I think that Marcarini Barolos (and why not the Dolcetto as well) offer great value. Why I don’t drink and buy them more often I really don’t know. At sub-40€ they are just wonderfully fun wines that don’t necessarily require a lot of age to be enjoyable (obviously vintage plays a role). Despite having all the telltale characteristics this almost comes off as feminine as there is not much weight and the mouthfeel is relatively silky. I have one bottle left, I guess I’ll wait five years before opening and in the meanwhile buy a lot more Marcarini for the cellar.
2011 Marcarini Barolo Brunate- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5.11.2021)
Popped and poured, enjoyed over three hours. The nose is just delightful: savory, herbal and ashy with bright red cherry, tar, iron, rose petals and a hint of truffle. Very expressive, detailed and attractive. On the palate it offers nice mouth-filling richness on the entry but it doesn’t overwhelm at all and the tannins are just right: appropriately sized and ripe with no harshness whatsoever. Nothing here suggests warm vintage, the fruit is perfectly ripe and savory and the 14% ABV is not felt at all. Obviously there is no tertiary development at this point but the wine comes off as well balanced, succulent and highly drinkable with surprisingly good acidity. At times I wonder if this is drinks too easily but then there is enough grip here so that there is absolutely no need to call it soft.
Marcarini doesn’t get the credit it deserves. The Brunate, particularly, can be outstanding. Greg dal Piaz set up a vertical of them 10 years or so ago, with wines going back to the 60s. Some of the bottles weren’t in the best condition, but the best were superb. This wine can definitely age.
It’s interesting what you said about Marcarini handling the warm 2011 vintage well. They also did well in 2007, another warm year. The '07 La Serra, which usually has less depth than the Brunate, was a very appealing wine.
When I first began exploring Barolo in the late 90s, Marcarini’s wines were more widely available on store shelves around NYC, but I dismissed them because they were quite light in color when young. With hindsight, I was misled by the darker, modernist wines that dominated the selection here. I wish now I’d bought more Marcarini!
I have an '01 Brunate standing upright now. Three bottles consumed between 2012 and 2018 were all excellent, and I expect it is only better now.
I like Marcarini, and don’t think they get the love and attention they deserve, especially at their level of consistency and price.
Still have the 1999 Brunate to drink up.
What a wonderful comment! I think these wines can definitely fool you thinking they are not that long lived given how approachable they can be, like this vintage. When we had the 1995 La Serra a few years back it was still extremely youthful. What’s good is that the prices remain reasonable and there is decent availability in the German online shops so I am definitely going to get my act together while it’s not too late.
My experience is different in terms of age. I’ve not been particularly successful with their young baroli. Older Brunate (30+), often impresses. The oldest I currently have are 96 & 97 Brunate and 98 La Serra. We tried one of the La Serras a few yrs ago, thinking it might mature faster than the Brunate, and it wasn’t ready. I’d like another 5 yrs at least, unless I’m convinced otherwise.
Maybe some experienced members can chime in here, but my impression is that Marcarini was at the peak when Elvio Cogno was there. Since Cogno left, Marcarini declined somewhat to being a low to midtier producer (although still benefits from the halo effect from the olden days).
Most Marcarini Brunate I’ve had have been “ok” (2004 vintage onwards) but I struggle to see how these could be ranked at the top of the quality tree like Sheldon Wasserman ranked them in 1991.
Never really got around to putting it to practice, but I had it in mind to buy from clay-heavy sites in warmer years and sand/limestone dominant terroir in cooler ones.
I dig Marcarini as well. Glad the '11 was to your liking.
I’m not going to knock "new’ Marcarini because I am a fan, but I can understand how you would not rank them in the top tier. They also aren’t prices as top tier, so there is that. But when Elvio Cogno was making the wines? Yeah, those were fantastic. He left Marcarini to found his namesake winery, but I don’t think he was around very much longer, so it too is only an approximation of his wine-making talent.
He died in June 2016. I remember seeing his death notice on a wall in La Morra when I was there a couple of months later. (Note the other familiar family names.)
1978 Marcarini Brunate consumed in the late 90’s was my epiphany wine that convinced me to start cellaring. It was all cobwebs and old baseball gloves, and very exciting.
Thanks for your note and its associated happy memories.
Not surprised. We loved the 1988 Marcarini Brunate that we finished off 10 years ago. They may not be 50-year wines, but they were excellent for 25 years.
I thought the 1998 was very solid; while no one would claim “top tier”, it was certainly good QPR. I believe we own a couple of bottle of 2004 and 2008 Brunate too. Ready now?
Regards,
Peter
I think Fissore did take over some years before Cogno’s death.
Yes, there are a lot of common family names, which causes a lot of confusion when they own wineries. You have two or more wineries named Mascarello, Conterno, Pira, Voerzio and Grasso, to name just a few.
