The Auswine Forum

An assortment of notes on wines tried while staying in Alba this month.

• 2013 Malvira' Roero Trinita' Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero (8/30/2019)
  100pc Nebbiolo and aged for two years in French oak. Mid/pale red. Soft nose, red cherry, floral notes. Gentle red fruits in the mouths with soft, even tannin. Drinking well now, although more time might allow further aromatics to emerge. (91 pts.)
• 2011 Oddero Barolo Riserva Bussia Vigna Mondoca - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (8/29/2019)
  Mid red with some bricking at the edge. A fairly ripe Nebiollo nose- dark plum, a touch of mulch, a bit of typical tar. Quite beguiling anyway. The palate opens with ripe fruit as well, quite gentle, forward tannins. Not particularly “ethereal” but gives a lot of pleasure today. Drink sooner than later at a guess. (94 pts.)
• 2011 Orlando Abrigo Langhe Chardonnay Tres Plus - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (8/29/2019)
  Apparently an aged release (under wax capsule) and currently for sale. This is 85-95pc Chardonnay with the rest made up of Nascetta (a local Piemonte variety). The Chardonnay component sees French oak for 12months with 30pc of it being new oak. Deep yellow colour. Classic rich Chardonnay driven nose - peach, cream, apricot. Full bodied on the palate with stone fruit and just a touch of citrus. The nose starts to fall away on day 2, perhaps suggesting limited further aging potential but this is drinking very nicely today as long as you enjoy a riper, fuller expression of Chardonnay. (92 pts.)
• 2018 Cascina Chicco Roero Arneis Anterisio - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero (8/29/2019)
  Very pale green colour. Exceptionally fresh and zippy wine. Lovely summer drinking and great value for about €8 in Italy. (87 pts.)
• 2014 Prunotto Barolo Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (8/29/2019)
  Unfortunately corked albeit in a very minor way (so minor I couldn’t be bothered to drive back to the winery and try and argue the toss). The nose has a lot of dried fruit which I got across all the Prunotto wines I tried. Not sure where this comes from but they definitely trend more to prunes than plums or cherries. Some Christmas spice as well. On the palate the TCA isn’t so obvious and it has the same fresh acidity which made me pick it to buy at the cellar door. Good wine. Questionable value and I think more interesting things are happening elsewhere in Barolo. Others may like it more, as my girlfriend did. NR (flawed)
• 2015 Albino Rocca Barbaresco Angelo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (8/28/2019)
  This is made in a very traditional style. Blood red. Fairly light colour. Lovely nose; some classic tar and rose Nebbiolo characteristics as well as a touch of sour cherry which I associate with Albino Rocca. Wonderful depth of fruit on the palate. This producer often shows quite a lot of tannin but this is relatively soft and approachable (although a firm wall of fuzzy tannin at the close suggests good aging potential). Now to at least 15 years. (95 pts.)
• 2013 Fiorenzo Nada Barbaresco Manzola - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (8/28/2019)
  Mid red colour. Ripe fruit on the nose- red cherry, a touch of vanilla. A little bit inexpressive. Round red berries and medium tannin in the mouth. Perfectly nice but perhaps suffered by comparison to other wines we had in Alba. (91 pts.)
• 2014 M. Marengo Barolo Bricco delle Viole - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (8/27/2019)
  Deep red colour. Quite a ripe nose, lovely deep fruit and spice. Think strawberry and cloves. Carries through on the palate with plummy fruit. Huge depth. Some might feel it’s a touch “warm” and rich, but this is bloody lovely in my view. Unmoved over two days open, this has a great future ahead of it. (94 pts.)
• 2017 Bric Cenciurio Roero Arneis Sito dei Fossili - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero (8/27/2019)
  Bright yellow in the glass. Grassy nose, quite fresh. In the mouth this is quite rounded with stone fruit flavors and a fairly broad, even finish. Perhaps just a little short. A good example of the style. Solid value. (87 pts.)
• 2012 Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (8/27/2019)
  Mid red trending to brown. Quite developed colour and this carries through on a fairly uninspiring nose. Vanilla oak lingers over dusty red berries and mulch. The palate offers fairly limp red fruit and a short finish. Purchased from Eataly in Alba but possibly scalped or suffering from the format. (86 pts.)
• 2014 Massimo Rivetti Barbaresco Riserva Serraboella - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (8/26/2019)
  Quite pale mid red in the glass. Pleasant lifted nose of sweet red cherry. A touch of violets. Quite clean. Sweet, pure entry in the mouth. All red fruit and surprisingly gentle tannin. Lovely drinkable Barbaresco. No rush but it drinks very well now. Not worth Sucklings 95pts but still very good. (92 pts.)
• 2017 Luigi Oddero Barbera d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (8/26/2019)
  Very clean and fresh. Crisp red berries. Some purple fruit and a hint of floral elements. Good, elegant balance. Delicious as a “bistro” type everyday wine. (88 pts.)
• 2018 Gianni Gagliardo Fallegro - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC (8/26/2019)
  95pc Vermentino (Favorita). From a “traditional” growing season. Yellow/green in the glass. Grassy, herbaceous nose. Some tropical fruit and a touch of salinity. Very fresh and clean on the palate with more tropical fruit, finishing with zippy acidity. Good value and very good summer drinking. (87 pts.)
• 2006 Orlando Abrigo Barbaresco Vigna Montersino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (8/25/2019)
  Quite blood red (brown tinged) in the glass. My first thought was a touch worried but Barbaresco is always quite light in colour. Lovely fruit driven Nebbiolo nose, sweet cherry and a touch of violets. Feels mature but maybe it can develop further? Honestly for me why wait- it’s fantastic now. That said, it gathered weight over two days, tannins not even worth mentioning. (93 pts.)
• 2017 Pio Cesare Gavi - Italy, Piedmont, Gavi (8/25/2019)
  Very pale and glowing green in the glass. Crisp fruit salad on the nose. A touch of herbaceousness. A medley of tropical fruit on the palate, a touch of phenolic grip but finishing quite crisp and clean. (88 pts.)
• 2018 Ceretto Langhe Arneis Blangé - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (8/24/2019)
  Very fresh and clean and exceptionally drinkable. (88 pts.)

Posted from [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/]CellarTracker[/url]

A lovely cross-section Sam, not just of producer and grapes, but also vintages.

Some random thoughts:
- Chardonnay in the Langhe - often appealing but I don't think I've ever encountered one I would call genuinely fine / impressive.
- Albino Rocca - yes we've been impressed by them, across a very wide range of wines
- Fontanafredda - Owned by the Farinetti family that own Eataly, hence why their wines get prominent placement in the shops (alongside other effectively 'own brands'). Simple and straightforward is probably where I'd put the bucket Serralunga bottling. I reckon it would make a mid to good Langhe Nebbiolo, so if priced at that level I'd say it's worthwhile (and it can get discounted in supermarkets over here to make it a worthwhile purchase).
- Gavi/Whites: Generally there is little excitement in Langhe whites, with Arneis more favoured in the Roero, Moscato further East, Chardonnay as mentioned above is often decent but unremarkable. One or two interesting adventures with Riesling, someone doing Pinot Noir vinified as a white wine, a smattering of Sav Blanc, plus Nascetta. There must be a genuinely good white, but the best we've tried so far is Albino Rocca's Cortese (the grape of Gavi). I'd like to see someone try erbaluce to see if that works.
- Nebbiolo's brown rim - yes it's very noticeable compared to other wines, but it's rarely a concern (indeed it's the purple wines that give me greater cause for concern).

Thanks for the write-up. Have you tried any Porcini on this trip? It should be in good supply if it's not been too dry.

I did try the Albino Rocca cortese at the cellar door, very nice wine.
We drank a lot of the whites not so much because of the high quality (although most were clean, professionally made wines with no detracting issues) but because of the high temperatures! I have to say a crisp Arneis in the 30c summer sunshine is pretty easy to drink!
That said, the 8yr old Orlando Abrigo chardonnay was surprisingly good. Probably poor value at 26 euros but then again the current release is just under 15 euros (I was just curious about an aged release white).

I highly rated both Albino Rocca and Schiavenza and was generally disappointed in Prunotto (the three random producers we actually visited).

Yes Schiavenza also one we were mightily impressed with. The family seem really intent on working hard, learning, and getting a little better every day. I think they'll end up being very good indeed and are already impressive.

Prunotto now owned by the Antinori family of Tuscany, though back in the day were very highly thought of when Beppe Colla was in charge (until 1990 according to google). They're definitely more commercial these days, and also more modernist. I do rather liker their Barbera 'Costamiole', which isn't cheap but has genuine depth. Apart from that I see thme as a bit 'meh'. However I do think it is instructive to visit and taste across a mix of producers - the differences can be significant and really put things into context.