Alrighty, pretty new here to Berserker land, but I can’t believe I didn’t dive in sooner. I had perused a few times, but y’all got me now – for better or worse.
Dig in, I’m going to post a long one.
Time to give a little backstory then I’ll get to the deets.
To keep this brief, I was in transferring to a different college in 2020, I had recently discovered the world of credit card points and when my first tuition bill came due at my new school I realized they didn’t charge a credit card fee for tuition. I had worked my ass off since high school at a pretty sweet gig that paid well (I mean really well) in the summer so I had the money for my tuition saved. I saw the opportunity, I could apply for some of the higher end rewards travel cards and pay my tuition with them and accumulate a pile of points for travel at a later date. With the help of my girlfriend I also pitched her for the next semester and got her to open some cards so we could take a wild trip when I would graduate the following year. That’s exactly what we did.
With the uncertainty of Covid still twirling around our plans had changed a few times. We had close to a million points saved combined and I knew I wanted to fly at least business on an A380 before they started to fizzle out. Come January of 2022 our plans had changed and we eventually settled on Milan to fly on the Emirates A380. I started to research more, and then pitched my super awesome girlfriend on the possibility of the Italian countryside to do Barolo for a few days, that turned into a week. Flights and accommodations were all booked on points, so only cash spent was food and wine, which gave us some free reign.
I booked business on Emirates and held my breath that some first class availability would open up. A few days before I woke up at 7am and had an email, first was open with 2 seats, I booked it. Hell yes. And that’s where our trip begins.
Dom 2012
I’ve had the 2008 once, and this had a hard time comparing to the '08. It’s obviously younger and not quite as complex, but still awesome, after all it is Dom on an airplane; who am I to complain.
Left to right: 2008 d’Yquem, 2011 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne, Sandeman 40yr Tawny Port
'08 d’Yquem Wow, I get it. So many layers, so complex, caramel, ripe, juicy tropical fruits. Great with dessert.
'11 Latour CC Never really opened up, I couldn’t wait for it I had to go to bed eventually. Could tell there was something there. It definitely suffered trying to best the Yquem and the tawny alongside it.
Sandeman 40yr Tawny Overshadowed by the Yquem…later on I’ll reveal round 2 with it however.
I went to sleep, only to be woken up come morning for my shower followed by breakfast (I was having an awful time /s).
Drove to Barolo, had a nap and then headed to La Vite Turchese in the town of Barolo who pour some awesome wines by Covavin.
We shared two flights.
'08 Giovanni Sordo Barolo Riserva Monvigliero
Super elegant, silky soft well integrated tannins. A bit more fruit amazingly. Aged for 7 years with 4 years in botti. Showing really well right now, will stay here for a while I’m sure.
'09 Franco Conterno Barolo Riserva Bussia
I could smell this forever and be happy. The most round of the three. I said it combines the elegance of the Sordo with a bit more of the restrained power of the Oddero. The nose just enamored me, and made me bias towards it great example of how the mixture of soil can bring a little more balance to a Barolo.
'09 Luigi Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda
Shy on the nose, but powerful on the palate. Super crunchy acidity, tingles on your palate and then on the back hits you with spice, tar and cacao. Really complex, amazing to see the difference of all these 3 wines from different soils. To me, this needs a lot more time. Most structured of the 3.
1995 Prunotto Barolo Cannubi
Deep, cloudy color with lots of orange and brown hue. Dried cherry, spice, tar, eucalyptus, can smell the age in this. And by the color I’m already thinking of how tertiary it is. There’s some fruit left as it starts to open up. Smooth, elegant, just great to drink, but on its way down.
1996 Giovanni Sordo Barolo Riserva Gabutti
Color looks still young in age. Dried herbs, meaty, still tons left in this. If it were blind I’d have said it’s mid 2000’s or even 2009. Great balance of acid and tannins, wonderful structure.
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The next day we started at Paolo Scavino.
Andrea was a great host. Took us through all of their processes of winemaking and they are definitely more modern. For each wine, they put the wines in all different types, sizes and ages of oak. French barriques for the first year with a portion of it in new french oak and the rest in older oak. They then see 50% in large Austrian Casks and 50% in large French Casks for the second year. Really interesting.
'21 Langhe Soriso
Just recently bottled in January. Always the same blend of 40% Chardonnay, 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Viognier. From vineyards: Altenasso in Castiglione Falletto and Bricco Manescotto in La Morra. The Viognier is planted facing the west for more afternoon sun to increase the aromatics.
This was really a surprise to me, I didn’t expect it to be of this high quality. Super fresh, good mouthfeel wither minerality and acidity. Citrus notes all around. The purpose of them making this wine came from a Piedmonte summer day, hot and sunny and the family wanted a refreshing white to drink in the summers…so they started making one and found this blend to be of their preference.
'21 Barbera D’Alba
Dark fruited on the nose with some red fruit mixed in. Fresh and punchy almost candied. Reminded me of a Beaujolais actually. 25-30 year old vines. Can tell their style of Barbera, light and easy drinking, high acidity, tannins are there, but in the background.
'19 Barolo
Their classic style, blend of 8 vineyards in 2018 from different soil types. 3 limestone soils, 3 sandstone soils and 2 that are a mixture of limestone and sandstone.
Fresh, ripe red fruit on the nose. Balanced and silky, approachable tannin structure. Of course they’re present, but not in your face as many young Barolo’s can be.
(This was our first of the 2018s of the trip, eventually we’d come to see that this is very characteristic of the vintage. They’re very approachable in their young stage right now.)
'18 Bricco Ambrogio
They are 1 of 4 producers to make a single vineyard wine from this Cru.
Fresh red fruit, as to be expected, but a more feminine style, if you will. The cherry note is one that is a little sweeter. Limestone soil. It’s still Barolo of course, but one that will be approachable young, but has the structure to go for some time.
I really liked this and bought a bottle.
'18 Ravera
Their Ravera is a newer site for Paolo Scavino. They were able to scoop it up when the owner passed away and the family didn’t want to maintain the vineyard anymore. They say they were lucky to get it as there are a good amount of producers looking for eastern facing vines, but they are rare, as is any sites in the Barolo region.
350-450m in elevation. As mentioned, East facing, rich soil. Andrea mentioned how Ravera is one of the first sites to get touched by the fresh, French Alps water in the summertime.
This definitely needs more bottle time, unlike the other '18s we tasted before it. Still enchanting, precise tannin and acidity structure. Here you feel the acid much more on your cheeks than the others.
I wish I bought a bottle of this in hindsight, it was between this and the Bricco Ambrogio, I should’ve just gotten both.
'18 Bric del Fiasc
The most well known of their wines. Slightly more approachable than the Ravera. More floral and giving on the nose. Dried roses and cherries. The true quality is felt on the finish here, more so than the others, really long finish. However, this needs more time.
The afternoon we went to Guido Porro. They were redoing their tasting room (you’ll see a common theme here). It felt rushed and squeezed in, I’m glad I was able to visit, but it felt different than the others. I didn’t take formal notes here, I think because in the moment it seemed like we wouldn’t be there for too long. No tour, just a tasting.
As they weren’t a real standout to me (and because I didn’t take real notes) I’m not going to write up my notes for them. Beautiful location in Monforte D’Alba. I bought a bottle of the '18 Vigna S. Caterina.
That night we went and had dinner at the Brezza Ristorante. It was pretty forgettable in comparison to all the other meals we had. The saving grace was the '97 Ceretto Barbaresco Asij for 70euro.
Gorgeous ruby with a deep orange rim.
On first taste dried, somewhat stewed fruit. And a dusty, mushroom, sous bois on the backend. That blew off after a 10 minutes or so, but I found myself looking for it, I wanted those tertiary earthy notes back.
Then a bit more of the tannins and fruit came out to join us for a risotto cooked with Barolo. After an hour or so the deep earthiness came back but now was an accompaniment to the fruit. It came together really nicely. Turned a meal with average food into a better meal, just because of the wine. This is still drinking relatively well, but declining, really happy we had it.
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The next day, all we had on tap was Cavallotto. Whew.
Beautiful estate. The cellar is dug directly under the vines. Within the cellar where they make their wines they have several cut outs into the soil to help regulate the humidity naturally. You could feel the soil and see the moisture from the recent rain. Tradition leads the way here.
What stands out to me about the wines here is their structure. More so than the other producers we visited. Of course, Barolo’s are meant to have great structure, but these especially.
'19 Langhe Nebbiolo
22 months aging, vinified the same as all their other Barolos, just young vines.
Very floral on the nose. Long finish for a langhe and precise acidity on the edge of the gums.
Normally, I will never say that langhe nebbiolo’s are baby barolo’s. There is usually a pretty clear distinction to me. This is an exception to that. This really is a wine with a well defined structure to be just a Langhe Nebbiolo.
'18 Bricco Boschis
23,000 bottles and 1,000 magnums
Floral, bright red fruit very typical on the nose. Precise, linear tannins just felt on the tongue and front of the gums. Putting this note in two weeks after this tasting, I’m wondering why my notes were so brief here, but it wasn’t a really memorable wine to be honest, all I can say is that it was exactly what you’d expect/want from a Barolo.
'16 Vignolo Riserva
Poured side by side to the '16 San Giuseppe Riserva.
Holy structure. This will last a long time. Lower altitude, thicker soils.
Immediate red fruit on the nose, ripe strawberry. Long finish still feeling the wine and acidity 30+ seconds later. Really, really well made wine of a high quality.
'16 San Giuseppe Riserva
Much more earthy when comparing and more herbal. Different structure. More precise tannins felt front of the mouth and more linear acidity. More spices. Clay with thin soil. Right behind the estate on Brico Broschis hill. Totally different soil and terroir that shows with a side by side. It is vinified exactly the same as the Vignolo Riserva, yet so drastically different. I couldn’t choose which one I enjoyed more.
A shame that they didn’t have enough of the '16 Riservas bottled at that point to sell me any and none were imported to my state.
After we went to one of my favorite restaurants we went to on the trip Hotel Ristorante Tota Virginia a recommendation from Andrea at Paolo Scavino. They have a huge cellar (only about a quarter is shown) that they had just finished and took me to see it. The first dish shown was one of the better ones of the trip and it was just the welcome dish. Everything was great.
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Day whatever number this is started at Burzi. Brother and sister duo, Alberto makes the wines and Caterina does the business side as the English speaker. Caterina made this one of our favorite visits of our trip. She was welcoming and conversational. Extremely detailed and accessible. They were undergoing renovations on their estate and home where Alberto lives. Because of this we tasted in the cellar so it was quite cool, as were the wines, which I think as much as I tried to warm them up some, muted the aromatics.
I’m really excited to see what Burzi does in the next 10+ years. They’re only 12 years in and trying some really interesting techniques. Their Barbera for example is planted really close together to make the vines struggle a bit more and add some more concentration to the wines.
'20 Barbera D’Alba
This is exactly what I’m looking for when I get a Barbera honestly. This is how it should be, nice and fresh. Fruity not too complicated. Great acidity medium tannin. Red fruit, some blue fruit.
'20 Langhe Nebbiolo Runcaja
Short maceration, for light structure and lower temp max 25C. Bright, but dried cherry, strawberry and slight earthiness on the nose. Palate matches. Lively acidity, fine tannins. Really nice.
'18 Barolo
Caterina (Alberto’s sister) said it was humid and felt tropical. A rainy September and the single vineyard Barolo wasn’t showing they way they wanted, so they decided to make one Barolo for 2018.
A little closed on the nose, but that could be because it’s from the cellar and a little cold. Spicy, approachable, elegant with a lot of finesse. There’s a sweeter finish. Great balance between everything. I really enjoyed this, lots of layers.
'17 Barolo Cecchie Viti Capalot
For some reason I didn’t take a true note on this.
Again, I think some of these wines tasted on this day didn’t show their true colors because of the temperature where we were tasting.
I found this to be a good not great Barolo, but really I think it just needs a lot of time. It didn’t show great, but not many '17s I’ve had are showing great right now. Dried red fruit, slightly herbaceous. Spicy on the palate good structure, but muted.
N.V. Tanavea Vino Aromatizzato
An aperitif.
This is Barolo infused with this yellow flower called tanaceto, that Caterina says smells like chamomile. It stays in contact with the Barolo for months, low addition of sugar. Made 2,000 bottles with 2016 Barolo. They need 15 kilos of flowers and she cuts them herself and wants to do it quick so the flowers are fresh or else they won’t have the same effect. They make it limited production because it is so time consuming.
This was unexpected and great. Literally smells like you’re strolling the hills in the summer. I wouldn’t compare it at all to other Piedmontese desert wines or aperitifs. I was really tempted to take home a bottle, but just wasn’t going to have the space. I should have though.
Around the corner is a great restaurant for lunch L’Osteria del Vignaolo at the top of the hill leading up to La Morra. We had the best day of the trip to sit outside for this lunch. The pork belly was so so good.
Oddero was next. Burzi, the restaurant and Oddero are all a baseball throw away from each other.
Tasted with Isabella. They have a cool “museum” if you will, of old tools and sentimental pieces to the family. They also have older and colorful concrete tanks that they don’t use often. Very traditional style and there are some killer wines here. They have just purchased some new 100HL Austrian Casks that they built doors in the cellar to bring them in. Since with Covid the casks couldn’t be made/assembled in the cellar.
One of my favorite wines I tasted at a producer was the 2015 Riserva Bussia.
'19 Barbera d’Alba Superiore
Aged 18 months. Fruity, fresh, typical acidity, bit more structure, than your normal Barbera, hence Superiore. They’ll often age it in newer oak casks so they’re not used for Nebbiolo.
'19 Nizza
Same aging as the Barbera. Steep hill, south facing, rich in clay. 300m. Harvested before Barbera almost every year.
Mushroomy on the nose. A bit more spice. More complexity overall here than wine 1.
'18 Barolo
Normally comprised of 2 vineyards in La Morra and 1 in Castiglione Falletto
Bricco Chiesa, Brico Chiaso, and one I didn’t catch. With 2018 they added some of the single vineyards, Villero and Bussia.
Very fresh on the nose, strawberry, wild cherry. Super red fruited. But structured on the palate. Grippy but fresh tannins. Less accessible than many of the '18s we had, this should be really nice with time.
Ready in 4-5 years
'19 Barbaresco Gallina
Nieve region. 9,000 bottles produced.
Spices, rose, rhubarb. Wild cherry on the palate, very round. Sandy soil. Will be ready in 2-3 years.
'15 Barolo Riserva Bussia
4,000 bottles, south exposure, 250m, 70 yr old vines.
Complex nose, very layered. Mushroom, herby, mossy.
Balsamic notes on the palate, cinnamon. Great acid, long finish. Spice stays with you for a long time.
This is a great wine. I think it will be ready for early drinking in a couple years with the right amount of air.
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Our last day of tastings we head to Barbaresco. The only producer in Barbaresco that reached back out to me was Albino Rocca.
We toured and tasted with Monica Rocca.
They were undergoing renovations as well. They have a beautiful pathway into where they keep their casks. They’ve mostly moved on from barriques. There are some really beautiful wines in here.
'21 Langhe Chardonnay Da Bertu
Very fresh, mineral, fruity, but with good body. Great summer wine.
14% alcohol
'19 Piemonte Cortese La Rocca
Still fresh, but it’s rounder in mouthfeel, complex and balanced. Oak is well integrated and will only benefit more from time. More structured wine. Has some aging potential. Only producer in Barbaresco making this wine, from what I understood.
Liked this one a lot, took a bottle home.
'19 Barbera d’Alba Gepin
Fruity, different kind of mouthfeel with blue fruits and rich. This has the oak coming through. Actually needs some time.
'20 Nebbiolo d’Alba
Higher altitude and different types of soils like more sandy.
Round mouth-coating tannins, but soft and elegant. Great acidity, mouth watering. Nice expression.
'19 Barbaresco Ronchi
Old vines, silt and clay soils. Little sand and very steep slopes.
Complex, spicy. Good value here.
'19 Barbaresco Ovello Vigneto Loreto
Different microclimate from the River.
More feminine on the palate, but still a whole lot of structure. I really enjoy these more “feminine” expressions of Barbaresco.
'17 Barbaresco Angelo
Purposely made in a more traditional way in memory of their father Angelo. For those that don’t know he passed away about 10 years ago? tragically in a plane crash, flying his plane.
Blend of their vineyards, co fermented. Submerged cap. All natural. Not temp controlled. Lots of layers. You really feel the art of the blend here.
From here we headed into the town and stopped at the Produttori tasting room. They had the '17 and '18 Barbarescos available to taste. The '17 was shut a bit compared to the '18 which across the board all '18s we tasted felt way more accessible early.
I restaurant I had gotten some recommendations to go to was in right in the town of Barbaresco - Trattoria Antica Torre. We sat outside, it was actually a bit hot in the sun. Good food. I think if I remember correctly the best tarajin that I had on the trip. The pilin was also really good.
We headed back to our Airbnb after we went to the top of the tower in Barbaresco to get some views. This actually helped get a sense of the climate here and beyond with the river and the Alps.
We had a “when in Rome” moment when planning this trip and said let’s splurge and go to Piazza Duomo and our last night in Piedmont was the night. It was our first Michelin experience, and what a way to start it. They were so welcoming and do a great job at not making it feel stuffy nor pretentious.
We did the Barolo menu which is 8 courses (I think) and includes a wine pairing of 6 Barolos.
First course. Standouts were the long sandwich and the crisp.
I think this was second or third course. I’m allergic to seafood, so their substitute was this chicken and foie gras dish. Most tender chicken I’ve ever had. My girlfriend liked it better than her tuna dish.
The bone broth from the meat was also served hot on the left.
Snails and polenta, my girlfriend didn’t love the snails and our waiter noticed. When I wen’t to the bathroom he walked me and said “the lady does not like the snails eh?” Which has become a joke to the two of us.
Risotto.
Peas and Saffron.
Podolica. Amazing, so tender. By far my favorite dish of the whole trip. No sauce, the Barolo was meant to be the sauce, paired perfectly and the wine was served blind. I guessed a 2009 single cru from either Serralunga or Castiglione Falletto. The somm was surprised at how close I was. It was a 2008 Bricco Rocche Prapo from Castiglione Falletto.
Don’t know if he was joking or not (he was) but he said, “I’m looking for a young somm to work here, you should move to Italy.”
The wines. The Somm opened everything up around 11am he said we sat at 7:30pm. Everything was singing. The only wine that needed decanting was the 2008 that paired with the Podolica.
My #1 of the night was the Chiarlo Cannubi. The nose was so elegant and swept me away.
We wanted a sparkling wine to go with dessert. Asked the somm Champagne or Alta Langa (I was leaning towards Alta Langa, since throughout the trip I was so surprised at the quality of sparkling wines we had served BTG at the restaurants) and the somm brought this Contratto. Delicious.
The Somm brought the wine list seen on the table. Because he could tell I was nerding out. 3 full books.
Dessert was pratically three courses. All great. Amazing experience, would honestly go there again in a heartbeat.
The last part of the trip we headed back to Milan for the weekend before our flight out. I honestly wasn’t too impressed with Milan, just another big city. We had some good meals, but nothing worth mentioning.
When we got to the airport we were still booked in business. At check in I asked if there were any upgrades to first available on points and there were 2 seats, so what the hell we did it again. Another great flight.
Someone drank the d’Yquem before I got my hands on it, or they just didn’t have it on the way back. I had the 40yr tawny again with dessert and I think this was the second (if not the first) best pairing of the trip. Chocolate sponge pudding with a caramel sauce with the port was just chefs kiss what pairings are meant to be.
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If you’ve read this whole thing, wow. Felt like I had to do the trip some justice and we’re all nerds here; so might as well give the full breakdown.
