G.B. Burlotto Barolo Tasting
@ Del Posto Restaurant,
NYC (1/31/2012)
The Rare Wine Co.
set up this dinner focusing on the Barolos of
G.B. Burlotto.
The official name of the winery is Azienda Agricola Comm. G.B. Burlotto,
where Comm.
is an abreviation of Il Commendatore
(The Commander
in English),
and G.B.
stands for Giovan Battista
.
Il Commendatore Giovan Battista Burlotto was the highly respected founder of this winery
and its winemaker for 77 years: 1850 until his death in 1927.
More history of the winery and their wines can be found on
Rare Wine Co's
page on Burlotto.
The guest of honor was the winemaker, Fabio Alessandria.
Fabio is the son of the owner, Marina Burlotto, the Commander's great-niece,
and her husband, Giuseppe Alessandria, who is responsible for the vineyards.
Here is the email announcing this dinner.
The food at Del Posto was excellent and well-matched to the wines.
The service was also excellent.
All the wines were opened and double-decanted between 5 and 6pm.
The dinner started around 7:30 and lasted till about 10:30pm.
Here is a nice
article by Levi Dalton with many pictures of the winery.
Here is a video of Fabio
discussing his wines and winemaking.
For any image, click on it for a larger view of that image which may contain more picture.
Mannie Berk & Jamie Wolff chat... |
while hors d'oeuvres are served. |
Mannie introduces Fabio Alessandria. |
Fabio talks about his wines. |
John Gilman listens intently. |
Fabio. |
Flight 1
With Pasta e Fagioli with Tripe Meatballs & Puffed Ditalini.
-
2007 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Relatively light and bright color compared to the 2006 and the Cannubis. Lovely, complex nose.
Rich, elegant wine. Tannic, but riveting sweet fruit on a very long finish.
Classic! (95 pts.)
-
2007 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Classic floral Cannubi nose. Less tannic than the 07 Monvigliero, more sweet in the front.
More pleasure sooner. 92-94 points. (93 pts.)
-
2006 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Muted nose of intense red fruit. Much sweeter and concentrated than the 2007.
Harder to judge at this stage. 92-? points. (92 pts.)
-
2006 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Another gorgeous floral nose, but the palate is waxy and spicy in a weird way.
Seems more like a Rhone. VA maybe? NR
Flight 2
With Veal Agnolotti with Truffle Powder, Tryolean Speck & Grana Padano.
Click on a photo for a larger view of that image which may contain more picture.
-
2005 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Beautiful nose. Very balanced and harmonious. Elegant and perfumed. Quite classic.
Much more similar to the 07 than the 06. 93-94 points. (93 pts.)
-
2004 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Muted, highly structured. Fairly shut down at this point, but the potential is obvious.
Someday, this wine may well be better than any of the preceding. 94-96 points.
(95 pts.)
-
2004 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Much tighter nose than previous Cannubis. Quite thick and rich in the mouth. Needs 5 years.
(93 pts.)
-
2003 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Lovely nose. Surprisingly structured. Not overdone or overripe like so many 03s.
Fabio says that only the grapes from the very old vines went into this wine,
something like 30-40% of the harvest only. 92-93 points. (92 pts.)
Flight 3 with Bill Lawrence & Jeff Filippi. |
Sean Lawrence & ???. |
Jeff Filippi & ???. |
Bill Lawrence & Jeff Filippi. |
Click on a photo for a larger view of that image which may contain more picture.
Flight 3
With New York Strip Steak with Creamed Potato Torta, Spinach & Calabrian Spicy Tongue.
Click on a photo for a larger view of that image which may contain more picture.
-
2001 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Stunning, expansive. Elegant tannins. Great length. Wow! 94-97 points. (95 pts.)
-
1996 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Seems off. Hard to tell if it is the bottle or the wine. Seems cooked.(NR/flawed)
-
1995 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Elegant long. First wine with a sign of olives, the typical signature of Monvigliero.
Vibrant and beautiful tonight. (93 pts.)
-
1989 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[From double magnum.] Classic 1989 nose of earth and tannin. Huge, structured, massively tannic.
So young from 3 liter bottle. Wish I had one of these to put down for another decade or so.
(96 pts.)
Flight 4
With Chef's Selection of Italian Artisanal Cheeses.
Click on a photo for a larger view of that image which may contain more picture.
I drank the wines in this flight in this order (the reverse order from the way they were served).
-
1964 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Sweetly maderized nose. Juicy and over the hill, but gently over the hill.
Still appealing but drink up! (88 pts.)
-
1967 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Totally maderized and quite unpleasant. (NR/flawed)
-
1985 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[From double magnum.] Smokey nose. Young, ripe, smooth. Lovely and youthful.
I suspect 750s of this are quite ready, but this is still too young in 3 liter.
(91 pts.)
The 85 in 3L. |
Note the much darker color of the 85 on the left. |
Sean, Fabio, & Bill. |
Sean, Fabio, & Bill. |
Click on a photo for a larger view of that image which may contain more picture.
Sean, Fabio, & Bill. |
The Fine Wine Geek & Fabio Alessandria. |
Conclusion
Fabio Alessandria and his parents are making some terrific wines at Burlotto
which honor the memory of the Commander!
Fabio and Monvigliero do especially well in lesser vintages.
Tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.
All original content © Ken Vastola