Monforte d’Alba Wine

• May 2009

  Well the 2005 Barolos are tasted, and I can’t help but think back to what I said last year. 2005 is a successful vintage that reflects terroir and winemaking more than weather and will need more time to be as approachable as 2004. This years tasting was a mixed crop and a... Read moreWell the 2005 Barolos are tasted, and I can’t help but think back to what I said last year. 2005 is a successful vintage that reflects terroir and winemaking more than weather and will need more time to be as approachable as 2004. This years tasting was a mixed crop and a challenge.  Many of the wines suffered from one defect or another, be those permanent, i.e. too much wood, too tannic, too extracted, not enough fruit, or temporary due to recent bottling or simply being closed. Under all these defect lay some lovely wines with crisp, aggressive tannins and bright acids that together make for some rather intense experiences at this early stage and make tastings like these frequently less than pleasurable. A few words about the format in which these wines were tasted. These wines were tasted over 3 days in 4-hour sessions each morning. I tried to spend time with each wine but even then I did have to move through these at rather a brisk pace, tasting about 20 wines each hour. The wines were tasted blind and offer a snapshot of what that particular bottle showed me in that particular moment of time. Due to the nature of this tasting, rather large with about 50 people tasting at more or less their own pace, the wines I got were exposed to more or less time in the open bottle. That is not entirely true as all the bottles were uncorked each morning but my point is just to be clear that from some bottles I received the first pour, from some the last, and for most somewhere in between. All these factors may, or may not, account for some rating that seem to be aberrations. For example the wines of one of my favorite producers, Giuseppe Rinaldi showed rather oddly, with one wine being oxidized while the other was simply dirty. These were my opinions of the wines but several other tasters also shared these opinions so at a minimum it was characteristic of at least some of the bottles opened that day. Bartolo Mascarello’s Barolo was also a surprise, though less concerning, as it offered very little of interest at this stage. I have faith that the wine will improve but recorded my note as I wrote it. Other wines that I was able to taste later at their respective cantinas tended to show better than the wines from these tastings. So what does that mean for all of these scores? Well not terribly much other than tasting is an imperfect art and these large tastings, while offering an invaluable opportunity to try wines, they are less than ideal to render definitive judgments. Take these notes as mere snapshots of these wines at a difficult time in their evolution. They certainly show my stylistic preferences but I would never call them definitive. They are mere frames of a film, taken out of context, and of limited value, except for the fact that some wines stood out above the rest. Many of these wines have done this before, other frames of the film that add some context. So perhaps there is more value here than I would like to admit. Certainly names like Brovia, Vietti, Porro, Oddero, Scarzello, Schiavenza and Marcarini would be expected to perform well, and they did. I look forward to trying these wines again, and again. Not only does that add frames to the film but it improves my ability to perceive isolated frames and may add value to notes like these from future events. I think wines that showed well or that I liked, are good wines and I was lucky to catch them at an opportune moment. Other wines I did not like and the reasons are amply illustrated in the corresponding notes. I only found a few wines to be downright bad.  All in all I continue to be a fan of 2005 Barolo and think that time will be kind to most of these wines.  92-93 Brovia Rocche (Castiglione Falletto)- another fine blend of herbal and ripe fruit tones, almost salty with baked clay, raspberry coulis, spicy strawberry and aromatic seed notes, rich fruit up front, density balanced crisp, fine cherry/raspberry fruit, really well framed, admirable freshness and concentration, nice background herb and spice notes, ripe tannins, a touch of melon rind, a little tarry tobacco tone, really nice finish with pure fruit and spice, very complete wine, 92-93 91-92 Bocchino Eugenio La Serra (La Morra)-  sour nose, stinky nose, fleshy nose, very nice nettle notes in the background, really penetrating and pure with a note of heavily used and sweaty work glove, spice, earth fennel and tea,  fine balance in the mouth, ripe sour cherry, lovely backing notes of dried herb, citrus tones, real energy here without being noticeably acidic, elegant, real harmony in the mouth, fresh zesty finish, with ripe tannins, a bit short but still a very strong showing 91-92 Guido Porro Santa Caterina (Serralunga) - limestone, more simmering raspberries, stern, tough and medicinal with a taut nervous quality to the nose, deep, aromatic and earthy with a clean fresh quality and lovely closed in fruit, very precise, very focused, very dark almost bitter fruit, fine tannins, really nice ripeness coupled with freshness here, licorice and medicinal top note over bitter fruits, very fine finish, Very tense and almost astringent red fruits, really good length and balance 91-92 Brovia Ca’ Mia (Serralunga) -sweet  jammy,  a touch of powdered sugar, real intensity, a handful of green herbs and flowers, clay soil, old worn wood, , a touch diffuse, nice and fresh a touch simple but very well balanced, ripe tannins, integrated acids, feels like this has some nice depth, a touch of licorice on the backend, some of the best depth so far 91-92 Vietti Rocche (Castiglione Falletto)- deep liquory black raspberry fruit, a touch of salame,  touch hot, a touch briary, a little powdery limestone,  nice oily herbs, a bit closed feeling, good density, a touch chewy, lurking freshness, a touch monolithic, a little bit inky, but rather light on its feet for that character, a touch of boysenberry , spicy fruit, intense and deep, a nice mineral cut on the backend, good length, more liquory fruit emerges on the backend, this will improve, 91-92 90-91 Marcarini La Serra (La Morra) -  deep earthy lightly smoky liquor of wild raspberry, poppy seeds, fine floral notes, orange rind, very chamomile herbal and fresh, lean and crisp, juicy fruit has a lovely herbal character, fine tannins, very well balanced in the mouth, classically proportioned with good length to the sour cherry and slightly gamy fruit,  90-91 Andrea Oberto Vigneto Brunate (La Morra)-  cinnamon spice, roast beef, spicy cherry pie filling, gamy and rich, nice complexity with dried grass notes, chewing gum and menthol, quite sweet on entry, nice austere tannins, a bit fruity styled but in this style quite well done, a blend of dark dried strawberry fruit, earth, and classic structure, quite rich and chewy, nice finish with a brisk feel, lots of wine with a nice, spiced slightly balsamic finish 90-91 Oddero Brunate (La Morra)-  lightly jammy and with lovely aromatic wood notes, a touch of beef blood, church candle,  spiced peach jam,  nice aromatic array,  sweet fruit, polished fine tannins, well integrated acidity, nice harmony then a touch dull on the back end, where it gets a bit muddy, a bit rich for the vintage and a bit weighty, but with good intensity of flavor, savory, delish 90-91 Podere Luigi Einaudi nei Cannubi (Barolo)- a bit jammy and fudgy but with lovely nuanced peach, thistle, clay, and briary cherry fruit, smooth polished entry, clean and precise wild cherry fruit, a lovely note of old wood and almost popcorn, nice and lean with ranier cherry fruit and dusty earth note, a hint of licorice with some very fresh floral and bitter herb notes, cleansing finish, is a bit short, nice lean style 90-91 Bric Cenciurio Coste de Rose (Barolo)- a bit sweet at first then turning gamy, with sort of feral animal notes and fairly precise raspberry fruit, nice to smell, with right complex fruit tones and a touch of cigarette tobacco and camphor, this has lots of sweet fruit but remains vibrant and taut in the mouth, lacks just a bit of complexity to really show well, but there is incipient, smoke, herbs, camphor and spice notes that are on the rise and show well on the back end, tannins are well managed good length, nice touch of polish but this a sweetly fruity style that helps in a vintage like this 90-91 Damilano Cannubi (Barolo)-  more bitter cherry, earthy, slightly brothy, tight rose note,  lots of white earth,  lovely young balanced nose, a slight root beer bitterness on the nose, camphor - bitter fruit entry is very nice, richly fruited but not fruity,  with a nice spice tone, fresh fruits, crisp tannins, very well balanced medium scaled Barolo with lovely fruit and incipient complexity, camphor and spice on the long finish, stern and aggressive but I like this 90-91 Giorgio Scarzello (Barolo)- deep and pungent with earthy, minerally dark cherry fruit, a hint of wood, but precise and focused, nice tension in the mouth, a bit of dilution but still well concentrated and balanced with a hint of elegance, in a rustic style, lovely green citrus fruit tones and tarry add depth and complexity, fine and intense with a good finish that features spice, mineral and aromatic wood tones 90-91 Oddero Mondoca di Bussia (Monforte) -  frutti del bosco tart with apricot glaze, spice, nicely smoky undertone, a touch of prosciutto and a hint of wildflower, raspberry,  a nice concentrated entry then really drawn to the back of the mouth by fine acids, tannins are fairly well polished, a nice sour cherry and sandalwood core, raspberry tone, turns a bit hard on the finish but nice length,  90-91 Gemma Giblin (Monforte) - dirty, some eggs, yellow berry fruits, sour meats, pork, dried meats, rainier cherry, nice ripeness, a sweet caressing character, a bit weird but with a friendly feel, different, easy, burnished, bacon fat, butchers wax, barbershop, fresh. Clean, a bit lean but not taut, perhaps a bit simple and maybe not super varietal but as wine very likable 90-91 Poderi Colla Dardi le Rose (Monforte) -  very dark and earthy smelling, limestone cut, face powder, gentle herbal and floral tones, a bit on the elegant side, nice and bright, sour cherry fruit, fresh tannins, very fresh style, clean, rosehips in alcohol on the backend, very drinkable , nicely balanced good length, a touch leathery, I like this, 90-91 Mauro Veglio Castelletto (Monforte)- lovely nose at first then very menthol, and fresh,  a touch of leather, nice macerated herb and hot rocks note,  big smooth, and polished, bright acids, juicy, finely polished tannins, good depth again a bit suave, but with nice flavors and a touch of finesse,  clean brisk and very drinkable 90-91 Guido Porro Lazzairasco (Serralunga) - reticent nose, tight and closed but with leather, precise red fruits, a very gentle simmering raspberry sweetness, rainwater, cherry juice, rich yet very well composed with a lean yet muscular character, nice freshness in the mouth, polished tannins, a touch diffuse across the mp but with really nice purity,  finishes with lift and nice grabby yet polished tannins, a very dried earthy note, very fresh with a little camphor on the finish, 90-91 Gemma Colarej (Serralunga) -salame, earthy and gamy, dried cherry, roast meat, greengage plum, nice sweet fruit, with that dank cellar note adding a hint of complexity,  soft, quite evolved, fairly complex flavors that lack some freshness but have a nice complex, rather evolved character to the earthy, dried bitter root, very slight chinato feel to them, there’s a nice core of rather classically presented medicinal cherry fruit,  finishes with menthol, and dried fruits but freshness, and a touch of dried meats, seems a bit too evolved but very enjoyable, 90-91 Schiavenza Prapo (Serralunga) -jammy raspberry, sweetish, kind of fruity,  a nice iron and peppery note, with a black spice at it’s core, a bit flabby acid, nice and crisp texture, cool fruits restrained and balanced, nice purity to the black fruit flavors, good intensity builds with black fruits on the finish, with a long menthol laden finish, a bit rustic but I like, vitamins on the finish 90-91 Vietti Castiglione (Castiglione Falletto)- nice intensity herbal front loaded, spicy, gamy, bright red, lingonberry/cranberry, clay, tobacco, fresh, a little hops maybe, fresh and crisp, a touch dilute but still in balance, almost chewy, soft, ripe tannins, integrated acidity, bitter cherry fruit, almost a touch of hops in the mouth then liquory black raspberry fruit, a touch clay, a touch, sandalwood, black cherry finale, with a bit of spiciness, nice soil note on the return, 90-91  89-90 Cascina del Monastero Bricco Riund (La Morra)- lovely sweet fruit on the nose, wild raspberry, old briar pipe,, touch of menthol, touch of laurel, a touch of leather and some tea notes, a bit of hay, while the palate doesn’t fulfill the promise of the nose there is a nice gentle character that present the fruit of the nice nicely albeit with less intensity, pretty pure and well balanced with integrated acidity a touch lo licorice spice, nicely spiced red currant/lingonberry fruit, vibrant, good length, menthol length, 89-90 Fratelli Alessandria Monvigliero (Verduno)- sweet herbal, sweet wood, sweet floral, nice bit of soil, touch of meat, a touch of watermelon liquor, raspberry liquor, sandlewood, nice slightly chewy feel, easy and well balanced, very drinkable, engaging if lacking just a touch of freshness, nice ripe fruit tone, a bit of seashell, a very pleasant wine with good intensity of fruit, nice follow through, burnished notes on the finish, savory and long, with hint of bitter cherry, really grows on me, 89-90 Mario Marengo Brunate (La Morra)- lean, soil driven, tight, floral, violets, a touch white peppery, a base of fine ripe fruit, nice nose, sweet raspberry fruit, great acids, ripe tannins, structurally very nice, good balance and even a touch of elegance here, very nice medium weight and medium intensity wine, again sour cherry, grapevine, and light spice flavors, very drinkable, could use a bit more complexity 89-90 Ascheri Vigna dei Pola (Verduno) -macerated flowers, bologna, yellow cherry, over-ripe, nice soil notes, some tar, lean, fresh and crisp and actually fairly attractive in the mouth with good crisp focus, refreshing, well balanced, a bit shallow flavor wise but lovely and relatively ready, a strange wine, good feathery finish, 89-90 Cascina del Monastero Bricco Luciano (La Morra)- some sweet wood on the nose, kind of candied but very spicy, vanillin,  nice mouth feel, lots of bright juicy acids, well done with a lithe feel and the tannins are superfine here, a bit of licorice and sandy soil tones, some chalk,  pretty light on the finish as well, admirable freshness 89-90 Giorgio Scarzello Vigna Merenda (Barolo)- pretty closed, a really minerally core rocks, to the tight fruit here, this has potential, closed in the mouth as well but there is fine balance here if a touch dilute, nice core of extracted but traditional fruit, this is closed like a book and the pages are showing only their edges, but the book may turn out to be interesting, nice bitter cherry fruit, the finish shows hints of the ripe fruit with lots of menthol and sandalwood spice tones, a lot of potential for the vintage, 89-90 Barale Cannubi (Barolo)- nice depth, aromatic dried herbs, slightly candied, slightly medicinal, a touch of roastedness here, nicely done, a bit to the tannic side but with plenty of bitter cherry fruit to balance it, there’s a nice streak of violet pastille here as well adding complexity, plenty of tannins and they are a touch astringent, really nice fruit with depth and emerging hints of complexity especially the inner mouth florality, aggressive and slightly menthol on the finish but I really like were I see this going 89-90 Cascina Adelaide Cannubi (Barolo)- lovely herbal/citrus notes on the nose, definite agrumi nose with some brambly edges creeping in and a touch of smoke and roast meat, nicely polished tannins, nice depth to the treebark tinged, quinine tinged bitter cherry fruit, quite perfumed in the mouth with roses and wild raspberry tones,  nice long savory finish with lovely layered earthy spice notes on the finish, long finish with vibrant acids 89-90 Vietti Lazzarito (Serralunga) - lots of ripe fruit, violets, a bit of coffee oak integrated with spicy black plum tones, lots of coffee, lean and crisp in the mouth with bitter mineral and earth tones, lots of almost plummy but not sweet fruit, a bit too much wood tannin, lacks a bit of detail but quite powerful with polished tannins and nice cut and focus, tannins turn a bit woody on the back end too but finishes with good length, 89-90 Cascina Luisin Leon (Serralunga) - intense nose, spicy, jammy cinnamon(-), really fruit driven though not fruity,  with well integrated non toasty oak, nice mouthfeel, a bit loose but with nice balance to the crisp tannins and integrated acids, rather sleek and smooth, all around well done, very refreshing finish, a bit short, again not a particularly fruit driven wine but with good length 89-90 Cavallotto Bricco Boschis  (Castiglione Falletto)- savory, wild raspberry liquor, clay, brushfire, deep for the vintage, slight herbal notes some spicy strawberry seeds, touch of bitter almond, a bit chewy, nice fruit tones, a bit black raspberry, nice mineral note, fresh, wild cherry on the mp, subtle but with nice complicating notes of sandalwood, a hint of caraway, dark spice tones, fairly complete if a touch chunky, nice finish, lots of fruit tannin, a bit spicy, more bitter almond on the finish, should improve, 89-90 Tenuta Montanello (Castiglione Falletto)- very woodsy, forest floor, river rocks, mineral water, wild raspberry liquor, a bit lean smelling but fresh and transparent, and a bit fleshy, refreshing, a nice bitter herb tone balances the fresh, crisp raspberry fruit, a bit simple but nice mouthfeel, nice finish cleansing and clean, not great but very drinkable 89-90 Franco Conterno Vigna Pugnane (Castiglione Falletto)- sappy, herbal, taut and nervous, a touch of seaweed, spicy green and lovely, a bit of wood intrudes in the back, fresh and crisp with plenty of ripe strawberry fruit, nicely balanced pure vibrant fruity little wine, a touch easily styled but to it’s advantage, strawberry seeds perhaps a touch of bitter greens lurking but lovely refreshing wine, gains fruitiness, short finish though 89-90 88-89 Gianfranco Bovio Vigna Gattera (La Morra)-  raspberry jam, salt, over-ripe, menthol, chalk, fresh and easy, nice fruity styled wine, the traditional version of above, a bit restaurant styled but nice freshness and lovely orange and lime zest accents to the well proportioned core of ripe berry fruit, lean and nervous,  short finish 88-89 Marcarini Brunate (La Morra)- lightly smokey, a touch sweet, nice raspberry fruit tones, light grilled meat, sweet entry, nice fruit, good balance here with fresh acidity and ripe tannins, a little  soft perhaps but with good depth to the funghi and spearmint tinged, sour cherry fruit, a touch short, nice and drinkable 88-89 Tenuta l’Illuminata Tebavio (La Morra)- lightly smoky a nice sweet raspberry tone, a touch of mint, nice fresh, layered and balanced, a bit loose at first then gains some grip, nice retrained fruit with a bit of sweetness yet firmly in the fresh, crisp end of the spectrum, nice ripe tannins, clean crisp finish, nice balanced fell, smaller wine but a nicely done wine, 88-89 Mauro Sebaste (Barolo)-quinine, old tree bask, forest floor, spicy mushrooms, very aromatic, sauvage but appealing, nice concentration this has a bit of flesh with bitter cherry, medicinal and earthy tones in balance, a bit of finesse even, for the vintage, nicely done and growing inner mouth perfume, a flush of green herb on the rather languid finish 88-89 Marchese di Barolo Sarmassa (Barolo) -  nice fresh green herb notes, are subtly infused with a bit of coffee oak in the white peppery, roast beefy tinged slightly roasted black cherry fruit, cool and taut, with a sinewy quality, nice fruit here  a bit of oak is obvious but well integrated, nice purity to the fruit though it has a bit of sweetness, nice lift on the backend and into the finish with is a touch cedary but fairly long 88-89 Brezza Sarmassa (Barolo)- nice and aromatic, plenty of sandalwood and rosehips, with nice cranberry and raspberry fruit tones, and a touch of spearmint, shows nice concentration up front, a more gentle character nice depth to the slightly simple, but burnished cherry, spice, tobacco and aromatic wood tinged mp, leads to a relatively long bright finish, nicely done and with upside potential, 88-89 Fratelli Barale Castellero (Barolo)-sandalwood slathered in raspberry coulis, very clean, lightly spiced, , some nice spiced peach tones, a hint of green tobacco,  a bit chewy, perhaps a bit extracted as well but with nice cherry toned fruit backed by acidity that keeps this lively and vibrant, it’s a touch leathery with the tannins taking hold on the mid-palate, perhaps to much tannin but his is juicy and tasty if a touch simple,  very strong finish, lots of tannin but a lovely core of fresh, crisp fruit with good length 88-89 Virna Borgogno Cannubi Boschis (Barolo)- angelica root and quinine, this is very medicinal and wildly dried herbal smelling, really interesting dried alpine floral, herbal tea tones, lots of tea here, more herbal tea on the palate as well, there is some bitter cherry fruit here as well but the profile is completely unusual with great big herbs, pollen, earth, and middle Easter spice notes, tons of camphor and curry and middle eastern spice on the finish, totally different an worth a look 88-89 Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate-Le Coste (Barolo)- slightly dirty old school nose, dirty and funky, with lots of cola and  herb notes, nice cool entry crisp ranier cherry fruit then turning funky and earthy again, a touch dilute but a nice flavor profile, the tannins are ripe and well managed, a bit lean but with a nice herbal, fruit, licorice array and a hint of sweet ripeness,  nice spicy soil tones, and eggshells on the long finish, I can see this getting better 88-89 Cascina Ballarin Bussia (Monforte) - very nice start, clean clear and penetrating, some wood but adding nice spice tones, sandalwood, pencil wood, a bit of patisserie,  very bright acids, polished tannins, nice focus across the palate, a touch austere but with plenty of fruit,  savory burnished wood character to the nice core of fruit, a hint of sweetness returns on the moderately long finish with a nice cherried note, 88-89 Alessendria Fratelli Gramolere (Monforte)   -  slight jammy lingonberry,  hard,  nice taut neb nose,  a bit closed but a nice mineral underlay,  sour cherry upfront, fine tannins, a bit fat/flabby/overdone, god if lacking a bit of character, nice fruit with a sour edge and acids integrated and highlighting this bright berry/raspberry fruit tone, good length, a bit of clay spice on the finish 88-89 Franco Conterno Cascina Sciulin Bussia Munie (Monforte)   -  macerated cherry and floral notes, a bit talcy/sandy, a bit fleshy, smells hard -  hard, cool, crisp feel, not much rather light in the mouth, clean, sour yellow cherry, a touch of lardo, aromatic animal fat,  nice persistence with a nice finish, good length cleansing, brisk and precise.nice fruit notes on the finish but so compressed 88-89 Stroppiana Oreste Gabutti Bussia (Monforte)   -   lots of autumnal character, dried floral tones a touch of bresaola, menthol, penetrating and deep,  sweet fruit, slight dried fruit character, supple tannins, nicely balanced an approachable today with a nice almost peach hint of sweet astringency then more red fruited with a touch of funghi too, zest finish, evolved perhaps but appealing, 88-89 Silvano Bolmida Bussia (Monforte)   -  wow, sweet fruit, big balsamic, earthy note, intense and fruity, a weird herbal red fruit tone, astringent red fruits, wild cherry, thick but then very taut with great acids, cleansing and bracing, nicely concentrated fresh fruits,  a tense, savory, tea, old wood finish, an intense wine, lots of character, good length, slightly medicinal, 88-89 Monti (Monforte)  - stone, dirt, reticent but nice, prosciutto fat, anise seed(green), not a lot going on but what’s there I like, cool in the mouth, soft tannins, a bit soft acids too, a nice core of clean sour cherry fruit,  a bit of dried middle eastern spice, lovely tannins ripe but crisp, would like to see this develop, 88-89 Massolino Margheria (Serralunga) -lovely liquory fruit, great captured fruit on the nose, with exotic notes of green seeds middle eastern spicy seeds, nice intensity just a touch of medicinal character and a hint of black cherry fruit,  a bit sweet up front then falling off but the palate holds it together just enough to maintain interest, a soft styled wine again with lovely pure if simple dark slight cooked raspberry/dried strawberry tones and a little bit of tension from the medicinal character which gains nice purity on the long finish 88-89 Paolo Manzone Serralunga (Serralunga) -nice jammy fruit, then very soil driven talc and mineral and limestone, barbershop, medicinal,  a little light but very attractive, a bit chewy, a bit thin, nice black cherry, bitter fruit, meaty, fairly complex and nicely spicy with good balance on a smaller frame, really good intensity to the medicinal character but the fruit stays fresh and intense nice balance,  88-89 Schiavenza Broglio (Serralunga) -  jammy rosehips, medicinal, herbal, floral, deep, penetrating and intense with a sort of fruit backdrop that’s very appealing,  in the mouth this is a chewy and fairly deep, really crisp, fine tannins, a little austere, with potential 88-89 Giovanni Rosso la Serra (Serralunga) - spicy cinnamon toast and raspberry jam, rosehips and a nice medicinal/camphor note well integrated, rather sweet smelling but with root beer and aromatic herb notes but in a candied sweet style,  big and fresh in the mouth, nice herbal, medicinal background, fairly precise unsweet fruits, wild berry fruits, , clean feeling in the mouth, a bit antiseptic in the mouth, menthol, cool fruit, finishes a bit short, a nice package though could use more length 88-89 Livia Fontana (Castiglione Falletto)- lots of caramel, burnt sugar, wood, and earth, heavy, and deep with some nice backing notes of ripe herbs, actually this gains some nice focus but does seems to be sweet and then savory dried meaty,  nice fresh entry, arugula, a bit of root beer, fresh and linear, a bit simple and maybe a touch dilute, but lovely black cherry fruit and herbs with a long pure finish, may improve, 88-89 87-88 Renato Ratti Conca (La Morra)- sweet wood, furry, nice jammy wild raspberry fruit tones, pretty nose, rosehips and sweet fruitwood smoke, a touch of fruit stripes gum, fresh, easy, a bit hollow on the palate, successful restaurant style wine, drinkable with some nice sour cherry notes, a nice finish, solid if simple wine, the finish has some nice length 87-88 Gianfranco Bovio Vigna Arborina (La Morra)- some dusty sweet earth, orange zest, hint of dried herb/bay  - start with nice sweet fruit in the mouth, nice balanced structure, a bit of root beer/ beet root at it’s heart, nice sandalwood finish is quite long 87-88 Silvio Grasso Bricco Luciani (La Morra)-  heavier and sweeter on the nose, rather dense, slightly medicinal, lots of dried herb and chalk - bright and juicy, nice tannin structure, a bit low intensity flavors but the profile is very nice with bitter cherry fruit, earth, some subtle root tones, drying finish is a bit stern, good length 87-88 Rocche Costamagna Bricco Francesco (La Morra)- chewing gum and candy apple, wild strawberry in liquor, gains some focus with a touch of gaminess in the background, still a little jammy, light and fresh in the mouth, this feels pretty good with a lean, transparent character, low intensity a bit dilute, nice finish, drying but with nice follow through of savory and subtle fruit tone, 87-88 Luigi Einaudi Costa Grimaldi (Barolo)- prosciutto, pepper, alpine herbs, ricola, red fruit, a faint whiff of far away smoke, dilute but with decent flavors, a nice traditional feel, ripe fruit but dilute, a nice minerally tones, almost salty, a bit extracted on the finish but with nice follow through and the finish, a bit minty. Oaky spicy but good depth of flavors and decent length, a bit meaty, 87-88 Franceso Rinaldi Le Brunate (Barolo)- smells sweetly fruited, candied, roasted herbs, red fruit , touch of red hots, diluted, still some nice crisp, fresh wild raspberry fruits here with mineral tones and a lovely transparency, well made and very drinkable with the fruit gaining intensity on the back end and adding a blood orange note, good length, a nice wine 87-88 Giuseppe Rinaldi Cannubi San Lorenzo Ravera (Barolo)-  coffee candy, yuck, dirties up a bit, gains some nice old school notes, with a touch of oxidation showing, turning minty, dusty and old wood like, smells vaguely like a barn, loose up front but then showing some nice sweet/spicy fruitiness, there’s some cola, almost new world flavors here but there is this weird dichotomy between the old and the new, I am intrigued by this wine, its very complex in this line-up and really stands out but I am confused by it. 87-88 Germano Angelo Vigna Rue (Barolo)-  a touch dirty,  bresaola, prosciutto fat, Slavonian oak, smoky, nice freshness in the mouth a touch of backing green herb, a nice layered quality to the bitter root, slight bitter leafy greens notes that frames the solid bitter cherry fruit, not a block buster but good complexity and decent weight to buffer the structure, nice white earthy finish, menthol, a touch of drying herbs, decent length 87-88 Famiglia Anselma (Barolo)-sweet strawberry fruit, woody, spicy, some spicy cinnamon, nice intensity of aromatics, even some herbs and agrumi, sweet right up front, integrated tannins, very spicy mid-palate with lots of licorice and cinnamon character, a touch of floral character, lots of chewy fruit, perhaps a bit extracted but nicely done though the oak intrudes a bit on the back end 87-88 Giacomo Fenocchio Bussia (Monforte)  - very nice fruit, rosehips in alcohol, almost salty wild berry fruit tones, nice nose modest intensity and complexity but interesting, a bit thin on the palate, just barely fruited, a bit extracted tannins,  an austere style but with attractive fruit tones, a tough wine but not without interest and potential, 87-88 Josetta Saffirio Persiera (Monforte)  -   jammy with some cooked fruit character, some smoldering wood,  very fluid, very drinkable, fresh cherry fruit, spiced lightly, nice fruity style wine, good acids, easy drinking, not complicated but enjoyable for its well captured ripe, succulent fruit, very clean finish, this is very drinkable and very friendly 87-88 Bruna Grimaldi Badarini Vigna Regnola (Serralunga) - a bit hot, peppery, cinnamon spicy, quite refreshingly herbal, nice entry with earthy tannins, good acids, a bit diffuse,  pretty soft tannins but nice ripe, slightly herbal fruit that is refreshing and with good depth,  nice spicy finish, well done, 87-88 Luigi Pira Vigna Marenca (Serralunga) - nice jammy fruit, black fruits, black raspberry,  a pretty fruit driven nose,  with some nice stemmy herbal background tones,  and touched of leather and camphor,  a bit flaccid in the mouth, really doesn’t follow up the nice aromatics, the flavors gain some intensity but are low key if nice with authentic medicinal character juxtaposed against a smaller raspberry toned fruit, big tannins on the finish, 87-88 Luigi Pira Vigna Margheria (Serralunga) - a bit more smoky loamy styled tight, hard masculine and dark, a bit loose in a focused slightly extracted style a bit too much power here and not balancing the crisp ripe fruit, good inner mouth aromatics though, this is powerful and intense and will last a long time with a very long, very medicinal black fruited finish but there is a lot of structure to loose here, 87-88 Palladino Vigna Brolio (Serralunga) -weirdly woody, raw woody but with bay and herb lurking, lots of medicinal herbal character, a bit beefy,  very fresh in the mouth with good focus, clean and crisp, some elegance here, nicely measure but marred a bit by the pencil wood,  nice savory finish, good length, 87-88 Paolo Manzone Meriame (Serralunga) -lots of herb, sour cherry, and slightly medicinal character, clean and fairly pure, smells of biter cherry, lithe in the mouth, almost elegant, a bit lacking in depth, softer styled, nice flavors a nice almost spicy macerated cherry note, really nice fruit, well presented good integrated acids, succulent 87-88 Giovanni Rosso Serralunga (Serralunga) -kind of precise, cool fruit, a bit of fine oak in here but not offensive, cool lingonberry jam, a touch of chocolate bitter, cedary, nice concentration very fine grained tannins, good acidity, round and with follow through but a bit simple, 87-88   86-87 Franco Molino Cascina Rocca - Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra)- fruity nose, lots of raspberry, simple but fresh and nice, a little milky, a touch of saw dust,  light and crisp, very fresh and well balanced with herb tinged red raspberry fruit, lovely purity, simple, clean a+ restaurant wine, falls a bit flat on the finish though still good intro Barolo 86-87 Bel Colle Monvigliero (Verduno) -  intensely celery seed, celery , herbal, fresh, seashells, smoky, slightly weedy, burning brush pile, spicy seeds, turmeric, cardamom,  nice entry, a touch dilute but with nice intense dark cherry fruit, lacks some definition, good purity and decent harmony, finishes very strong with a nice core of ripe but not sweet fruit and decent length, a bit more spiced on the finale, I want to drink a bit of this, 86-87 Mario Gagliasso Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra)- roses, rosehips, vitamins, slightly distant smoky, wild strawberry jam, touch of dried peach, lovely classic profile, simple on the palate, a bit dilute, nice freshness and balance, ripe tannins, perhaps this will improve but for now this lacks intensity though the flavors are pleasant and true, herb tinged bark raspberry, soil tones, it’s has very classic character if a touch wood spicy, nice finish of good length, I want to like this more, 86-87 Mauro Veglio Vigneto Gattera (La Morra)- brownie, fudgy, peach jam, nice spice notes, a touch of dandelion, mineral water, talc, white pepper, a bit of a let down on the mp, simple, but with a decent core of ripe cherry fruit, a nice backend with more savory character, finishes strong with good follow through to the ripe fruit character and nice round tannins, cinnamon finale 86- 87 Andrea Oberto Vigneto Rocche (La Morra)-  nice herbal, slightly medicinal, slightly anise driven nose, a little woody but not enough to obscure the fruit a touch of funghi and some drying leaves,  with some sweet fruit, nice and taut in the mouth, fine tannins, good polish, nice fruit with briarwood and dried herb notes,  nice acidity, drying on the backend leading to a nice savory, briary finish,  86-87 Monfalletto Bricco Gattera (La Morra)- this really has nice intensity, there’s a rose tone, a little vanillin, chalk, very dried orange zest, really nice nose, a bit fat and loose up front, then gains nice focus, a lot of burnished fruit, dried strawberry, pretty rich and chewy on the mp, very good intensity of fruit, no finish or follow through, 86-87 Mario Gagliasso Torriglione (La Morra)- woody, cinnamon, white pepper, a nice weedy tone, some nice fruit gains a grip with that background herb note and nicely measure sour cherry/red currant fruit, a touch of bitterness adds some tension with a hint of root beer, a bit woody tannin on the finish but not bad 86-87 Mauro Molino Vigna Conca (La Morra)-  a bit of VA, sweet cherry, passion fruit, kafir lime leaf, very high toned, very aromatic, a touch of diesel, a touch of brett, thick and rich up front, lots of fruit here, a bit monolithic but can’t deny the intensity of the dark cherry fruit, some mineral tones add cut, chalky tannins, could improve but seems to show quite some promise, ends with a bit of drying wood tannin, really drying 86-87 Gianni Gagliardo Cannubi (Barolo)- dirty and old smelling, very brothy at first, cleans up slightly but remains curiously evolved smelling with a strong licorice character, soft tannins and acid, pretty rich and chewy, shows better in the mouth than on the nose with fairly big and intense monolithic fruit, decent but lacks enough tension to remain interesting though it is pretty packed with lovely ripe fruit, may pull itself together, coffee on the finale 86-87 Brezza Cannubi (Barolo)-  herbal and floral nose with some background cola spice,  more macerated wild cherry, clumps of weeds with fresh dirt  a bit of chalk, fresh and taut,  a bit languid on entry, firming up slightly but this remains a bit closed in the mouth, nice fruit a touch of smoky campfire but it doesn’t pull itself together, a little medicinal mint tannins are nice, decent 86-87 Franceso Rinaldi Cannubbio (Barolo)- sweetly fruited, a touch of peach here, sour cherry, burnt match stick, a bit dilute, nice ripeness but easy styled with moderately intense wild cherry fruit, a bit more structure than fruit, a touch of watermelon and almost minty spice, 86-87 Michele Chiarlo Cannubi (Barolo)- sweet and candied nose, root beer,  some baked goods, extracted, heavy, but deep and intense with chewy, dark, opaque fruit, this might just come around as it has a lovely minerality that really cuts through the huge fruit and finishes with intense cooling menthol and dark, earthy note, even a hint of dark tobacco on the moderately long finish 86-87 Costa di Bussia Tenuto Arnulfo (Monforte)  -   pine, bay, pressed flowers,  cool, a little thin but with nice typical sour cherry and almost leather fruit, perfectly nice little wine, 86 -87 Aldo Conterno Colonnello (Monforte)  -  jammy, pencil shavings, some animale, furry, reticent, a bit ungenerous, and dried out, there’s a sweetness here but not terribly fruity nor varietal, very savory, turns better on the finish, nice tannins ripe tannins, refreshing finish, clean, a small wine 86-87 Josetta Saffirio (Monforte)  -   barrels, way too much barrels, smoky oak and extracted fruit,  has a nice vegetal character hiding behind though,  big fruit, really nice vegetal herbal flavors but the texture is a bit goopy, , really extracted black cherry fruit on the back end, I can see this being very popular 86-87 Silvano Bolmida Vigne dei Fantini (Monforte)  -  big balsamic tones, lots of dried meats, spicy wood tones, really fresh, and exhibiting nice ripeness, nicely fleshy, nicely fresh good refreshing acids, nice ripe tannins, nice herbal and dried earth notes, nothing immediate but subtle and sophisticated with a nice savory finish, 86 -87 Gianfranco Alessandria San Giovanni (Monforte)  -  smells like wood flooring, sweet, then menthol,  nice focus, a bit of an extracted feel, nice slightly medicinal fruit, a bit woody feeling, nice cool fruit, very good ripeness, quite drying but flavorful, 86-87 Marziano Abbona Pressenda (Monforte)  -   nice aromatic nose with a touch of sweet wood contrasting the menthol, savory crisp fruit,  a bit thick and fat, nice richness, flabby though, popular style , restaurant wine, fruity, nice fruit,  86-87 Fontanafredda Serrlaunga (Serralunga) -jammy and herbal very nice green herb notes,  deep ripe fruit and fresh notes nice dichotomy,  a bit hollow, nice flavors but rather low key, ordinary,  lots of tannin on the back end and the finish, a bit innocuous, some nice licorice and menthol on the finish 86 -87 Pio Cesare (Multi commune) -   sweet dried wood tones on the nose, leathery, nice precise fruit, dark fruit, cool in the mouth, good focus, spicy, menthol, floral tones, tight coiled and with good length 86-87 Ascheri (Multi commune) -    smoky, sour wood, sour meats, floral toned, sandalwood, lightly spiced,  fresh in the mouth, a bit of sweetness up front, a touch stern and ungiving, nice sour cherry, nice length, could improve 86-87 Roccheviberti Rocche di Castiglione (Castiglione Falletto)- a bit coffee toned but with nice, herb, sand and white pepper tones, a bit stemmy even,  cool and fresh, almost under-ripe to it’s advantage, easy drinking, simple, easy with nice Nebbiolo fruit, 86-87 Monfalletto Enrico VI (Castiglione Falletto)- nice, sweet briar wood, menthol, rosehips, grass, small flower notes, chamomile, touch of wild strawberry, fresh, a bit dull and lifeless, but with an nice hard candy note this gains a little focus on the backend with it’s simple ludens cough drop note, nothing special but not bad, sweet fruit on the finish is more smith brothers black cherry, nice for what it is 86-87 85-86 Stroppiana Oreste Vigna San Giacomo (La Morra)- lots of cigar box with some fudginess, tobacco, herb, chalk and spice,  a nice core of sweet fruit is small scaled and a little out  of balance with the structure, decent with some background oily herb notes to the dark fruit, but not particularly interesting, 85-86 Cascina Adelaide Preda (Barolo)- meaty, roast herb, roast meat, roast green vegetable, shallow and slightly swampy, nice feel, decent depth, ok dark cherry fruit, nice freshness but again not much depth though this has a bit of engaging elegance, 85 -86 E Pira Cannubi (Barolo)-  a little sweeter, a little jammy, smoky herbal, a touch of coffee, a touch of bitter roots, a bit of fizzy acids on the tongue, not much detail, bitterness, perhaps a bit too extracted, tannins are bitter, nice fruit in there but not particularly fresh or elegant, a bit of coffee in the mouth as well, dark fruited finish is moderately long, too tannic. 85-86 Abbona Marziano Ravera (Barolo)-  sweet herbs, sweet spearmint, high toned and pitched nose, with a touch of bacon - dilute palate, a bit of chewiness here, some nice raspberry tones with a touch of earth, and spice on the backend relatively long and fresh finish 85-86 Giacosa Fratelli Bussia (Monforte)  -   a big woodsy nose, confiture of bitter cherry, intense if monolithic, but very clean and fresh, a nice menthol top note, pretty sweet entry then a bit thin, shiny and hard though the sour cherry and herbal/citrus toned fruit is pleasant, a bit thin but nice 85-86 Monti Bussia (Monforte)  - dark, dirty, earthy, charry, spiced, antiseptic,  a bit lean in the mouth, nice quality to the tannins up front, good acids, nice feel,, decent earthy flavors, drying, inelegant but with some character,  tough and drying, some nice length too, 85-86 Giovanni Sordo Sori Gabutti (Serralunga) - light fresh nose, fresh leather, rocks, passionfruit, red currant, low intensity,  smells astringent, nice mouthfeel, polished tannins, good flesh, a bit loose on the mp but with lots of medicinal character, bitter fruits, a bit simple but very typical, lots of tannins on the finish 85-86 Massolino Parafada (Serralunga) - a fair amount of smoky oak here, still some medicinal character, lacks detail, nicely managed tannins, an easier mouthfeel, a bit of chewy extract, lacks follow through, short, 85-86 Ettore Germano Prapo (Serralunga) -diesel, lots of herbal character, macerated herbs, macerated flowers,  the nose is interesting, the mouth is a bit flat and uninteresting with decent fruit and a nice herbal flourish but nothing special 85-86 Rivetto (Serralunga) -a bit cooked, spicy, clovey,, bresaola,   cool, not much intensity, balanced, a nice wine, but without much detail, nice fruit on the finish, very fresh, nice seeds strawberry toned finish 85-86 Monchiero (Castiglione Falletto)- a bit leathery, bretty, gamy, nice medium weight, pretty feel but a bit on the dirty side, not necessarily rustic but a bit odd, good length, nice return of wild yellow cheery, sapid,  85-86     84-85 Bosco Agostino (La Morra)-speck, tons of cured meat character, a touch of black pepper, savory, a nice herbal touch, a bit too coffeed, meaty and slight herbal up front, coffee cream on the mp, some nice cherry fruit, a matte and indistinct backend, has an interesting character, I would try again, 84-85 Cascina Ballarin Bricco Rocca (La Morra)-  lots of sweet wood, talc, - lots of wood, nice flavors under the wood, a bit simple though a very burnished palate profile, lots of woody tones, good cherry fruit, too much tannin on the backend, short 84-85 Roberto Sarotto Audace (Barolo)-  bitter fruit, cedary, earthy, high acid soil, lean, focused, clean, fairly precise red fruits, very little complexity a touch of wood, and some spicy green fruit notes, lime zest, maybe even a touch of roast beef,  finishes with a touch of candied herbalness, 84-85 Prunotto (Barolo)- roasted fruit, balsamic, roasted meat, very fluid in the mouth, kind of refreshing but without much flavor or interest, nice bit of tar and bitter raspberry, 84-85 Boroli Cerequio (Barolo)- deep and intense, rose, cherry, prugnie, spice and menthol tones, nice freshness and  nice limestone underlay, fresh up front, a bit shallow, decent fruit but a bit nondescript, falls off on the backend, ends short with lots of tannin, 84-85 Marchese di Barolo Cannubi (Barolo)- lots of flashy oak on the nose, sweet, candied, backing spice, praline nose, plush and polished with a sexy mouthfeel, good acids, fine tannins, very nice tannins for 2005, nice bitter cherry fruit but lacks any sweetness or gentleness, and pretty oaky in the mouth, not offensively so but close, very drying finish, 84 - 85 Giacomo Grimaldi Ravera (Barolo)- Rosehips, roasted strawberry, mint, roast beef drippings, some high toned notes, tarry and menthol decent fruit in the mouth, nice concentration, a bit of freshness but also a bit of matteness, good length, fruit on the finish, 84-85 Prunotto Bussia (Monforte) -  very jammy, lots of roses, sweet bay leaf,  sweet fruit on entry, then rather shallow and mostly uninteresting across the palate, there's some very fine sweet tannin here, but not much flavor interest, a bit of an earthy red fruit finale,  84-85 Elio Grasso Gavarini Chiniera (Monforte) -  smells like a cigar butt in apricot jam, smoky, tarry jammy, languid, nice acids, kind of soft and dilute, easy across the tongue with small austere tannins, finishes chalky with a touch of a tobacco tone, 84-85 Rivetto Giulin (Serralunga) -gamy, leathery,  candied herbs,  loose, not much here to work with, light, elegant perhaps, simple 84-85 Gigi Rosso Arione (Serralunga) -lots of apricot, smells like cedar and redwood, lightly jammy raspberry, quite floral but the pencil wood is noticeable,  lacks tension in the mouth, a bit fluid, a bit boring,  nice fruity notes accented with vanilla sugar tones, 84-85   83-84 Michele Chiarlo Cerequio (La Morra)- well integrated spicy wood tones, light cherry and rose, a bit of clay, soft and simple, nice, simple, easy, some fruit, some spice, neither good nor bad 83-84 Eugenio Bocchino Lu (La Morra)-  nice refreshing balsamic scents, intense pine needle, ripe fruit, fur,  amazing Christmas tree tone, much less interesting in the mouth, loose, without focus, some nice fruit and a touch of the balsamic character found on the nose but mostly a stripped flaccid wine,  nice fruit re emerges on the finish, so maybe it will fill in, 87-88 for the nose, 83-84 total Luciano Sandrone Cannubi Boshcis (Barolo)-fine oak notes, candied, candied raspberry leathery, nice fruit is a little simple,  a bit flaccid up front, lacks some vibrancy, nice deep fruit on the mp is monolithic and feels a bit extracted, heavy on the backend, no detail, extracted feel on the finish with a touch of nice earth adding a bit of complexity 83-84 Armando Piazzo (Barolo)- charcuterie and pork aspic,  it really smells like working with pork products, light, fresh, easy, simple, not interesting but far from offensive, 83-84 Giacomo Grimaldi le Coste (Barolo)- a bit of bubblegum on the nose, face powder, white pepper,  white cherry in alcohol,  easy style, a bit simple, not much detail, perhaps closed, nice feel, very finely polished tannins, a bit of mint and camphor on the finish, 83-84 Elvio Cogno Ravera (Barolo)- kind of sweet notes on the nose, some peach skin, minty fresh, earth and clay, a bit dilute, matte, anonymous, nice feel with a touch of chewy extraction, minty some nice cherry pit on the moderately long finish, 83-84 Damilano Liste (Barolo)- beef extract, deep fruit, something weird though, a bit of brett, leathery, with some poop, nice balance, nice tannins, crisp yet fine grained, dilute, not much heart here,  nice but really very little intensity, 83-84 Bergadano Cav. Enrico Sarmassa (Barolo)- heavy aromatics are sweet and fruity, fleshy clean and precise, with macerated cherry and flowers, a little caramel sweetness creeps in, dilute, nothing special, decent fruit, simple, not too bad 83-84 Luciano Sandrone Le Vigne (Barolo)- sweet oaked nose, coffee candy and smoke, some ham, lingonberry and mint, sweet oakiness right up front yields to a dilute mid-palate with nice flavors but really low key, but why? 83-84 Ettore Germano  Cerretta (Serralunga) -diesel, kind of nasty to smell,  chemical, clay,  big and rich, but hollow, nice tannins, a bit chewy, uninteresting but with building fruit, extracted feeling extracted tannins, 83-84 Terre da Vino Essenze (Multi commune) - clean, fresh, candied and slightly uninteresting,  slight herbal root character, nice herbal character in the mouth but lacks some backing fruit, easy to drink and refreshing, simple but the one flavor is enjoyable, very short 83-84 Palladino Parafada (Serralunga) -candied root beer, candied herbs, sour meats, raw wood, gingerbread cheesecake, very fluid in the mouth, flat, very little follow through, some bitter cherry, small scaled, a bit too much tannin for the spicy spice cake fruit 83-84 Francesco Sobrero Ciabot Tanasio (Castiglione Falletto)- jammy, over-ripe, white pepper, round, flaccid, nice wiry fruit of low intensity, indistinct, fresh feeling at least, 83-84   82-83 Gianni Gagliardo Serre (La Morra)- sweet herbal root beer tones, sandy soil, fur, blond tobacco, chalk, lean nose, a bit dead in the mouth, kind of dull dark wild cherry fruit, no detail, no depth, a blanket on the tongue, more nice dark cherry fruit on the finish but flat and dull, 82-83 Aurelio Settimo Rocche (La Morra)- stink on the nose, matchstick, cedar, lean, crisp mouthfeel, no real flavor interest, not much here, a hint of sour cherry, drying, simple and inoffensive, 82-83 Rocche Costamagna Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra)- weird chalk and chicken/fowl nose, sweet smelling, candied nose, with a touch of coffee, thin, poorly knit, shrill, nice finish with some raspberry fruit and with reasonable balance, 82-83 Vietti Brunate (La Morra) -  a bit heavy and dull, sweet with integrated wood and some nice spicy herbal tones, a bit smoky wood, a bit loose, lacks some focus, a bit dried out but with some nice pie filling fruit, seems to be a bit too tannic across the mp, spicy eucalyptus/vegetal tones but not refreshing, a bit heavy and dull 82-83 Bartolo Mascarello (Barolo)- campfire, then sweet herbs, a touch of bacon, some cola, weeds, very fluid in the mouth, softish tannins, some sweetness but not much else, not cloying but very little flavor at this stage. 82-83 Ruggeri Corsini Corsini (Monforte) - gamy, sweet wood, heavy, cloying, monolithic,  big in the mouth, good freshness but the fruit is chewy, and feels saturated and not in a particularly good way, thoroughly ordinary and almost cloying on the finish, 82-83 Rocche de Manzoni Santo Stefano di Perno (Monforte) - sweet wood, cigar box, oaky, some herbal character, sweet, lots of wood tannin on the mp, powerful with some liquory almost medicinal fruit on the mid-palate which shows nice promise on the finish before the wood tannins clamp down, 82-83 Parusso Mariondino Bussia le Costa Mosconi (Monforte/Castiglione) - passionfruit, particular French oak, vanilla, smoke, vanilla pipe tobacco, artificial fruit aromas, slightly chewy, innocuous, anonymous,  82-83 Cascina Cucco  Cerrati Vigna Cucco (Serralunga) -a bit jammy, a bit woody, nice cherry fruit, roses, smoky, baking spice,  a bit soft though the acid peeks out, not much on the palate, lean and dried out, though it is soft, with decent woody length, 82-83 Terre del Barolo (Multi commune) - cola, cali pinot,  cool in the mouth, light and easy, 82-83 Boroli Villero (Castiglione Falletto)- jammy, hot, menthol, jammy, hot, feels stripped,  liquory raspberry, sandalwood, rosehips, hot a little spicy 82-83 Terre da Vino Paesi Tuoi (Castiglione Falletto)-   jammy, spicy, liquory frutti del bosco, toast, caramel wood,  marshmallow,  weird candied jammy fruits,  cola, a bit dirty, a bit low key, not much to like fresh, lean, soft tannins, 82-83   Mauro Molino Gallinotto (La Morra)- diesel, real reduced veal stock where it gets kind of sickeningly intense, really sweet wood, some nice cherry fruit but really kind of simple and blah, no detail, no lift, no finish, 80-82 Virna Borgogno Preda Sarmassa (Barolo) -  quinine, horseradish, mint, dry compost heap, tomato paste,  very lean, nicely spiced, not any fruit, tannic, dry, some cola, , menthol and tannins on the finish 80-82 Rocche dei Manzoni Big’d Big (Monforte) -  candied, some dried lime zest perhaps lurking, has potential but not showing much today, big, low tannin, soft, broad but shallow, then a bit drying on the finish,  I don’t know  what to make of this, 80-82 Gianfranco Alessandria (Monforte)-  coffee candy, wood, cigar box, spicy cinnamon, tobacco candy, flat, flabby, hollow, totally uninteresting save a nice floral note on the finish 80-82 Cascina Cucco Cerrati (Serralunga) -very sweet aromatic wood nose, flat in the mouth, neutral in the mouth, nice structure not much flavor 80-82 Fontanafredda la Rosa (Serralunga) -sweet candied root beer, cloying nose,  rather light on the palate though, much better than one would expect from the nose, but there’s not much flavor interest here and a rather watery finish, extracted tea quality, 80-82  Livia Fontana Villero (Castiglione Falletto)- funky, very herbal and soil driven, eggshells, a bit of matchstick, lean, ungenerous, uninteresting, fresh finish, 80-82   Costa di Bussia Campo de Buoi  (Monforte)-  bretty, like big time,  cool, crisp and fresh with front loaded sweet fruit then bretty mp, burnished drying, 78-80  Eredi Lodali Lorens (Roddi)- sweet wood notes, lots of coffee, heavy, candied sweet and dull on the nose, dead in the mouth, fluid, without flavor or character, woody. 78-80 Renato Ratti Rocche (La Morra)-  passionfruit, lemon, wood, lemon pledge, stewy, cedar, a touch of mothball, nothing going on in the mouth, loose, some dark berry fruit, heavy tannins, kind of extracted, really tannic finish, not enough flesh, 78-80 Gianni Voerzio La Serra (La Morra)-  oaky and black raspberry preserves a little lactic, dried pear fruit,  thick up front then oaky and stripped, heavy but not sweet, dead in the mouth, bitter wood and cigar butt notes, a bit of whiskey on the finish, drying detailess 78-80 Fratelli Giacosa Vigna Mandorlo (Castiglione Falletto)- medicinal, herbal, a touch of match stick, sour cherry, sour berry, a flat boring wine in the mouth 78-80  Aurelio Settimo (La Morra)-  hot, over-ripe jammy, indistinct,  very menthol, fluid, shallow, over-ripe, nasty 70-72 Eredi Virginia Ferrero  San Rocco (Serralunga) -stinky, cidery, smells like ass, lots of dried pork character, off and just plain weird,  flat and bad, 70    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Alba Wine Exhibition 2005... by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• May 2009

  Alba Wine Exhibition 2005 Barolo tasting notes Well the 2005 Barolos are tasted and I can’t help but think back to what I said last year. 2005 is a successful vintage that reflects terroir and winemaking more than weather and will need more time to be as approachable as 2004. This... Read moreAlba Wine Exhibition 2005 Barolo tasting notes Well the 2005 Barolos are tasted and I can’t help but think back to what I said last year. 2005 is a successful vintage that reflects terroir and winemaking more than weather and will need more time to be as approachable as 2004. This years tasting was a mixed crop and a challenge.  Many of the wines suffered from one defect or another, be those permanent, i.e. too much wood, too tannic, too extracted, not enough fruit, or temporary due to recent bottling or simply being closed.  Under all these defect lay some lovely wines with crisp, aggressive tannins and bright acids that together make for some rather intense experiences at this early stage and make tastings like these frequently less than pleasurable.  A few words about the format in which these wines were tasted. These wines were tasted over 3 days in 4-hour sessions each morning. I tried to spend time with each wine but even then I did have to move through these at rather a brisk pace, tasting about 20 wines each hour. The wines were tasted blind and offer a snapshot of what that particular bottle showed me in that particular moment of time. Due to the nature of this tasting, rather large with about 50 people tasting at more or less their own pace, the wines I got were exposed to more or less time in the open bottle. That is not entirely true as all the bottles were uncorked each morning but my point is just to be clear that from some bottles I received the first pour, from some the last, and for most somewhere in between. All these factors may, or may not, account for some rating that seem to be aberrations. For example the wines of one of my favorite producers, Giuseppe Rinaldi showed rather oddly, with one wine being oxidized while the other was simply dirty. These were my opinions of the wines but several other tasters also shared these opinions so at a minimum it was characteristic of at least some of the bottles opened that day. Bartolo Mascarello’s Barolo was also a surprise, though less concerning, as it offered very little of interest at this stage. I have faith that the wine will improve but recorded my note as I wrote it. Other wines that I was able to taste later at their respective cantinas tended to show better than the wines from these tastings. So what does that mean for all of these scores, well not terribly much other than tasting is an imperfect art and these large tastings, will offering an invaluable opportunity to try wine are less than ideal to render definitive judgments. I think wines that showed well or that I liked, are good wines and I was lucky to catch them at an opportune moment. Other wines I did not like and the reasons are amply illustrated in the corresponding notes. I only found a few wines to be downright bad.  All in all I continue to be a fan of 2005 Barolo and think that time will be kind to most of these wines.   92-93   Brovia Rocche (Castiglione Falletto)- another fine blend of herbal and ripe fruit tones, almost salty with baked clay, raspberry coulis, spicy strawberry and aromatic seed notes, rich fruit up front, density balanced crisp, fine cherry/raspberry fruit, really well framed, admirable freshness and concentration, nice background herb and spice notes, ripe tannins, a touch of melon rind, a little tarry tobacco tone, really nice finish with pure fruit and spice, very complete wine, 92-93   91-92   Bocchino Eugenio La Serra (La Morra)-  sour nose, stinky nose, fleshy nose, very nice nettle notes in the background, really penetrating and pure with a note of heavily used and sweaty work glove, spice, earth fennel and tea,  fine balance in the mouth, ripe sour cherry, lovely backing notes of dried herb, citrus tones, real energy here without being noticeably acidic, elegant, real harmony in the mouth, fresh zesty finish, with ripe tannins, a bit short but still a very strong showing 91-92 Guido Porro Santa Caterina (Serralunga) - limestone, more simmering raspberries, stern, tough and medicinal with a taut nervous quality to the nose, deep, aromatic and earthy with a clean fresh quality and lovely closed in fruit, very precise, very focused, very dark almost bitter fruit, fine tannins, really nice ripeness coupled with freshness here, licorice and medicinal top note over bitter fruits, very fine finish, Very tense and almost astringent red fruits, really good length and balance 91-92 Brovia Ca’ Mia (Serralunga) -sweet  jammy,  a touch of powdered sugar, real intensity, a handful of green herbs and flowers, clay soil, old worn wood, , a touch diffuse, nice and fresh a touch simple but very well balanced, ripe tannins, integrated acids, feels like this has some nice depth, a touch of licorice on the backend, some of the best depth so far 91-92 Vietti Rocche (Castiglione Falletto)- deep liquory black raspberry fruit, a touch of salame,  touch hot, a touch briary, a little powdery limestone,  nice oily herbs, a bit closed feeling, good density, a touch chewy, lurking freshness, a touch monolithic, a little bit inky, but rather light on its feet for that character, a touch of boysenberry , spicy fruit, intense and deep, a nice mineral cut on the backend, good length, more liquory fruit emerges on the backend, this will improve, 91-92     90-91   Marcarini La Serra (La Morra) -  deep earthy lightly smoky liquor of wild raspberry, poppy seeds, fine floral notes, orange rind, very chamomile herbal and fresh, lean and crisp, juicy fruit has a lovely herbal character, fine tannins, very well balanced in the mouth, classically proportioned with good length to the sour cherry and slightly gamy fruit,  90-91 Andrea Oberto Vigneto Brunate (La Morra)-  cinnamon spice, roast beef, spicy cherry pie filling, gamy and rich, nice complexity with dried grass notes, chewing gum and menthol, quite sweet on entry, nice austere tannins, a bit fruity styled but in this style quite well done, a blend of dark dried strawberry fruit, earth, and classic structure, quite rich and chewy, nice finish with a brisk feel, lots of wine with a nice, spiced slightly balsamic finish 90-91 Oddero Brunate (La Morra)-  lightly jammy and with lovely aromatic wood notes, a touch of beef blood, church candle,  spiced peach jam,  nice aromatic array,  sweet fruit, polished fine tannins, well integrated acidity, nice harmony then a touch dull on the back end, where it gets a bit muddy, a bit rich for the vintage and a bit weighty, but with good intensity of flavor, savory, delish 90-91 Podere Luigi Einaudi nei Cannubi (Barolo)- a bit jammy and fudgy but with lovely nuanced peach, thistle, clay, and briary cherry fruit, smooth polished entry, clean and precise wild cherry fruit, a lovely note of old wood and almost popcorn, nice and lean with ranier cherry fruit and dusty earth note, a hint of licorice with some very fresh floral and bitter herb notes, cleansing finish, is a bit short, nice lean style 90-91 Bric Cenciurio Coste de Rose (Barolo)- a bit sweet at first then turning gamy, with sort of feral animal notes and fairly precise raspberry fruit, nice to smell, with right complex fruit tones and a touch of cigarette tobacco and camphor, this has lots of sweet fruit but remains vibrant and taut in the mouth, lacks just a bit of complexity to really show well, but there is incipient, smoke, herbs, camphor and spice notes that are on the rise and show well on the back end, tannins are well managed good length, nice touch of polish but this a sweetly fruity style that helps in a vintage like this 90-91 Damilano Cannubi (Barolo)-  more bitter cherry, earthy, slightly brothy, tight rose note,  lots of white earth,  lovely young balanced nose, a slight root beer bitterness on the nose, camphor - bitter fruit entry is very nice, richly fruited but not fruity,  with a nice spice tone, fresh fruits, crisp tannins, very well balanced medium scaled Barolo with lovely fruit and incipient complexity, camphor and spice on the long finish, stern and aggressive but I like this 90-91 Giorgio Scarzello (Barolo)- deep and pungent with earthy, minerally dark cherry fruit, a hint of wood, but precise and focused, nice tension in the mouth, a bit of dilution but still well concentrated and balanced with a hint of elegance, in a rustic style, lovely green citrus fruit tones and tarry add depth and complexity, fine and intense with a good finish that features spice, mineral and aromatic wood tones 90-91 Oddero Mondoca di Bussia (Monforte) -  frutti del bosco tart with apricot glaze, spice, nicely smoky undertone, a touch of prosciutto and a hint of wildflower, raspberry,  a nice concentrated entry then really drawn to the back of the mouth by fine acids, tannins are fairly well polished, a nice sour cherry and sandalwood core, raspberry tone, turns a bit hard on the finish but nice length,  90-91 Gemma Giblin (Monforte) - dirty, some eggs, yellow berry fruits, sour meats, pork, dried meats, rainier cherry, nice ripeness, a sweet caressing character, a bit weird but with a friendly feel, different, easy, burnished, bacon fat, butchers wax, barbershop, fresh. Clean, a bit lean but not taut, perhaps a bit simple and maybe not super varietal but as wine very likable 90-91 Poderi Colla Dardi le Rose (Monforte) -  very dark and earthy smelling, limestone cut, face powder, gentle herbal and floral tones, a bit on the elegant side, nice and bright, sour cherry fruit, fresh tannins, very fresh style, clean, rosehips in alcohol on the backend, very drinkable , nicely balanced good length, a touch leathery, I like this, 90-91 Mauro Veglio Castelletto (Monforte)- lovely nose at first then very menthol, and fresh,  a touch of leather, nice macerated herb and hot rocks note,  big smooth, and polished, bright acids, juicy, finely polished tannins, good depth again a bit suave, but with nice flavors and a touch of finesse,  clean brisk and very drinkable 90-91 Guido Porro Lazzairasco (Serralunga) - reticent nose, tight and closed but with leather, precise red fruits, a very gentle simmering raspberry sweetness, rainwater, cherry juice, rich yet very well composed with a lean yet muscular character, nice freshness in the mouth, polished tannins, a touch diffuse across the mp but with really nice purity,  finishes with lift and nice grabby yet polished tannins, a very dried earthy note, very fresh with a little camphor on the finish, 90-91 Gemma Colarej (Serralunga) -salame, earthy and gamy, dried cherry, roast meat, greengage plum, nice sweet fruit, with that dank cellar note adding a hint of complexity,  soft, quite evolved, fairly complex flavors that lack some freshness but have a nice complex, rather evolved character to the earthy, dried bitter root, very slight chinato feel to them, there’s a nice core of rather classically presented medicinal cherry fruit,  finishes with menthol, and dried fruits but freshness, and a touch of dried meats, seems a bit too evolved but very enjoyable, 90-91 Schiavenza Prapo (Serralunga) -jammy raspberry, sweetish, kind of fruity,  a nice iron and peppery note, with a black spice at it’s core, a bit flabby acid, nice and crisp texture, cool fruits restrained and balanced, nice purity to the black fruit flavors, good intensity builds with black fruits on the finish, with a long menthol laden finish, a bit rustic but I like, vitamins on the finish 90-91 Vietti Castiglione (Castiglione Falletto)- nice intensity herbal front loaded, spicy, gamy, bright red, lingonberry/cranberry, clay, tobacco, fresh, a little hops maybe, fresh and crisp, a touch dilute but still in balance, almost chewy, soft, ripe tannins, integrated acidity, bitter cherry fruit, almost a touch of hops in the mouth then liquory black raspberry fruit, a touch clay, a touch, sandalwood, black cherry finale, with a bit of spiciness, nice soil note on the return, 90-91 89-90 Cascina del Monastero Bricco Riund (La Morra)- lovely sweet fruit on the nose, wild raspberry, old briar pipe,, touch of menthol, touch of laurel, a touch of leather and some tea notes, a bit of hay, while the palate doesn’t fulfill the promise of the nose there is a nice gentle character that present the fruit of the nice nicely albeit with less intensity, pretty pure and well balanced with integrated acidity a touch lo licorice spice, nicely spiced red currant/lingonberry fruit, vibrant, good length, menthol length, 89-90 Fratelli Alessandria Monvigliero (Verduno)- sweet herbal, sweet wood, sweet floral, nice bit of soil, touch of meat, a touch of watermelon liquor, raspberry liquor, sandlewood, nice slightly chewy feel, easy and well balanced, very drinkable, engaging if lacking just a touch of freshness, nice ripe fruit tone, a bit of seashell, a very pleasant wine with good intensity of fruit, nice follow through, burnished notes on the finish, savory and long, with hint of bitter cherry, really grows on me, 89-90 Mario Marengo Brunate (La Morra)- lean, soil driven, tight, floral, violets, a touch white peppery, a base of fine ripe fruit, nice nose, sweet raspberry fruit, great acids, ripe tannins, structurally very nice, good balance and even a touch of elegance here, very nice medium weight and medium intensity wine, again sour cherry, grapevine, and light spice flavors, very drinkable, could use a bit more complexity 89-90 Ascheri Vigna dei Pola (Verduno) -macerated flowers, bologna, yellow cherry, over-ripe, nice soil notes, some tar, lean, fresh and crisp and actually fairly attractive in the mouth with good crisp focus, refreshing, well balanced, a bit shallow flavor wise but lovely and relatively ready, a strange wine, good feathery finish, 89-90 Cascina del Monastero Bricco Luciano (La Morra)- some sweet wood on the nose, kind of candied but very spicy, vanillin,  nice mouth feel, lots of bright juicy acids, well done with a lithe feel and the tannins are superfine here, a bit of licorice and sandy soil tones, some chalk,  pretty light on the finish as well, admirable freshness 89-90 Giorgio Scarzello Vigna Merenda (Barolo)- pretty closed, a really minerally core rocks, to the tight fruit here, this has potential, closed in the mouth as well but there is fine balance here if a touch dilute, nice core of extracted but traditional fruit, this is closed like a book and the pages are showing only their edges, but the book may turn out to be interesting, nice bitter cherry fruit, the finish shows hints of the ripe fruit with lots of menthol and sandalwood spice tones, a lot of potential for the vintage, 89-90 Barale Cannubi (Barolo)- nice depth, aromatic dried herbs, slightly candied, slightly medicinal, a touch of roastedness here, nicely done, a bit to the tannic side but with plenty of bitter cherry fruit to balance it, there’s a nice streak of violet pastille here as well adding complexity, plenty of tannins and they are a touch astringent, really nice fruit with depth and emerging hints of complexity especially the inner mouth florality, aggressive and slightly menthol on the finish but I really like were I see this going 89-90 Cascina Adelaide Cannubi (Barolo)- lovely herbal/citrus notes on the nose, definite agrumi nose with some brambly edges creeping in and a touch of smoke and roast meat, nicely polished tannins, nice depth to the treebark tinged, quinine tinged bitter cherry fruit, quite perfumed in the mouth with roses and wild raspberry tones,  nice long savory finish with lovely layered earthy spice notes on the finish, long finish with vibrant acids 89-90 Vietti Lazzarito (Serralunga) - lots of ripe fruit, violets, a bit of coffee oak integrated with spicy black plum tones, lots of coffee, lean and crisp in the mouth with bitter mineral and earth tones, lots of almost plummy but not sweet fruit, a bit too much wood tannin, lacks a bit of detail but quite powerful with polished tannins and nice cut and focus, tannins turn a bit woody on the back end too but finishes with good length, 89-90 Cascina Luisin Leon (Serralunga) - intense nose, spicy, jammy cinnamon(-), really fruit driven though not fruity,  with well integrated non toasty oak, nice mouthfeel, a bit loose but with nice balance to the crisp tannins and integrated acids, rather sleek and smooth, all around well done, very refreshing finish, a bit short, again not a particularly fruit driven wine but with good length 89-90 Cavallotto Bricco Boschis  (Castiglione Falletto)- savory, wild raspberry liquor, clay, brushfire, deep for the vintage, slight herbal notes some spicy strawberry seeds, touch of bitter almond, a bit chewy, nice fruit tones, a bit black raspberry, nice mineral note, fresh, wild cherry on the mp, subtle but with nice complicating notes of sandalwood, a hint of caraway, dark spice tones, fairly complete if a touch chunky, nice finish, lots of fruit tannin, a bit spicy, more bitter almond on the finish, should improve, 89-90 Tenuta Montanello (Castiglione Falletto)- very woodsy, forest floor, river rocks, mineral water, wild raspberry liquor, a bit lean smelling but fresh and transparent, and a bit fleshy, refreshing, a nice bitter herb tone balances the fresh, crisp raspberry fruit, a bit simple but nice mouthfeel, nice finish cleansing and clean, not great but very drinkable 89-90 Franco Conterno Vigna Pugnane (Castiglione Falletto)- sappy, herbal, taut and nervous, a touch of seaweed, spicy green and lovely, a bit of wood intrudes in the back, fresh and crisp with plenty of ripe strawberry fruit, nicely balanced pure vibrant fruity little wine, a touch easily styled but to it’s advantage, strawberry seeds perhaps a touch of bitter greens lurking but lovely refreshing wine, gains fruitiness, short finish though 89-90 88-89 Gianfranco Bovio Vigna Gattera (La Morra)-  raspberry jam, salt, over-ripe, menthol, chalk, fresh and easy, nice fruity styled wine, the traditional version of above, a bit restaurant styled but nice freshness and lovely orange and lime zest accents to the well proportioned core of ripe berry fruit, lean and nervous,  short finish 88-89 Marcarini Brunate (La Morra)- lightly smokey, a touch sweet, nice raspberry fruit tones, light grilled meat, sweet entry, nice fruit, good balance here with fresh acidity and ripe tannins, a little  soft perhaps but with good depth to the funghi and spearmint tinged, sour cherry fruit, a touch short, nice and drinkable 88-89 Tenuta l’Illuminata Tebavio (La Morra)- lightly smoky a nice sweet raspberry tone, a touch of mint, nice fresh, layered and balanced, a bit loose at first then gains some grip, nice retrained fruit with a bit of sweetness yet firmly in the fresh, crisp end of the spectrum, nice ripe tannins, clean crisp finish, nice balanced fell, smaller wine but a nicely done wine, 88-89 Mauro Sebaste (Barolo)-quinine, old tree bask, forest floor, spicy mushrooms, very aromatic, sauvage but appealing, nice concentration this has a bit of flesh with bitter cherry, medicinal and earthy tones in balance, a bit of finesse even, for the vintage, nicely done and growing inner mouth perfume, a flush of green herb on the rather languid finish 88-89 Marchese di Barolo Sarmassa(Barolo) -  nice fresh green herb notes, are subtly infused with a bit of coffee oak in the white peppery, roast beefy tinged slightly roasted black cherry fruit, cool and taut, with a sinewy quality, nice fruit here  a bit of oak is obvious but well integrated, nice purity to the fruit though it has a bit of sweetness, nice lift on the backend and into the finish with is a touch cedary but fairly long 88-89 Brezza Sarmassa (Barolo)- nice and aromatic, plenty of sandalwood and rosehips, with nice cranberry and raspberry fruit tones, and a touch of spearmint, shows nice concentration up front, a more gentle character nice depth to the slightly simple, but burnished cherry, spice, tobacco and aromatic wood tinged mp, leads to a relatively long bright finish, nicely done and with upside potential, 88-89 Fratelli Barale Castellero (Barolo)-sandalwood slathered in raspberry coulis, very clean, lightly spiced, , some nice spiced peach tones, a hint of green tobacco,  a bit chewy, perhaps a bit extracted as well but with nice cherry toned fruit backed by acidity that keeps this lively and vibrant, it’s a touch leathery with the tannins taking hold on the mid-palate, perhaps to much tannin but his is juicy and tasty if a touch simple,  very strong finish, lots of tannin but a lovely core of fresh, crisp fruit with good length 88-89 Virna Borgogno Cannubi Boschis (Barolo)- angelica root and quinine, this is very medicinal and wildly dried herbal smelling, really interesting dried alpine floral, herbal tea tones, lots of tea here, more herbal tea on the palate as well, there is some bitter cherry fruit here as well but the profile is completely unusual with great big herbs, pollen, earth, and middle Easter spice notes, tons of camphor and curry and middle eastern spice on the finish, totally different an worth a look 88-89 Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate-Le Coste (Barolo)- slightly dirty old school nose, dirty and funky, with lots of cola and  herb notes, nice cool entry crisp ranier cherry fruit then turning funky and earthy again, a touch dilute but a nice flavor profile, the tannins are ripe and well managed, a bit lean but with a nice herbal, fruit, licorice array and a hint of sweet ripeness,  nice spicy soil tones, and eggshells on the long finish, I can see this getting better 88-89 Cascina Ballarin Bussia (Monforte) - very nice start, clean clear and penetrating, some wood but adding nice spice tones, sandalwood, pencil wood, a bit of patisserie,  very bright acids, polished tannins, nice focus across the palate, a touch austere but with plenty of fruit,  savory burnished wood character to the nice core of fruit, a hint of sweetness returns on the moderately long finish with a nice cherried note, 88-89 Alessendria Fratelli Gramolere (Monforte)   -  slight jammy lingonberry,  hard,  nice taut neb nose,  a bit closed but a nice mineral underlay,  sour cherry upfront, fine tannins, a bit fat/flabby/overdone, god if lacking a bit of character, nice fruit with a sour edge and acids integrated and highlighting this bright berry/raspberry fruit tone, good length, a bit of clay spice on the finish 88-89 Franco Conterno Cascina Sciulin Bussia Munie (Monforte)   -  macerated cherry and floral notes, a bit talcy/sandy, a bit fleshy, smells hard -  hard, cool, crisp feel, not much rather light in the mouth, clean, sour yellow cherry, a touch of lardo, aromatic animal fat,  nice persistence with a nice finish, good length cleansing, brisk and precise.nice fruit notes on the finish but so compressed 88-89 Stroppiana Oreste Gabutti Bussia (Monforte)   -   lots of autumnal character, dried floral tones a touch of bresaola, menthol, penetrating and deep,  sweet fruit, slight dried fruit character, supple tannins, nicely balanced an approachable today with a nice almost peach hint of sweet astringency then more red fruited with a touch of funghi too, zest finish, evolved perhaps but appealing, 88-89 Silvano Bolmida Bussia (Monforte)   -  wow, sweet fruit, big balsamic, earthy note, intense and fruity, a weird herbal red fruit tone, astringent red fruits, wild cherry, thick but then very taut with great acids, cleansing and bracing, nicely concentrated fresh fruits,  a tense, savory, tea, old wood finish, an intense wine, lots of character, good length, slightly medicinal, 88-89 Monti (Monforte)  - stone, dirt, reticent but nice, prosciutto fat, anise seed(green), not a lot going on but what’s there I like, cool in the mouth, soft tannins, a bit soft acids too, a nice core of clean sour cherry fruit,  a bit of dried middle eastern spice, lovely tannins ripe but crisp, would like to see this develop, 88-89 Massolino Margheria (Serralunga) -lovely liquory fruit, great captured fruit on the nose, with exotic notes of green seeds middle eastern spicy seeds, nice intensity just a touch of medicinal character and a hint of black cherry fruit,  a bit sweet up front then falling off but the palate holds it together just enough to maintain interest, a soft styled wine again with lovely pure if simple dark slight cooked raspberry/dried strawberry tones and a little bit of tension from the medicinal character which gains nice purity on the long finish 88-89 Paolo Manzone Serrlauna (Serralunga) -nice jammy fruit, then very soil driven talc and mineral and limestone, barbershop, medicinal,  a little light but very attractive, a bit chewy, a bit thin, nice black cherry, bitter fruit, meaty, fairly complex and nicely spicy with good balance on a smaller frame, really good intensity to the medicinal character but the fruit stays fresh and intense nice balance,  88-89 Schiavenza Broglio (Serralunga) -  jammy rosehips, medicinal, herbal, floral, deep, penetrating and intense with a sort of fruit backdrop that’s very appealing,  in the mouth this is a chewy and fairly deep, really crisp, fine tannins, a little austere, with potential 88-89 Giovanni Rosso la Serra (Serralunga) - spicy cinnamon toast and raspberry jam, rosehips and a nice medicinal/camphor note well integrated, rather sweet smelling but with root beer and aromatic herb notes but in a candied sweet style,  big and fresh in the mouth, nice herbal, medicinal background, fairly precise unsweet fruits, wild berry fruits, , clean feeling in the mouth, a bit antiseptic in the mouth, menthol, cool fruit, finishes a bit short, a nice package though could use more length 88-89 Livia Fontana (Castiglione Falletto)- lots of caramel, burnt sugar, wood, and earth, heavy, and deep with some nice backing notes of ripe herbs, actually this gains some nice focus but does seems to be sweet and then savory dried meaty,  nice fresh entry, arugula, a bit of root beer, fresh and linear, a bit simple and maybe a touch dilute, but lovely black cherry fruit and herbs with a long pure finish, may improve, 88-89 87-88 Renato Ratti Conca (La Morra)- sweet wood, furry, nice jammy wild raspberry fruit tones, pretty nose, rosehips and sweet fruitwood smoke, a touch of fruit stripes gum, fresh, easy, a bit hollow on the palate, successful restaurant style wine, drinkable with some nice sour cherry notes, a nice finish, solid if simple wine, the finish has some nice length 87-88 Gianfranco Bovio Vigna Arborina (La Morra)- some dusty sweet earth, orange zest, hint of dried herb/bay  - start with nice sweet fruit in the mouth, nice balanced structure, a bit of root beer/ beet root at it’s heart, nice sandalwood finish is quite long 87-88 Silvio Grasso Bricco Luciani (La Morra)-  heavier and sweeter on the nose, rather dense, slightly medicinal, lots of dried herb and chalk - bright and juicy, nice tannin structure, a bit low intensity flavors but the profile is very nice with bitter cherry fruit, earth, some subtle root tones, drying finish is a bit stern, good length 87-88 Rocche Costamagna Bricco Francesco (La Morra)- chewing gum and candy apple, wild strawberry in liquor, gains some focus with a touch of gaminess in the background, still a little jammy, light and fresh in the mouth, this feels pretty good with a lean, transparent character, low intensity a bit dilute, nice finish, drying but with nice follow through of savory and subtle fruit tone, 87-88 Luigi Einaudi Costa Grimaldi (Barolo)- prosciutto, pepper, alpine herbs, ricola, red fruit, a faint whiff of far away smoke, dilute but with decent flavors, a nice traditional feel, ripe fruit but dilute, a nice minerally tones, almost salty, a bit extracted on the finish but with nice follow through and the finish, a bit minty. Oaky spicy but good depth of flavors and decent length, a bit meaty, 87-88 Franceso Rinaldi Le Brunate (Barolo)- smells sweetly fruited, candied, roasted herbs, red fruit , touch of red hots, diluted, still some nice crisp, fresh wild raspberry fruits here with mineral tones and a lovely transparency, well made and very drinkable with the fruit gaining intensity on the back end and adding a blood orange note, good length, a nice wine 87-88 Giuseppe Rinaldi Cannubi San Lorenzo Ravera (Barolo)-  coffee candy, yuck, dirties up a bit, gains some nice old school notes, with a touch of oxidation showing, turning minty, dusty and old wood like, smells vaguely like a barn, loose up front but then showing some nice sweet/spicy fruitiness, there’s some cola, almost new world flavors here but there is this weird dichotomy between the old and the new, I am intrigued by this wine, its very complex in this line-up and really stands out but I am confused by it. 87-88 Germano Angelo Vigna Rue (Barolo)-  a touch dirty,  bresaola, prosciutto fat, Slavonian oak, smoky, nice freshness in the mouth a touch of backing green herb, a nice layered quality to the bitter root, slight bitter leafy greens notes that frames the solid bitter cherry fruit, not a block buster but good complexity and decent weight to buffer the structure, nice white earthy finish, menthol, a touch of drying herbs, decent length 87-88 Famiglia Anselma (Barolo)-sweet strawberry fruit, woody, spicy, some spicy cinnamon, nice intensity of aromatics, even some herbs and agrumi, sweet right up front, integrated tannins, very spicy mid-palate with lots of licorice and cinnamon character, a touch of floral character, lots of chewy fruit, perhaps a bit extracted but nicely done though the oak intrudes a bit on the back end 87-88 Giacomo Fenocchio Bussia (Monforte)  - very nice fruit, rosehips in alcohol, almost salty wild berry fruit tones, nice nose modest intensity and complexity but interesting, a bit thin on the palate, just barely fruited, a bit extracted tannins,  an austere style but with attractive fruit tones, a tough wine but not without interest and potential, 87-8 Josetta Saffirio Persiera (Monforte)  -   jammy with some cooked fruit character, some smoldering wood,  very fluid, very drinkable, fresh cherry fruit, spiced lightly, nice fruity style wine, good acids, easy drinking, not complicated but enjoyable for its well captured ripe, succulent fruit, very clean finish, this is very drinkable and very friendly 87-88 Bruna Grimaldi Badarini Vigna Regnola (Serralunga) - a bit hot, peppery, cinnamon spicy, quite refreshingly herbal, nice entry with earthy tannins, good acids, a bit diffuse,  pretty soft tannins but nice ripe, slightly herbal fruit that is refreshing and with good depth,  nice spicy finish, well done, 87-88 Luigi Pira Vigna Marenca (Serralunga) - nice jammy fruit, black fruits, black raspberry,  a pretty fruit driven nose,  with some nice stemmy herbal background tones,  and touched of leather and camphor,  a bit flaccid in the mouth, really doesn’t follow up the nice aromatics, the flavors gain some intensity but are low key if nice with authentic medicinal character juxtaposed against a smaller raspberry toned fruit, big tannins on the finish, 87-88 Luigi Pira Vigna Margheria (Serralunga) - a bit more smoky loamy styled tight, hard masculine and dark, a bit loose in a focused slightly extracted style a bit too much power here and not balancing the crisp ripe fruit, good inner mouth aromatics though, this is powerful and intense and will last a long time with a very long, very medicinal black fruited finish but there is a lot of structure to loose here, 87-88 Palladino Vigna Brolio (Serralunga) -weirdly woody, raw woody but with bay and herb lurking, lots of medicinal herbal character, a bit beefy,  very fresh in the mouth with good focus, clean and crisp, some elegance here, nicely measure but marred a bit by the pencil wood,  nice savory finish, good length, 87-88 Paolo Manzone Meriame (Serralunga) -lots of herb, sour cherry, and slightly medicinal character, clean and fairly pure, smells of biter cherry, lithe in the mouth, almost elegant, a bit lacking in depth, softer styled, nice flavors a nice almost spicy macerated cherry note, really nice fruit, well presented good integrated acids, succulent 87-88 Giovanni Rosso Serralunga (Serralunga) -kind of precise, cool fruit, a bit of fine oak in here but not offensive, cool lingonberry jam, a touch of chocolate bitter, cedary, nice concentration very fine grained tannins, good acidity, round and with follow through but a bit simple, 87-88   86-87   Franco Molino Cascina Rocca - Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra)- fruity nose, lots of raspberry, simple but fresh and nice, a little milky, a touch of saw dust,  light and crisp, very fresh and well balanced with herb tinged red raspberry fruit, lovely purity, simple, clean a+ restaurant wine, falls a bit flat on the finish though still good intro Barolo 86-87 Bel Colle Monvigliero (Verduno) -  intensely celery seed, celery , herbal, fresh, seashells, smoky, slightly weedy, burning brush pile, spicy seeds, turmeric, cardamom,  nice entry, a touch dilute but with nice intense dark cherry fruit, lacks some definition, good purity and decent harmony, finishes very strong with a nice core of ripe but not sweet fruit and decent length, a bit more spiced on the finale, I want to drink a bit of this, 86-87 Mario Gagliasso Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra)- roses, rosehips, vitamins, slightly distant smoky, wild strawberry jam, touch of dried peach, lovely classic profile, simple on the palate, a bit dilute, nice freshness and balance, ripe tannins, perhaps this will improve but for now this lacks intensity though the flavors are pleasant and true, herb tinged bark raspberry, soil tones, it’s has very classic character if a touch wood spicy, nice finish of good length, I want to like this more, 86-87 Mauro Veglio Vigneto Gattera (La Morra)- brownie, fudgy, peach jam, nice spice notes, a touch of dandelion, mineral water, talc, white pepper, a bit of a let down on the mp, simple, but with a decent core of ripe cherry fruit, a nice backend with more savory character, finishes strong with good follow through to the ripe fruit character and nice round tannins, cinnamon finale 86- 87 Andrea Oberto Vigneto Rocche (La Morra)-  nice herbal, slightly medicinal, slightly anise driven nose, a little woody but not enough to obscure the fruit a touch of funghi and some drying leaves,  with some sweet fruit, nice and taut in the mouth, fine tannins, good polish, nice fruit with briarwood and dried herb notes,  nice acidity, drying on the backend leading to a nice savory, briary finish,  86-87 Monfalletto Bricco Gattera (La Morra)- this really has nice intensity, there’s a rose tone, a little vanillin, chalk, very dried orange zest, really nice nose, a bit fat and loose up front, then gains nice focus, a lot of burnished fruit, dried strawberry, pretty rich and chewy on the mp, very good intensity of fruit, no finish or follow through, 86-87 Mario Gagliasso Torriglione (La Morra)- woody, cinnamon, white pepper, a nice weedy tone, some nice fruit gains a grip with that background herb note and nicely measure sour cherry/red currant fruit, a touch of bitterness adds some tension with a hint of root beer, a bit woody tannin on the finish but not bad 86-87 Mauro Molino Vigna Conca (La Morra)-  a bit of VA, sweet cherry, passion fruit, kafir lime leaf, very high toned, very aromatic, a touch of diesel, a touch of brett, thick and rich up front, lots of fruit here, a bit monolithic but can’t deny the intensity of the dark cherry fruit, some mineral tones add cut, chalky tannins, could improve but seems to show quite some promise, ends with a bit of drying wood tannin, really drying 86-87 Gianni Gagliardo Cannubi (Barolo)- dirty and old smelling, very brothy at first, cleans up slightly but remains curiously evolved smelling with a strong licorice character, soft tannins and acid, pretty rich and chewy, shows better in the mouth than on the nose with fairly big and intense monolithic fruit, decent but lacks enough tension to remain interesting though it is pretty packed with lovely ripe fruit, may pull itself together, coffee on the finale 86-87 Brezza Cannubi (Barolo)-  herbal and floral nose with some background cola spice,  more macerated wild cherry, clumps of weeds with fresh dirt  a bit of chalk, fresh and taut,  a bit languid on entry, firming up slightly but this remains a bit closed in the mouth, nice fruit a touch of smoky campfire but it doesn’t pull itself together, a little medicinal mint tannins are nice, decent 86-87 Franceso Rinaldi Cannubbio (Barolo)- sweetly fruited, a touch of peach here, sour cherry, burnt match stick, a bit dilute, nice ripeness but easy styled with moderately intense wild cherry fruit, a bit more structure than fruit, a touch of watermelon and almost minty spice, 86-87 Michele Chiarlo Cannubi (Barolo)- sweet and candied nose, root beer,  some baked goods, extracted, heavy, but deep and intense with chewy, dark, opaque fruit, this might just come around as it has a lovely minerality that really cuts through the huge fruit and finishes with intense cooling menthol and dark, earthy note, even a hint of dark tobacco on the moderately long finish 86-87 Costa di Bussia Tenuto Arnulfo (Monforte)  -   pine, bay, pressed flowers,  cool, a little thin but with nice typical sour cherry and almost leather fruit, perfectly nice little wine, 86 -87 Aldo Conterno Colonello (Monforte)  -  jammy, pencil shavings, some animale, furry, reticent, a bit ungenerous, and dried out, there’s a sweetness here but not terribly fruity nor varietal, very savory, turns better on the finish, nice tannins ripe tannins, refreshing finish, clean, a small wine 86-87 Josetta Saffirio (Monforte)  -   barrels, way too much barrels, smoky oak and extracted fruit,  has a nice vegetal character hiding behind though,  big fruit, really nice vegetal herbal flavors but the texture is a bit goopy, , really extracted black cherry fruit on the back end, I can see this being very popular 86-87 Silvano Bolmida Vigne dei Fantini (Monforte)  -  big balsamic tones, lots of dried meats, spicy wood tones, really fresh, and exhibiting nice ripeness, nicely fleshy, nicely fresh good refreshing acids, nice ripe tannins, nice herbal and dried earth notes, nothing immediate but subtle and sophisticated with a nice savory finish, 86 -87 Gianfranco Alessandria San Giovanni (Monforte)  -  smells like wood flooring, sweet, then menthol,  nice focus, a bit of an extracted feel, nice slightly medicinal fruit, a bit woody feeling, nice cool fruit, very good ripeness, quite drying but flavorful, 86-87 Marziano Abbona Pressenda (Monforte)  -   nice aromatic nose with a touch of sweet wood contrasting the menthol, savory crisp fruit,  a bit thick and fat, nice richness, flabby though, popular style , restaurant wine, fruity, nice fruit,  86-87 Fontanafredda Serrlaunga (Serralunga) -jammy and herbal very nice green herb notes,  deep ripe fruit and fresh notes nice dichotomy,  a bit hollow, nice flavors but rather low key, ordinary,  lots of tannin on the back end and the finish, a bit innocuous, some nice licorice and menthol on the finish 86 -87 Pio Cesare (Multi commune) -   sweet dried wood tones on the nose, leathery, nice precise fruit, dark fruit, cool in the mouth, good focus, spicy, menthol, floral tones, tight coiled and with good length 86-87  Ascheri (Multi commune) -    smoky, sour wood, sour meats, floral toned, sandalwood, lightly spiced,  fresh in the mouth, a bit of sweetness up front, a touch stern and ungiving, nice sour cherry, nice length, could improve 86-87 Roccheviberti Rocche di Castiglione (Castiglione Falletto)- a bit coffee toned but with nice, herb, sand and white pepper tones, a bit stemmy even,  cool and fresh, almost under-ripe to it’s advantage, easy drinking, simple, easy with nice Nebbiolo fruit, 86-87 Monfalletto Enrico VI (Castiglione Falletto)- nice, sweet briar wood, menthol, rosehips, grass, small flower notes, chamomile, touch of wild strawberry, fresh, a bit dull and lifeless, but with an nice hard candy note this gains a little focus on the backend with it’s simple ludens cough drop note, nothing special but not bad, sweet fruit on the finish is more smith brothers black cherry, nice for what it is 86-87   85-86   Stroppiana Oreste Vigna San Giacomo (La Morra)- lots of cigar box with some fudginess, tobacco, herb, chalk and spice,  a nice core of sweet fruit is small scaled and a little out  of balance with the structure, decent with some background oily herb notes to the dark fruit, but not particularly interesting, 85-86 Cascina Adelaide Preda (Barolo)- meaty, roast herb, roast meat, roast green vegetable, shallow and slightly swampy, nice feel, decent depth, ok dark cherry fruit, nice freshness but again not much depth though this has a bit of engaging elegance, 85 -86 E Pira Cannubi (Barolo)-  a little sweeter, a little jammy, smoky herbal, a touch of coffee, a touch of bitter roots, a bit of fizzy acids on the tongue, not much detail, bitterness, perhaps a bit too extracted, tannins are bitter, nice fruit in there but not particularly fresh or elegant, a bit of coffee in the mouth as well, dark fruited finish is moderately long, too tannic. 85-86 Abbona Marziano Ravera (Barolo)-  sweet herbs, sweet spearmint, high toned and pitched nose, with a touch of bacon - dilute palate, a bit of chewiness here, some nice raspberry tones with a touch of earth, and spice on the backend relatively long and fresh finish 85-86 Giacosa Fratelli Bussia (Monforte)  -   a big woodsy nose, confiture of bitter cherry, intense if monolithic, but very clean and fresh, a nice menthol top note, pretty sweet entry then a bit thin, shiny and hard though the sour cherry and herbal/citrus toned fruit is pleasant, a bit thin but nice 85-86 Monti Bussia (Monforte)  - dark, dirty, earthy, charry, spiced, antiseptic,  a bit lean in the mouth, nice quality to the tannins up front, good acids, nice feel,, decent earthy flavors, drying, inelegant but with some character,  tough and drying, some nice length too, 85-86 Giovanni Sordo Sori Gabutti (Serralunga) - light fresh nose, fresh leather, rocks, passionfruit, red currant, low intensity,  smells astringent, nice mouthfeel, polished tannins, good flesh, a bit loose on the mp but with lots of medicinal character, bitter fruits, a bit simple but very typical, lots of tannins on the finish 85-86 Massolino Parafada(Serralunga) - a fair amount of smoky oak here, still some medicinal character, lacks detail, nicely managed tannins, an easier mouthfeel, a bit of chewy extract, lacks follow through, short, 85-86 Ettore Germano Prapo (Serralunga) -diesel, lots of herbal character, macerated herbs, macerated flowers,  the nose is interesting, the mouth is a bit flat and uninteresting with decent fruit and a nice herbal flourish but nothing special 85-86 Rivetto (Serralunga) -a bit cooked, spicy, clovey,, bresaola,   cool, not much intensity, balanced, a nice wine, but without much detail, nice fruit on the finish, very fresh, nice seeds strawberry toned finish 85-86 Monchiero (Castiglione Falletto)- a bit leathery, bretty, gamy, nice medium weight, pretty feel but a bit on the dirty side, not necessarily rustic but a bit odd, good length, nice return of wild yellow cheery, sapid,  85-86 84-85   Bosco Agostino (La Morra)-speck, tons of cured meat character, a touch of black pepper, savory, a nice herbal touch, a bit too coffeed, meaty and slight herbal up front, coffee cream on the mp, some nice cherry fruit, a matte and indistinct backend, has an interesting character, I would try again, 84-85 Cascina Ballarin Bricco Rocca (La Morra)-  lots of sweet wood, talc, - lots of wood, nice flavors under the wood, a bit simple though a very burnished palate profile, lots of woody tones, good cherry fruit, too much tannin on the backend, short 84-85 Roberto Sarotto Audace (Barolo)-  bitter fruit, cedary, earthy, high acid soil, lean, focused, clean, fairly precise red fruits, very little complexity a touch of wood, and some spicy green fruit notes, lime zest, maybe even a touch of roast beef,  finishes with a touch of candied herbalness, 84-85 Prunotto (Barolo)- roasted fruit, balsamic, roasted meat, very fluid in the mouth, kind of refreshing but without much flavor or interest, nice bit of tar and biter raspberry, 84-85 Boroli Cerequio (Barolo)- deep and intense, rose, cherry, prugnie, spice and menthol tones, nice freshness and  nice limestone underlay, fresh up front, a bit shallow, decent fruit but a bit nondescript, falls off on the backend, ends short with lots of tannin, 84-85 Marchese di Barolo Cannubi (Barolo)- lots of flashy oak on the nose, sweet, candied, backing spice, praline nose, plush and polished with a sexy mouthfeel, good acids, fine tannins, very nice tannins for 2005, nice bitter cherry fruit but lacks any sweetness or gentleness, and pretty oaky in the mouth, not offensively so but close, very drying finish, 84 - 85 Giacomo Grimaldi Ravera (Barolo)- Rosehips, roasted strawberry, mint, roast beef drippings, some high toned notes, tarry and menthol decent fruit in the mouth, nice concentration, a bit of freshness but also a bit of matteness, good length, fruit on the finish, 84-85 Prunotto Bussia (Monforte) -  very jammy, lots of roses, sweet bay leaf,  sweet fruit on entry, then rather shallow and mostly uninteresting across the palate, theres some very fine sweet tannin here, but not much flavor interest, a bit of an earthy red fruit finale,  84-85 Elio Grasso Gavarini Chiniera (Monforte) -  smells like a cigar butt in apricot jam, smoky, tarry jammy, languid, nice acids, kind of soft and dilute, easy across the tongue with small austere tannins, finishes chalky with a touch of a tobacco tone, 84-85 Rivetto Giulin (Serralunga) -gamy, leathery,  candied herbs,  loose, not much here to work with, light, elegant perhaps, simple 84-85 Gigi Rosso Arione (Serralunga) -lots of apricot, smells like cedar and redwood, lightly jammy raspberry, quite floral but the pencil wood is noticeable,  lacks tension in the mouth, a bit fluid, a bit boring,  nice fruity notes accented with vanilla sugar tones, 84-85 83-84 Michele Chiarlo Cerequio (La Morra)- well integrated spicy wood tones, light cherry and rose, a bit of clay, soft and simple, nice, simple, easy, some fruit, some spice, neither good nor bad 83-84 Eugenio Bocchino Lu (La Morra)-  nice refreshing balsamic scents, intense pine needle, ripe fruit, fur,  amazing Christmas tree tone, much less interesting in the mouth, loose, without focus, some nice fruit and a touch of the balsamic character found on the nose but mostly a stripped flaccid wine,  nice fruit re emerges on the finish, so maybe it will fill in, 87-88 for the nose, 83-84 total Luciano Sandrone Cannubi Boshcis (Barolo)-fine oak notes, candied, candied raspberry leathery, nice fruit is a little simple,  a bit flaccid up front, lacks some vibrancy, nice deep fruit on the mp is monolithic and feels a bit extracted, heavy on the backend, no detail, extracted feel on the finish with a touch of nice earth adding a bit of complexity 83-84 Armando Piazzo (Barolo)- charcuterie and pork aspic,  it really smells like working with pork products, light, fresh, easy, simple, not interesting but far from offensive, 83-84 Giacomo Grimaldi le Coste (Barolo)- a bit of bubblegum on the nose, face powder, white pepper,  white cherry in alcohol,  easy style, a bit simple, not much detail, perhaps closed, nice feel, very finely polished tannins, a bit of mint and camphor on the finish, 83-84 Elvio Cogno Ravera (Barolo)- kind of sweet notes on the nose, some peach skin, minty fresh, earth and clay, a bit dilute, matte, anonymous, nice feel with a touch of chewy extraction, minty some nice cherry pit on the moderately long finish, 83-84 Damilano Liste (Barolo)- beef extract, deep fruit, something weird though, a bit of brett,?, leathery, with some poop, nice balance, nice tannins, crisp yet fine grained, dilute, not much heart here,  nice but really very little intensity, 83-84 Bergadano Cav. Enrico Sarmassa (Barolo)- heavy aromatics are sweet and fruity, fleshy clean and precise, with macerated cherry and flowers, a little caramel sweetness creeps in, dilute, nothing special, decent fruit, simple, not too bad 83-84 Luciano Sandrone Le Vigne (Barolo)- sweet oaked nose, coffee candy and smoke, some ham, lingonberry and mint, sweet oakiness right up front yields to a dilute mid-palate with nice flavors but really low key, but why? 83-84 Ettore Germano  Cerretta (Serralunga) -diesel, kind of nasty to smell,  chemical, clay,  big and rich, but hollow, nice tannins, a bit chewy, uninteresting but with building fruit, extracted feeling extracted tannins, 83-84 Terre da Vino Essenze (Multi commune) - clean, fresh, candied and slightly uninteresting,  slight herbal root character, nice herbal character in the mouth but lacks some backing fruit, easy to drink and refreshing, simple but the one flavor is enjoyable, very short 83-84 Palladino Parafada (Serralunga) -candied root beer, candied herbs, sour meats, raw wood, gingerbread cheesecake, very fluid in the mouth, flat, very little follow through, some bitter cherry, small scaled, a bit too much tannin for the spicy spice cake fruit 83-84 Francesco Sobrero Ciabot Tanasio (Castiglione Falletto)- jammy, over-ripe, white pepper, round, flaccid, nice wiry fruit of low intensity, indistinct, fresh feeling at least, 83-84 82-83   Gianni Gagliardo Serre (La Morra)- sweet herbal root beer tones, sandy soil, fur, blond tobacco, chalk, lean nose, a bit dead in the mouth, kind of dull dark wild cherry fruit, no detail, no depth, a blanket on the tongue, more nice dark cherry fruit on the finish but flat and dull, 82-83 Aurelio Settimo Rocche (La Morra)- stink on the nose, matchstick, cedar, lean, crisp mouthfeel, no real flavor interest, not much here, a hint of sour cherry, drying, simple and inoffensive, 82-83 Rocche Costamagna Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra)- weird chalk and chicken/fowl nose, sweet smelling, candied nose, with a touch of coffee, thin, poorly knit, shrill, nice finish with some raspberry fruit and with reasonable balance, 82-83 Vietti Brunate (La Morra) -  a bit heavy and dull, sweet with integrated wood and some nice spicy herbal tones, a bit smoky wood, a bit loose, lacks some focus, a bit dried out but with some nice pie filling fruit, seems to be a bit too tannic across the mp, spicy eucalyptus/vegetal tones but not refreshing, a bit heavy and dull 82-83 Bartolo Mascarello (Barolo)- campfire, then sweet herbs, a touch of bacon, some cola, weeds, very fluid in the mouth, softish tannins, some sweetness but not much else, not cloying but very little flavor at this stage. 82-83 Ruggeri Corsini Corsini (Monforte) - gamy, sweet wood, heavy, cloying, monolithic,  big in the mouth, good freshness but the fruit is chewy, and feels saturated and not in a particularly good way, thoroughly ordinary and almost cloying on the finish, 82-83 Rocche de Manzoni Santo Stefano di Perno (Monforte) - sweet wood, cigar box, oaky, some herbal character, sweet, lots of wood tannin on the mp, powerful with some liquory almost medicinal fruit on the mid-palate which shows nice promise on the finish before the wood tannins clamp down, 82-83 Parusso Mariondino Bussia le Costa Mosconi (Monforte/Castiglione) - passionfruit, particular French oak, vanilla, smoke, vanilla pipe tobacco, artificial fruit aromas, slightly chewy, innocuous, anonymous,  82-83 Cascina Cucco  Cerrati Vigna Cucco (Serralunga) -a bit jammy, a bit woody, nice cherry fruit, roses, smoky, baking spice,  a bit soft though the acid peeks out, not much on the palate, lean and dried out, though it is soft, with decent woody length, 82-83 Terre del Barolo (Multi commune) - cola, cali pinot,  cool in the mouth, light and easy, 82-83 Boroli Villero (Castiglione Falletto)- jammy, hot, menthol, jammy, hot, feels stripped,  liquory raspberry, sandalwood, rosehips, hot a little spicy 82-83 Terre da Vino Paesi Tuoi (Castiglione Falletto)-   jammy, spicy, liquory frutti del bosco, toast, caramel wood,  marshmallow,  weird candied jammy fruits,  cola, a bit dirty, a bit low key, not much to like fresh, lean, soft tannins, 82-83 Less than 82   Mauro Molino Gallinotto (La Morra)- diesel, real reduced veal stock where it gets kind of sickeningly intense, really sweet wood, some nice cherry fruit but really kind of simple and blah, no detail, no lift, no finish, 80-82 Eredi Lodali Lorens (Roddi)- sweet wood notes, lots of coffee, heavy, candied sweet and dull on the nose, dead in the mouth, fluid, without flavor or character, woody. 78-80 Renato Ratti Rocche (La Morra)-  passionfruit, lemon, wood, lemon pledge, stewy, cedar, a touch of mothball, nothing going on in the mouth, loose, some dark berry fruit, heavy tannins, kind of extracted, really tannic finish, not enough flesh, 78-80 Gianni Voerzio La Serra (La Morra)-  oaky and black raspberry preserves a little lactic, dried pear fruit,  thick up front then oaky and stripped, heavy but not sweet, dead in the mouth, bitter wood and cigar butt notes, a bit of whiskey on the finish, drying detailess 78-80 Aurelio Settimo (La Morra)-  hot, over-ripe jammy, indistinct,  very menthol, fluid, shallow, over-ripe, nasty 70-72 Virna Borgogno Preda Sarmassa (Barolo) -  quinine, horseradish, mint, dry compost heap, tomato paste,  very lean, nicely spiced, not any fruit, tannic, dry, some cola, , menthol and tannins on the finish 80-82 Rocche dei Manzoni Big’d Big (Monforte) -  candied, some dried lime zest perhaps lurking, has potential but not showing much today, big, low tannin, soft, broad but shallow, then a bit drying on the finish,  I don’t know  what to make of this, 80-82 Gianfranco Alessandria (Monforte)-  coffee candy, wood, cigar box, spicy cinnamon, tobacco candy, flat, flabby, hollow, totally uninteresting save a nice floral note on the finish 80-82 Costa di Bussia Campo de Buoi  (Monforte)-  bretty, like big time,  cool, crisp and fresh with front loaded sweet fruit then bretty mp, burnished drying, 78-80 Cascina Cucco Cerrati (Serralunga) -very sweet aromatic wood nose, flat in the mouth, neutral in the mouth, nice structure not much flavor 80-82 Fontanafredda la Rosa (Serralunga) -sweet candied root beer, cloying nose,  rather light on the palate though, much better than one would expect from the nose, but there’s not much flavor interest here and a rather watery finish, extracted tea quality, 80-82 Eredi Virginia Ferrero  San Rocco (Serralunga) -stinky, cidery, smells like ass, lots of dried pork character, off and just plain weird,  flat and bad, 70 Fratelli Giacosa Vigna Mandorlo (Castiglione Falletto)- medicinal, herbal, a touch of match stick, sour cherry, sour berry, a flat boring wine in the mouth 78-80 Livia Fontana Villero (Castiglione Falletto)- funky, very herbal and soil driven, eggshells, a bit of matchstick, lean, ungenerous, uninteresting, fresh finish, 80-82                            (hide)

  From the article Alba Wine Exhibition 2005 Barolo tasting notes

  
  

• May 2009

  Today was the final day of the Alba Wine Exhibition's grand tastings. the morning session today focused on the wines of Monforte and Serralunga. As usual I was tasting blind but I did notice when we moved from Monforte to Serralunga. That medicinal character of the wines really... Read moreToday was the final day of the Alba Wine Exhibition's grand tastings. the morning session today focused on the wines of Monforte and Serralunga. As usual I was tasting blind but I did notice when we moved from Monforte to Serralunga. That medicinal character of the wines really poppoed out immediately and while I am not sure what the wines were the fact that the wine exhibited their terroir today is a very promising sign indeed. Much like the past 2 days there was a lot of tough going. the tannins in these 2005s are not subtle, they are a touch dry, chewy and very youthful, and sadly there really isn't a shortage of additional wood tannins. Having said that 2005 is a vintage where one really gets to see why great crus are considered great, why great winemakers are considered great, and why certain villages in the Barolo region are so renowned. I think the strongest wines of the week have been those from Castiglione falletto and Serralunga with Monforte coming in a close second. I'll work on my notes, pairing each blind tasting note with the bottle tasted and then will post the notes soon, hopefully I'll get started by Sunday! Today was a rather slow day. After the morning tasting was over we had a leisurely lunch, asparagus and gnocchi in pesto for those interested, before heading off to visit a small producer in southern Monforte, Flavio Roddolo. The vines here are planted in steep hillsides just outside of the approved zone for Barolo though Flavio does have a plot of the ravera vineyard in Moforte for the production of Barolo. We tasted 2 very fine dolcettos, a solid barbera and Nebbiolo d'Alba and a powerful, scented Barolo. Surprisingly the surprise of the visit was the Bricco Appiani Cabernet Sauvignon. Yup, that's right a Cab! No new wood, the 2004 saw 2 years in used barrique and 2 years in bottle but deserves several more. it's plush and rich without any overt sweetness and backed with black currant fruit and rich but remarkably fine grained tannins. It was simly delicious and I couldn't help but drink a small glass. After the visit we went tot he village of Serralunga for a final tasting, featuring wines from both 1999 and 2004 vintages. by this point my mouth was pretty much shot, in all honest it hurt to smile so i pretty much just chatted with folks and had a few sniffs of wine here and there. Sorry to let you all down but even my mouth nees a break once in awhile! After the tasting it was off for our final dinner together, tonights not so god food wise but with plenty of good wine from producers like Ascheri, Rivetto, Oddero and Massolino! The 1999 Massolino Riserva Rionda was pretty impressive, the 1999 Oddero Mondouca, not as good as the bottle we had yesterday but fine. Both Ascheri and Rivetto had some nice wines and I had my first Naschetta, a white wine, from Rivetto. It's a lovely wine, nice almost tropical citrus toned, a bit of grass, green floral note, and a touch of spicy honeysuckle. Brisk in the mouth with lovely mineral bite. A really wonderful surprise! And that was pretty much it. Bus ride back to the hotel and here i sit in the Hotel Savonna at 12:47 in the morning. I can't wait to get to bed as tomorrow is another very full day! Notes and pictures to follow from Alba! Ciao    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Italy update 5 by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• May 2009

  It's late here in Alba and today was a very busy day with the early morning tasting focusing on the wines of La Morra, Verduno and Castiglione Falletto. Lots of nice wines today and certainly a more promising group that yesterdays wines from Barolo. I haven't had time to go through... Read moreIt's late here in Alba and today was a very busy day with the early morning tasting focusing on the wines of La Morra, Verduno and Castiglione Falletto. Lots of nice wines today and certainly a more promising group that yesterdays wines from Barolo. I haven't had time to go through my notes but after the tasting I did take a look at some of my highest rated wines, Brovia, Vietti , Marcarini and of course last years star Oddero all faired very well. Notes will be coming soon but I just don't have enough time in the day to get them up now. After a light lunch we headed over for a visit with Oddero. The wines at this venerable estate are really better than ever and even in the challenging 2005 vintage they managed to put together a great line-up. the Rocche seemed to be the star of this years line-up, last year I preferred both the Brunate and the Bussia. While at Oddero we got to sample a few back vintage wines. The 2001 Mondoca di Bussia is evolving slowly but with wonderful freshness and excellent length. really a very fine, cool crisp style of Barolo with a decidedly floral, dried herb tone to it. Even better was the 1999 Mondoca di Bussia, man this stuff is seamless. It is darker and more muscular than the 2004 and perhaps lacks some of that vintage's elegance but he expression of fruit, soil and spice tones is so perfectly balanced with the ripe, powerful structure that I couldn't stop tasting this wine. I swallowed it, and after spitting 100 wines that's saying something. If you find some at a good price buy it! After visiting Oddero we headed up to the Enoteca regional of La Morra for a retrospective tasting of the wine from La Morra, Verduno and Castiglione, 2004 and 1999. There were lots of lovely wines being shown and even more lovely producers. it was great to be able to touch base with so many familiar faces. I really need to go through my notes to find specific standout buts suffice it to say that the 2004's were fresh, crisp and elegance with excellent transparency while the 1999's have very ripe fruit and rich, intense structures built as much on acid as on tannin. They well be classic wines in due time while the 2004s remain approachable and with their precise balance are no doubt destined for a long life as well. After the tasting we headed off for a walk through a small section of La Morra's vineyards. We walked up to the Conca d'Anunziatta from which you can spin around and see vineyards like Arborina, Gattera, Montanello, Monrpivato, Bric del Fiasc, Villero, Preda, Cannubi and Rocche dell'Annunziata. On the way back to La Morra village for dinner we parked the car and strolled through Rocche dell'Annunziata before heading to dinner, another great meal. After dinner it was back to the lobby of the Hotel in Alba where I sit, at 1:30 am typing this! I have to run to bed since I'll be up in 6 hours for another day tasting 100 wines and while I won't be fresh I at least want to be awake. Monforte and Serralunga are on the list for tomorrow. I'll need all the rest I can get. Ciao for now!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Italy update 4 by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• May 2009

  I've been documenting much of my days here via posts on the Snooth Forum but to add some color I thought I'd do a little blogging so without further ado, a few photos from the top of the boot. You can follow along my travels in more detail here, but I'll briefly put a few of these... Read moreI've been documenting much of my days here via posts on the Snooth Forum but to add some color I thought I'd do a little blogging so without further ado, a few photos from the top of the boot. You can follow along my travels in more detail here, but I'll briefly put a few of these photos in context When I arrived in Italy I went basically from the airport to the Sella estate in Lesson, Northern Piedmont. We tasted a few wines with Cristiano the winemaker before visiting the summer home of the Sella family, now siting preserved but unused. A photo from thetop floor balcony shows the warmth here, check out the palm tree, as well as the encrouchment of housing that has virtually replaced the vineyards in this area. Sella makes wines from Lessona and Bramaterra, The soil in Bramaterra includes sand of volcanic origin and some decomposed porphyr but the sand, and rock it's derived from accounts for the significant differences between the two wines. both wines are made in a very traditional way and are aged in the Sella cellars in large, neutral wood, though some new oak has been used on some wines. I'll of course add tasting note for the sella wines soon but we had a great visit and i know a shipment of wines is on way to the US as we speak so I hope you al keep an eye out for them. Our Next day began with a visit with one of my favorite producer, Mauro Mascarello of Giuseppe Mascarello. We tasted the line-up chez Mascarello along with renowned Italian journalist Franco Ziliani. As usual this was a high point of my trip. The wines were great, as they tend to be. We toured the cellar after the tasting where, among other gems, lay future vintages of the famed single vineyard Monprivato aging comfortably in their large wood botte. Of course it could be argued that these large ovals aren't really large botte. I don't think that Franco and Mauro were actually arguing that while we took a look at these really large botte, out of commission for over a decade but still a fixture in the winery! The botte are not the only contains that are throwbacks to another era found in the Mascarello cantina. Both 13.5 liter quarter brentas and these awfully attractive damigiane, look at those tin labels, how cool is that, are still used regulalry to help manage quantities of wines. i want to manage one right into my cellar. Heck, I'ld even take one empty! Afer the cellar tour we went to da Felicin for a great lunch when we had the chance to blind taste a few great and very surprising bottles of wine. A very humbling experience for all involved as no one really got any right.My guesses from left to right:  1993 La Morra from Rivalta, a 1988 Barolo from Monforte, a 1978 Barolo from Barolo, and finaly a 1974 from who knows. the wines totally outperformed and that was probably due to the fact that they've spent all the life in one place after having been moved a few kilometers. What a lovely lunch and a humbling experience. After lunch we were treated to a tour of the cellar where we got a chance to see some of the wines we didn't drink. Suffice it to say we had a blast taking a look around at treasures like these. After lunch, it was a long lunch so after lunch it was 5, we headed back to Alba for the welcome reception for the Alba Wine Exhibition. Along the way we stopped by to take a look at Mauro's Monprivato vineyard. I have another shot of the vineyard from Cannubi that I'll post tomorrow but looking north from Monprivato  one can see the wonderful Bricco Boschis estate of the Cavallotto family.  The winery is centered on the top of the ridge and all you see is Bricco Boschis, well pretty much. Further to the west and a bit further north is Alberto Racca's tenute Montanello. certainly a new operation but one with roots going back over a hundred. the facilities were once the Cooperative winery for the village of Castiglione Falletto and occupies a wonderful vantage point overlooking some of the great crus of Castiglione. I'm cheating a bit now as we jump ahead a day to Monday night when we ended up in the village of Barbaresco for an afternoon tasting and dinner at Antica Torre. Since we had about 90 minutes to kill between the tasting and dinner we decided to take a walk out of the south of the village to visit some rather renowned vineyards. For example here we are looking back towards the village and you can see Moccagatta under the houses that line the top of the ridge and beneath that Paje. Here's a closer look at Paje. You might notice how lush and verdant the vineyard in the middle is. That's Roagna's organically grown vineyard producing exceptional wines while in totally harmony with the naturally occuring ground cover that help to prevent the landslides that have plagued this region recently. Good for the wine, good for the environment and good for the terrain. Why doesn't every vineyard look like this? We continued down the road until we came to the fork that divides Faset on the right from Asili on the left. We went up the right hand road and walked up to the top of Bricco Faset. We then went down through the vines and turned back to take this picture of Bricco Asili, just the crown of this hill. We made it over to the road that heads down through the vines and under Bricco Asili and went around the corner where we ended up under Martinenga with Asili to the left and Rabaja to the right. Perhaps the most important slope in all of Barbaresco and that's the photo that did not come out! I did however get a photos of these unusually high pruned old vines that lay at the bottom of this famed slope separating these vineyards from the Rio Sordo  which lies just beyond the stand of trees on the background. We climbed up through Rabaja and Asili and let me tell you I will never forget how steep these vineyards are. It has been a great start to this trip and I have alot more to come. I've got some great video of the vineyards as well so help put them all in context. I hope you enjoyed this little bit and I look foward to my next installment. Until then Ciao! Gregory Dal Piaz Community Manager Snooth    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Views from Italy by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• May 2009

  Views from Italy I've been documenting much of my days here via posts on the Snooth Forum but to add some color I thought I'd do a little blogging so without further ado, a few photos from the top of the boot. You can follow along my travels in more detail here, but I'll briefly put... Read moreViews from Italy I've been documenting much of my days here via posts on the Snooth Forum but to add some color I thought I'd do a little blogging so without further ado, a few photos from the top of the boot. You can follow along my travels in more detail here, but I'll briefly put a few of these photos in context When I arrived in Italy I went basically from the airport to the Sella estate in Lesson, Northern Piedmont. We tasted a few wines with Cristiano the winemaker before visiting the summer home of the Sella family, now siting preserved but unused. A photo from thetop floor balcony shows the warmth here, check out the palm tree, as well as the encrouchment of housing that has virtually replaced the vineyards in this area. Sella makes wines from Lessona and Bramaterra, The soil in Bramaterra includes sand of volcanic origin and some decomposed porphyr but the sand, and rock it's derived from accounts for the significant differences between the two wines. both wines are made in a very traditional way and are aged in the Sella cellars in large, neutral wood, though some new oak has been used on some wines. I'll of course add tasting note for the sella wines soon but we had a great visit and i know a shipment of wines is on way to the US as we speak so I hope you al keep an eye out for them. Our Next day began with a visit with one of my favorite producer, Mauro Mascarello of Giuseppe Mascarello. We tasted the line-up chez Mascarello along with renowned Italian journalist Franco Ziliani. As usual this was a high point of my trip. The wines were great, as they tend to be. We toured the cellar after the tasting where, among other gems, lay future vintages of the famed single vineyard Monprivato aging comfortably in their large wood botte. Of course it could be argued that these large ovals aren't really large botte. I don't think that Franco and Mauro were actually arguing that while we took a look at these really large botte, out of commission for over a decade but still a fixture in the winery! The botte are not the only contains that are throwbacks to another era found in the Mascarello cantina. Both 13.5 liter quarter brentas and these awfully attractive damigiane, look at those tin labels, how cool is that, are still used regulalry to help manage quantities of wines. i want to manage one right into my cellar. Heck, I'ld even take one empty! Afer the cellar tour we went to da Felicin for a great lunch when we had the chance to blind taste a few great and very surprising bottles of wine. A very humbling experience for all involved as no one really got any right.My guesses from left to right:  1993 La Morra from Rivalta, a 1988 Barolo from Monforte, a 1978 Barolo from Barolo, and finaly a 1974 from who knows. the wines totally outperformed and that was probably due to the fact that they've spent all the life in one place after having been moved a few kilometers. What a lovely lunch and a humbling experience. After lunch we were treated to a tour of the cellar where we got a chance to see some of the wines we didn't drink. Suffice it to say we had a blast taking a look around at treasures like these. After lunch, it was a long lunch so after lunch it was 5, we headed back to Alba for the welcome reception for the Alba Wine Exhibition. Along the way we stopped by to take a look at Mauro's Monprivato vineyard. I have another shot of the vineyard from Cannubi that I'll post tomorrow but looking north from Monprivato  one can see the wonderful Bricco Boschis estate of the Cavallotto family.  The winery is centered on the top of the ridge and all you see is Bricco Boschis, well pretty much. Further to the west and a bit further north is Alberto Racca's tenute Montanello. certainly a new operation but one with roots going back over a hundred. the facilities were once the Cooperative winery for the village of Castiglione Falletto and occupies a wonderful vantage point overlooking some of the great crus of Castiglione. I'm cheating a bit now as we jump ahead a day to Monday night when we ended up in the village of Barbaresco for an afternoon tasting and dinner at Antica Torre. Since we had about 90 minutes to kill between the tasting and dinner we decided to take a walk out of the south of the village to visit some rather renowned vineyards. For example here we are looking back towards the village and you can see Moccagatta under the houses that line the top of the ridge and beneath that Paje. Here's a closer look at Paje. You might notice how lush and verdant the vineyard in the middle is. That's Roagna's organically grown vineyard producing exceptional wines while in totally harmony with the naturally occuring ground cover that help to prevent the landslides that have plagued this region recently. Good for the wine, good for the environment and good for the terrain. Why doesn't every vineyard look like this? We continued down the road until we came to the fork that divides Faset on the right from Asili on the left. We went up the right hand road and walked up to the top of Bricco Faset. We then went down through the vines and turned back to take this picture of Bricco Asili, just the crown of this hill. We made it over to the road that heads down through the vines and under Bricco Asili and went around the corner where we ended up under Martinenga with Asili to the left and Rabaja to the right. Perhaps the most important slope in all of Barbaresco and that's the photo that did not come out! I did however get a photos of these unusually high pruned old vines that lay at the bottom of this famed slope separating these vineyards from the Rio Sordo  which lies just beyond the stand of trees on the background. We climbed up through Rabaja and Asili and let me tell you I will never forget how steep these vineyards are. It has been a great start to this trip and I have alot more to come. I've got some great video of the vineyards as well so help put them all in context. I hope you enjoyed this little bit and I look foward to my next installment. Until then Ciao! Gregory Dal Piaz Community Manager Snooth    (hide)

  From the article Views from Italy

  
  

• April 2009

  Well both of you should be sure to make it for dinner to Da Felicin in Monforte d'Alba http://www.felicin.it/

  Forum post in the topic Traveling to Piemonte by RBoulanger

  
  

• January 2009

  Philip - I think you mean something like this - the town of Neive. !http://www.wineloverspage.com/graphics1/neive.jpg! The city of Alba is in the valley (and is home to the Nutella factory...mmm I spent 30 minutes in the parking lot last time just sniffing), but the surrounding... Read morePhilip - I think you mean something like this - the town of Neive. !http://www.wineloverspage.com/graphics1/neive.jpg! The city of Alba is in the valley (and is home to the Nutella factory...mmm I spent 30 minutes in the parking lot last time just sniffing), but the surrounding hills are dotted with great towns: Barbaresco, Neive, Diano d'Alba, Monforte d'Alba, Serralunga d'Alba, and the incomparable La Morra !http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/POD/l/la-morra-soil-699939-sw.jpg! The pic that you posted has got to be in the Alps. The tiny amount of wine they make has to be a curio. No way anyone can operate a commercial enterprise up there - I wonder if its a palace or a fortress.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Where is the most beautiful... by RBoulanger

  
  

• October 2008

  One used to be able to count on Barolo, that exceptionally fine Piedmontese red wine made from Nebbiolo, being exceptional maybe 3 times a decade. In the past 10 years however we have been blessed with an string of vintages that has been unparelled in history. 1998 had the distinct... Read moreOne used to be able to count on Barolo, that exceptionally fine Piedmontese red wine made from Nebbiolo, being exceptional maybe 3 times a decade. In the past 10 years however we have been blessed with an string of vintages that has been unparelled in history. 1998 had the distinct misfortune of falling after the over acclaimed 1997s and the equally frothy enthusiasm that accompanied the 2000s. The 1999’s also got lost but that is material for another email Born of the second warm vintage in a row the 1998’s lacked both the structure and the explosive fruit of the best 1997’s but from release they exhibited fine harmony and balance. These wines are uncharacteristically approachable today and while they are not among the highest expressions of Nebbiolo they combine ripe fruit with a scaled down structure that allows for earlier consumption than is the norm here. As a recent blind tasting showed, there are some great wines here. The greatest wines of the vintage While I loved the Giacomo Conterno Cascina Francia (http://www.snooth.com/wines/1998+cascina+francia/), a classic in any vintage, the Luigi Pira Marenca (http://www.snooth.com/wine/l-pira-barolo-marenca-1998/) was my favorite wine of the tasting. It is simply one of the finest Barolos from 1998 with exceptional depth and balance. A joy to behold from a producer that rarely gets the attention they deserve. Both of these wines belong in every aficionado’s cellar. Great wines nearing their drinking windows. One of the great things about the 1998 vintage is that many wines are still affordably available. The Marcarini Brunate (http://www.snooth.com/wine/marcarini-barolo-brunate-1998-1/) is approachable and thoroughly infused with the terroir of this famed vineyard in the commune of La Morra. Also from La Morra, yet with a bit of more powerful Monforte juice in the blend, the virtually unknown Cascina Ballarin (http://www.snooth.com/wine/cascina-ballarin-barolo-tre-ciabot-1998/)served notice that they have gotten serious about offering great, age-worthy wines at modest prices. Perhaps the highlightof the tasting in a quality to price sense was the Brovia Rocche (http://www.snooth.com/wine/fratelli-brovia-barolo-rocche-dei-brovia-1998/). A candidate for solid improvement in the cellar, it is drinking well already. An easier way to experience great Nebbiolo. While the majority of wines in the tasting performed very well, expectations were fairly high. These are, after all, Barolo and come with commensurate prices. In the future I will have a tasting focusing on the greatest wine values on earth. Nebbiolo d’Alba. If the wines featured in this tasting intrigued you but you’re not quite ready to plunk down the $50 plus most are going for, I suggest you try Langhe Nebbiolo from the great producers featured here. Other favorites that are widely available are the Vietti Perbacco (http://www.snooth.com/wines/vietti+perbacco/) and the Produttori del Barbaresco. (http://www.snooth.com/wines/vietti+perbacco/#produttori+langhe+nebbiolo:1:1:0:125:sr) Both offer an amazing Nebbiolo experience as well as a super value! Other recommended wines http://www.snooth.com/wine/nebbiolo-dalba-valmaggiore-bruno-giacosa-2006/ http://www.snooth.com/wine/giuseppe-e-figlio-mascarello-barolo-monprivato-1998/ http://www.snooth.com/wine/vietti-barolo-di-castiglione-falletto-2004/ http://www.snooth.com/wine/cavallotto-barolo-1998/ If we haven’t gotten your attention yet perhaps one of these bottles, a selection of our most searched wines, will hit your sweet spot and turn the day into a Piedmontese celebration! Happy hunting and if you don’t see the wine you’re looking for here, join us at Snooth where you are a click away from finding your wine of the night!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic 1998 in Piedmont - A lost... by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• October 2008

  Wines tasted during this visit; 2005 Bussiador Chardonnay 91pts 2005 Barbera d’Alba Conca Tre Pile 87pts 2004 Barolo 89pts 2005 Langhe Nebbiolo Il Favot 88pts 2004 Barolo Colonello 95pts 2004 Barolo Romirasco 95pts There are names in Piemonte that breed not only admiration... Read more Wines tasted during this visit; 2005 Bussiador Chardonnay 91pts 2005 Barbera d’Alba Conca Tre Pile 87pts 2004 Barolo 89pts 2005 Langhe Nebbiolo Il Favot 88pts 2004 Barolo Colonello 95pts 2004 Barolo Romirasco 95pts There are names in Piemonte that breed not only admiration but also confusion. Conterno is certainly one of them with Paolo, Giacomo, and Aldo all producing fine yet distinct wines. Of these producers I can comfortably say I knew most about Giacomo, least about Franco, and was simply under the wrong impression about Aldo. During an earlier visit to the region I marveled at the castle under construction that is both home to, and winery for Poderi Aldo Conterno. The fantasy construction just added to the misconceptions I had about this famous estate. With first class marketing, and a distinct image, I had been under the impression that Poderi Aldo Conterno was approaching mass-market status. Their wines had undergone several shifts over the past few years, beginning with a lighter style adopted early in the 90’s, which was followed by a flirtation in the late 90’s with a decidedly more modern style. In a philosophical shift it was decided in 1998 to change methods in both the vineyards and the cellars to produce a fresher, more fruit driven Barolo. With a few years under their belt and the wholesale shift to neutral botte for the Baroli almost complete, Aldo Conterno has returned to the top rank of Barolo Producers in what can only be called an enlightened traditional style. As part of this shift it was decided to use only Slavonian oak botte for the ageing of Barolo. Due to the fact that several new botte were purchased in recent years people had the wrong impression that the wines had gotten oakier. Ironically the move to less oak did in fact have the opposite effect for several years. While this oak was obvious, the fact that it was from botte and Slavonian in origin has meant that it took only a few short years to integrate into the wines in question. I came away from the meeting with young Giacomo Conterno surprised at the small scale of the operation. Not that it is small but rather that it all seems much more personal than their brand image would have one believe. The quality of the wines was also a somewhat pleasant surprise but truth be known I had tried a pair of Baroli blind earlier in the year and was so impressed with them I figured I owed it to myself to investigate further. Of course this is a very storied family. Giacomo Conterno is arguably the most famous producer of Barolo and the grandfather of both Roberto Conterno who now runs that estate and the young Giacomo Conterno I had the pleasure of tasting with. Their respective fathers, Brothers Aldo and Giovanni, split due to philosophical differences in 1967. Aldo had spent a few years in the US during the late 50’s when seeds were planted that would eventually lead to the creation of Poderi Aldo Conterno. In 1969 Aldo purchased the Favot farm in Monforte. He had been searching for property in Monforte since he always remembered his grandfather had said there were two great terroirs in the Langhe; Serralunga and Monforte. Since Giovanni was already working in Serralunga, Aldo opted to start anew in Monforte, and more specifically in the subzone of Bussia. As part of the agreement made during the split existing stocks of Giacomo Conterno wines were to be shared by the two brothers so all that pre 1968 Aldo Conterno wine is in fact from the Giacomo Conterno stocks. Great wines indeed. The expansive Southwest-facing vineyard of the Favot estate is home to 3 great Barolo Cru bottlings, each with their own distinctive character, as well as the base bottling. This was until recently known as Bussia Soprana but now includes some fruit that, while part of the same vineyard, is actually located in the adjoining village of Barolo, thus the designation has changed to simply Barolo. I did not get the chance to taste the Cicala Cru on this visit as the 2004 was mostly destroyed by hail, but this usually is the most structured bottling and fairly screams Nebbiolo. This parcel of vines is predominantly Lampia blended with Michet. The ageworthyness of these wines in indisputable as attested to by a bottle of the 1978 had just a few years ago that was simply brilliant and still youthful. The Colonello Cru on the other hand is a wine that screams of the terroir and as Giovanni says, has a Teutonic character, it is strict and focused, predominantly Michet clone. The crown jewel of the three crus is undoubtedly the Romirasco. Rarely bottled on it’s own this vineyard has historically been the heart and soul of the Granbussia Riserva bottling. Fortunately for us they are now bottling a bit of the Romirasco separately and it must be experienced for it’s exotic spice character is simply like no other Barolo. Giovanni says this speaks of Conterno with its Asian character, coy and spicy. While Barolo is the star here there is a full range of wines worth tasting but be forewarned a much more modern approach is taken with them as is illustrated in the following notes. Bussiador Chardonnay 2005 Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are done in 100% new barrique with a light+ toast level. The highest part of the Favot estate to the northeast of the property from 30 year old vines. Opened at cellar temperature this had fairly explosive and complex aromatics. Starting off slowly with a touch of banana and sandy soil notes this quickly adds a touch of incense, candle wax, some obvious toast notes and lightly candied pineapple. With air this gets progressively spicier with candied ginger notes and pie spice tones then top notes of apple blossoms/small yellow apples emerge. Very bright acids at first yield impressive concentration and while this is 14.9% alcohol it doesn’t feel hot and is well balanced. Richly flavored with complexity that matches the nose, layered with toasty notes accenting dried fruit tones followed by slatey, almost salty minerality. Giovanni comments that this is the terroir of Barolo after all. Finishes with good length and a touch of tannin. The wood is obvious but well integrated as is the mouth-watering acidity that leads to a finale of slightly salty butterscotch. Certainly an atypical Chardonnay but this is very interesting and well made. 91pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/poderi-aldo-conterno-langhe-chardonnay-bussiador-2005 Barbera d’Alba Conca Tre Pile 2005 Aged 12-15 months in 100% New Barriques The aromatics are intense here with immediate cigar box notes of feral, earthy tones. The fruit has a subtle foxy edge to the red plum/baked plum fruit but there is a spike of dark wood spice and ample tones of vanilla and baking spices. Bright acids right up front are refreshing and accentuate the red plum and bright wild berry fruit on the mid-palate. Elegant and balanced with a touch of minerality that balances the fruit and drives the cleansing acids of the finish. Just a touch of tannin becomes obvious on the finish with its jolly rancher cherry and watermelon tones ending on a touch of vanilla and cigar box. A nice Barbera with tons of ripe acids keeping everything lively and fresh but weighed down just a touch by the wood. 87pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/poderi-aldo-conterno-barbera-dalba-conca-tre-pile-2005-1 Barolo 2004 This replaces the old Bussia Soprana bottling as with this vintage the fruit is now 80% Bussia and 20% from the commune of Barolo though they are contiguous parts of the same vineyard. The Barolo fruit used to go into the Favot but the vines have matured and are now producing juice worthy of being called Barolo. This macerates for 2-3 weeks in stainless before ageing for 2 years in Botte of Slavonian oak. A bit heavy on the nose with syrupy fruit, driven by soil tones with a touch of oyster shell then a hint of caper berry, turning a bit spicy with a touch of white pepper, not very giving aromatically. In the mouth this enters a bit block with gritty tannins and a nice traditional if tough feel. The tannins certainly need more time to integrate but the balance is good and the wine puts on weight with air revealing dark, chewy cherry fruit with medicinal herb tones and a touch of fudgy caramellato. The midpalate gains a bit of spice with notes of coriander, beetroot, and strawberry seeds adding complexity and brightening the red fruits. The finish is cut short by the rather imposing tannins which are a touch drying and allows the finale to be dominated by slight menthol tones and emerging minerality. A very solid Barolo Normale that looks to be an excellent candidate for improvement in the cellar. 89pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/poderi-aldo-conterno-barolo-2004-1 Langhe Nebbiolo Il Favot 2005 Younger vines, up to 15-20 years of age, go into this 100% Nebbiolo wine that is aged for 18 months in 100% new barrique. This opens with intense and characteristic aromas of Nebbiolo, a touch of tamarind then floral top notes, slightly dried cherry fruit, and a hint of menthol but also has obvious wood tones of spice, toast and vanilla, which are balanced. The acidity pops out on entry followed by well managed tannins in a medium bodied package that offers up dark fruit with a touch of peachy overtones some herbal freshness and layers of medicinal spice and aromatic roots. With air the Nebbiolo tannins pop on the mid-palate offering more focus and mouthgrab that leads to a clean, fresh finish, which shows the fruit sweetening a bit. 88pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/poderi-aldo-conterno-langhe-nebbiolo-il-favot-2005 Barolo Colonello 2004 A 2 week maceration is followed by several months in stainless before being aged 28 to 30 months in Slavonian oak botte. A touch of drying grass greats the nose then is followed by very precise emerging notes of sea grass and menthol. The tight dark fruit emerge slowly and remain reticent in the glass but the menthol and mineral tones gain in impact. The mouth feel here is fantastic, cool and poised, power without much weight this feels facetted and chiseled and much like the nose remains tight though it does offer up glimpses of fresh fruit, earthy wild cherry and a touch of subtle pomegranate that is intriguing. The mineral cut on the long finish is refreshing and incipient vitamin/mineral notes are refreshing. While this is very tight a previous bottles was spectacular with classic fruit, sottobosco, and truffle notes that blew me away. Based on the two notes I suggest putting this away for years. 2014-2030 95pts. http://www.snooth.com/wine/poderi-aldo-conterno-barolo-colonnello-barolo-2004/ Barolo Romirasco 2004 A 2 week maceration is followed by several months in stainless before being aged 28 to 30 months in Slavonian oak botte. Unlike the stern Colonello this is flamboyant with intense floral tones, layered sappy fruits, sweet, gentle spice tones and a touch of espresso foam. In the mouth this is downright suave with very fine tannins and a broad mouth feel that remains remarkably delicate. Spicy red fruits are complimented my tones of maduro tobacco, iron driven earthy tones and intense top notes of aromatic grasses, minerals and exotic spice tones. The wild cherry fruit is intense on the palate and turns darker on the backend leading to the finish with it’s unfolding layers of subtle tea, middle eastern spice notes and almost a touch of curry. This really has lovely clarity and amazing transparency with wonderfully ripe tannins. A bit outside the norm for Barolo with it’s spicy exotic character but completely compelling. 2010-2024 95pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/poderi-aldo-conterno-barolo-romirasco-2004/    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Poderi Aldo Conterno comes... by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

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