TN: 43 Barolos from 2013 -- and a very dry mouth to show for it

WINE TALK
21

I tend to shy away from wines showing heat and was quite surprised at how few of the 2013 Barolo seemed hot. I counted 7 wines out of 42 that I tasted that I found hot—including Scavino Monvigliero, Virna Borgogno Sarmassa, Silvio Grasso Bricco Manzoni and Conterno Fantino Sori Ginestra. It was remarkable at how well the alcohol was controlled.

John definitely deserves some kind of WB badge for good work for posting so many details so shortly after the event. Does WB give out recognition badges?

22

A bit of a shocker, though I think much of the wackiness of the wines is attributable to the short time they had to settle once they were shipped.

I have to say that if I had only tasted these wines last night I would be a tentative buyer at best for almost everything I’ve already bought. The 2/3s or so of these that I tasted in March and May of this year all showed better, some by a small degree, others exponentially. The delicacy and nuance of the vintage was totally submerged in tannin and acid last night, well at least we don’t have to wonder if these have the structure to age!

23

Be careful, or the moderators will merge this with the travel shock thread, and then we’re all done for.

24

I felt exactly the same way.

Overall, I think the wines showed sweet, ripe (mostly cherry) fruit - a few were bordering on candied.

The wines had a boatload of tannin and it appeared to me that there was a commonality in winemaking style. While there were a few outliers, the wines were very clean (as far as I could tell with the immense tannins), the oaking was prominent and I I had difficulty discerning if some new oak was present on some of the wines. I think that may be due to the ripeness of the fruit.

My favorites from the night were:

Cavallotto Boschis - Deep and intense, showing alot of oak but alot of flavor and stuffing to match.

Diego Conterno Ginestra - I thought this showed a bit more restraint with better overall balance.

Burlotto Acclivi - Nice transparency, fresh but traditional in style and not as weighty/overblown.

Castello di Verduno - Great midpalate hit, expansive and expressive with alot of flavor. Tried it again at the end of the night and it was showing a touch herbal with a spicy intensity that I really liked.

Oddero - This was a nice surprise since I have not enjoyed any of their wine in the past. I thought it had a nice combo of sweet tannin, spicy with good structure and length.

S & B Borgogno Cannubi - Very tannic but with a nice core. Balanced, spicy and intense with good fruit that is not candied or cloying.

Rivetto - Tannic but a nice (softer?) mouthfeel. Good intensity, anise. A bit harsh on the finish.

Cascina Fontana and Giacomo Fenocchio also were a cut above IMHO.

Disappointments:

Scavino Monvigliero - I thought the 08 showed promise and a distinct change in style from what Scavino was doing in the late 80’s/90’s. I was hoping for another step forward with 13, but was left a bit cold. Not as spoofed as in the past but still oaky, some new. Not bad, but overall uninspiring. Nothing in the flavor profile would suggest this is Monvigliero.

Silvano Bolmida - Odd nose, anise and herbal (not in a good way) which comes through to the palate. Is this a bit off? (Note: I should have went back and tried another bottle).

Parusso Bussia - This was right next to the Bolmida. Also odd, grassy, herbal. Grapefruit and lemon zest quality to the acids and in the finish. It’s possible that this was the after effect of the Bolmida, though I did rinse and made sure I was ready to taste this wine.

Summary:

I think if I was just getting interested in Barolo I would be enthused about these wines and this vintage. The wines showed plenty of fruit and weight, they were all clean (only a few showed overt bitterness) and I only detected some corky/moldy/dirtiness in one of the wines - and that could have been me and/or the bottle.

I probably enjoyed the “better” wines from the 2012 Barolo Night event more than these. Jaime and crew did their usual magnificent job and Robinson and Speller are very nice people who are accessible and engaging. Speller’s speech was like his reviews, concise, valuable and honest.

I hope they all can make this an annual event.

25

A few thoughts in response:

I like that a lot, too. They don’t use new/small oak, though. I didn’t get any oak in this.

I liked these both, too. I didn’t mention them only because they weren’t the top tier for me. But, as we agree, making finally graded assessments in this context was impossible. I have not great conviction in my scores except for the ones that seem flawed in some way.

I tasted the Scavino 13s a few months ago and found them all monolithic – the opposite of transparent. I thought this showed marginally better than earlier in the year, but it has no appeal for me.

That grassy/herbal thing was not a holdover from the Bolmida. My notes on the Parusso read: “Oddly vegetal nose. Green oak? Oaky in the mouth.” I can’t say I’ve ever had a wine aged in unseasoned oak, but this is what I imagine it would taste like. Not pleasant.

The 2012s are just easier to like young, I think, particularly tasting them en masse. In big tastings, nebbiolo tannins eventually get the better of your palate, and the '13s certainly have a lot of grip.

+1

26

Strange, that is not how I tasted them in Piemonte back in August and it also did not show like this in the bottle I tried back home (and we tried it next to other Barolo’s / Barbaresco’s).

27

This was a very depressing exercise.

2013_Burlotto_Acclivi.png

2013_Vajra_Bricco-delle-Viole.png

No listings yet at free Wine-Searcher, but the older vintages don’t offer much hope.
2013_Scarzello_Vigna-Merenda-Sarmassa.png

2013_Cavalloto _Bricco-Boschi.png

28

I guess the Cavalloto, at $67, is the “value” wine here.

29

Greg dal Piaz said that Scarzello bottles and releases their wines late. He seemed surprised it was even bottled, so that’s probably some ways off from being available.

30

Agreed John, no new or small oak. I try to make a distinction as to type of tannin - if it is skin/pip/extraction and/or if it is coming from oak (large or barrique). I short changed this note as I “know” Cavallotto is traditional and the oak would be large cask.

Thanks also for your take on the Parusso. I hit a wine or two like this when I’m 3 dozen or so in and I start wondering if its me.

I agree with your point about the 12’s showing easier (if not better). There were a few 2012’s that I felt (hoped) would be enjoyable within 5 to 10 years and had that traditional fruit and flavor profile that says “Barolo” to me. As good as 13 may be, I am still struggling a bit with ripeness and clarity of fruit in these wines at such a young age.

31

[basic-smile.gif] I think we all had that experience on Tuesday!

32

Could be me, or the bottle I tried. I think Greg above stated he thought these wines showed a bit less favorably than they did earlier. Travel shock was also mentioned as a possibility.

33

Also agreed. By the time I tried the Massolino (which probably was very good) I wasn’t wondering if it was me anymore - I was trying to remember who I was [cheers.gif]

34

I started at the other end of the middle table, so I hit the Massolino about 10 wines in. It didn’t grab me, at first or on a retaste two hours later. So you may not have missed anything there.

35

As for pricing and availability, many I would guess we will see many more offers - I bet many of the wines have not been released through their main distributors/wholesalers.

Burlotto will be tough because of Galloni’s praise of the wines in general and Monvigliero in particular. The Acclivi was open stock as of last year, in 13 I was allocated 2 bottles.

We are lucky though, there are still so many very good producers that are/will be available for less. A quick check shows Wine Library (no affiliation) listing the Fenocchio Bussia for $43.

36

This all makes sense based on my impressions of the past few vintages. They keep talking about how dramatically they’ve changed their winemaking, but the wines are still not a style that I can appreciate at all, partially because the oak is so apparent. If Monvigliero naturally produces wines of extreme elegance, they must be working against the terroir somehow.

37

I should add that the Cogno Ravera was a knockout in May. Could be found for under $60 and at that price it’s a multi case purchase for me. One of the top dozen or so wines of the vintage for me. The Cascina Nuova isn’t that far behind and at under $40 a bottle it’s the value play of the vintage. YMMV and all that but the Cogno wines have never been better.

I would have been more interested in seeing the Massolino Margheria at this tasting, usually more elegant and finer, an easier read easrly on.

I lost my guidebook so I don’t recall everything that was there but the Poderi Colla and the Le Strette both showed well.

38

Thanks also for this. I was disappointed since I like the producer and was interested in purchasing. I wrote “very tannic” but by that time it is hard to trust my perceptions.

I thought the wine showed muted but traditionally styled - I know I was very muted by that time as well.

39

Actually, while the Massolini didn’t leave much of an impression, I wrote some notes:

First pass: “Lovely, sweet but not hot. Balanced, elegant.”

On a retry later: “A bit hot, disjointed now.”

Retrying at the end of the evening: “Much better.”

Kind of the story of the night.

I wrote “90??”

40

[stirthepothal.gif] I can’t fathom how you could have taste 43 of them. I had 6 2013 two weeks ago and my mouth was burning they were so acidic.