The Auswine Forum

JamieBahrain wrote:Haven’t tried the 2001 Gramolere so await your notes ! BTW how was Conterno Fantino ? Firmly modern and acceptable to the revellers?

I think G Manzone are underrated producers with a step-up in quality recently .

I’m still in contact with the family if anyone wants a neat tasting experience ( as below )

Alas, Olek Bondonio what’s app me yesterday they are going into lockdown again .

I'll let you know on the Gramolere but suspect it will be a while before I receive it (one of those sellers that has multiple shops around the world and keep in storage for buyers). As for the Conterno, I lack the knowledge to really understand the concepts of modern Vs traditional Barolo flavour differences...but I picked up some blood orange, tar, lovely red fruit. The wine had a long finish and there was some lingering vanilla which may hint at the modernity that you allude to?

My next nebbiolo will be a Pecchenino Le Coste 2011.

Conterno Fantino makes very good wine that will appeal to many. They will be shunned by the oak averse. It's a magnificent property that does a pretty orchestrated tasting that's good in that it over within 90 minutes. Sometimes you just can not plan tasting duration.

The Gramolere will be a good wine. But in my experience, G Manzone's improvements obvious a bit later.

Pecchenino Barolo Le Coste 2011
There's rose petal galore here on the nose. Palate is more red fruit with maraschino cherries and cranberry. Leather and cinnamon tertiary notes. Decanted 5 hours, served with slow cooked lamb shoulder cooked in red wine with olives, sweet stewed onions and tomato - the dish was cooked even longer than the decant, awesome pairing.

Tried Olek's Roncagliette 2011 verus 2017.

2011 was a very hot vintage and it shows here with darker fruited notes and a tariness in the palate extract. It's not without floral complexity you'd expect from high class Barbaresco. Sits even, with freshness and balance. Very nice considering. 93pts

2017 is a wiry and edgy needing a bit of time. With more air it opens for business and seems deceptively approachable. Lovely floral bouquet and complexity of the site. 94pts+





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Had a couple of bottles of Chiara Boschis Cannubi. I'm very familiar with the 2006 and I feel my friends' are opening them a little too soon. It's delightful aromatically, I picked it as Cannubi Boschis blind, so there's that divine sweetness and complexity of vineyard site ( potpourri like ) and a uniqueness comfortably picked by those who get to drink a lot of it. Asili is similar. I've never noted the many talented wine writers, to successfully put good words to describe what you nose in Cannubi and Asili that is so easy to pick.

Chiara Boschis Barolo Cannubi 2003 & 2006- The 2003 was by far the most compelling wine I've tried from that vintage. A number I've had recently from other producers seem to indicate peak drinking. Here, Chiara's efforts seem magical - typical on the nose, perfect volume, balanced and perfectly inviting. Oak is hard to find- as this seems so important to many- and there is some way that the hot and maligned vintage, sings in harmony with just a little extra fruit sweetness at 17 years on.

96pts

The 2006 fosters similar aromatics, just a little less inviting and you can tell just from the nose, the fruit has better development ahead. Popped and poured, although it worked for the 2003, the fierce and boney long-length of the 2006 needs aeration to un-peel the tightness of the fruit. This sees more austerity than previous bottles better prepared. It also has a graininess of oak in the very long finish, that will look clumsy to those keen to be averse. Time in the glass presents evidence of previous experience- a structurally powerful Barolo delivering a bounty of prized Cannubi fruit, almost cylindrically in force and palate component.

94pts+


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Flew this Alba truffle in same day!

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Fondue and a little white burg' to wash the palate for the following "King of Wines"

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Breakfast the next day- too much Barolo and the perfect foil!

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Sunny winter's lunch in Hong Kong. Enjoyed a pair of very young Barbarescos. A few vague recollections:

Roagna Barbaresco Pajé 2013- One of the great experiences of the wine world is to sample a Pajé trilogy from Roagna. Pajé, Pajé VV ( old vines) & the masterpiece Crichët Pajé. Be a great offline theme in Australia for the like-minded. Anyways, I digress.

Bit young, we gave the wine some aeration which was beneficial. A pure, clean and very traditional expression of Barbaresco. The wine is long and youthfully lean, needing a decade to flesh out, fruit is complex with intermingling herbs in red fruits and clean, fresh leather notes.

94pts+

Rizzi Barbaresco Riserva Boito 2010- Just entering a very long drinking window though those who wait better rewarded! It's a very unique and likeable expression, retaining the feminine grace of the best Barbarecos, a unique & complex flavour profile of the higher up Cru of RIzzi and oak marrying effortlessly with silence in good time.

Shame to drink so early.

94pts+


I know Rizzi imported into Australia and a number of fans on earlier pages here. I had the 2016 Barbaresco in the evening which was excellent. And over the last few weeks a number of adolescent Rizzis from the 2011 vintage. They were good expressions: Nervo and Pajore I recall. I liked the elegance and structural tension, which delivered a fresh impression of the hot 2011. Good producer with their wines' needing time.

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Couple of nice write-ups there the last couple of days Jamie.

Roagna always sounds terrific, I really need to try to grab a bottle or two next time I see an offer.

Will

Roagna wows many but not all! The wines do need time. I stopped buying them in the 2013 vintage as I felt I could broaden elsewhere for better value and my tasting group has an annual allocation as well.

A Burgundian-like producer in many ways: including price rises!

Cheers Jamie, and yes the relative expense usually gives me pause, and noted drinking young wasteful, though I’ll never know if I’m wowed by them until I try I guess!

Will

Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi S. Lorenzo-Ravera 2006 en magnum- Quite the vineyards for the blend.

We served this wine blind prior to enjoying a number of helpings. It was very Barbaresco like on the nose though the flavour yield gave it away as Barolo on the palate. With the caveat that this was obviously a traditional producer so the dangerous assumptions of picking Barolo versus Barbaresco mostly removed.

There's an autumnal wildness aromatically, twiggy and loaded with dry spice. Cleaner fruit perfumes eventually emerge. It's the classic and traditional Barolo blend from the highest echelons. Effortless in carry, with a gravity defying palate weight, an inner richness and elegant spread that leaves no marks. As the wine stimulates a cerebral context, thankfully the suckling pig emerges, and the grandness of the noble blend matches perfectly.

95pts+


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Cappellano Barolo Chinato NV- The one, the only? An exotic life-giving elixir originally administered for medicinal purposes with Italian colonialists in the Dark Continent. Actually, have taken a bottles deep-jungle trekking in malarial parts of Asia, in preference to medication which can be disorientating in climbing situations.

Wonderful way to complete a meal or the night. I have a six pack of 750ml bottles in Australia as they age fine and impossible to reasonably procure.

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Lots of Barbaresco this week. Just a few scribbles and vibes on the following.

Cascina delle Rose Barbaresco Rio Sordo 2008- Showed some green edges on day one probably from the large format Slavonian Oak. They've changed their oak source which has coincided with rapid elevation and attention of their wines. Day 2 was great- the fruit is clearer and tannins settle- a more muscular and complex Rio Sordo than the PdB due higher vineyard site and soils. Great folks and they have a historic B&B at the winery. If you are into the regional history, the family features in the book "Courageous Women Of Piedmont", for their bravery during the Nazi occupation.


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Cascina Luisin Rabaja & Paolin 2013- Following up on a recent experience with their Asili 2013. Very good wines- bit of barrique will upset some although it sits in stealth mode to all but the more discernible palates. Paolin is luscious and round, nicely developed ( aided by a short fill ) with the wine blending on the finish prior a slight trail of grainy tannin. Rabaja shows why it's a premier site, blending the best of the two ridge lines. Early days but still quite something- great fruit volume and a purposeful wine with youthful elegance.

La Ca Nova Montestefano & Montefico 2015- A veritable bargain producer. Can be traditionally a bit rusty, though for me, the fruit shines given opportunity. Terroir of the two sites in contrast here. Montesefano is complete and full, stunning already. Montefico leaner and with great length and mingling spice and minerality.

The value of these wines can be self-defeating. They are often consumed too young. Think I've gone through a case of 15's as quaffers and BBQ wines.

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I definitely recognise that comment about self-defeating value. It's caught me out before.

We might even have a Barbaresco for xmas day, as I've stood up a 1999 Pdb Rabaja, though I'm told by the brains of the operation that a pomerol might take it's place depending on mood.

Well we felt a bit run-down on xmas day so decided to defer the roast topside of beef and the Barbaresco until boxing day... having cheese on toast for xmas meal did however rather appeal to our rebellious spirit!

The 1999 Produttori del Barbaresco Rabaja is in rather a good place at the moment, poised in-between youth and maturity, which gives the benefits of both aspects. The nose is a balance of the decaying fruit I love in aged nebbiolo, with perhaps more mocha than I would ask for, but it works. Also a little fennel sat in the background and a faint whiff of violets came through later.

The fruit a fraction more youthful on the palate with subtle orange coming through on the finish. For me marginally less interesting than the nose, but others will disagree. Tannins are fine enough not to be noticed with food, being surreptitiously persistent. Acidity likewise provides refreshment without poking out. Together, when drunk after the food, they moderately dry out the finish, but that's not really a complaint.

For me, good to drink now, but would still be of interest for a few years yet (if I had to guess, maybe for another 10 years), but for others this would now be in the 'drink up' phase.

Fine value when bought back in 2006 (IIRC about £20). Not so convinced about the current retail prices in the UK - I'd certainly load up on La Ca Nova as mentioned by Jamie, with these being occasional diversity, rather than the heart of the cellar... whereas in the past they really were a good option for exploring the terroir at a very fair price.

[Edit: On reflection, I think this was more mature than youthful, and this from a bottle with a VERY tight-fitting cork. If you like them on the younger side, then most definitely drink up]

Great note, Ian. I really should buy a few of the 2016 to lay away for a few years...

I'm a big fan of Brovia.

Brovia Ca'Mia Barolo 2007- The perfect X-mas Barolo. I presented three bottles over the Festive Season and some good bottle age and the generous 2007 vintage was well received. The wine still required heavy aeration to draw out a good experience now.

It's classic Serralunga and Brovia in structure. Long, fine and initially austere- latent power in a vinous deliverance. It's plump in the right places, red plum fruits, mulled complexity with breezy light menthol atop, and autumnal notes below.

Wonderful!

94pts

Brovia Barolo 2015- Incredible for its sheer drinkability and purity. Well reported previously- this the last of a quaffing six pack!

92pts


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Paolo Conterno Riva del Bric Barolo 2013- Still a few years off its drinking window. Quite weird on day one- not unpalatable-loaded with garden spices and minerals which were overbearing upon the shy fruit with bottle opening.

I returned a few days later and here we are in Ginestra! The fruit is now brooding and dense. Dark and concentrated. Licorice and cherry notes are just discernible with herbs and minerality pleasantly embedded. It's a very comfortable wine, with the spread and flow presenting in considerable elegance and an easy going finish of brush stroke tannins.

This is from their younger vines in Ginestra. Very good wine. Some of their riservas seemed to have gotten a bit carried away of late from class vintages such as 2010. So this producer fell off the buying radar.


94pts.


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Paola Sordo Sori Gabutti Riserva Barolo 2004 - Now this is a bit of a head scratcher. I know Sordo quite well and I see they are building a good customer base in Australia. That's Giovanni Sordo. This being Paola Sordo? Has a website, same vineyards as Sordo and according to my friend who imports them its the same wine Giovanni Sordo Sori Gabutti Riserva Barolo 2004, however, bottled in the daughter's label. I'm still confused!

Stoic appeal upon opening. A return next day brings more expression. Florals and herbs which include dusty pepper; brass and balsamic overtones whilst dark fruited and jaffa like underneath. Has that Serralunga buzz and a beautiful and distinct note of porcini. Ample and long, fills out evenly and completes with a sweet maturity to the fruit on the palate, ferrous and tea flavours amplify the tannins.

93pts


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Giovanni Corino Vecchie Vigne Barolo 1999- This was very well received though sadly, my last bottle and by far from the best! I'd say there's way more oxygen ingress than normal. It was always a powerful and concentrated effort- this bottle dominated with carob and chinato notes and a currant-like sweet flavour profile. Fruit way over developed- a pity.

NR


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Sordo Barolo Riserva Rocche di Castiglione 2004- Like the Gabutti above, tried this over consecutive evenings.

Complex dried fruits and chocolate; fresher than Gabutti. Straight off the bat its gratifying, full and round with a very calm elegance. Better next day where it fines up and there's more of a floral drive. Lovely rusty/ mineral note sits deep in the ample fruited palate- lingering sweet tannins complete, perhaps a trait of 2004.

95pts


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Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis 2012 en magnum- I had a glass and left the rest of the magnum for a dinner party a few days later. My vesrion of slow-ox. Wine was served blind so my helping not noticed. Classic Sandrone and a strong essence of Cannubi Boschis. Lacked intensity yet I was confident it would build nicely over a few days and present well. It certainly did!

It's free and easy Barolo now. Voluminous and appropriate, with the sharp and watery edges of day one giving way to a good concentration of palate flooding fruit. Tannins are very fine- acidity will carry it through the ages though hard to beat now and for the next ten. Loaded up with beautiful notes of poached strawberries, Old World ripe darker fruits, earth and sandalwood. Can pick it as Cannubi Boschis and Sandrone quite easily ( sandy Cannubi ).

94pts


Giovanni Pippione Barolo 1961- What a classic! And what a beast it must have been for 50 years for even now, it's inky dark palate-extract defies the ages. Scents give the wine's age away however- nothing tired or overdeveloped- alluring camphor, tobacco and ginseng with fine old cellar notes. Freaky and enjoyable.

93pts


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Clerico Ciabot Mentin Barolo 2011- Next day with recovery Burgers for lunch. A typically dark, perhaps unexpressive yet complete 2011. Will develop some dried fruit like interest over the next few years to drive more complexity; yet best within 5 years I feel.

91pts+


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Had a look at the 2017 Albino Rocca Barbarescos over a few weeks. A bottle of each of the below and in typical fashion; I'd drink a bottle over a few nights.

Albino Rocca is in great form and pressing. I had a look at Kerin O'Keefe's reviews and it was good to see she'd ranked them at exceptionally high scores as per the recent form line. I concluded she was quite generous with 17's which are showing more extract than the prettiness of the 16's, 15's and 14's.

Albino Rocca Barbaresco 2017- Hits the shelves at the same price as PdB's classico. I'm not going to bang on about which is better though I certainly enjoy the Albino Rocca in its more personal style. Pure fruited with cherries and cherry stone. Dust and earth give it a traditional feel, red fruits emerge on the palate in warmth and a fine brush of tannin completes. Builds next day; better scented in a rose fragrance/ethereal manner, fruit presents more austere and all in all, I'm guessing many will drink it too young, missing its best window at 8 +

92pts+


Albino Rocca Barbaresco Montersino 2017- Only been around a few vintages. Shy fruited, eventually coaxed out some black-strap and mineral amongst more simple ruby red fruits. I like its airiness on day one. Expansive and filling out on day two in a fruit forward manner its pleasure seems inside a decade.

91pts

Albino Rocca Barbaresco Ovello 2017- I love Ovello. It's darker in profile and very serious. A powerful drive comes from a core of unevolved fruit needing years to unfold. It's juicy fruited on the palate- clay and mineral tannins are firm. Florals emerge next day throughout- workmanlike this vintage!

92pts+

Albino Rocca Barbaresco Ronchi 2017- This is a masterful vineyard site. Perfumed and subtle, mouth-filling fruit volume. Next day it's deeper set, rose-ripe berry and licorice fruit notes, all expansive and broad, retains the elegance on a good length. Lovely tobacco-like persistence.

93pts+

Albino Rocca Barbaresco Cotta 2017- I should drink more Cotta- I did once, prices accelerated from the likes of Sottimano, so I waved them off. Again lots of berry fruit and dark extract this vintage for Rocca. Full, rich and mouth filling and with the early signs of complexity I enjoy with this vineyard. It resolves comfortably on day one- lending me to believe it's an early drinker - yet by day two the fruit has settled and firmer structure evident. Should be quite delightful in a decade.

94pts+


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Don't ignore their whites, especially a rather tasty Cortese, but their Moscato is very good as well.

Their Langhe Chardonnay was the house quaffing white and unfortunately the Cortese doesn't make its way to HKG.

My red quaffer- and I mean quaffer ( cooking and neighbours ) was their screw capped, non-oaked Langhe nebbiolo! I was keen to write up for traditionalists on the forum. I mean what a combination? No wood/ cork at all. It was just such a difficult wine to comment on due its modest offerings.

A couple of excellent Barolos at a dinner party ( amongst others )

Brovia's 2007 Ca Mia is beautiful. Very elegant, it carries the 2007 vintage superbly and is now showing high levels of fruit definition and complexity. Many picked it as a Barbaresco blind, however, the palate is unmistakably Serranlunga with a faint blood-iron infusion.

1971 E. Pira & Figli Barolo was a charming old wine. It's old and struggling in presence, yet it has a beautiful clean freshness throughout and isn't like sucking on a rusty nail of an oxidised or past it old Barolo ( many folks mistake this for quality in my observation.

A pair of 66's were wines of the night incidentally. A Napa & Bordeaux.

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OUCH!

Badly corked 1990 Bartello Mascarello Barolo en magnum @ Giando's in Hong Kong last night.

Lazy $2000 AUD down the sink. Perhaps more? It's an art label!

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JamieBahrain wrote:OUCH!

Badly corked 1990 Bartello Mascarello Barolo en magnum @ Giando's in Hong Kong last night.

Lazy $2000 AUD down the sink. Perhaps more? It's an art label!

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ouch indeed ... the wine gods are so fickle.

my sympathies - that would hurt

Vietti Rocche di Castiglione Barolo 2005- This is a beautiful expression of Rocche from Vietti. It's generous, with well-rounded and rich fruit notes of ample length, depth and breadth and whilst there are no sharp edges, the wine is somehow bracketed with a raspberry nuanced, crushed rock like minerality. This is typical of the vineyard, along with at completion, a distinct overall elegance to the wine.

In a very good place, further development likely and will hold for many years.

95pts


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Is it wrong of me to be casting glances at the Ygay?

HKWS Cavalotto Tasting 1961 to 2007

Location: Giando Restaurant, 1, Star Street, Admiralty.


This is the 3rd of my final 5 Barolo tastings for the HKWS before I depart from Hong Kong at the end of May. This event offers an in-depth look at the wines of Cavallotto: 9 Barolos and 2 rare Barbarescos. The estate was founded in 1948 by brothers Olivio and Gildo, and is sole owner of the Bricco Boschis estate and hill, which the family acquired in 1928 from the Marchesa di Barolo via Giuseppe Boschis. See overleaf for a profile of Cavallotto. We hope that Alfio, one of the 3 Cavollot siblings now running the estate, will be able to join us.

We are fortunate tonight to have a vertical of Cavallotto vintages covering the years 1961 through to 2007. Alfio told Emanuele that the 2 Barbarescos [from 1961 and 1962] are the only vintages of Barbaresco they produced, and only as an experiment and of just a few bottles. Unlike the past 2 events, the range tonight extends into the 21st Century – apologies to vinecrophiliacs! – showing Vignolo and San Giuseppe Riservas from 2001 through to 2007 [thanks to Alan Kwok for all the 2001 SGR], to allow participants to decide if they actually prefer drinking “young” Barolo:~]. Over dinner, we will be able to compare the estate’s top wines - the Vignolo and San Giuseppe Riservas - from the fine 2004 vintage.


Tasting Wines [single bottle] – not to be served in this order
1. Cavallotto Barbaresco 1961
2. Cavallotto Barbaresco 1962
3. Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Speciale 1964
4. Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Barolo 1965
5. Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Barolo 1967
6. Cavallotto, Bricco Boschis, Barolo, Riserva Speciale 1971
7. Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis 1974
8. Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe Barolo Riserva. 2001
9. Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Vignolo Barolo Riserva 2005
10. Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe Barolo Riserva 2006
11. Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Vignolo Barolo Riserva 2007

Dinner wines
Vie di Romans Flors di Uis Friuli Isonzo, Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2013
Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Barolo 1967
Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe Barolo Riserva 2001 [in magnum]
Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe Barolo Riserva 2004
Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Vignolo Barolo Riserva 2004

Dinner menu
Aperitivo Trio
Yellow Tail Carpaccio Marinated with Mediterranean Flavours
“Felicetti” Spiral Fusilli, Spring Onion Confit, Burrata Cheese, Pecorino, Black Pepper
“Nero di Calabria” Pork Chop with Lightly Spiced Braised Cabbage
Giando’s Chef selection of Cheese

*****************
Cavallotto

The Cavallotto family were one of the first small bottlers in the Barolo zone, starting in 1948. While the Barolo region has undergone a giant zig-zag in winemaking style between the two poles of 'traditional' and 'modern', the Cavallotto family hasn't changed at all in this time. Their wines were made by traditional methods 50 years ago, and they are still. Alfio, his brother Giuseppe, and their sister Laura are maintaining the quality set by their grandfather, father, and uncle, and also maintaining the long-standing practice of natural farming, in which they were a pioneer in their appellation. This is one of the finest estates in the Langhe.

As Kerin O'Keefe said in an article published in Fine Wine magazine, Cavallotto's Barolos are 'a benchmark for impeccable Barolos that demonstrate tipicità, Barolos that respect both Nebbiolo and their terroir.' Castiglione Falletto is on the 'seam' between the two sides of the Barolo appellation. The west side, consisting of Barolo itself, La Morra, and Verduno is Tortonian soil (compact calcareous marl), which gives the wines softer tannins, whereas the east side, consisting of Monforte and Serralunga, is Serravallian (calcareous marl with sandstone, named after a village in this area), giving firmer, more ageworthy wines.

Castiglione Falletto is right in the middle, and Alfio Cavallotto tells me that the soils of their home vineyard Bricco Boschis are in fact a combination of the two types: 'the cru shows an extraordinary mix of white, yellow and grey marls, punctuated by layers of sand. The mix of soils gives the wine from this cru characteristics from both subzones.' The south-west facing Vignolo cru, on the other hand, 'is [Serravallian] and is particularly rich in clay marl interlaid with a small part of evenly distributed beach sand deposits.'

BAROLO 'BRICCO BOSCHIS'
All of the grapes for this wine come from the single 'cru' called Bricco Boschis. This is classic Castiglione Falletto Barolo, combining the clear fruit notes of La Morra and Barolo itself (strawberry, occasionally red-currant) with many other botanical notes supported by middling dark-chocolate tannins; it's firmer than La Morra, but not as beefy as Serralunga. I find these traditionally made wines (long maceration, aged in large barrels) more drinkable when young than the modern-style wines, but this will age for as long as you can resist opening it.

BAROLO RISERVA 'BRICCO BOSCHIS VIGNE SAN GIUSEPPE'
A selection of the best parcel of Bricco Boschis, macerated for up to a month and aged in large oak barrels for 3-4 years. In good years (of which there have been many lately) the wine is definitive great Nebbiolo, showing the classic fruit notes (wild strawberries, red-currants) combined with other botanicals (tobacco, sandalwood, licorice, hints of spices like cinnamon), with beautiful balance. The tannins are there, but they make the wine savory and they are not bitter; the freshness of these wines is unusual (and fresh acidity is what makes truly great red wines, in my view).

BAROLO RISERVA 'VIGNOLO'
A parcel that's just across a small road from Bricco Boschis, and contiguous with other vineyards; the exposure is to the south-west. The Serravallian soil gives the wine a touch more structure than the San Giuseppe, but the two wines are very similar in weight, overall impression and quality. They both show how clean, traditional winemaking using long macerations with the skins and long aging in large barrels can produce wines that are beautiful, complex, expressive and structured for aging but not forbiddingly tannic. I will be cellaring both and comparing them as they age.