I came across a real gem yesterday and wanted to share. As the note indicates, on paper this is a very nice low 90s point wine- just has the critics have rated it. But for this traditional palate, it really struck a chord- and it had a consistently similar effect on friends with whom I shared it, regardless of their sophistication as wine drinkers.
2019 Oddero Barolo
at opening a bright young red color, a relaxing nose so endearing you almost overlook its great complexities, plum, wild strawberry, a hint of truffle, cherries, and already notes of pine, on the palate fleshy on the front quickly leading to a savory and restrained finish of very good length with an enduring afterfragrance where rose petals emerge, pine and forest with time in the glass, a day later an almost punchy plum and cherry fruit dominate on the nose, on the palate tar notes have come out and the wine has fleshed out beautifully, still a mid-weight but with remarkable persistence, perfectly ripe, the savory finish has filled out to include the fruit sensations from the midpalate and a bounty of rose petals with a subtle hint of wild cherry, on paper with an objective evaluation this is a very nice low 90s Barolo, but at the table with good food and great company this has a little something extra and is one of the most endearing and promising young Barolos I have had in quite some time, enjoy it a time or two now after an 8+ hour decant- and with just a few years of age it should blossom magnificently.
Thanks for the note. I visited Oddero in mid-2010s and liked the wines (plus enjoyed the visit), even if they felt quite stern back then, donāt know if the style has changed ever since. Still have the 2010 Barolo in the cellar and based on the CT notes there is no need for me to be reaching for it any time soon.
@Glenn_L_e_v_i_n_e enn- I look forward to your TNs. The single vineyard allocations were pretty ruthless here- not enough bottles to justify my opening one young, which I had really wanted to do given how the regular Barolo showed.
The winery has improved dramatically in the last several vintages. They have always had terrific holdings. In the last few vintages, they have abandoned doing malo in barrique, and the degree of transparency and varietal expression is dramatically better.
Tom Reddick, Thanks for sharing. I loved their lineup in '19. For me, this in one of the best few ābaseā Baroli in the region. FWIW, Tom Maskell and I tasted there last month. I think he agrees regarding their quality nowadays.
Actually, itās Poderi e Cantine Oddero. Fratelli Oddero was the name before the split.
I think everyone refers to the Luigi Oddero wines by his full name.
The P&C Oddero normale is an excellent wine and excellent value. Pietro told me in 2016 that itās not from lesser vines; itās just a blend of fruit from vineyards where they donāt have enough fruit to bottle separately.
John is right, the Barolo village wine comes from a few different holdings consistently, several in La Morra near the estate, and Bricco Fiasco in Castiglione, which for most producers is a cru in its own right. The Odderos have an insane list of vineyard holdings that includes a number of what would be āgrand crusā if there was such a thing in the Langhe.
Pietro is an excellent raconteur, too, his presentations are a cross between excellent understanding of the subject and stand-up comedy. Wine is too serious sometimes, no danger of that with Pietro.
I was there with my crew a few weeks ago, I was very pleased at how their 2019s showed.
Thanks everyone for the good feedback. Appreciate the heads up on the family split- I was unaware. Luigiās wines are not bottles I have seen in this market. And also appreciate the info on the sourcing for the regular Barolo- I will go ahead and lay some of those down as well.
Quick question- given my TN and comments from others, I would like to try and lay down a few each of the entire range. I have Rocche di Castiglione and Villero in hand, but nothing else. Per winesearcher it looks like there are also Brunate, Monvigliero and Riserva Vigna Rionda bottlings- but two of them show zero ownership.
Are these five an accurate picture of the single vineyard offerings for 2019? Are they all being released now, or is it normal for some of them to be released after a few more years?
Tom, Correct, those are their Cru botltings. The Monvigliero will not be commercially released until the '20 vintage. They made 300 bottles fo the '19 and it will not be commercially released. The '19 Vigna Rionda Riserva wonāt be released for a couple years I suspect. The current release for that is '17. Their Brunate I think they consider their flagship wine (maybe with the exception of the Rionda Riserva, but they seem to treat it with the most reverence at least in tastings) and should be released at this time. It is really good in '19. The Villero, I usually love most of all, but in '19 seems a little less focused than the other SV bottling. The Rocche is fantastic. I think that Rocche di Castiglione was favored in the '19 vintage across producers.
Iāve represented Oddero (Poderi) for a couple of years now and I just havenāt been moved by the wines. The only exception being the Barbera Superiore. I know they ideally need a lot of time, but I just find them to be unexciting in their youth. Looking forward to the 2019 Barolo āClassicoā spoken of here, maybe this will be the wine that changes my opinion.
What I also must share is the distorted view, at least IMO, the supplier has of these wines. During her last visit in when speaking of Oddero she stated, āThis is a top 10 Piedmont producer todayā. I know, certainly a biased and very subjective opinion, but also a statement I canāt imagine many Piedmont lovers would agree with? Curious to hear others thoughts?
Hope you get the chance to try a few bottles with 10-15 years to see if that changes your opinion. Which ones and what vintages did you drink?
Many Barolos in the Eastern part of Barolo (like Seralunga) are tougher in youth so that might play in. I had a couple of Rosso 2016 LN and tried one close to release and the second not too long ago. Significant difference in the development of this relatively simpler wine gaining more depth, complexity and harmony/balance. The first bottle was quite lean vertical, almost a bit thin somehow.