Giulia Negri - justified hype?

WINE TALK
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Seeing Giulia Negri getting a lot of hype at the moment - especially her top wine Barolo Marassio. Anyone here who have tasted recent vintages (18/19) that can enlighten us a bit as to whether the hype is really warranted?

Do not have a chance to taste any of her wines in the coming weeks myself, and are looking to understand whether it is a train I should jump on or not =)

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I bought the '15 and '16 Marassio and opened one of each last year. I thought they were both solid wines. Not really complex, but a “pretty” flavor profile (i.e. my note for the '15 was sweet red berry fruit, fresh roses, mint) and an elegant texture with refined tannins for a young nebbiolo. The prices have jumped significantly in the past year, and I’m not sure why. It’s possible they have further improved as she is a young winemaker, so I am interested to taste the '19, but the quality of the '15/'16 was not quite high enough to justify the $100/btl I paid, and I think the going price on the '19 Marassio is more like $150.

It’s not that surprising to me that there is hype based on the '15/'16…I think the pretty, more elegant wines in Barolo that are a bit closer to burgundy-like are the ones getting most of the hype. But for the 2016 for example, if you have the patience to wait for them to age, the '16 Vajra Bricco delle Viole or '16 Elio Grasso wines are much more complex in my opinion.

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Thanks for the input! I am hearing that she made a big leap forward with her 19s and 20s (maybe 18s as well?) - having now been in full control for slightly longer… Kind of like the Charles Lachaux story (not the same hype obviously)

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Not recent, but I did feel her Serradenari wines we’re a little under the radar for a good solid / structured Barolo. Conversely I’m also very wary of hype, having seen a good number of labels rapidly escalate in price, simply because a critic wet his pants after tasting a bottle. There’s often stunningly bad value in boarding the hype train.

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I like her wines, subtle&sublime, elegant and full of finesse. And if you will „Burgundy-like“, but we should be careful using this phrase.
It’s too much used these days.

I will open a 2019 Barolo from her in the coming days. Stay tuned……

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I’ve had her Pinot Noir and Barbera but are still keeping the Barolo in the cellar.

I find her style and wine overall to be very pleasant and definitely something I’d buy more of, if the price is right.

  • 2018 Giulia Negri Barbera d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (18-09-2021)
    Double decanted and drank it over 3-4 hours and it really became better and better over the evening.

    On the nose it was just full of cherry, blackberry, strawberry, a bit of oak and quite earthy with some smoke.
    Palate was super acidic with very soft and smooth tannins giving sour cherry, wild strawberry, some more powerful black fruits, black pepper and again a bit earthy and smokey.
    The acidity is little overwhelming though it integrated better with some air, but I feel a few more years in the bottle would do wonders.

    We had a tiny bit left for night 2 where the acidity had really integrated well but the wine had also lost a bit of the fruitiness and gotten more earthy and heavy. (89 points)

Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2016 Giulia Negri Langhe Pinot Nero La Tartufaia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (21-01-2022)
    Poured in the decanter 2 hours before serving first glass and then drank it over about 3 more hours. Improved immensely over the 3 hours. Beautiful deep red and translucent color.

    Still feels a little shut down and closed on the nose. A bit of red fruit from cherry, strawberry and raspberry with some dark berries showing as well. Quite a lot of oak, herbs and pepper with some earth/mushroom.

    Palate was in the same ball park. Cherry, blackberry, strawberry but it’s not all fruit. Oak, chocolate, earth, mushroom with high acidity and medium body. Young and quite grippy tannins that mellowed a bit after 4-5 hours.

    I was impressed with the wine at this price point as it drinks like Bourgogne for 2-3x the price. Downside is this wasn’t showing 100% yet and it definitely needs more time. I’s say give it atleast 2 more years before trying it again. (90 points)

Posted from CellarTracker

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The 2005 was good value at 17 €! :smiley:

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P.S.

Stanley Tucci visted her and tasted her wines in the famous CNN serie „Searching for Italy“

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Had a bottle of 2020 Giulia Negri Langhe Nebbiolo a few weeks ago. Very floral, dried cherry, tarry, persistent finish, very impressive and good value. Went back a bought several more.

Tom

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Was pleasantly surprised by the Langhe Nebbiolo but haven’t cracked open the barolos yet

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I like the style a lot. The vines are still young (20 years or so) which I think keeps the wine complexity on the lower side for recent vintages, but still quaffable. I am more focused on her future vintages as vine age helps the wines gain more complexity, and down the road those future vintages will be really special (when that happens I have no idea? 5 years? 10 years?). Pricing is a function of hype and the Kermit Lynch tax. I paid $60 for 2013 vintage and then after importer change the next vintage or so was offered for $150 (and did not sell, an aggressive pricing test!). Good producer to keep an eye on, but my plans won’t survive the hype train it seems…

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I’ve been a big fan of her Langhe (past 3 vintages); lovely balanced cohesive wines that I’ve felt justify the premium over some of my other everyday nebbioli. I also have 5x (of 6) 2016 Serradenari Barolos in the cellar; I had 1 in April / May of last year when I bought the case; it was fantastic … I don’t have detailed notes but the aromatics had lovely complexity and fruit was quite vibrant; it was quite elegant (definitely on the Burgundy side of things). I remember thinking the wine was quite open and resolved at the time for the vintage.

That said, I’m not a buyer of her barolo at the current pricing. The current pricing I’ve seen seems to be c. 40% over the price I paid for the '16.

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