Opened over the weekend and decanted an hour before drinking over the next two. I love Barolo and have enjoyed Brovia in the past (though had not yet tried this vintage), but am totally stumped on this wine. Every sip tasted different and disjointed, and I just couldn’t put a finger on it. All the hallmark Barolo notes were there, but they just didn’t come together for me. It wasn’t flawed or damaged. I may have been slightly dehydrated after a long hike and some yard work earlier in the day, would that affect my palate? Or maybe it’s just in a dull phase and would benefit from more cellar time?
Worth checking cellartracker to see if others experienced anything similar, and have a **casual glance at vintage generalisations to see if that includes anything relevant.
Outside of that, it could have been the wine, it could have been you. Both can be partially reset by a good night’s rest so if it happens again, don’t be afraid to put a cork in the bottle and revisit the next day.
FWIW 9 years old used to be a dreadful age to approach Barolo, with the risk of the upfront fruit losing intensity and the tannins getting a firm grip on the tasting experience. Solid food could mitigate this. Modern (rather than strictly modernist) winemaking and indeed weather has eased the risk somewhat, with some wines barely showing signs of closing down. Other wines stay truer to the ageing profile as it used to be common.
** casual as I think they are relied on far too much
2015 was a warm vintage. In general, the wines are very good and easy to drink. Maybe an off bottle?
I sometimes find that Barolo and some other structured wines are best (a) popped and poured or (b) decanted longer ahead. Sometimes it seems that, with an hour or so of decanting, you just lose the initial heady aromas without giving the wine enough time to really open up.
Just a thought I throw out.
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I’ve enjoyed a few bottles of this wine and found it to be very open and enjoyable. As John noted, I think a PnP is often the best way to enjoy the fruit of a young Barolo. They do seem to shut down if you decant for an hour or two.
Tasted this wine before release and it was very pretty then with great balance and elegance. It was one of the first wines during the tasting and I was struck by how quite a few of the better 2015 Barolos were, elegant.