The Auswine Forum

G’day

A bunch of the usual suspects collected at our favourite BYO restaurant – Lulu’s Little Bistro. The theme for the tasting was Barolo – that famed wine from Piemonte in northwest Italy, known for pale colour, high acid and even higher tannins. We were able to taste a range of wines across several vintages, with the earlier vintages showing how the tannins can soften (mildly) over time.

Partially because of the likely tannin structure, but mainly because it is our usual practice, the wines were tasted from youngest to older. All wines were also served blind.

Silvio Grasso Barolo 2021: Ruby colour. The nose shows rose petal bright red cherries, balsamic, wild strawberry, with a little tar and furniture polish. The palate has dark and red cherries, fine powdery tannins, high acid and a touch of leather. A long finish and this needs time in the bottle.

Roberto Sarotto Barolo 2020: Ruby colour. Darker cherries than the Grasso, and with florals, cinnamon, red berries, strawberry, vanilla and a touch of VA on the nose. A fuller palate, with dark fruits, mocha, tart redcurrants, and dark plums. Tannins and acid are softer, and the wine has a moderately long finish. It’s a little less intense, but more approachable, than the Grasso, and is better balanced. Well regarded by the group.

Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo 2020. Ruby colour. A less intense nose, with sour cherry, celery salt and a vegetative note. The palate shows rose petals, ripe cherries, and a little salinity. Some tasters described the palate as ‘pretty’. Tannins are fine and firm, and there’s strong supporting acid. A long and slightly bitter finish, with tar and balsamic noted.
Negretti Barolo 2019. The nose is slightly perfumed, with menthol, plenty of rose petal and a little tar. Fruits are in the background. The palate is ‘hot’, with plum skins, cocoa dust, and balsamic, and the tannins and acid dominate. The wine is starting to show signs of development. Long finish.

Elio Grasso ‘Ginestra’ Barolo 2018. Ruby colour. A modest (by comparison) nose, with rose petals, red fruits (especially strawberry) and faint tar. The palate is initially quite thin, but opened up with time in the glass. More rose petals and red berries. Fine drying tannins, and a medium to long finish. Some tertiary tar notes as well. Some tasters questioned whether this wine is going through a dumb phase.

Attilio Ghisolfi ‘Bussia’ Barolo 2016. Darker colour. Prominent vanillan oak with lots of sweet cherry and plum fruit. Some dried rose petals and tar. The palate is fuller, with fine but chewy tannins, some mocha, high acid and a touch of leather. Long finish.
The final bracket was by far the best, with the wines just reaching sufficient maturity. All of these wines still had years ahead of them. All were single vineyard wines.

Francesco Rinaldi ‘Cannubi’ Barolo 2010. Darker ruby colour. The nose shows rose petal, bright cherries, and strawberries topped with balsamic. The palate is developing well, although tannins and acid are still prominent. Slightly tart red fruits, especially raspberry. A very long finish, and it fans out from the mid palate.

Cavallotto ‘Bricco Boschis’ Barolo 2010. Darker ruby. An oaky nose, with considerable developed red and dark cherries. The fruit is sweet and generous, and there’s some oak-derived spice. The palate is quite full and concentrated, with prominent fine drying tannins and reasonably high acid. A couple of tasters noted ‘warm lake water’ and brambles. There’s some texture or mouthfeel and the wine finishes very long.

Paolo Scavino ‘Cannubi’ Barolo 2010. A lighter nose, than the Cavallotto, with roses, red berries, menthol and some bramble. Darker fruits on the palate with fine grippy tannins and acid was noted as ‘precise’. Long finish and well regarded by the group. For me, it was similar to the Cavallotto, but less concentrated and perhaps all the better for it.

Paolo Scavino ‘Cannubi’ Barolo 2009. The darkest wine of the night. The nose showed tar (like a wet road – apparently called ‘goudron’), balsamic, and red sour cherries. More developed red and dark fruits on the palate, with more balsamic and a touch of leather. Tertiary development and a long finish. Quite well balanced.
This tasting probably taught us a couple of things:
• Don’t open a Barolo before 10 years after vintage.
• Decant first – don’t pop and pour.

Wine of the night was the Paolo Scavino ‘Cannubi’ Barolo 2010. Many thanks to those who joined us, for their knowledge and banter, and to Mark, Jodie and the team at Lulu’s for their consistently high standard, even despite a short power blackout.

Cheers
Allan

Many thanks for the notes.

It is remarkably difficult to know when to open these wines. Many are approachable on release, albeit behind the youthful fruit, there may be firm, gritty and faintly bitter tannins. What happens over the next decade varies, by producer, by vineyard and by vintage. Some warm (but not hot) vintages seemed destined to never shut down. Structured vintages e.g. 1996, had many wines that threatened to slam shut with the weight of tannins. In the old days you might set your calendar for 2-3 decades before checking on them.

It does feel like the situation has changed, be it climate change, changes in viticulture and changes in winemaking (including the now blurred divide between trad and modern styles). They don't seem to close down as hard, as often. The fruit profile also seems a little darker (perhaps via the changes in clones that are planted)

The only other logistical advice I'd offer to all, especially for more mature wines, is standing them up for a few days before opening/decanting. That fine sediment can be quite bitter.

Finallly Cannubi. My initial experiences with it had me wondering why it got all the attention / historical acclaim, but a couple of more recent bottles had me impressed.

Waiters Friend wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2026 11:36 pm
This tasting probably taught us a couple of things:
• Don’t open a Barolo before 10 years after vintage.
• Decant first – don’t pop and pour.

Thanks for the write up!

I’m familiar with all those wines. I have all the Fenocchio’s from 2010 standing up in my cellar now so perhaps I’ll try a couple tonight. And experience with drinking 2010’s is to decant for a couple of hours minimum. It’s a polarising and misunderstood vintage in my observations.

Your next Barolo tasting may teach you a couple of different rules! I’d caution with blanket rules . Often with decanting you’re sacrificing aroma for texture and palate nuance in adolescence. At maturity at 20 plus, popping and pouring can be wise initially and trying before decanting

Yes, I'd echo those comments from Jamie.

There's a very popular 'belief system' in the US about extended aeration for nebbiolo. There are certainly times where the wines open up with air, but I've experienced others that fall over inside half an hour. They do too often blindly follow confident assertions.

Coming back to the other rule, for me it's something I tend to observe, as despite enjoying meals with younger bottles in Italy when there, the great joy for me is in properly old, at times ethereal nebbiolo.

On release, the fruit is still quite powerful, and together with stout food, keeps the tannins from taking over. Traditionally, the fruit would slowly lose that initial intensity, but the tannins would soften much slower. At about 8-10 years from vintage you could hit a wall of pain, like liquid tannin, and utterly joyless. In an ideal situation, when the tannins eventually softened, the fruit also changed, and as well as a figgy element, could have all sorts of different yet subtle aromas and tastes. Or it could be well past that before the tannins softened. That was the chance element. Who knows now, the wines have changed, and I'm less certain about what full maturity looks like.