altitudes vary from 300m (moderate) to 480m (among the highest in Barolo).
By comparison, Brunate is 28 ha/70 acres, and Cannubi is smaller than that. And they are both pretty uniform in exposure.
I think it’s a tough Q to answer because unlike in Burgundy, for the most part, there aren’t a bunch of producers producing wines from each site (Ravera is one that has a lot of producers, but as others have said, it’s a huge area).
The best Barolo I’ve had is Monfortino, and clearly Francia is a good site, but who knows how much to attribute to Conterno or the site (I’d guess more to Conterno’s winemaking than the site).
Brunate, Ravera (at least in recent years), Vigna Rionda, Rocche di Castiglione, Monprivato, and Falletto in Barolo are clearly some of the top sites. Maybe Monvigliero in recent years, although I haven’t had a profound wine from Monvigliero.
In Barbaresco, Rabaja and Asili seem to be far above other vineyards in my experience. The Giacosa wines from those vineyards have been some of my favorite wines.
if I tasted through wines like him I would possibly be the same!
