There I was, standing in my local wine shop, dissatisfied with the available Barolo and Barbaresco, and I found myself saying:
“Given these options, I’d rather just take the one that’s most traditionally made.”
But I’m not Todd or the many other Piedmont experts. I have my favorites (Monprivato, for example), but I’d love a handy list of a dozen or so Piedmontese paragons of tradition.
Quick list on producers of Barolo and / or Barbaresco who truly let the Nebbiolo rock it out Nebbiolo-style?
Off the top of my head I can think of ten or so including:
G. Conterno
B. Giacosa
G. Rinaldi
F. Rinaldi
B. Mascarello
G. Mascarello
Cavallotto
Burlotto
Marcarini
Borgogno
and Produttori if you want to throw in a Barbaresco.
Since 2001, I think most producers have been moving back in the direction of a more traditional approach. So your going to get alot more producers using alot less oak after 2000.
Excellent list. I might add Brovia, some of Vietti’s bottlings, Cappellano, Elio Grasso, Colla, Roagna, and E. Pira back in the old days when his labels actually said “trod by feet”.
Robert’s list + Cappellano is pretty much the names that come to my mind as well. I guess you could say a number of those are producers where traditionalism is essentially their brand. But this is a good thread because I’m sure there are many, many other producers who make wines just as traditionally but aren’t poster-children for the movement; would love to hear about some of them.
Evan – You can also look at this geographically, to some extent. La Morra, Barolo and Castiglione have the highest ratio of modernisti, I think. At the least, they have the best known exponents of it.
De Grazia’s most modern producers are centered on that side of the appellation (La Morra - Altare, Corino, Silvio Grasso; Castiglione - Scavino, Azelia) and other leaders in that camp such as Roberto Voerzio (La Morra), Ceretto/Bricco Rocche (Castiglione) and E. Pira (Chiara Boschi) (Barolo) are also in those villages.
Maybe Ken or someone else will think of exceptions, but Monforte and Serralunga don’t seem to have been on the vanguard of roto-fermenting, short macerations, barriques, etc., and De Grazia has only a couple of producers from that side of the zone (Luiga Pira and Manzone).
I don’t know why that is: Neighbors influence each other? Winemakers referred their friends to De Grazia, who influenced their winemaking? (Scavino and Azelia are at the base of Castiglione, a short distance from De Grazia’s cluster of producers in the Annunziata hamlet on the eastern slope of La Morra.)
Cavallotto use rotofermenters. Germano use plenty of barrique aging. Vietti use some barrique.
the line of what (and when) defines traditional is blurry. It was probably traditional at some point in time to add white grapes with nebbiolo.
There are plenty of traditionalists… And now quite a few who sit in between and make great wine.
I also think very small producers have to use barrique due to constraints on space, but as such use old barriques to combat this and age in the traditional way, of oaking until bottling rather than minimum in new barrique and then the rest in bottle.
Much like in Rioja, the super traditionalists other than maybe Mascarellos and Conternos, make the not so good Nebbiolos now, and the middle of the road producers for me are making the best.
Many of Birgers named producers fit nicely into this camp.
I wouldn’t define Bruno Rocca, Moccagatta, Albino Rocca, Paitin as traditionalists in Barbaresco.
It’s not just the utilization of small or large casks, is the vineyard, the fermentation, the use of yeasts, the malolactic… the whole process.
I’d add Rizzi among the Barbarescos, alongside with the already cited Roagna, for me the best, and perhaps Castello di Neive.
In Barolo also Gianfranco Alessandria and Manzone are not really traditionalists, whereas I’d add Violante Sobrero, Giacomo Fenocchio, Brovia.
+1. Birger’s list has a number of people who are definitely not in the traditional camp.
Bruno Rocca was pretty far out there on the modern side in the mid-90s. Moccagatta uses fair deal of oak on some of their cuvees, though they’ve never been extreme in style.
Also, E. Pira, was one of the most extreme in the modern camp, though Chiara Boschi has pulled back significantly in the 2000s.
And another vote for Rizzi on the traditionalist side. Sadly, the cantina has a lousy U.S. importer, Opici, and therefore is less well known. Opici didn’t even bring in the 04s. Aaargh!
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