As always Ian share plenty of good insights and the latest from his relatively new project (China based) is this write up of Barolo with main focus on 2019/18 along with tasting notes. To various extent it also covers most vintages of the 2010s and is a three part report with the below link covering the first of these:
Rather a strident / opinionated opening to his article. Perhaps I’m more used to his style from Native wine grapes, which I much prefer.
I certainly don’t share that desire to try and talk one region up over a different unrelated region, and trying to say one region’s winemakers are more talented than those elsewhere is something more typical of a Galloni or Parker, and invariably then followed a month or two later, where the other region gets talked up instead.
The rant about 2005 sounds rather Galloni-like as well, as if he’s personally invested himself in a proclamation and so is up on his soapbox claiming he’s right and others are wrong. Whilst I share his distrust/dislike of hot vintages, again generalisations are usually exposed by some fine exceptions (for me, Marcarini often seem very capable of handling hotter vintages adeptly - I’m sure there are other examples)
I do prefer him when he’s sharing insights into more technical aspects of winemaking, grapes, terroir, etc. and the tail end of the article is an improvement to my mind. Better when he has his feet on the ground, rather than his head in the clouds. Perhaps the article was influenced by him being away from Italy for a year?
Thanks for sharing this - unfortunately for me, not the best advertisement for subscribing to his publication, but others may find it more valuable. I’ll probably stick to his books.
To be fair, since I start to follow wine he has always been a man with a lot of favorites.
Now I am just guessing but reckon he is also trying to address a new audience given that he is based in China, hence the added importance to rise his own cred. Though I agree that there is no need for it and I’m sure an editor would help shorten down the first part(s).
For me the interesting bit was his take on the vintages - there are quite some interesting and observant points.
A small thing, but I find his articles have far too many typos that drive me nuts. What is good about his subscription model, however, is that you can subscribe monthly for a nominal cost. If there is ever an article that really interests me, I will usually just subscribe for the month to review/consider.
I am probably as bad as Ian with typos and it’s been quite some time since the post but Ian regards them both as two of the best vintages in recent memory.
I know 2015 is a bit controversial for many, however as far as I’m concerned it’s way better than many give it credit for.
I think Ian is someone who has a lot of knowledge, but I don’t personally trust his palate on Nebbiolo. I recall reading his reviews of Giacosa and him giving 100 points to recent red label wines, like the 2016 Asili I think, a wine which I found very weak for the year and vintage. I rated it 90 points, and I have no idea how someone would taste it and rate it 100.
There are a few good 2015s, but most wines from that year are mediocre, medium weight wines lacking a bit of acidity and energy. The only epic wines I’ve had from 2015 are the Giacomo Conterno lineup, and to a slightly lesser extent the Burlotto lineup.
2018 is the worst vintage I have ever personally encountered on release, and probably the worst year overall since 2009. There are no great wines from 2018. Some solid, early drinking wines from some top producers though. But overall, it’s a year with high alcohols, mediocre tannin quality, and lack of depth of fruit.
My experience has been that 2010 is far ahead of any other recent vintage. 2014 produced some truly epic wines, far better than anything from 2015 or 2018, even if average quality is very mixed. 2013 and 2016 are great years with very high average quality, with 2016 more approachable than 2013. 2019 is very good, but quite austere and not quite at the levels of 2013 or 2016 in mose cases.
While my preference also may differ on individual wines I do think he’s general assessments usually are quite solid.
2015 is a vintage I have tasted the very wide on release. A majority of the better winemakers had wines with elegance and surprising freshness - I didn’t expect that going in to the tasting.
Won’t argue about 2017 or 2018, though I personally have had more success with 2018 (nothing great but quite good). Based on the Langhe Nebbiolos I tasted 2017 is behind 2018.
Surprised about the praise for the 2014 vintage. Monfortino is the only outlier I have heard of being great in 2014 (didn’t have it myself). Can imagine there being a few outliers but as a in a general vintage view… Which wines do you have in mind that are stronger in 2014 than 2015?
Edit: I’m not sure but the only wine I had where it might be true to me is the Trediberri Barolo. Hard to say if it was better but maybe - tasted them quite far away from each other in time.
The 2015 and 2016 vinatges were the last 2 vintages that I tasted a lot of wine as a wine buyer. I liked the 2015s right out the of the gate but was waiting not so patiently to taste the heralded 2016 vintage. Much like 09/10 and 14/15 of Bordeaux, the 2015s took the backseat. I could see the potential of the 2016 vintage across my favorite prodecuers but very rarely do those “classic” vintages wow right away…except the Burlotto Monvig and the Bartolo Mascarello.
The '14 vintage is full of highs and lows. I think it’s the most uneven vintage I’ve tasted young. Conterno crushed it - the Monfortino is incredibly finessed, but so is the Cerretta and that is quite affordable relatively speaking. I think both of those wines are better than the '15 equivalent and will be epic wines for decades. I think they’re also both better than the '13 equivalent.
Massolino Rionda '14 is insanely good and will age for the long haul. I haven’t had the '15.
Both the Cogno Elena & Cogno Pernice are incredibly good in '14 and wines for the long haul, IMO they are better than the '13 equivalents.
Vietti crushed it in '14, at least for the Rocche and Ravera - I haven’t tasted the others. Two wines for the long haul.
The Vajra BDV has aged very nicely - had a bottle pretty recently. It can be drunk now or aged for another 10-20 years I think. I don’t like the '15 BDV, it’s a bit on the ripe side / lacking energy IMO. The '14 Baudana wines are also good. Not great wines, but nice medium weight, classic wines that should age well.
I prefer the Bartolo '14 over the '15. It’s not an epic '14 like the Conternos, Massolino, Cogno Elena/Pernice, or Vietti, but it is showing quite well now and seems to have the acidity and freshness to age quite well from here. I had the '15 last week, and it is good - ripe, easy to drink now, but has good acidity which a lot of '15s lack - but I think the '14 will end up being better in the long run.
On the other hand, there’s obviously some quite poor '14s. The Giuseppe Rinaldi '14s are not good. Had a bottle of the Brunate last year, and it’s gotten worse IMO since release, very savory and lacking in fruit. The Elio Grasso blended Barolo in '14 is not good, whereas their '15s are great examples of the year. The Brovia '14 Unio is similarly IMO pretty terrible. If you got hit by hail and/or your vineyard struggled with the rain levels, you got diluted wines lacking fruit.
Edit: One I forgot about is Burlotto Monvigliero. On release, I thought it was a bit unbalanced, but I tasted it alongside the '13 a few months ago, and it was showing incredibly well. We actually preferred the '14 by a hair for its greater purity of fruit and freshness, although not sure how much I trust that conclusion for the long run.
As a vintage in average my personal feeling is still though that 2015 reaches a high average as a vintage (not as much lows), however great to here that there are plenty of very good 2014, more then I expected.
The likes of Vietti, Oddero, Massolino, Cogno and Brovia showed very well on release with the 2015 vintage across the range.
Have a 2014 Marengo b viole and the 2014 Burlotto Monvigliero and had thoughts on giving them a try one of these days, sounds like I’ll be in for a treat
