TN: An evening of Barolo and Barbaresco

WINE TALK
1

This was a warmup about 12 days before my Piedmont trip, and it definitely got my Nebbiolo juices flowing!

AN EVENING OF BAROLO AND BARBARESCO - Bern, Switzerland (10/25/2014)

This was a lovely evening of Barolo and Barbaresco with a few ringers tossed in. All of the wines were served blind and in somewhat random order. Strangely enough, the first wine in every flight was the most modern.
First we started with a ringer white, also served blind.

  • 2012 Christian Zundel Chardonnay Velabona - Switzerland, Ticino
    Edgy and mineral with a flinty note that hints at Chablis but without enough acid to get me there. However it also lacked the depth and weight of Chardonnay that I am used to, so I assumed that it was some sort of Italian variety like Arneis or Gavi.

We knew there would be one cool climate Nebbiolo present on the evening, and that one stood in stark contrast to the Conterno which showed quite modern.

  • 1999 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    An utterly soaring nose of roses just explodes from the glass. Dried fruits and apricot with a faint Amarone aspect. Clearly modern, but I find this to be very enjoyable. Sweet, cherries and spicecake. My #2 wine of the flight.
  • 2001 AR.PE.PE. Valtellina Superiore - Sassella Riserva Rocce Rosse - Italy, Lombardia, Valtellina, Valtellina Superiore - Sassella
    Loaded with iron and hints of green peppercorn. Faintly smoky with some wet earth. The palate is loaded with green, stalky aspects with a very appealing vegetal character. The more it airs it gains depth with tar, black and brooding and much “darker” than the other wines in the flight. My #3 wine of the flight.
  • 2001 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Ca’mia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    In between the other two wines in style. More compact with a balsamic aspect. Smouldering, sharp, with iron and a whiff of alcohol. Really compact and tightly wound. Peppery, sharp and dry. Mmm, wow, this is really opening up well. There is lots of alcohol but amazing acidity. My #1 wine of the flight.

The Voerzio really stood out as a different animal here, especially in contrast to the Produttori. And oh that Bartolo Mascarello.

  • 2001 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Volatile with florals and oak. Deeeep concentration. Explosive palate, powerful, with balsamic notes. It’s quite fun. Very modern. But fun. My #3 wine of the flight.
  • 2001 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Vitamin and faintly citric. Also volatile, peppery and alcoholic. At first it is a bit linear and tannic, maybe a little muddled. However with more time I really started to enjoy this more. Very compact and powerful but enjoyable at the same time. My #2 wine of the flight.
  • 2001 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Iron, iron, and more iron at first. With a swirl there are floral notes and mint with some tobacco. Wow what a palate. Seamless with perfect balance. Pure cherry fruit, vibrant, sweet and sour. This is really just perfectly enjoyable, peppery and tarry, so energetic. My clear #1 wine of the flight and #2 wine of the night.

A magical flight with the Giacosa shining so brightly.

  • 1998 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì San Lorenzo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
    Big, tarry and flamboyant, exploding with flowers and cherries. Bruising, powerful, tannic and beastly. It is an impressive wine but my least favorite of the flight.
  • 2000 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Citric, vanilla, spicecake. Every time you swirl you get more exotic and complex scents. The palate is compact at first with tar, smoke, mineral and gunpowder. The concentration here is just unreal, but the wine is so elegant and seamless that it handles it with ease. There aren’t enough words in my vocabulary to capture how hypnotic and beautiful this wine is. Stunning wine and my best Giacosa experience so far. My #1 of the flight and #1 wine of the night.
  • 2001 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Slightly more volatile and clearly traditional. Mmm, there is a lot going on here. Cranberry, dark, energetic. My #2 wine of the flight.

I bow at the altar of Giacosa and Bartolo Mascarello. On a night with many terrific wines, those two stood out in stunning fashion.
Posted from CellarTracker

2

Eric,

great notes! yes, you do like good nebbiolo. The '00 Giacosa Asili Riserva is a monster, but one that’s been fairly open all along. Does your wife get to smuggle bottles in her diplomatic pouch?

3

What a fabulous line up. With reference to another thread this seems to suggest that great pleasure can be taken from these wines in their early teens. I would have loved to have tried the Bartolo Mascarello 01, a vintage I greatly admire.

We did a Piedmont dinner in London recently and on our table we did a mini vertical of Giacosa Asili: 2001, 1999 and 1996 Riserva…we were down to have the 1997 as well. All showed much promise, especially the 1996, which has a fine future.

4

I think Giacosa called that wine the best he has ever made.

5

I’m officially jealous.

6

I disagree with " The Maestro "

7

I do too, though I think he was referring to the Le Rocche and the vintage as a whole. His 2000’s are wonderful wines, but don’t have quite the structure of the 89s, 01s, and 04s. The 98 Barolos are just as good imo.

8

It’s been indeed a fabulous tasting, and here are my notes from the evening, complemented by those taken in the following days.

BAROLO-BARBARESCO 2001 (AND PERHAPS OLDER…). - Bern (25.10.2014)

The main theme was Barolo and Barbaresco 2001, although it was clear that not all of us had 2001 and had to go back one or two vintages.
We originally wanted to have some cool climate Nebbiolo too, but only I had a 2001, so we ended up with
4 Baroli
4 Barbareschi
1 cool climate Nebbiolo

We had three flights, served blind.
An aperitif white, also served blind

4 days later: the oak is now less prominent, the nose is more classic, but quite a bit less expressive. On the palate it’s ripe, broad and a bit soft. Very subtle tannins, almost vanishing. No grip, not very convincing.
5 days later: no oak anymore, and the acidity is suddenly very present.

  • 2001 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Ca’mia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Classic Barolo nose, beautiful, elegant, floral, but with red fruit too.
    On the palate it is enveloping, full-bodied, tannic, serious and intense. Very good.

Revisited one day later, but there was very little left. It was still all there, present, intense, with grip. Classic.

Two days later: it changed quite a bit, it now has less body, more evidently light-footed. Complex and elegant, very mineral and earthy. I loved it very very much.


  • 2001 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Oak on the nose, but acceptable. On the palate it’s very ripe, lacks freshness, heavy in fact. Not to my liking…

4 days later: first I think the oak is less prominent, but then caramel comes up, and an alcoholic toasted note reminding of cognac. On the palate again it almost feels like cognac. The tannins seem to come from the oak. No good.
5 days later: now it’s all on dried fruit, licorice, nutmeg…

  • 2001 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Medicinal nose at the beginning, but this dissipates quickly. Then it has a quieter phase, fine but not very expressive - later it improves a lot.
    Powerful palate, very strong and tannic. A beast.

4 days later: another character, much more elegant, floral, but with deeper tar notes also. Very fine.
Almost sweet as it enters the mouth, all on the fruit, but serious too. Then strong tannins show up, but without excesses. Fantastic today.

  • 2001 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Classic from the first sniff, a beautiful Barolo, with red fruit and floral notes. Intense palate, deep, dark, not at all heavy, very very good.
  1. day. Not much is left and the nose is much less expressive. But on the palate it’s still all there, concentrated, intense, serious, without heaviness. Truly classic.


  • 1998 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì San Lorenzo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
    The color is darker than all the others, it looks very young.
    Modern nose, but the oak is less prominent than for the other modern ones. Quite enjoyable. On the palate it starts very soft, surprisingly so, but then the tannins show up and you feel the grip. Different, but fine.

3 and 4 days later: the oak is slowly dissipating, and the nose shows a beautiful complexity. On the palate it shows the same pattern as on day 1: soft upon entry, and developing a strong grip towards the finish. This was the most stable and resistant to air. It didn’t bulge much even after four days.

  • 2000 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Cranberries, earthy notes, very self-confident, a whole. It improves with time, it becomes more and more difficult to identify components in its beautiful scent. Beguiling.
    On the palate it is deceivingly light-footed, with a filigreed structure and wonderful complexity. Wotn.

Second day: not much left, but it is still fantastic - lightness, but with great intensity. Immediate pleasure, but makes you think and contemplate it too.

4 days later: some oxidation on the nose, but this dissipates - anyway this is now on darker notes, not floral anymore, almost towards chocolate and locust beans. Very compact. Intense and dark notes on the palate too. Strong tannins, but not excessive, fine grained. It has substance, it’s powerful and intense.
I liked it more than the Asili on day one, but after three days, the Asili was clearly better.

Finishing with sweet wine of about the same vintage

  • 1999 Disznókő Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos - Hungary, Tokaji
    Once more a great showing. Complex, sweet (not too much) and refreshing too.
    Quince jam and citrus on the palate, as it warms up in the glass a mineral, smoky note too. On the nose I still get tea leaves mainly, even some oregano, perhaps… with the sweetness of dried apricots.

Great tasting, with fantastic wines, and a wonderful opportunity to learn about the different styles.
I concluded I did not like the modernists, Voerzio not at all, Aldo Conterno not quite, and Gaja not really, although I admired the quality.
But why interfere with the fantastic aromas of Nebbiolo with oak?!

All traditionalists showed very well, Brovia and Mascarello somewhat above the two Produttori and Giacosa on another level.
And I loved the Ar.Pe.Pe…
Posted from CellarTracker

9

Great to read 2 such detailed sets of notes on these wines.

10

Dan Polivy wrote a third set as well on CT.

11

After this very instructive evening, I thought I could exclude all modernists from my future buyings. Somehow I had bought a few bottles of Sandrone in 2008 (and just two in 2005) and was planning to buy a few 2010 too.
The recent thread on him made me think he was a good candidate for exclusion. So I decided to sacrifice one bottle of his Cannubi Boschis 2008 and find out for myself before buying his 2010s.
Long story short: I liked it very much. The oak is there but is much less intrusive than in the 2001s and older described above here. A lot more subtle. The wine is very well balanced, intense, powerful but fresh too.Tannins are strong but very far from unbearable. I’m sure this will be better in some years, but it was a real pleasure to drink this now (especially on day 4!).