We tasted one 2013 Barolo from each of the 15 producers represented
except for one 2012 from Roagna.
These were all current releases.
All wines were opened around 9:30am and served cool (cellar temp).
The tasting ran from 10:30am to 12:30am.
The tasting was followed by lunch.
Note that the title of the tasting and of the individual flights is taken almost verbatim from
the tasting booklet prepared by Vinous.
Part 1 of La Festa del Barolo was a Gala dinner the previous evening, which I did not attend this year.
I did go to the first five Gala dinners. Here are my notes and photos for those:
This time my seat was off to one side and back a couple of rows, so
I was not able to get as many good shots of the producers.
I did my best to capture one good shot of each producer, but
I missed with Paola Rinaldi of Francesco Rinaldi.
If someone took a nice photo of her that you'd like to share,
please let me know.
Click on an image with a border for a much larger view of that image
which may contain additional image.
All the producers except Alessandro Ceretto and only part of Alex Sanchez (Brovia) on the far left.
My friend Bill Lawrence at the bottom in the pink shirt.
All the producers except Luca Currado (Vietti) is missing on the far right.
Alex Sanchez, Luca Roagna, Alberto Cordero di Montezemolo, Pietro Colla, Chiara Boschis,
Barbara Sandrone, Paola Rinaldi, Carlotta Rinaldi, Lorenzo Scavino, Franco Massolino:
Ready to go!
My friend Keith Edwards posted notes on this tasting on his blog.
Since he did it flight by flight, I have put the links to his notes in each flight.
Flight 1: Castiglione Falletto and Monforte d'Alba
This is really four wines from Castiglione Falletto and one from Monforte d'Alba.
Wines 2, 3, and 4 really showed the power typical of Rocche and La Pira (which are adjacent),
as well as Villero which stretches out along a ridge on the other side of the road from Rocche.
All three also show significant depth.
The fifth wine is quite different, showing more the elegance of Bussia, especially in this vintage.
Keith Edwards commentary on this flight.
2013 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Big jammy red fruit nose. Quite tannic, but the tannins are smooth and there is loads of rich red
and black fruit. This is one to put in the back of your cellar for 20 years, then it will be great.
(95-?? points)
2012 Roagna Barolo La Pira Vecchie Viti - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The only 2012 in this tasting. Roagna bottles a year later than almost everyone else.
Ripe black fruit nose. Big but with plenty finesse. Stunningly expansive.
In the running for wine of the vintage. Luca is definitely raising the bar here, and
it was already pretty high. (95-97 points)
2013 Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo Enrico VI - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Dry black fruit nose. Very tannic. Needs a lot of time. Classic muscular Villero.
Continuing to open up with more air. Another winner for the long haul. (94-96 points)
2013 Poderi Colla Barolo Dardi Le Rose Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[They own the 6 hectares (15 acres) Dardi Le Rose plot in the Dardi section of Bussia.
They harvest and vinify the 7 sections of this vineyard separately because they differ so much
in soil and temperature. This parcel goes from near the top of the hill all the way to the bottom.
It is also quite wide. This is the parcel that Beppe Colla used in 1961 to make his
1961 Prunotto Bussia, one of two wineries to make the first vineyard-designated Barolos in 1961
(along with Vietti). He only used purchased grapes back then.
They bought this vineyard in 1990.]
Bright black cherry and mint nose. Gorgeous in the mouth. Juicy and delicious with great length.
This is quite drinkable now, but should drink well for another 20 years.
As Alessandro Fantino said last year about his wine from Bussia Vigna dei Dardi,
"Bussia is always delicious. It is born delicious and it dies delicious."
This seems more forward and less tannic than the Fantino 2012 did last year. (93 points)
Alessandro Ceretto.
Alex Sanchez of Brovia.
Luca Roagna and Alberto Cordero di Montezemolo.
Pietro Colla of Poderi Colla.
Flight 2: The Art of the Blend
Two beautiful wines which show how well the old style of blended crus still works in Barolo.
Keith Edwards commentary on this flight.
2013 E. Pira & Figli (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Via Nuova - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Starting with the 2009 vintage, this is a blend of 6 different cru located in three villages:
Terlo & Liste in Barolo, Ravera di Monforte & Mosconi in Monforte d'Alba, Gabutti & Baudana
in Serralunga d'Alba. Prior to that, it was only from Via Nuova, a vineyard behind the winery
that is now part of the Terlo MGA. She made this change because in 2009, her brother Giorgio Boschis
joined her at E. Pira after he and their other brother Cesare sold their family's Borgogno winery
to Oscar Farinetti. ]
Fragrant black fruit nose. A modest use of new oak gives a
lovely sweetness. Ripe fruit makes an appealing wine that is delicious to drink now, but may shut
down before long. (93 points)
[Chiara also spoke with great pride that 2013 is the first vintage in which the entire Cannubi
vineyard is organic. This is an effort that she led that involved many producers with plots
in Cannubi.]
2013 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[A blend of four vineyards in four villages: Baudana in Serralunga d'Alba, Villero in
Castiglione Falletto, Vignane in Barolo, and Merli in Novello.] Beautiful ripe nose.
Gorgeous in the mouth. Terrific length. Tannins hidden behind loads of ripe fruit.
A wine that just jumps out at you. Perfumed and expressive. (96 points)
Chiara Boschis of E. Pira and Barbara Sandrone of Luciano Sandrone.
Flight 3: The Classicism of Brunate
The similarity of these two wines is quite striking.
The Francesco Rinaldi parcel sits just above the Giuseppe Rinaldi parcel on the hillside.
The commune boundary between La Morra and Barolo runs right through the Francesco Rinaldi
parcel, while the Giuseppe Rinaldi parcel is entirely in Barolo.
The quality of the wines at Francesco Rinaldi has been rising steadily, while the
Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate has taken on a bit more elegance.
Keith Edwards commentary on this flight.
2013 Francesco Rinaldi & Figli Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Paola Rinaldi says her grandfather bought this 2 hectare parcel in 1936 for 60,000 Lira.
It was replanted around 1980.
This wine is aged in large Slavonian oak (20-50 hectoliters).
Vinification is temperature-controlled with automatic pumpover over a time period of 20-30 days. ]
Intense nose of black fruit, licorice, and spice. Great balance and harmony.
Classic Brunate tar, licorice, roses, and black fruit.
A joy to drink now with a long future. (95 points)
2013 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[15% Le Coste in Barolo as allowed by law. 21 days of fermentation for the Le Coste.
27 days for the Brunate. These are blended at bottling, so the
wine I tasted in July 2016 was only the Brunate component.
Carlotta called herself "a vineyard geek."
When asked if she thought there was a difference between the wines that her father made and
the wines she and Marta are making, she said, "His wines were more angry.
He made angry Barolo."] Stunningly floral and aromatic. Great harmony in the mouth.
Just a wow wine with a clear resemblance to the F. Rinaldi Brunate and that classic Brunate
profile of tar, licorice, roses, and black fruit. (96 points)
Paola Rinaldi of Francesco Rinaldi.
Carlotta Rinaldi of Giuseppe Rinaldi.
[Photo from last year's Festa.]
Flight 4: The Nuances of Margheria in Serralunga d'Alba
The Azelia parcel in Margheria sits directly above the Massolino parcel on the west-southwest
portion of the Margheria hill. However, any similarlity in the grapes is wiped out by
by the extensive use of modern techniques at Azelia. In particular, the use of a roto-fermenter
gives what to me is an unnatural viscosity for Barolo.
Keith Edwards commentary on this flight.
2013 Azelia Barolo Margheria - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Vines are more than 60 years old. They started farming this plot in 2002.]
Vanilla and black fruit. Sweet cherries. A bit unctuous. Not my style, but well made.
(91 points)
2013 Massolino Barolo Margheria - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Franco Massolino is the 4th generation of his family to run the winery (along with his brother).
Franco mentioned that his father was born in 1940 and was very stern.
His father would say to them as children that they are free to do as *he* wants.]
Intense red fruit and spice. Red fruit and minerals (salinity) in the mouth. Great purity.
Classic Serralunga dark fruit intensity. Needs time. (94-96 points)
Lorenzo Scavino of Azelia and Franco Massolino.
Flight 5: The Renaissance of Monvigliero and Verduno
Burlotto has two separate parcels in Monvigliero. For each of these, Fratelli Alessandria
has a parcel right next to it. Still these wines don't seem as similar to each other as the wines
in Flight 3 or Flight 6. I suspect this is at least partly due to differences in winemaking.
Both wines have gorgeous aromatics, but the Alessandria has higher acidity and less of the
sweet fruit that shows up at this stage in a lot of these 2013s.
Keith Edwards commentary on this flight.
Flight 6: The Emergence of Ravera and Novello
These wines are very similar.
According to Luca Currado, these parcels are right next to each other.
Keith Edwards commentary on this flight.
2013 Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno Barolo Bricco Pernice - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Savory red fruit nose. Great precision and purity in the mouth.
Incredible length which expands all the way to the back of the mouth.
I just love this ethereal wine. (96 points)
2013 Vietti Barolo Ravera - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Sweet cherry vanilla nose. Sweet black fruit up front, with a wave of tannin in the middle,
followed by more delicious black fruit on the long finish Expansive in the back of the mouth.
Very similar to the Cogno Pernice but with just a bit more depth at this stage.
Both terrific wines. (97 points)
Valter Fissore of Elvio Cogno.
Luca Currado of Vietti.
Summary
This was my sixth of these structured tastings at La Festa del Barolo.
This one might be the most consistent in terms of the quality of the wines.
The 2013 Barolos have ripe fruit, harmony, elegance, and silky tannins.
I also find a lot of typicity in this vintage.
That is, the vineyard is quite prominent in these wines.
Several producers mentioned that this was a very late harvest.
This led to slow phenolic ripening which gives a lot of character to the wines.
The best wines are quite comparable to 2010, but with less overt tannin at this stage.
So they have even more early appeal.
Photographer Clay McLachlan and the back of Vinous photographer/videographer Kyle Fisher:
Ian D'Agata looking studious:
Marzia Brumat Galloni who does much of the organizing
of this event, keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings:
Jack Kuo, Josh Leader, Ed McCarthy:
Fittingly, the last question was asked by Antonio's mom in the back of the room:
And Antonio's reaction is perfect:
Lunch
Lunch was served, with the wines from the tasting, upstairs on the first floor.
This was the first time our lunch tables were assigned.
Fortunately, I was assigned to the Giuseppe Rinaldi table with Carlotta Rinaldi,
her boyfriend Tom Myers, and my friends, Ben Goldberg and Jonathan Doft.
Carlotta chats with Jon whose dark hair can be
seen on the left behind Ben's "salt & pepper" hair.
We also had Neal Martin at our table. Neal had just joined the Vinous team.
Unfortunately, he was sitting across the table, so we could not chat.
The multi-talented Levi Dalton standing guard:
The first course was a nice looking salad that was a poor choice
for the wines with its bitter greens and vinegar dressing.
The second course was MUCH more wine friendly (and delicious),
Pork & Veal Ragù Bolognese over fresh green pasta:
A not-so-good photo of Ben on the right. In the middle is Dominic Nocerino Jr.
whose father (Dominic Sr.) owns
Vinifera Imports in Ronkonkoma, NY.
Vinifera was the importer for Bruno Giacosa for many years.
Dominic sent me the photo on the right, a 12 liter bottle of 1986 Giacosa Falletto,
which is the younger Dominic's birth year.
He told me only two such bottles were made and this one was given to his father by Bruno.
Tasty Tiramisu (not sure why these photos are out of focus):
Our friend Danny Moritz came by and someone
took this photo of Ben, Jonathan, Daniel, and me:
Antonio gives a thank you and farewell from on high, and it's time to go:
My friend Manuel Bürgi sat at the next table with Antonio's mom:
Every participant in this morning's tasting received a special edition of Alessandro's map of
the Barolo vineyards c. 1970, which is an example of some of the material in the new book: