Declassified

• December 2008

  Nebbiolo Blind Tasting Flight 1-2004 1) L Pira Le Ombre Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - 87pts 2) Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - NR 3) Ascheri Bricco S. Giacomo Nebbiolo d’Alba $22.99 - 89pts Flight 2 - 2005 4) La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo $24.99 - 75pts 5) Vietti Perbacco Langhe... Read moreNebbiolo Blind Tasting Flight 1-2004 1) L Pira Le Ombre Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - 87pts 2) Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - NR 3) Ascheri Bricco S. Giacomo Nebbiolo d’Alba $22.99 - 89pts Flight 2 - 2005 4) La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo $24.99 - 75pts 5) Vietti Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - 91pts 6) Ruggeri Corsini Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - 88pts Flight 3 - 2006 7) Scarzello Langhe Nebbiolo $25.99 - 89pts 8) Brezza Santa Rosalia Nebbiolo d’Alba $28.99 - 91pts 9) Burlotto Langhe Nebbiolo $26.99 - 92pts Flight 4 - Vintage Control 10) 2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $19.99 - 86pts 11) 2005 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $19.99 - 87pts 12) 2006 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $16.99 - 90pts Bonus Bottles 13) 2004 Guido Porro Barolo Lazzirasco - 93pts 14) 2000 Burlotto Monvigliero - 95pts So a group of fellow Nebbiolo aficionados joined me at Snooth central last night for a look at both Nebbiolo and a mine review of the vintage character of current available bottlings. We tasted through 4 flights of Nebbiolo, with a final flight of Barolo blind just for the hell of it. Our first flight came from one of the most acclaimed vintages in recent memory, 2004. While I am a fan of this vintage I think it has been over-hyped by the media. It’s a wonderful vintage with elegant, ripe fruit but my concern is that some of what is being described, as elegance is actually dilution. 2004 was a very large crop and to me, many wines seem awfully easy and open knit at this point. The high yield of the year has produced wines that suffer from a touch of dilution or an innate simplicity that makes them very attractive today. I think that in the long run 2004 will be a vintage that comes to resemble 1985 more than any other vintage. Much like with that vintage the producers had nothing but glorious things to say about the fruit. Perfect! It was said then and it was said in 2004. The wines from both vintages met with universal praise on release. Now 1985 is no slouch of a vintage. There are many pretty wines out there, absolutely delicious now but with the passage of time many wines that were once considered to be great have developed rather quickly and have not reached the potential that was once though to be theirs. The truly great vintages that I have been fortunate to taste on release have always been underwhelming. 1978, 1982, 1989, 1996, 1999. Yes they were praised from the get go but for their potential, though virtually everyone missed the boat on 1999. 2004 is a very, very good vintage. It is showing well today in many cases but I do not think it will enter the pantheon of exceptional vintages. Flight 1-2004 1) L Pira Le Ombre Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 This was an interesting wine, solid and a touch extracted with a bit of obvious wood but not offensive. Given some time I expect this will be pretty good and had something to say about Serralunga with it’s dark, slightly medicinal character. 87pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/luigi-pira-langhe-nebbiolo-le-ombre-2004-1/ 2) Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 This had a touch of TCA and while that came to be dominant with time it was not able to fully conceal the brilliant fruit this has and exceptional balance. Clean bottles should be excellent in a pure, fruit driven style with 90 plus scores likely. http://www.snooth.com/wine/cavallotto-langhe-nebbiolo-2004/ 3) Ascheri Bricco S. Giacomo Nebbiolo d’Alba $22.99 This started out with a clean, extremely complex nose but evolved into an earth bomb, not that that is a bad thing. It’s a bit of a schizo wine but once you get over that there is a lot to like here with nice rich fruit in a slightly rustic, chunky style. 89pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/ascheri-nebbiolo-dalba-2004/ Our second flight focused on 2005. As with 2004 I think the initial reviews of this vintage will have to be updated with time. Though I may certainly be wrong there. I really enjoy vintages like 1988 and 1995. They can be a bit coarse compared with many other vintages but at the same time they are generally cool and well balanced in the mouth and well-made wines from these vintages have plenty of fruit that will age in balance with these durable tannins. Just as the 2004 were too easy on release the 2005s will be too tough. They are not instant gratification wines and will require some though, ability to extrapolate, and understanding of what Nebbiolo is and does, not what one wants it to be and do. There were many challenges over the course of the vintage from the cool temps and drought of early summer to the heavy rains and hail of August. In my opinion those stresses help to create complexity in the wines. The fruit was not perfect at harvest but he have seen what wine perfect fruit produces, the lovely 1985s! This is a challenging vintage, there is no doubt to that, but the great producers will rise to the occasion and produce great wines, in many cases challenging and even surpassing what was produced in 2004. One issue in 2005 is that these wines have pretty assertive and dry tannins. In many cases there is plenty of fruit to balance them out but this issue is most glaring at the lowest end of the scale, ie tonight’s wines. The trade-off is that these wines also have slightly, yet noticeably lower alcohols, which is not a bad thing. Flight 2 - 2005 4) La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo $24.99 What is this? What can this be used for? Is this paint thinner? Hand cleaner? I joke, only slightly. There is plenty of froot in here but the extraction and wood make this a mess. There are people who like this wine, fortunately I don’t have to drink with them. Not to be crude but I compared this to a one legged stripper while tasting it. If you catch this from the right angle it looks like the real thing but it just can’t get the job done. 75pts since it’s the holidays and I am feeling generous. http://www.snooth.com/wine/la-spinetta-langhe-nebbiolo-2004/ 5) Vietti Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 Where the Spinetta was all make-up, prosthetics, and household solvents this is just delightful. Simultaneously light, airy and tight and taut. This is gentle yet complex and is the rare delicate wine that will improve for several years in the cellar. A wine that was made to make the most of the vintage and pulls it off effortlessly. 91pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/vietti-langhe-nebbiolo-perbacco-2005/ 6) Ruggeri Corsini Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 Here we have a bit of a throwback wine. This is a fine wine, rustic and natural feeling if perhaps a bit too affected by the vintage but true to it’s roots. It’s got the green notes generally associated with Langhe Nebbiolo but they are well represented in an array of balsamic and forest floor accents. This needs food but works in its rugged, stocky way. 88pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/ruggeri-corsini-langhe-nebbiolo-2005/ Now we move on to 2006. What will be said of 2006? Can it possibly be more heavily praised than 2004? While it is very early I would say that it probably deserves to be! Here is a vintage that had many challenges from early drought, heat spikes, to cool summer spells and late rains. While each issue on it’s own might pose intimidating problems having them one after another certainly took it’s toll on both the vines and the producers. Fortunately, the key to the success of the vintage was that after each near disaster conditions allowed for the vines to recover. Those stresses also forced the vines to adapt, to weave and bob, and no doubt imbued the grapes with a richness and complexity that will allow them to produce wines that will emerge as superior to what was produced in both 2005 and 2004. Now these comments should not be misconstrued, I am always referring only to the best producers, those who understand their vineyards and are able to allow the vineyards to speak through the wine rather than imposing their own monologue on the wine. I may be wrong with all of this. it would be neither the first nor the last time. However I don’t think I am. I do think that the critical media is caught up in a cycle of self-promotion and that by always tooting their horn they are able to draw attention to themselves. It worked for one person with the 1982 Bordeaux so why not keep at it? And of course it is all too easy, and accepted, to just go back and revise one’s opinion at a later date, as I may have to do. But like I said I doubt it. Flight 3 - 2006 7) Scarzello Langhe Nebbiolo $25.99 I really like what Federico is trying to do here and the wines generally perform very well. This was an extracted, powerful showing that made the wine seem a bit clumsy. It’s a big, bad boy and will certainly benefit from cellaring. While I really like the wine I think it does lack some elegance, and transparency that I prefer in my Nebbiolo but if you want chewy power check this out 90pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/scarzello-nebbiolo-langhe-2006/ 8) Brezza Santa Rosalia Nebbiolo d’Alba $28.99 Ok, if you want classic Nebbiolo, graceful, slightly raw, with bracing acidity and long, pure fruit here it is! This really speaks of the grape Nebbiolo. Screams it in fact. I love drinking this wine. Simply delicious! Sealed with the glass Vino-Lok stopper too.91pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/brezza-nebbiolo-dalba-santa-rosalia-2006/ 9) Burlotto Langhe Nebbiolo $26.99 This was a singular expression of Nebbiolo, as so many Burlotto wines are. Complex and rich without being weighty. With both a density and a transparency this is a wine to savor and inspect with uncommon complexity for straight Nebbiolo. Tremendous wine. 92pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/burlotto-gb-comm-nebbiolo-langhe-2006/ And just for the hell of it our last flight was called vintage control. I wanted to have the vintages from a consistent producer to see if the vintage characteristic we discovered were actually vintage characteristics or were producer traits. For me this flight perfectly highlighted the vintage characteristics and the Produttori del Barbaresco once again deserve all the praise they get and then some. This is their bottom bottling and frequently can be found for around $15. While probably the least cellar-worthy wine of the night they none-the-less performed well across the board. One point that is worth mentioning here is that this is a negative selection of sorts. Individual lots of wine deemed not worthy of inclusion in the basic Barbaresco find their way here as well as young vines. Counter intuitively this bottling can out perform in poorer vintages and underperform in better vintages because of this policy. As the Produttori seeks to protect their brand they may declassify wines in certain vintages that still out perform this pay grade. Due to this policy the Langhe Nebbiolo bottling ranges fro 10% to 30% of the Produttori’s annual production. Flight 4 - Vintage Control 10) 2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $19.99 Well here we have a wine that suffers from dilution and a lack of ripeness. Still a solid wine this has lost what babyfat it had and finds itself in a tough interim phase. It most likely will improve a bit from here but there are better wines for drinking today. 86pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/produttori-del-barbaresco-langhe-nebbiolo-2004/ 11) 2005 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $19.99 This exhibits the tougher, rustic tannins of the vintage but has plenty of fruit as well. A nice brasato would work wonders with this wine today, as would a year or two in the cellar. There is ore material on the mid-palate in this wine than in the 2004.87pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/produttori-del-barbaresco-nebbiolo-delle-langhe-2005-2/ 12) 2006 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $16.99 Wow this is singing tonight. Big and full, simple yet pure. This has the high alcohol of the vintage but also has great sweet fruit and fantastic, ripe tannins. This may be a touch simple but it pumps out the Nebbiolo fruit in a way that makes me want to forgive it’s simplicity. 90pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/produttori-del-barbaresco-nebbiolo-delle-langhe-2006/ After the Nebbiolo flights I want to include two wines that I consider values for different reasons. This was titled “The greatest value wine in the world” tasting so in order to continue the theme I presented these two bottles blind. Just to have some fun! Bonus Bottles 13) 2004 Guido Porro Barolo Lazzirasco $40 Is there a better value in Barolo today? Well yes but my Santa Caterina bottles from Guido Porro haven’t arrived yet! This was a touch alcoholic but offered great intense fruit with such precise structure that I could look past that minor fault. Classic Barolo for the cellar but one that may be approachable sooner than many. At this price stock up! 2012-2024 92pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/guido-porro-barolo-vigna-lazzairasco-2004/ 14) 2000 Burlotto Monvigliero $60 This on the other hand may not appear to be a value. It is after all $60 but, if any Barolo deserves to be better known it is this wine. Why this slips through the cracks I don’t know. It is as traditional a wine as you can find and as distinctive, with it’s intense black olive nose, as any wine out there. Yet beyond that this is a gorgeous wine. The tannins are so fine, the balance so precise. This is simply superb wine and competes with wines that routinely sell for $100 a bottle and more. Maybe I should keep quiet after all as I look forward to buying more Burlotto in the future! Superb stuff. Did I mention that I like this wine? 95pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/burlotto-gb-barolo-vigneto-monvigliero-2000/ Well that was the evening. I will write up the groups very consistent opinions about the wines in a separate blog post. For the most part they all came around to see things my way. A rare evening indeed!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Nebbiolo repost by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• December 2008

  Nebbiolo Blind Tasting Flight 1-2004 1) L Pira Le Ombre Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - 87pts 2) Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - NR 3) Ascheri Bricco S. Giacomo Nebbiolo d’Alba $22.99 - 89pts Flight 2 – 2005 4) La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo $24.99 - 75pts 5) Vietti Perbacco Langhe... Read moreNebbiolo Blind Tasting Flight 1-2004 1) L Pira Le Ombre Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - 87pts 2) Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - NR 3) Ascheri Bricco S. Giacomo Nebbiolo d’Alba $22.99 - 89pts Flight 2 - 2005 4) La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo $24.99 - 75pts 5) Vietti Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - 91pts 6) Ruggeri Corsini Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 - 88pts Flight 3 - 2006 7) Scarzello Langhe Nebbiolo $25.99 - 89pts 8) Brezza Santa Rosalia Nebbiolo d’Alba $28.99 - 91pts 9) Burlotto Langhe Nebbiolo $26.99 - 92pts Flight 4 - Vintage Control 10) 2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $19.99 - 86pts 11) 2005 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $19.99 - 87pts 12) 2006 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $16.99 - 90pts Bonus Bottles 13) 2004 Guido Porro Barolo Lazzirasco - 93pts 14) 2000 Burlotto Monvigliero - 95pts So a group of fellow Nebbiolo aficionados joined me at Snooth central last night for a look at both Nebbiolo and a mine review of the vintage character of current available bottlings. We tasted through 4 flights of Nebbiolo, with a final flight of Barolo blind just for the hell of it. Our first flight came from one of the most acclaimed vintages in recent memory, 2004. While I am a fan of this vintage I think it has been over-hyped by the media. It’s a wonderful vintage with elegant, ripe fruit but my concern is that some of what is being described, as elegance is actually dilution. 2004 was a very large crop and to me, many wines seem awfully easy and open knit at this point. The high yield of the year has produced wines that suffer from a touch of dilution or an innate simplicity that makes them very attractive today. I think that in the long run 2004 will be a vintage that comes to resemble 1985 more than any other vintage. Much like with that vintage the producers had nothing but glorious things to say about the fruit. Perfect! It was said then and it was said in 2004. The wines from both vintages met with universal praise on release. Now 1985 is no slouch of a vintage. There are many pretty wines out there, absolutely delicious now but with the passage of time many wines that were once considered to be great have developed rather quickly and have not reached the potential that was once though to be theirs. The truly great vintages that I have been fortunate to taste on release have always been underwhelming. 1978, 1982, 1989, 1996, 1999. Yes they were praised from the get go but for their potential, though virtually everyone missed the boat on 1999. 2004 is a very, very good vintage. It is showing well today in many cases but I do not think it will enter the pantheon of exceptional vintages. Flight 1-2004 1) L Pira Le Ombre Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 This was an interesting wine, solid and a touch extracted with a bit of obvious wood but not offensive. Given some time I expect this will be pretty good and had something to say about Serralunga with it’s dark, slightly medicinal character. 87pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/luigi-pira-langhe-nebbiolo-le-ombre-2004-1/ 2) Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 This had a touch of TCA and while that came to be dominant with time it was not able to fully conceal the brilliant fruit this has and exceptional balance. Clean bottles should be excellent in a pure, fruit driven style with 90 plus scores likely. http://www.snooth.com/wine/cavallotto-langhe-nebbiolo-2004/ 3) Ascheri Bricco S. Giacomo Nebbiolo d’Alba $22.99 This started out with a clean, extremely complex nose but evolved into an earth bomb, not that that is a bad thing. It’s a bit of a schizo wine but once you get over that there is a lot to like here with nice rich fruit in a slightly rustic, chunky style. 89pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/ascheri-nebbiolo-dalba-2004/ Our second flight focused on 2005. As with 2004 I think the initial reviews of this vintage will have to be updated with time. Though I may certainly be wrong there. I really enjoy vintages like 1988 and 1995. They can be a bit coarse compared with many other vintages but at the same time they are generally cool and well balanced in the mouth and well-made wines from these vintages have plenty of fruit that will age in balance with these durable tannins. Just as the 2004 were too easy on release the 2005s will be too tough. They are not instant gratification wines and will require some though, ability to extrapolate, and understanding of what Nebbiolo is and does, not what one wants it to be and do. There were many challenges over the course of the vintage from the cool temps and drought of early summer to the heavy rains and hail of August. In my opinion those stresses help to create complexity in the wines. The fruit was not perfect at harvest but he have seen what wine perfect fruit produces, the lovely 1985s! This is a challenging vintage, there is no doubt to that, but the great producers will rise to the occasion and produce great wines, in many cases challenging and even surpassing what was produced in 2004. One issue in 2005 is that these wines have pretty assertive and dry tannins. In many cases there is plenty of fruit to balance them out but this issue is most glaring at the lowest end of the scale, ie tonight’s wines. The trade-off is that these wines also have slightly, yet noticeably lower alcohols, which is not a bad thing. Flight 2 - 2005 4) La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo $24.99 What is this? What can this be used for? Is this paint thinner? Hand cleaner? I joke, only slightly. There is plenty of froot in here but the extraction and wood make this a mess. There are people who like this wine, fortunately I don’t have to drink with them. Not to be crude but I compared this to a one legged stripper while tasting it. If you catch this from the right angle it looks like the real thing but it just can’t get the job done. 75pts since it’s the holidays and I am feeling generous. http://www.snooth.com/wine/la-spinetta-langhe-nebbiolo-2004/ 5) Vietti Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 Where the Spinetta was all make-up, prosthetics, and household solvents this is just delightful. Simultaneously light, airy and tight and taut. This is gentle yet complex and is the rare delicate wine that will improve for several years in the cellar. A wine that was made to make the most of the vintage and pulls it off effortlessly. 91pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/vietti-langhe-nebbiolo-perbacco-2005/ 6) Ruggeri Corsini Langhe Nebbiolo $21.99 Here we have a bit of a throwback wine. This is a fine wine, rustic and natural feeling if perhaps a bit too affected by the vintage but true to it’s roots. It’s got the green notes generally associated with Langhe Nebbiolo but they are well represented in an array of balsamic and forest floor accents. This needs food but works in its rugged, stocky way. 88pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/ruggeri-corsini-langhe-nebbiolo-2005/ Now we move on to 2006. What will be said of 2006? Can it possibly be more heavily praised than 2004? While it is very early I would say that it probably deserves to be! Here is a vintage that had many challenges from early drought, heat spikes, to cool summer spells and late rains. While each issue on it’s own might pose intimidating problems having them one after another certainly took it’s toll on both the vines and the producers. Fortunately, the key to the success of the vintage was that after each near disaster conditions allowed for the vines to recover. Those stresses also forced the vines to adapt, to weave and bob, and no doubt imbued the grapes with a richness and complexity that will allow them to produce wines that will emerge as superior to what was produced in both 2005 and 2004. Now these comments should not be misconstrued, I am always referring only to the best producers, those who understand their vineyards and are able to allow the vineyards to speak through the wine rather than imposing their own monologue on the wine. I may be wrong with all of this. it would be neither the first nor the last time. However I don’t think I am. I do think that the critical media is caught up in a cycle of self-promotion and that by always tooting their horn they are able to draw attention to themselves. It worked for one person with the 1982 Bordeaux so why not keep at it? And of course it is all too easy, and accepted, to just go back and revise one’s opinion at a later date, as I may have to do. But like I said I doubt it. Flight 3 - 2006 7) Scarzello Langhe Nebbiolo $25.99 I really like what Federico is trying to do here and the wines generally perform very well. This was an extracted, powerful showing that made the wine seem a bit clumsy. It’s a big, bad boy and will certainly benefit from cellaring. While I really like the wine I think it does lack some elegance, and transparency that I prefer in my Nebbiolo but if you want chewy power check this out 90pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/scarzello-nebbiolo-langhe-2006/ 8) Brezza Santa Rosalia Nebbiolo d’Alba $28.99 Ok, if you want classic Nebbiolo, graceful, slightly raw, with bracing acidity and long, pure fruit here it is! This really speaks of the grape Nebbiolo. Screams it in fact. I love drinking this wine. Simply delicious! Sealed with the glass Vino-Lok stopper too.91pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/brezza-nebbiolo-dalba-santa-rosalia-2006/ 9) Burlotto Langhe Nebbiolo $26.99 This was a singular expression of Nebbiolo, as so many Burlotto wines are. Complex and rich without being weighty. With both a density and a transparency this is a wine to savor and inspect with uncommon complexity for straight Nebbiolo. Tremendous wine. 92pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/burlotto-gb-comm-nebbiolo-langhe-2006/ And just for the hell of it our last flight was called vintage control. I wanted to have the vintages from a consistent producer to see if the vintage characteristic we discovered were actually vintage characteristics or were producer traits. For me this flight perfectly highlighted the vintage characteristics and the Produttori del Barbaresco once again deserve all the praise they get and then some. This is their bottom bottling and frequently can be found for around $15. While probably the least cellar-worthy wine of the night they none-the-less performed well across the board. One point that is worth mentioning here is that this is a negative selection of sorts. Individual lots of wine deemed not worthy of inclusion in the basic Barbaresco find their way here as well as young vines. Counter intuitively this bottling can out perform in poorer vintages and underperform in better vintages because of this policy. As the Produttori seeks to protect their brand they may declassify wines in certain vintages that still out perform this pay grade. Due to this policy the Langhe Nebbiolo bottling ranges fro 10% to 30% of the Produttori’s annual production. Flight 4 - Vintage Control 10) 2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $19.99 Well here we have a wine that suffers from dilution and a lack of ripeness. Still a solid wine this has lost what babyfat it had and finds itself in a tough interim phase. It most likely will improve a bit from here but there are better wines for drinking today. 86pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/produttori-del-barbaresco-langhe-nebbiolo-2004/ 11) 2005 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $19.99 This exhibits the tougher, rustic tannins of the vintage but has plenty of fruit as well. A nice brasato would work wonders with this wine today, as would a year or two in the cellar. There is ore material on the mid-palate in this wine than in the 2004.87pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/produttori-del-barbaresco-nebbiolo-delle-langhe-2005-2/ 12) 2006 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo $16.99 Wow this is singing tonight. Big and full, simple yet pure. This has the high alcohol of the vintage but also has great sweet fruit and fantastic, ripe tannins. This may be a touch simple but it pumps out the Nebbiolo fruit in a way that makes me want to forgive it’s simplicity. 90pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/produttori-del-barbaresco-nebbiolo-delle-langhe-2006/ After the Nebbiolo flights I want to include two wines that I consider values for different reasons. This was titled “The greatest value wine in the world” tasting so in order to continue the theme I presented these two bottles blind. Just to have some fun! Bonus Bottles 13) 2004 Guido Porro Barolo Lazzirasco $40 Is there a better value in Barolo today? Well yes but my Santa Caterina bottles from Guido Porro haven’t arrived yet! This was a touch alcoholic but offered great intense fruit with such precise structure that I could look past that minor fault. Classic Barolo for the cellar but one that may be approachable sooner than many. At this price stock up! 2012-2024 92pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/guido-porro-barolo-vigna-lazzairasco-2004/ 14) 2000 Burlotto Monvigliero $60 This on the other hand may not appear to be a value. It is after all $60 but, if any Barolo deserves to be better known it is this wine. Why this slips through the cracks I don’t know. It is as traditional a wine as you can find and as distinctive, with it’s intense black olive nose, as any wine out there. Yet beyond that this is a gorgeous wine. The tannins are so fine, the balance so precise. This is simply superb wine and competes with wines that routinely sell for $100 a bottle and more. Maybe I should keep quiet after all as I look forward to buying more Burlotto in the future! Superb stuff. Did I mention that I like this wine? 95pts http://www.snooth.com/wine/burlotto-gb-barolo-vigneto-monvigliero-2000/ Well that was the evening. I will write up the groups very consistent opinions about the wines in a separate blog post. For the most part they all came around to see things my way. A rare evening indeed!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Snooth PTP takes on Nebbiolo by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• November 2008

  Well starting right here is a great idea! As we transition into full Holiday panic mode, a lot of people will find themselves faced with the same old questions: What wines go well with Turkey? What wines are good choices for the Holiday party? What wine should I get my... Read moreWell starting right here is a great idea! As we transition into full Holiday panic mode, a lot of people will find themselves faced with the same old questions: What wines go well with Turkey? What wines are good choices for the Holiday party? What wine should I get my Boss/Dr./father-in-law, who is a wine geek, but keep it under $30 please? What wines should I buy for my son/wife/partner, who is just getting into wine and wants to start a cellar? What is the best wine in the market today? What is the a good vintage? What is the deal with Sparkling wine, is it Champagne or what? Well to start off this series of preemptive responses I though I'd tackle the thorny question of vintages today. I can't tell you, in my years in retail, how many times I have been asked the open ended question "What is a good vintage?" The reason that this is so difficult to answer is that every region, indeed almost every specific vineyard site, has it's own meso-climate which dictates it's specific vintage conditions. Confusing? Well it's not as bad as all that makes it sound. Vintages are strange and variable creatures that fight reason. We try and classify vintages, assigning each region a number each year and putting them in little orderly boxes on vintage charts but that doesn't tell the whole story. While we have neither the time nor the space to tell the whole story I would like to hit on a few general points here before providing a bit of a vintage overview of the more significant and vintage variable regions of the world. First off let's just talk for a moment about what exactly constitutes a "great" vintage. A "great" vintage is generally one that has very ripe fruit, by that I don't mean that the fruit is the intense or concentrated that it can be, these traits are frequently the result of over-ripe fruit. To me very ripe, perfectly ripe fruit yields wines with good alcohol levels, no apparent heat, ample ripe, soft tannins and vibrant acidity all supporting vivid fruit, and it does all this naturally. A very famous wine writer has recently declared the end of bad vintages. While that in and of itself makes no sense, the weather will continue to try the patience of even the most even-tempered farmer, his point was that there need not be bad wine. With todays technology every element of a wine can be tweaked and adjusted through-out the winemaking process. While this may allow for decent wines to be produced in troubling vintages the simple truth is that if all the elements are correct, balanced, and ripe from the grape juice itself, the final wine will be better than if adjutments are made. Why you may ask. Well the truth is that the "great" vintages are judged partly on what the wine delivers upon release but a lot of weight is given to what the wine will become. Ageworthiness and cellarability is a major factor in the determination of what constitutes a "great" vintage. While this may not make a tremendous amount of sense, after all most wine purchased in this country is consumed within 24 hours of purchase, it does create opportunity for the savvy shopper. Another aspect of "great" vintages is consistency. Great producers frequently make great wine in so-called off vintages, hence the phrase "producer over vintage". What makes a vintage truly special is when all producers are presented with the opportunity to make great wine. Now there are still plenty of producers out there who manage to screw things up, some great producers have made clunkers in so-called "great" vintages, but when the vast majority of producers have been able to produce compelling wines that certainly qualifies as a "great" vintage. So great vintages are balanced, ripe, consistent and age-worthy. What happens when a vintage only fulfills 3 of these criteria? I would say that in all likelihood the first of these to drop would be age-worthiness or consistency. Once we find that a vintage has produced wines that are, for the sake of discussion, consistent, balanced, and ripe yet lack the tannin for serious aging, or lack consistency across the full range of producers, we would find that this vintage would probably be classified as "very good". It is an unusual situation where a vintage that produces wines that may deliver more immediate appeal on release is judged to be "less good" than a vintage that may be difficult at best on release but may deliver more profound experiences in the future. Unusual yes, par the course as well. This is where the savvy shopper can begin the exploit the prejudices and bias inherent in the arbitrary classification of vintages by a small group of palates. The "very good" vintages often out-perform more highly regarded vintages among wine drinkers. Those who judge wines tend to admire wines as much for their potential as for their performance. Those who drink wines have more immediate concerns. There in lies the rub, and the fundamental flaw in the vintage chart. Those who write it and many who use it are in fact at cross purposes! Now what happens if we drop another criteria from our assessment, what is a vintage that is ripe and balanced yet lacks consistency and cellarability? We would find a merely "good" vintage. While this may be an accurate over-view of the vintage in a very general sense, the mere lack of consistency would seem to indicate that perhaps some producers made "very good" or even "great" wine, and as often as not that is the case. These merely "good" vintages offer even greater opportunity for the savvy shopper. They are vintages that wholesale and retail buyers generally buy based on the quality of individual wines, but then find difficult or impossible to sell based on the broad brush assessment of the vintage. the wines of a good vintage, even the best wines of a "good" vintage are usually relegated to the sale pages as consumers anxiously await the next "great" vintage, the next must buy "Vintage of the Century!!". Now if we drop yet another criteria from our package we end up with a vintage that is less than "good". Here we have reached the point of diminishing returns. If in fact the collective palates that be have determined that a vintage is less than good odds are that a majority of the wines will turn out to be duds. In truly bed vintages the best producers will declassify much of their production either bottling it all under their least prestigious labels or selling it off in bulk to be sold as someone else's product. There are so many values in "good" vintages that, while I am not averse in following a trusted palate's recommendation in a bad vintage, there is very little incentive to dig through disappointing vintages in search of a gem or a value. So just to recap Great vintages are ripe, balanced, consistent and age-worthy. Due to their consistency lesser producers and less well regarded vineyards often produce results above their reputation and are worth searching out but a rising tide lifts all ships and wines from these vintages tend to be more expensive. Very good vintages generally lack either consistency or age-worthiness, though less ripe vintages are often deemed less good than their riper peers. In very good vintages wines can often be friendlier and easier to drink than in the very best vintages though finding the best wines and values can be more of a challenge. Good vintages are hard sells. they are usually full of values as retailers struggle to sell the wines. In a certain way it's less disappointing to shop through the value priced selections of a good vintage in search of gems since the price of entry can be so much lower than better vintages. If it's not good why bother? Only on the recommendation of someone you trust and who knows your palate, otherwise see above. One last word on vintages . While important, vintages are not universally crucial. While every region can have a bad vintage now and again, many regions offer impressively consistent quality. In fact certain vintages are almost universally either good or bad so if you don't want to have to remember specific information for every region a simple go to guide would be: 2006 to soon to tell as many regions are only just releasing their wines over the next year or two 2005 was pretty good to spectacular the world over 2004 was god to great, but variable 2003 was good but variable 2002 was very variable 2001 was very good at least and better in most regions, if I had a "go to" vintage this would be it 2000 was good to great but a bit variable 1999 was very good to spectacular and a close runner up "go to" vintage I will work an getting a region by region vintage primer together to help guide the search for "vintage values" but let me end with this final thought. Anything I can put together is only a general guide and I hope this helps you approach wine buying and wine drinking with an open mind. Stocking one's cellar with only the "greatest" vintages tends to be an inefficient allocation of assets and robs one of the excitement of discovery and exploration than can only come from exposing one's self to the vagaries of vintage variation. And besides those "great" vintage only obscure terroir anyway! But that's another discussion entirely!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic What is a good vintage?... by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  
• 

  September 2008

  Oddero Langhe Nebbiolo 2006

  Snoothrank: Starting at $22^.75

  Not declassified Barolo but a separate and distinct bottling inaugurated in 2002 as an effort to work with that vintage. Harvest a week or so before the grapes for Barolo. 10-12 day fermentation/maceration at a slightly lower temperature than for the Barolo in an effort to preserve... Read moreNot declassified Barolo but a separate and distinct bottling inaugurated in 2002 as an effort to work with that vintage. Harvest a week or so before the grapes for Barolo. 10-12 day fermentation/maceration at a slightly lower temperature than for the Barolo in an effort to preserve freshness and limit the extraction of green tannins. Aged 9 months in Botte then 6 months in bottle. A blend of fruit from La Morra and Castiglione. The nose offers a curious yet appealing notes of confected green fruits, think candied watermelon rind, over baked clay tile that adds layers of rosewater, pomegranate, balsamic forest floor and a strong top note of angelica root. Very expressive and fresh 3+ Lovely and lithe in the mouth with juicy acidity and ripe tannins on a well proportioned medium weight frame 2+ Fresh berry fruit in the mouth which is bright and pure with a very refreshing green note but not particularly complex 2+inishes a bit short and tight with peach skin tannins pooping up and clipping the finish 2 90pts    (hide)

  Wine review by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• September 2008

  While La Morra is responsible for a large part of today’s production of ... Nebbiolo 2006 - 90pts Not declassified Barolo but a separate and distinct bottling inaugurated in 2002 as an effort to work with that vintage. Harvest a week or so before the grapes for Barolo. 10-12 day... Read moreWhile La Morra is responsible for a large part of today’s production of ... Nebbiolo 2006 - 90pts Not declassified Barolo but a separate and distinct bottling inaugurated in 2002 as an effort to work with that vintage. Harvest a week or so before the grapes for Barolo. 10-12 day fermentation/maceration at a slightly lower temperature than for the Barolo in an effort to preserve freshness and limit the extraction of green tannins. Aged 9 months in Botte then 6 months in bottle. A blend of fruit from La Morra and Castiglione. The nose offers a curious yet appealing notes of confected green fruits, think candied watermelon rind, over baked clay tile that adds layers of rosewater, pomegranate, balsamic forest floor and a strong top note of angelica root. Very expressive and fresh 3+ Lovely and lithe in the mouth with juicy acidity and ripe tannins on a well proportioned medium weight frame 2+ Fresh berry fruit in the mouth which is bright and pure with a very refreshing green note but not particularly complex 2+inishes a bit short and tight with peach skin tannins pooping up and clipping the finish 2 Barolo 2004 - 88pts A blend of fruit from Castiglione Falleto( Bricco Fiasco) and La Morra (Bricco Chiesa and Capalot) 20 day fermentation/maceration. Each cru vinified separately, aged in separate botti then assembled. Very taut nose revealing subtle notes of tobacco and leather then a bit of seared cherry and chalky, powdery earth. 2+ Luxurious and elegant in the mouth with ripe acids and tannins, lithe and sinewy 2+ Moderately intense notes of cherry pit fruit and soil tones escape the reticent palate 2 Mouth grabbing structure dominates the finish, this needs 3-5 years to come into it’s own and while it finishes short today there is evident depth to the nettle, green herb and dense fruit on the finale 2+ Barbaresco Gallina 2005 - 92pts 20-25 day fermentation/maceration Spicy and floral on the nose with a big woodsy, sottobosco character and a balsamic edge 2+ Sweet tannins are very fine and fill the mouth, the very well integrated acidity adds to the velvety mouthfeel 3 Very plummy up front then turning more cherried with excellent purity of fruit, gentle suggestions of watermelon and strawberry tops add a bit of complexity 3 Showing some incipient minerality on the finish which is a bit short with it’s abrupt finale of strawberry/strawberry tops, needs 2-4 years 2+ Barolo Villero 2004 - 90pts Great intensity on the nose with a syrupy edge to the raspberry tones that are joined by notes of nettles, white clay, smoky, smoldering wood notes and an undertone of dark, pruney,fudgy fruit 2+ Velvety and round in the mouth with perfectly integrated acidity and fine grained tannins 3 Lovely fruit reveals the dark, earthy side of Villero with emerging notes of herb and mineral 2+ Finishes a touch simple yet with sneaking length and echoes of the core of dark, earthy fruit 2+ Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2004 - 88pts Floral/vegetal notes dominate the nose over an underlay of almost slate like minerality, light note of cherry in alcohol, good freshness 2+ A touch soft yet elegant with an austere character, well balanced and approachable 2+ A touch low intensity on the palate with easy notes of lingonberry/mulberry fruit with a sandy, mineral edge 2+ Tannins grow a bit on the finish, which features pure, light fruit with good length, the tannins offer a bit of a matte, flannel feel to the finish 2+ Barolo Brunate 2004 - 94pts Great complexity on the nose with drying plum, light smoke tones, green herbs and almost salty minerality, closes up a bit in the glass but still offers up great intensity and complexity 3+ Very linear in the mouth with excellent balance, tannins embedded in the fruit and the acid cruising just under the surface. 3 Deep and bright in the mouth with a sour cherry/ green melon jolly rancher acid driven fruit quality above notes of peach pit, mineral, herb and a bit of dried citron 3+ Tight on the finish with a lingering layered finale of bright fruit 2 Barolo Bussia Soprana Vigna Mondoca (Pianpolvere) - 95pts The smoky nose opens slowly revealing a bit of Ivy, some gravel dust, fresh green herbs then darker notes of old wood, dried flowers and subtle dried fruit tones. 3+ Round with a big, powerful entry very ripe tannins and excellent supporting acidity 3 Great intensity of flavor in the mouth weight any excess weight, melon rind and spicy almost gooseberry fruits that develops a more red fruited aspect with time yet retains the spicy, almost exotic edge 3 Very focused finish with great intensity of mineral tones and huge reserves of fruit on the long, lingering finale 3 Barolo Vigna Rionda 2003 - 88pts The nose opens with a huge note of wild strawberry confiture and billows of church candle and incense with just a bit of alcohol showing 2+ Round in the mouth and a touch soft though the slightly astringent tannins offer a bit of a bite on the back end 2+ A bit muddled on the palate, lacking a bit of precision with a bit of detracting heat showing through the fairly rich and spicy strawberry fruit edged in dry soil tones 2+ Very grippy finish shows a bit of bitter tannin that offers contrast to the sweet fruit that ends on a finale of savory seeds 2+ Langhe Rosso Fureste - 2007 87pts From La Morra 60% Cabernet/20% Merlot/20% Dolcetto) 15 day fermentation/maceration, elevage in stainless Herbaceous cab dominated nose with gentle cassis notes, leafy edges and an interesting and unusual mineral tone 2+ Soft and fleshy in the mouth yet packed with tannins 2 Darkly fruited with a top note of minty herbaciousness over dark rich blackberry/cassis fruit 2 Finished a bit short with a hint of toasted almond in the finale 2 Moscato d’Asti 2007-88pts Lovely fruit on the nose with a touch of sage, lemon rind, lime leaf, and juicy sweetness 2+ Nicely balanced acid/sugar levels 2 An almost creamy aspect to the Meyer lemon core is gently shaded with sage and candied lime zest 2+ Finishes round and juicy 2    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic A killer visit with Oddero. by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

prev 1 next