TNs: 01 Barbaresco Slumming

WINE TALK
1

Wanted to check back in on the 01 Cantina del Pino, try the other two (a couple of Garagiste wines) and threw the Vietti in for chuckles to see how it stood up qualitatively.

  • 2001 Cantina del Pino Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (12/16/2009)
    Fantastic QPR. Starting to show some maturity. Plenty of tannin still present but it is ripe and sweet and in the background. Soft, evocative nose of roses and tar and sous bois and red fruits, slightly oxidative notes. Seemless palate if a touch straightforward. Fair length. Should drink well for the next 5+ years.
  • 2003 Vietti Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (12/16/2009)
    Ripe and lush, a hint of wood showing, a bit of tannin remains. Ripe dark fruit, tar, menthol, touch of oak spice. Lots of fruit on a round / generous but still quite balanced palate. Not particularly complex or long, but a fllat out amazing QPR at $14.
  • 2001 Castello di Verduno Barbaresco Faset - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (12/16/2009)
    Bretty to the point of being undrinkable. Nothing other than brett on the nose and the palate is stripped out, thin and hard. Gross, down the drain. Bummer.
  • 2001 Montaribaldi Barbaresco Palazzina - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (12/16/2009)
    Fairly closed up. Clean and correct on the nose with some hints of depth but really tight, even on day two. Palate is also promising but clenched, and finishes with a big whack of fairly drying tannin. Give it time, hard to evaluate now. Try again 2013+

Posted from CellarTracker

Unanimous ranking of the wines, qualitatively, was Cantina del Pino then Vietti then Montaribaldi and the Casetello di Verduno obviously at the end. However there was almost as much acclaim for the Vietti as for the Cantina del Pino. Vietti’s Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco is a perennial QPR champion so factoring in the $14 price tag and the 03 vintage, that wine is a total home run.

2

Thanks for the notes!

Vietti is a no-brainer to me, year-in, year-out one of the best ~$18 I spend on a bottle.

3

Of course Vietti makes several wines, many of which cost more than $18 – but generally all quite good.

So Vietti in general is a good idea, and young nebbiolo Langhe is another good idea, so it’s no surprise that this wine was popular at the tasting…

4

Portland generally has excellent pricing on Italian wines, thanks to several local importer/distributors. However, that Vietti Perbacco is in the mid-$20s here at least. Where is it less than $20, or was that just for the '03 vintage?

5

By the way, I just tried the '05 Montaribaldi and enjoyed it. Not simply clean and correct, maybe a little rustic and lacking refinement, certainly tannic. It had great perfume for young nebbiolo and surprising richness for a modest Barbaresco. It’s only $25 locally.