2015 Fratelli Barale Barolo Castellero- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/28/2020)
Delicious, precise, approachable natural wine. I’d no idea that Barale was a natural vinegrower. Tasting this in the context/mindset it was ‘natural’ was something of a revelation - even if I have a lot of experience with natural wines - as this is both elegant, and delicious (not mutually exclusive qualities of natural wines), and Nebbiolo/Barolo. I doubt that sentiment came across too clearly. I tip my hat to this ebullient, and carefully layered, med+ bodied wine. Avg+ finish/length, with a lot to offer today, and likely down the road, too. Drink now (PnP was just fine) thru 2034. highly recommended to those looking for more considered nuances vs. raw power and/or label recognition. The 14,5% abv. is fully resolved, balanced. Spend some time with it, let it open in the glass; #SlowWine.
“The vines of Nebbiolo Michet and Rose (from selection massale) range in age from 25 to 40 years old, and have always been farmed organically (and are now certified organic)” , via Chambers St.
fully resolved: not presenting on nose or palate, in harmony.
It means enough that they were/are participants in the multi-day, multi-country natural wine fair vinnatur, where I first came across the 2015; subsequently procured a bottle.
total sulfites 44mg/L, hoping that’s enough to meet your definition. All of your replies (to my posts) just seem like trolls, John; has gotten old. You should move on. Instead of posting here 10x/day, I actually go places, with nearly 5 years of my life in European vineyards/fairs/etc., and > 6 months in California vineyards, for corporate buying junkets/fairs, and my own wish to learn.
I query some of your posts because they don’t make sense or seem misinformed. Alcohol doesn’t “resolve,” and organic isn’t the same as natural. As I suspected, you weren’t very clear on the meaning of natural wine.
That sulfur level is quite low — in line with “natural wine” levels — but I hadn’t heard Barale referred to as a natural wine producer, and I don’t see the term used on their website. Hence my question.
Yup, troll. Because these things don’t comport to your definition they’re either wrong, or misinformed. Oh, the irony.
Alcohol does resolve, John, in the context in which it’s mentioned: no longer prickles the nose, and/or asserts itself on the palate.
Natural and organic aren’t the same. Got it. BTW, how many European natural wine fairs have you attended?
To be clear, because it’s obvious to me you love to parse as many things as possible, I’ve been spent five years of my life in European vineyards, not “I’ve been visiting for five years”. My last visit, as a tourist, a decade after I’d begun, was in 2000. So, to a guy like me, you’re as misinformed as they come.
Tannins resolve because they change chemically and soften over years. Alcohol doesn’t change in that way, though it can be more or less conspicuous depending on things like temperature. Moreover, it can become more conspicuous with time. “Resolve” means some change over time, so it doesn’t make much sense to use it for any element of a newly released wine. It appears that you simply meant that the alcohol didn’t stand out. Fine, say that.
If you’re going to write about wine, you need to use terms the way other people do.
I’m not very interested in natural wine fairs because I’ve found I’m quite sensitive to “mousiness,” which I pick up very frequently in low-sulfur wines. But I have visited the Langhe nine times.
FYI, “trolling” refers to deliberate provocation for no other purpose. It’s not the same thing as questioning or criticizing.