I have a group of friends who are all into wine, but we each have wildly different focuses. I’m the Burg nerd in this group, so in January 2025 I put together an educational Burgundy dinner sourced exclusively from my cellar. I poured a 2019 PYCM Abbaye de Morgeot, 2004 Raveneau MDT, a magnum of 2010 Fourrier Chambolle Sentiers, 2012 Bruno Clair CSJ, and a 2009 Hudelot-Noëllat Suchots. Little did I know I was kicking off a tradition where each of us would host a dinner where we provide all of the wines. That would culminate in this glorious tour of Piedmont earlier this month.
Nebbiolo is a varietal my palate has always gravitated toward, but I have very little experience with the top wines. This generous friend spent the last year preparing this tasting — and wow, what a stunning evening. Complete with a map and a home-cooked meal to boot.
My big takeaway from this evening was how incredibly elegant, red-fruited, and fresh these wines present beyond 20 years of age. This is a truly special region.
Pierre Peters Cuvée de Réserve Blanc de Blancs
Nutty, incisive, and pristine mineral backbone. This became the palate cleanser between Barolos and played its part admirably.
2019 Roagna Montemarzino Derthona
Smoky petrol, baking spice, and toasty brioche on the nose. Ripping acidity with intense mineral drive. Presents almost like a high-quality GG Riesling — wow. This is a gem that deserves more attention.
2006 Mascarello Monprivato
This was my early favorite. Pure cherry fruit amazingly compacted into the center of the palate, with beautiful expansion like ripples from a stone dropped in a pond. The fireworks faded a bit by the end of the night, but still a real wow wine.
2004 Conterno Barolo
Remarkably perfumed, with fruit perfectly on the cusp of red and black and a long spicy finish. This was an epic wine in its infancy. It started like a rocket ship but closed behind its structure by the end of the evening. Needs another decade.
2001 Gaja Conteisa
Wow — this smells like Rousseau Chambertin. Deep, dark, spicy black cherry, yet impossibly light on its feet. Stylish and sexy with a finish that drives on. I could sit here and smell this all night.
2007 Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero
Presented almost New World in style. Pure red Pinot fruit on the nose. Very elegant with well-integrated tannin and red fruit that easily holds its 14.5% alcohol. Good wine, but suffered from its company.
2006 Elio Grasso Barolo Riserva
Dark, brooding black fruit showing its oak. Great potential, but this wine needs time to settle down.
1998 Sandrone Barolo
Tertiary and well integrated. Drinking at peak. This wine deserved more attention but was lost in a sea of giants.
2004 Cappellano Pie Franco – Michet
Some of the only own-rooted vines in Barolo. This wine was chromatic — vibrating — it seemed to levitate from the glass. Wow, this is singular. It has that extra gear, the X-factor that places it among the world’s top wines. Beautifully perfumed — young, mineral, and pure red fruit with perfectly integrated structure. A study in elegance. WOTN
2006 Rinaldi Brunate – Le Coste
This was the tortoise. I was immediately drawn to this wine at the beginning of the evening for its pure, ethereal red fruit, but it started as the simplest wine in the tasting. By the end of the night it was roaring from the glass, with layers of silky spice perfectly integrated with the red fruit — just a hair behind the Cappellano.
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