The Auswine Forum

Castello di Nieve Santo Stefano Riserva 2006- I have had two now and the other 4 are definitely going the the cellar in Australia! This bottle was stunning. Popped and poured revealing concentrated dark fruits with a complex red rose infusion with damp earth and mingling Alpine florals; taking you to the hills of Albesani which are on the drive up to the commune of Neive with Barbaresco on the right.

Considerable palate intensity with high extract. The fruit is fresh and red and black in tones and this works brilliantly with a doughnut effect. Round and fruit intense, just a touch of austerity in the middle which will fill in time. Long firm tannins and the flavors drift to a dark and sour cherry persistence.

Day two a half bottle remnants hardens up, though maintains its beauty, suggesting the wine is a long way from its best window.


One of those comfortable Gaja alternatives at a 5th of the price! I think this was $70 AUD in bond.

94pts+

My wife is not impressed! Anyways, I had to on-sell 2 cases of the Cappellano which went within minutes.

Drinking a vietti perbacco langhe nebbiolo 2012 right now, took a long time to unfurl in the decanter, pretty nose of strawberry and violets, lacks the complexity and wow factor of the 2010, a solid performer but not worth the $60 price tag.

Not Barolo nor Barbaresco but the more I drink from Piedmont the more local my palate is becoming. Most drink Barbera throughout the week. Here's two contrasting Barberas, one from Bera, a natural winemaker that is worth visiting for the lunch and Almondo, who makes superb Arneis and a bright fruited Barbera from the alto-Langhe. A delightful Croatina too, from Claudio Marriotto, who makes age worthy Barbera and a native white timorasso more to follow on him.

Sandrone Valmaggiore Nebbiolo D'Alba 2011

Very disappointing for the price ($90), bit of barnyard pong on the nose, on the palate it was a nice enough Nebbiolo but didn't offer much in the way of complexity or length.

I get a bit of Valmaggiore every year- a beautiful vineyard worth a look if in the area.

Can't find any of my notes on the 2010 but this is usually a very clean producer and funk in 2010 will be very controversial considering scores for the top tier wines. Their wines can be cooked badly outside of Italy I must add. hey have their own cellaring program as a result.

JamieBahrain wrote:I get a bit of Valmaggiore every year- a beautiful vineyard worth a look if in the area.

Can't find any of my notes on the 2010 but this is usually a very clean producer and funk in 2010 will be very controversial considering scores for the top tier wines. Their wines can be cooked badly outside of Italy I must add. hey have their own cellaring program as a result.

Whoops, I had a typo in there, vintage was 2011, not 2010.

I will be in Barbaresco for a week in March, I'm in the process of setting some appointments for tastings, does anyone have some suggestions on who I really should not miss?

Plan is to take a leisurely pace have one booking each morning and one in the afternoon. I want to prioritise producers who get imported into Australia.

So far on the list:
Produttori
Cigliuti
Cascina delle Rose
Cantina Del Pino
Marchesi di Gresy
Traversa

If you can get into either Gaja or Bruno Giacosa it can be very memorable.

Moccagatta or Bruno Rocca as they overlook Rabaja just out of Barbaresco on the road from Treiso. Sottimano is nearby too. Akbino Rocca lovely people and it would be nice to see how they're getting along after the tragic loss of their winemaker/ father . Roagna are special but hard to get into.

There's the little church in Barbaresco where you can get a t-shirt and try many of the producers wines.

Happy drinking you can put plenty away ( food and wine ) and the next day feel great and a week or two later no weight gain- I've always wondered about this! Wonderful region and don't worry if you fall for the wines as they seem pretty cheap in Oz at auction.

Do visit the commune of Neive ( 5 minutes from Barbaresco ). Easily missed but the most classical and timeless commune in the Barolo/Barbaresco region.



Cheers!

winetastic wrote:I will be in Barbaresco for a week in March, I'm in the process of setting some appointments for tastings, does anyone have some suggestions on who I really should not miss?

Plan is to take a leisurely pace have one booking each morning and one in the afternoon. I want to prioritise producers who get imported into Australia.

So far on the list:
Produttori
Cigliuti
Cascina delle Rose
Cantina Del Pino
Marchesi di Gresy
Traversa

Not knowing who gets imported will mean I may be off-base with suggestions. Of those on your list, although produttori del B do have a cellar door, best to book an appointment, as otherwise they're likely to be apathetic (they do see a lot of tourists these days). Cantina del Pino definitely worthwhile - we discovered them in 99 vintage, but got VERY lucky on an auction lot of the 98s so have enjoyed many bottles. I'm not a fan of Marchesi di Gresy (other are more impressed), but IIRC there is an antipodean winemaker, so possibly worth the visit to get an outsiders view from the inside. Cigliuti is another I've yet to get excited about, but only via tasting 3-4 of their wines.

In Barbaresco itself, La Ca Nova offer incredible value (IIRC < €20 for their Barbaresco wines and they are decent quality).
Albino Rocca mentioned above impressed us greatly, not a foot wrong across the whole range, including a very fine Cortese and a very good Moscato. Sad to hear the Patriarch died, though to assuage the above fears, I got the impression from our visit that he liked to 'busy himself' around the place, and was humoured with good grace when he did so, but the younger generation were very much running the place.
Moccagatta also mentioned above was good, thougn for some might push the new oak a bit much - their Chardonnay Buschet is worth trying as much as for a view of whether they are over-enthusiastic, as for me it stood on the cusp of too much oak.
Giuseppe Nada (one of a few Nadas in the area) make some very good value Barbaresco including the riserva Casot.
Rizzi (in Treiso - a great village for dining with all four options very worthwhile) worth a look as well

Logistically I wonder whether a better strategy is 2 tastings in the morning (say 9:30 and 11 or 11:30am) as most take 60-90 mins, which then takes you to lunch and gives you an afternoon to take a walk amongst the vines, or head back to the ranch for an after-lunch snooze. Some wineries do like to observe the traditional long Italian lunch, which might mean that 3-3.5 hour gap in the middle of the day ends up getting in the way.

Finally, it's not far to get into Alba, and they have a very good selection of food shops. I end up buying lots of food in Italy to take back to the UK, but of course the options are limited that will satisfy the Aussie customs & excise folk. There are good wine shops here, but if you're buying at the tastings, then you may not have a need for additional bottles.

Hope this helps

Ian S wrote: Hope this helps

Looks damned helpful to me!

Thank you Jamie and Ian for the excellent suggestions.

I am in the proceess of making as many appointments as I can, then next week, ill do the same for Barolo.

Trying a couple of oak matured Barberas from Mariotto. VHO is pure and expressive drink now with poggio del rosso incredibly deep and extracted, showing evolution on the edges but set for a good 10 year run.

Their timorosso is outstanding- $20 aussie plus for a white that ages beautifully and interestingly for 10 years plus. Another white burg alternative if being burned by premox pisses you off.

Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo "Valmaggiore" 2010 was quite closed over the course of the night. It showed amazing purity and prett red fruits and florals over the last few years prior so probably shutting down- I should have left overnight a half of the bottle but I'm out of town tonight so it was polished off.

Giuseppe Mascarello Barbera d'Alba Codamonte 2010- Mind blowing stuff. Old vines from Castiglione Falletto. There is no excuse to drink young Mascarello Barolo when you can patiently wait for them in the cellar and get your fix from this.

Beautiful florals and an alluring sauciness- smoked meats, intermingling vintage engine oil and blackberry-tar notes. Palate is full and mirrors the nose, wondrous balance and the expected carry-through aided with natural high acidity.

15 year + wine.

93pts+

Swore I wouldn't ever but I have. Some of these single vineyard specialties are more expensive than Monfortino- 2005 & 2006 Roagna's Crichet Paje came from an importer friend.

Hopefully Oz customs resist needlessly jimmying them open.

I was so disappointed to learn that Crichet Paje translates to “top of the small hill”, rather than Cricket pitch

Certainly needed a mow and some weed killer when I was there……

Barbaresco tastings are almost all booked in, interestingly Produttori responded saying they do not make appointments but we can turn up basically at any time (our accommodation is 2min walk anyhow). I did try contacting Gaja, they responded saying essentially if you make a 300 EUR donation to a charity they recommend then you can come on a tour - pretty reasonable way of handing what must be a massive demand on their part but a bit pricey for what would be a purely academic exercise for me as I cant afford to buy their wines anyhow...

I am now busily emailing Barolo producers, on my list so far:
Benevelli, Borgogno, GD Vajra, Pio Cesare, Giovanni Rosso, Azelia, Fontanafredda, Mirafiore, Paolo Scavino

Would also love to try Bartolo Mascarello, Gieseppe Rinaldi and Cappellano, however they don't seem to have websites so I guess ill try wrangle something once we are in the region.

Any other suggestions on producers not to miss? Have an entire week dedicated to tasting.

Have somebody there arrange B Mascarello- preferably a local. Calling Maria Teresa will generally get an appointment and is not to be missed.

Cappellano just look at the vineyards and buy a bottle off a list. The winery visit is OK.


Cavallotto?

JamieBahrain wrote:Have somebody there arrange B Mascarello- preferably a local.

Cheers, will do.

I would 2nd Cavallotto, it's a great visit, and also look at visiting Elio Grasso.

I second Elio Grasso. We rocked up just before harvest so didn't get much interest from most producers but Elio Grasso gave us a fantastic tasting. Also it was 2014 (2010 release year) so most places had sold out so no one except Marchesi di Barolo enforced their tasting fee.

Marchesi di Barolo is interesting for their cellar tour but otherwise very commercial.

Definitely map the wineries you are interested out on Google Maps. Lovely if you can walk between them, but at least avoid criss-crossing from one end of the village limits to the other.

Personally I'd be a little wary of Fontanafredda / Mirifiori, as although the history is strong, like *Marchesi di Barolo they've been trading off that name and high volume production for a long time now. Instead, I'd recommend two others in Serralunga: Boasso (Franco is the patriarch) who are also know as Gabutti (as in the vineyard they own a good chunk of). Quite traditional / low key, but surprised us with the quality at friendly prices. The other is Schiavenza, whose restaurant is very pleasant / true to the local cuisine / fairly priced. One upside is you can buy by the glass (from their wines) with your meal. We did our tasting before the meal, but didn't do a winery tour as they were taking some grapes in at harvest. However they then offered us the option of a tour inbetween courses. The Langhe nebbiolo / Barbera / Dolcetto didn't impress, but were from 2012 vintage, however every Barolo was really impressive, ranging across 2006, 2008, 2010 and various riservas / normale single vineyard bottlings.

Cavallotto wines are exemplary, and that includes very fine Langhe nebbiolo and Dolcetto (vigna Scot). I've no doubt they'd do a grand job with all the grapes, and the Barolo wines are top notch.

I'll be interested in you take on Borgogno. They are the one producer it is common to see older bottles, and they do hold back significant museum stock, releasing it at rather high prices, and controversially topping up and re-sealing. Most would recommend saving some money and risking poor storage to get the original (red capsule) bottles. I've bought 40 year old riservas from them for €40-50 before in Torino, and the 1971 riserva was wonderful. They don't get universal respect though, and are typically so four-square that they really need 20-30 years. However the additional in interest in how you find them, is that there are rumours / insinuations of a change in style via the recent(ish) purchase of them by Oscar Farinetti (of Eataly). He's a very good businessman, though if I judge him by Eataly, the reality is not quite as good as first appears. His linking in with Slow Food when launching Eataly was a masterstroke, as it was painted to be 'effectively a slow food outlet'. Look at the heavily promoted stock and you'll find it's what he has a financial interest in, and he still leans very heavily on Slow Food tie ins. The store isn't the food temple it was painted to be, but it is a bloody good supermarket!

regards
Ian

* Marchesi hold a special place for us in Barolo terms, as it was the first Barolo the missus tasted, and triggered not just an interest in the wines, but an interest in the region as well. Some very old wines are still worth looking out for (ditto Fontanafredda ~ 1950s & 60s). They've clearly been operating 'fat, dumb and happy' for a while, but ~ 3 years ago we thought we ought to visit the winery out of respect. The wines were unsurprisingly disappointing and they do charge (giving healthy pours but of typically lower wines). To the lady's credit, she recognised the difference between us as enthusiasts, and the coach tour clientele who appear to be their usual clients, and poured a couple of extra glasses and was interested enough to listen to our thoughts (diplomatic, but not enthusiastic). They've not lost that special place in our journey, but in the cold light of day, I can't see us buying any of the modern wines unless a radical top-to-toe change takes place, and with Barolo (village) increasingly becoming a coach tour destination, I see no reason for them to make that change.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I have made bookings with Cavallotto and Elio Grasso and we will definitely dine at Schiavenza.

I am keen to visit Mirafiore since I do actually have some of their Barolo in the cellar, so with some skin in the game and all... Fontanafredda is more so I know where to place the more... boutique producers. Either way, they didnt respond to my email request, so ill just drop in when its convinient I suppose.

2004 Borgogno Barolo was my 'aha' moment. The fact they are very reasonably priced is a big bonus. Ill be taking notes and doing a writeup for the whole trip once I get back.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on. I'm sure it will be rewarding, and Italians (outside the mass tourism trail) are very hospitable.

Vinea Marson Nebbiolo 2005- This wine was really out there in a crazy-weird nebbiolo manner. Unfortunately, I only had the one glass when at its best and thought I'd let the dust settle on day two where it was tamed by aeration.

Weird and wondrous aromatics. Initially off-putting though it grows upon you in time: green herbs, hay, blackcurrant bud and a piercing saucy tomato like delivery in the red fruit spectrum. An enveloping palate which is flooded with fine and grippy tannin. Intriguing wine. Day two it's far more conventional; still a very enjoyable wine.

Impressive !

91pts

Ill be taking notes and doing a writeup for the whole trip once I get back.

Looking forward to it. Have a great time.

Roagna Barolo Pira 2009- 2009 is a little maligned but it seems to have settled in my view and is presenting some pretty impressively approachable Barolo.

Stand-out Roagna purity, leafy morello cherry with darker tones, sawdust, tar, earth and ethereal roses. Fills out beautifully across the length and breadth of the palate, with a good dollop of plump fruit on the back palate which is a little unusual but likable. The wine has amazing acidity that is infused with a very palatable minerality.

It was so good, even on an empty stomach, that I gassed the wine to preserve it's current play for day two- didn't want to risk the tendancy of young nebbiolo to shut down with too much air.


94pts

Corino Barolo Vigna Giachini 1997- A new shipment and I impatiently pulled the cork upon delivery and consumed over two evenings. Day one a big glass and day two a vigorous aeration.

Starts with piercing spearmint aromatics on a base of tar, cedar and earth. Elemental though broad and expansive across the palate. Lots to like on Day 1 with the next day a more classic La Morra delivery and expression- fragrant dry herbs and mint, roses and red and black fruits, expands still across the mouth with great fruit concentration at the edges and classical austerity. A long wave of acidity carries the sweeping tannins on a long length with autumnal flavor persistence.

93pts