The Auswine Forum

Cascina Delle Rose is a small producer in Tre Stelle hamlet of Barbaresco. They have lovely accommodation and Ricardo the son, is brilliant . I cannot recommend this place any higher ! This will be my Piedmont base camp in the future .

I tasted their line-up and they make a superb dolcetto that shows the grape at its best and without reduction . A beautiful pure nebbiolo and an old vine Barbera that I enjoyed an 04 vintage of that shows what inherent high acidity and a little fruit tannin can do for longevity !

I bought both their Barbarescos from 2014 . Pulled the cork a the day before drinking then consumed over 3 days .

Ricardo was comfident in 2014. The hail and rain was more a Barolo issue. He loves these cooler, elegant vintages which don't light up the works initially as a warm vintage would, though time will reward.

Cascina Delle Rose Rio Sordo Barbaresco 2014- Starts light and ethereal with light menthol lifting delicate and elegant tar and rose . Earthy / mineral notes prominent which is Rio Sordo and lovely orange rind. Becomes more and more elegant with air, long , piercing and complex , some intriguing black fruit/iodine notes with the tannins again, needing time so early in the piece to show their silken nature .

Best in 5 years +

93pts+

Cascina Delle Rose Tre Stelle Barbaresco 2014- Showing off its warmer aspect with a comfortable red and black fruit mix and rounder and riper on the palate than Rio Sordo. Even after a few days , the wine had chewy fruit tannins and robust power needing more time than Rio Sordo . My last glass now shows an Asili/ Rabaja mix though faster maturing I feel.

92pts+




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Hi Ian and Gavin, thinking of doing Piemonte in Apr 2018. Wondering what vintages will be available then. For Barolo Is its the 2014 which looks patchy or the 2015 which would be stronger?

JamieBahrain wrote:Cascina Delle Rose is a small producer in Tre Stelle hamlet of Barbaresco. They have lovely accommodation and Ricardo the son, is brilliant . I cannot recommend this place any higher ! This will be my Piedmont base camp in the future .

I tasted their line-up and they make a superb dolcetto that shows the grape at its best and without reduction . A beautiful pure nebbiolo and an old vine Barbera that I enjoyed an 04 vintage of that shows what inherent high acidity and a little fruit tannin can do for longevity !

I bought both their Barbarescos from 2014 . Pulled the cork a the day before drinking then consumed over 3 days .

Ricardo was comfident in 2014. The hail and rain was more a Barolo issue. He loves these cooler, elegant vintages which don't light up the works initially as a warm vintage would, though time will reward.

Cascina Delle Rose Rio Sordo Barbaresco 2014- Starts light and ethereal with light menthol lifting delicate and elegant tar and rose . Earthy / mineral notes prominent which is Rio Sordo and lovely orange rind. Becomes more and more elegant with air, long , piercing and complex , some intriguing black fruit/iodine notes with the tannins again, needing time so early in the piece to show their silken nature .

Best in 5 years +

93pts+

Cascina Delle Rose Tre Stelle Barbaresco 2014- Showing off its warmer aspect with a comfortable red and black fruit mix and rounder and riper on the palate than Rio Sordo. Even after a few days , the wine had chewy fruit tannins and robust power needing more time than Rio Sordo . My last glass now shows an Asili/ Rabaja mix though faster maturing I feel.

92pts+




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Those little doughnut peach's look pretty tasty!

Gavin if you are reading I'm staying in Barbaresco another week. I have good contacts and today I'm having a quick tasting with Maria Teresa and then a Elio Sandri tour. Tomorrw I'm meeting Jeffrey Chilcot at Marchedi di Gresy for a drink or two. Love to catch up and feel free to come with us if nothing organized .

Hunter the fruit in picture organic for a euro a kilo . Delightful

JamieBahrain wrote:Gavin if you are reading I'm staying in Barbaresco another week. I have good contacts and today I'm having a quick tasting with Maria Teresa and then a Elio Sandri tour. Tomorrw I'm meeting Jeffrey Chilcot at Marchedi di Gresy for a drink or two. Love to catch up and feel free to come with us if nothing organized .

Hunter the fruit in picture organic for a euro a kilo . Delightful

Jaimie,

My thanks, and we too are in Barbareso, at Giuseppe Cortese, just back from a visit to Giuseppe Rinaldi, which was fascinating and wonderful.

Would have been good, but we already have three appointments tomorrow, moving around a bit between Barbaresco and Barolo, so probably not a possibility.

Never mind, would have been interesting, so Ciao.

.

Oh great Gavin. Did the grumpy old troll sell you some wine at Rinaldi ?

Bartolo Mascarello is now firmly an investment wine. Cellar door visits will yield zero bottles. 100% allocated to a mailing list . Was going to be my last vintage buy but am reconsidering now I get an annual allocation of a wine for 60 Aussie in world wide demand .

The 2015 Bartolo Mascarello dolcetto is amazing - deep, complex and structured.

The 2014 Barbera cool and bright from the cooler vintage. Clean, pure and delineated.

Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 2013 is a 50 year wine plus. Deep and dark, myriad of flavours such as roses, hibiscus, dark cherry. Tannins cascade down the palate in perfect ripeness.

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2017 picked already ! Hot vintage

Hi Jamie
Are they still making a Freisa?
Regards
Ian

LOL The only wine I didn't opt for on allocation.

With a myriad of Piedmont dishes and an easy food-wine mismatch with an expensive Barbaresco I thought I'd try a few 2015 nebbiolos over the next few meals.

The Bruno Rocca had a precise line and length and filled out nicely a few hours after opening .The Vajra was a veritable baby-Barolo. Sublime fruit purity and noticeably darker after a few days of Barbaresco . Over time some sweet ripeness showed through but overall impressive!


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Very poor people in Piemonte - they can't even afford to cook their meat

One very disconcerting experience is eating a speciality local sausage (is it Salsiccia di Bra? I can't recall) which can be (and is) eaten raw, though it's something like 4-5 hours from production to 'use by' time if eating raw. Tasty, but a lifetime of cooking sausages makes it very odd to eat without cooking.

JamieBahrain wrote:Oh great Gavin. Did the grumpy old troll sell you some wine at Rinaldi ?

No, in the famous words of Seinfield's Soup Nazi

No Wine For You!

Fascinating visit though, loved it.

.

Had a 630pm appointment with Elio Sandri whose vineyards are in Perno. Stunning landscapes over the great vineyards of Barolo. In the picture in Gabutti of Cappellano fame.

Worked our way through 2006 Riservas to 2016 which is in barrel. Beautiful , powerful wines that capture the slopes of Perno's marly, dusty soils. They have generous fruit and natural structure .

People try hard to buy Elio's wines and they have a surging demand appearing on restaurant lists for 200 euros a bottle. 700 bottles make it to Australia at a very good price .

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Quick g'day with Olek Bondonio before dinner . He's done great work on his property and continues to press for more vineyard access in Barbaresco. He kindly gave me a few bottles to takes along so we polished off the 2015 Barbera as an aperitif before settling in to the 2013 Roncagliette which opens with an array of florals , superb fruit definition and a fearsome tannin structure. A Barbaresco for the ages ! Oleks other Barbaresco is from Starderi in Neive - both sitting at opposites of the appellation . Starderi is open for business early though will age well.

First bottle of Vajra was oxidised . Had a browning on the rim oddly and tasted like a Barolo that had been open for weeks . Now some folks like Elio Sandri are saying 2009 could be a vintage to watch and this 2009 Vajra BdV showed polish and length with a great reserve of power. Quite drinkable but interestingly for me, there is something buried deep in this wine, perhaps Elio has given a great tip. 09 Barolo is inexpensive on the secondary market !


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Roncagliette from the homestead looking over Rio Sordo to the Tower of Barbaresco. Martinenga, Rabaja, Asili.....

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That's certainly a bold prediction on 2009s, as many see them as hot / sometimes struggling to handle the alcohol. Time will tell of course. I have 2 bottles of Barolo, both tasted in situ and thus bought with some confidence (Sergio Giudice & Franco Boasso Gabutti). Also 2 bottles of Barbaresco, Cantina del Pino which we've liked before, so hopeful, and a Giuseppe Nada Riserva Casot, with that showing the heat a little more than earlier vintages when drunk last month, so we'll have to see with the other bottle. A Giovanni Manzone Nebbiolo Crutin was very impressive 2 years ago.

I have a few also from Northern Piemonte, and that's an area where a little extra warmth is often a good thing, to the point that I'd actively pursue 2003 vintage, one that normally has me running in the opposite direction.

Yes bold call and I did wonder if he wanted to offload 2009s. Always interesting to hear the call of a local and winemaker almost 10 years after vintage . Too many early calls from critics.

Anyways what's to drink ? Gruelling day I drove to Cargo City at Malpensa airport to air freight 10 cases of wine . Nothing easy in this country even as a fellow employee. Need a salad and great red !

A point to note for those thinking of going to the region. Jamie's photos show enough detail to see what look like beige coloured boundaries to vineyard plots - well those are the paths that criss-cross the vineyards, almost without exception open for all to walk through, and hence a wonderful network of maintained paths to walk through. Some are a bit steep (but rarely long), and wet weather can make the walking quite a bit harder, but never anything less than a joy to walk, noting the vineyard names as you pass through them.

Beautiful days continue .

Ordered a bottle of Sandronre Valmaggiore 2013 but sadly the 2014 arrived which I felt was ordinary .


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Fletcher is an Aussie guy in Barbaresco, ex Ceretto winemaker now established at the old railway station in Martinenga/ Rio Sordo. The 2013 was beautiful automatically, long and fine though fruit extract a little awkward .

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Visited Vajra. Too busy and I bought wines 40% cheaper through UK. I enjoyed seeing the BdV vineyard which sits at the highest altitude for the appellation . Truly a waste of time so be warned !


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Barbaresco is on its game! Vineyard signage is proudly addorning every slope!

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Brovia Rocche Barolo 1998- Red florals and cacao/ tar lend to a darker, richer violet fruit bouquet. Full and complete in the mouth , no rough edges and near structurally resolved, the wine saunters on a good length without fuss. Paired with cow stew.

92pts

Was Dave Fletcher previously at Marchesi di Gresy as well? I remember an Aussie being there a few years ago, but don't recall if it was him.

A heads-up for Gavin and Jamie - I'm figuring here is the place you'll check first... The new season 1st press olive oils should start to emerge ~ next week (according to the person I get mine from in London), typically a rather shocking, almost gatorade green colour. Worth buying a bottle if you see one, a remarkable taste, and such is the flavour you start thinking whether it could be drunk neat!

Hopefully we'll see some shipped over here ~ early - mid october

Thanks Ian but I have used up every kg of my baggage and freight allowance to get 96 bottles home.

My wife asked me to bring home Cuneo chocolates and candy but I don't have room. Must come up with a good excuse !

Caught up with Jeffrey Chilcott at Marchesi Di Gresy in Martinenga . This stunning amphitheatre is a monopole and producers three wines. Martinenga, then Gaiun from a western plot, with more barrique usage, lastly Camp Gros, to the East with some barrique and more big botti.

Hmmm. As usual Jeffrey got carried away. He's a great host with passion for the region and stories he should pen down .

2013 Martinenga was incredible especially compared to the lighter 2014. Every Vineyard had a different experience in 2014 and it pays to taste first. I'm finding the line-up getting more and more impressive and a 2000 Gaiun showed the ease of which the wines age.

At dinner we bought a bottle of Marchesi di Grésy Barbaresco Camp Gros 2005 . Comes together with a good local trick of pouring a big pour onto the first pour if that makes sense? Fresh overall, with dried florals, richer violets, raspberry/plum and complex herbs and sprinkles of anise. Exquisite acidity makes for an easy palate run that emphasised freshness of fruit and a harmonious and elegant structure . The finish is long and the tannins are fine leather and spice and again , freshness is piquantly on display .

The wine list was either too young or too expensive with Gaja leading the charge. This was a bargain at $180 and thanks to Jeffrey for the 2005 tip ! Vintage generalisations are just wine critic management of thoughts in Piedmont . It's way more complex.

94pts




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Morning stroll past Paje.


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Dinner at Antine who must be close to getting a star? Next to Gaja entrance .

Thanks for all the photo's Jamie, the area looks awesome.
I'll be in Piedmont for a couple weeks in November.

Cheers Con.

JamieBahrain wrote:Thanks Ian but I have used up every kg of my baggage and freight allowance to get 96 bottles home.

My wife asked me to bring home Cuneo chocolates and candy but I don't have room. Must come up with a good excuse !

Hi Jamie
Poste Italiane is an option for Cuneesi chocolates. I've used them many times over the years to send parcels of goodies back to ourselves (always waiting until the last 2-3 days of the holiday to ensure they don't beat us home). I've included some details of how to do that in this thread https://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads ... post-12843

The local post offices are often very helpful in ensuring it is filled out properly.

I don't know... 96 bottles of wine and no sweets for the girlfriend You'll be sleeping in the cellar if you do that.

Regards
Ian

My last day in Piedmont was spent driving to all the Barolo communes and acting the tour guide for friends. We hoped to source a few bottles for a great last night, a picnic and a panoramic view of the vineyards from Casino Delle Rose.

Now prices are pretty much a disgrace these days. I'm even reticent to mention restaurants with good lists on the net to avoid gold diggers. And incidentally, I was told not to post on wine berserkers forum by members of my wine group due massive price increases on the secondary market ( Cappellano dinner back to 1920's case in point ).

Anyways, Monforte has a great little Enoteca with decent back vintages and grumpy old troll. Couldn't believe my luck with some back vintages of Bartolo Mascarello at $130 Aussie. Now this wine is rapidly approaching investment class. So I though a bottle of 08 Bartolo ( great vintage just entering its 20+ year window ) and a 2008 Nada Fiorenzo Rombone would be a terrific duo of picnic reds. Well, he wouldn't sell the Mascarello wine. This happens to tourists so stopped by at Sobrero and bought an 01 Reserve and settled for a 2013 Produttori ( TCA replacement )I wasn't carrying back to HKG. The Sobrero was a superbly framed old style Barolo, sadly of the style that involved dirty barrels ! Bretty but still OK- appalling the price charged of 95 euro. The Produttorri was a " good, ordinary footballer" so to speak.

Disappointing and I fear the changes in the region far more rapid than I expected. Personally, as a collector of Piedmont wines, its all about building contacts now which sees great buying.


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Yes there are changes.

The US penchant for latching onto something and everyone buying the hype still exists - seen in the days of Parker, more so these days it's Galloni using 100 point proclamations to drive his brand. Rick Steves travel guide is another where a guide originally aimed at getting people off the beaten track (Rome/Venice/Florence + half day 'Pisa'), has now created new over-touristed locations such as San Gimignano, Cinque Terre etc.

In addition, Barolo village itself gets increasing numbers of coach tours turning up, for what is probably a 2-4 hour stroll around, depending on whether lunch is part of it. Barbaresco will undoubtedly suffer a similar impact.

I would definitely recommend the Langhe movers & shakers going to somewhere like Verona, to see how even 'up-market' tourism can really re-shape something historic, for me removing much of the soul, in the name of squeezing the dollars from some fat wallets. Carry on to Venice to see an ocean of tourists and very few locals. IIRC the numbers I saw last week were ~ 55k residents and 20m annual tourists.

Outside investors keen to buy into the Langhe on a grand scale, but maybe not the deluge it appeared. At this stage the outside investment in Northern Piemonte is looking a positive change, though the region needs to grow steadily - it is not an alternative to Barolo & Barbaresco, nor is it as consistent as it could be. I hope the outside investment helps rebuild what used to be a fine reputation.

As for wine prices, some are starting to go through the roof, and yes the talking up of Cappellano over the last 2-3 years has created a quasi-religious zeal for acquiring it, in the same way that Bartolo Mascarello has been for a while. Knighthood seemed to put Accommasso on the map and his wines now trade for silly money on the secondary market, utterly at odds with the character of a man who farms grapes and makes wine and has none of the swanky trappings of the aspirational.

For me I'm quite generally happy with 'good ordinary footballers', as many are appealing and cellar-worthy. The cults/icons may (or may not) be more interesting, but IME not at all 'value' at 3 or 4 times the price (and rapidly escalating). Prices of the workhorses aren't going up at the same rate, but a little reflected inflation is not necessarily a bad thing.

[edited for the correct numbers, which are even more shocking]

For me I'm quite generally happy with 'good ordinary footballers', as many are appealing and cellar-worthy. The cults/icons may (or may not) be more interesting, but IME not at all 'value' at 3 or 4 times the price (and rapidly escalating). Prices of the workhorses aren't going up at the same rate, but a little reflected inflation is not necessarily a bad thing.

I wholeheartedly concur Ian. Even dolcetto is becoming so well made it is cellarable ( even without the the oak work ) and I think the bunch I brought back, to distribute amongst friends, was all of $10 Aussie a bottle from organic certified vineyards. Wine making is improving markedly and there's some highly motivated and clever people coming through the region, so it's an exciting time for those who have the passion to move beyond a label.

Pricing of wines at cellar door and at a wine shop with 200m of a commune square has become stupid. Retail Australia can be cheaper ! This trip, I felt you had to be incredibly savvy to avoid blatant rip-off.

Is that the well-stocked La Morra wine shop? I'm guessing there may be more extreme examples in Barolo itself.

La Morra started the circus about 5 years ago. Barolo township is now extreme. There's a few good shops in Alba away from the Duomo or Savona square.

You really have to know what you are shopping for.

Often Torino will be our end point for a few days before we return, so whatever I want in addition to stuff picked up at tastings, is picked up there. I know a few enoteche in the city. Even there, a swanky (i.e. you can drop the 's' if you like) wine shop has opened on via Lagrange, prices squeezing up, though they had a Vespolina (Rovelotti), which I like as a grape, so I was happy to buy that - the shop assistant being rather pleasantly surprised that a foreigner would pick that off the shelf.

I certainly remember fair prices in Alba, paying under €20 for a couple of Produttori del Barbaresco Riservas, maybe a decade ago. Definitely below the shop prices elsewhere back then. However seeing the huge crowds at the truffle festival ~ 2 years ago shows that tourism is significant in Alba for the weekends in October. The danger is that volume of tourists allow the enoteche to bump the prices up yet still sell through, putting them in the same position as restaurants in spitting distance of famous sites. Too easy to become fat, dumb and happy on easy tourist pickings.