Melbourne Offline - 3Bs: Barbaresco, Barolo & Brunello - 19/02/2016

[conformistpete]

He didn't have to... He chose to.

[Chris H]

....and a pretty tricky one too - I can just imagine him tossing up the choice ......Offline or trip to France and Italy, Offline or trip.......

[conformistpete]

I read it as "about to fly" ... My interpretation was that both could be done.

[mjs]

Pfftt! France/Italy in preference to dinner and wine at Scopri!

[Chris H]

And of course your sparkling company and the mintiest Barolo you could find.

[Diddy]

Hi guys, quick reminder the booking is for 7pm under the name 'Liam'. We're pencilled in for the 5 course menu @ $110/person.

[conformistpete]

On a tram

[mjs]

9:15pm and we've had some great wines, seven so far, no duds. Some beautiful aromatics, some great fruit, good structure, tannins, differences between Barolo, Barbaresco and Brunello. Food at Scopri v good as well. Couple more to go.

[Ozzie W]

Wow! What an awesome night. While the wines were centre stage, the food was simply amazing and the company even better. Kudos to Diddy for organising and a big thankyou to everyone who came. I'll post some bottle photos and a few notes in due course.

[alexc92]

Thank's for the awesome evening folks! One thing is certain: I need more Barolo and Barbaresco in my cellar!

Thanks for organising Liam and look forward to seeing you all again in a month or so

[grapeobserver]

An excellent tasting and thanks too to Liam for organising a great group, tasting and venue. Here are a few very rough notes that I typed as I went (correct away...) and impressions on the wine in the order served. No wine of the night declared, with consensus being that this was a very even group of unanimously good quality.

1. Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Asili 2001, 14abv
Tar, roses. Fine grained tannins, medium length, lovely balanced wine in its drinking prime. Fantastic start.

2. Marcarini Brunate Barolo 2011, 14abv
Very youthful expression. Redcurrant, prunes, pepper, earth, florals. Palate is fruit driven and elegant but builds weight in the glass with air. Still a baby, and enjoyed time in the glass.

3. Traversa Starderi Barbaresco 2010, 13.5abv
Lowest alcohol wine for the night. Delicious too. Tar, herbs, violets and rosemary nose. Palate has flesh, good length, hints of raspberry and earth. Joyous drinking right now.

4. Cigliuti Vie Erte Barbaresco 2010, 14abv
Tar and roses again! Licorice, earth. On the palate some powdery oak tannin, medium length, plum skins, firm tanins, high acid. May well age forever.

5. Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino 2007, 15abv
A definite change in style on the palate heralding the first Brunelli in the set. Plum, earth, licorice, cedar aromatics. Palate has earth, blackcurrant, licorice, cherry, towards long length. Good wine, youthful in impression, components coming together and 15abv in balance.

6. Borgogno Etichetta “No Name” 2011, 15abv
Outstanding label: declassified Barolo labelled literally as “No Name”. In fact, appellation of Langhe claimed on the back label. Aromatics of roses and florals. Quite pretty. Some tomato bush too. Palate has very high acid, huge tannins and a strict impression. Built to last.

7. Luigi Pira Serralunga Barolo 2010, 14.5abv
Classic aroma - tar and roses again. The palate is fresh and has a lovely moreish balance to it with good length and floral intent, cloaking some serious structure. Decant.

8. Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino 2010, 14.5abv
Less obviously Brunello, although the spittoons didn’t receive much of a workout by wine number 8. Licorice and earth aromatics. Plum and cherry characters on the palate with some strawberry red fruit notes too. Very good drinking.

9. Giaconda Nebbiolo 2010, 13.8abv
And just to complete an excellent benchmarking exercise, an Aussie wine to contrast. The aroma was immediately different, but with time reverted more to Nebbiolo type. Roses, wet rosemary, pepper, eucalyptus and some menthol on the nose. The palate didn’t have the framing acidity of the preceding wines, but nonetheless had attractive cherry characters, with a touch of fruit sweetness.

[dave vino]

Looks like a very nice tasting. Any epiphany moments for those getting into the styles?

[Chris H]

Great night, very enjoyable and educational at the same time.

My first takeaway was how much cleaner Italian wines are these days and it no wonder people are gravitating to them more and more. Not one poor wine amongst them.

My second takeaway is really a confirmation. The two 2011 Barolo's showed just how approachable this vintage can be, and such a good one to drink in the near term while waiting for more structured vintages to mature. Both wines were relatively pretty and very drinkable.

[Ozzie W]

Here are the photos I took:

[Ozzie W]

Looks like a very nice tasting. Any epiphany moments for those getting into the styles?

This is my second Italian themed offline and it has reinforced my resolve to purchase and cellar more Italian wines. Amazing wines for the price of admission . If only Grand Cru Burgundy or 1st Growth Bordeaux were in that price bracket .

[Diddy]

It was an absolutely cracking night - thanks all for the great wine and company. Lovely to meet some new faces and see some old ones again. Scopri is a sensational venue and the food was a brilliant foil for the wines. Every wine was fantastic in its own right however for me, the Traversa was WOTN. Went and bought myself one the next day!

[JamieBahrain]

Perhaps a regular event? Not too expensive to do? I've been checking out auction results for Italians.

[Chris H]

Jamie, don't even need to take the auction provenance risk. Some of the favourites were recent releases. Plenty of approachable wines around at the moment.