So we turned at a sign in Annunziata that said Veglio and pulled up outside the winery where an old chap greeted us, we said we had an appointment with Daniela, he shook his head as if to intimate there was no Daniela and gave us a funny look (perhaps it was just his normal look but it looked a little funny). He then started on a tour in full Italian for us. What we saw was quite a large scaled, old school production facility (hey, I thought Veglio were smaller and employed more modern techniques) and as we hit his tasting room and started tasting in the only place on our whole trip that didn’t have a spittoon (and the only place on our whole trip that needed a spittoon) it clicked, we were at the wrong Veglio. We suffered through the rather pedestrian Barbera and just when the old chap looked like he wanted us to taste about 25 more wines I politely extricated us from the situation, purchased a bottle of his 06 Barolo (for 10 Euros, may be the cheapest Barolo on the planet) and we rushed across the hill to Mauro Veglio.
2009 Dolcetto d’Alba: Sweet cherry and earth, good volume and mouthfeel, nice crunchy finish.
2009 Barbera d’Alba: Very bright aromas and flavours of sour cherry, less sour, in fact quite sweet cherry, spice and earth. The finish is long and punctuated by lively, crisp acidity.
2008 Langhe Nebbiolo ‘Angelo’: Pretty and elegant nose of red currants, raisins, cedar and rose petals. In the mouth the fruit is red, crisp and fresh, there’s a little earth and the finish has reasonable grip.
2006 Barolo: Contains ‘Arborina fruit as no straight ‘Arborina’ was made in 06. There’s just a little coffee and caramel to the aroma along with cedar and red fruits. It is a little skinny in the mouth at this stage and finishes with sandy tannins.
2006 Barolo ‘Vigneto Gattera’: One is immediately hit with enticing smells of dried fig, red currants, tar and decaying rose petals. There’s good depth of flavour and the fruits are highly perfumed. It finishes with plenty of grip and there’s real structure and balance here for long aging.
2006 Barolo ‘Castellotto’: Darker fruit profile here with notes of liquorice, blood plums and sweet raisins. There’s a thread of sweet tobacco running through the wine and it is broad shouldered and chewy yet highly perfumed and possesses quite a prettiness. A chain of abundant tannins drives home the finish.
2006 Barolo ‘Rocche dell’ Annunziata’: The nose is complex with a wisp of smoke, some saline notes, roses and sweet berry fruits. It is dense, concentrated and chewy with excellent structure and length. Very smart wine that should be a belter in 10+ years.
2005 Barolo ‘Vigneto Arborina’: Delicate and pretty with a suggestion of pomegranate and cranberry. It is generous and round with lovely balance and a whip of liquorice. The tannins are sugar coated.
2005 Barolo ‘Vigneto Gattera’: If paisley had a smell, then this is it. All red fruits, lipstick and a little jube like. It is quite forward with a sweet and round personality and moderate tannins on the finish.
2005 Barolo ‘Castelletto’: A little oxidation on the nose along with red fruits, iron and dried fig. It is like a salty plum in the mouth and has nice sweetness with good length carried by abundant, sandy tannins.
2007 L’Insieme; Daniela told us this was 40% Nebbiolo, 40% Barbera and 30% Cabernet, I nearly told her I hate it when my staff tell me they’re putting in 110%, letting them know it only goes to 100% but I held back and I think something got lost in translation. Anyway, the Cabernet is obvious, adding its leafy personality. The wine is round, generous, modern, tasty and boring after a nice bracket of Barolo.
Cheers
Jeremy