Vinous Tasting of 2019 Barolo
@ The Pool Restaurant, NYC (2/3/2024)
2019 Barolo Masterclass and Burgers & Winemaker Lunch
at
Antonio Galloni Vinous Media's
La Festa del Barolo 2024.
From Vinous:
Antonio Galloni will moderate this very special masterclass tasting.
Hear directly from the vintners as they discuss current vintages, recent trends
and the influence of site during the 2019 Barolo Masterclass.
Our Burgers & Barolo Winemaker Lunch, an annual tradition, will be held at
The Grill following the tasting to cap things off in style.
All the wines were opened around 9:30am and served cool (cellar temp).
The tasting was moderated by Antonio Galloni and ran from 10:30am to about 12:30am.
It was followed by Lunch
with wines from the tasting and some leftovers from the Gala the previous evening.
2019 is a very appealing vintage.
The quality seems quite consistent.
In this regard, 2019 reminds me of 2013 but a bit more forward and aromatic at this stage.
My score for many of these wines includes –??
which means that my score
could be higher once the wines reach maturity.
Links to each flight and to lunch:
I have been to many of the previous La Festa current release tastings.
You can find my photos and notes from those tastings here:
I attended the Gala dinner the previous evening,
where I sat with Pietro Oddero of Poderi e Cantine Oddero.
I have attended a number of previous Gala dinners.
Here are my notes and photos for most of those:
Click on any photo for a larger view of that photo.
Many larger photos contain more image as well as
much higher resolution and are typically 3-4 MB.
The Venue and Getting Started
Arriving at the venue which used to be the historic
Four Seasons Restaurant
in the
Seagram Building.
It is now two separate restaurants:
The Pool and
The Grill,
under the managment of the
Major Food Group.
The entrance is on 52nd Street:
The 2019 Barolo tasting was held in The Pool.
My seat was in the second row on the far left:
Looking around the room as we get started:
The bottles around the pool are from the Gala the previous evening.
The Panel
From left to right, first two photos: Antonio Galloni (Vinous), Nicola Oberto (Trediberri),
Fabio Alessandria (G.B. Burlotto),
Pietro Oddero (Poderi e Cantine Oddero), Vittore Alessandria (Fratelli Alessandria),
Bottom row of photos: Marcella Bianco (Castello di Verduno),
Alessandro Ceretto (Ceretto), Alex Sanchez (Brovia),
Barbara Sandrone (Sandrone), Luca Roagna (Roagna),
Pietro Colla (Poderi Colla), Gianluca Grasso (Grasso),
Elisa Fantino (Conterno Fantino), Franco Massolino (Massolino),
Giuseppe Vaira (Baudana), Roberto Conterno (G. Conterno).
My friend Manuel Bürgi sat in the first row and got some better shots.
You can see him in the last photo in the gray shirt with white stripes.
Here is his photo of the entire panel:
My Tasting Notes
Tough to get started at 10:30 the morning after the Gala dinner the night before, but
I quickly got up to speed. I'm a trooper!
2019 is a great and classy vintage. More elegant perfume than I can remember from
any other vintage at this stage. But good structure underneath. Elegance combined
with medium power. Also, the terroir shows through quite well.
All the wines were opened around 9:30am and served cool (cellar temp).
The tasting was moderated by Antonio Galloni and ran from 10:30am to about 12:30am.
Flight 1: La Morra & Barolo
All 3 have a beautiful perfume that seems characteristic of this vintage in this part
of the region.
-
2019 Trediberri Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[The Trediberri winery only started production in 2010. Nicola Oberto is one of the
three owners and the primary winemaker. His father was the winemaker at Renato Ratti
and the grapes this wine is made from used to be sold to Ratti to make their
Rocche dell'Annunziata.]
Gorgeous perfume of red fruit and mint. Sweet red fruit on the attack.
Firm tannins on the long finish. Beautiful. (95–?? points)
-
2019 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Another lovely nose of red fruit and licorice. Dark red fruit throughout.
Again firm tannins on the finish with lush red fruit. (94–?? points)
-
2019 Oddero Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[This is their smallest production wine with only one small barrel.
–Antonio Galloni]
Again, a lovely nose with more red and black fruit and spice. Darker, richer, silkier.
Needs some time. (94–?? points)
Flight 2: Verduno
-
2019 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Monvigliero -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Wine is not only a handcrafted product, it's a cultural one, it's the music of a place.
A bottle of wine, however it's not like a cd that you can listen to repeatedly and
the music is always the same, it's something unique and unrepeatable, you can listen
to only once. Its beauty depends on when you open it, with whom and your mood.
It's something mutable and alive. Opening a bottle of wine is like attending a
concert, the beauty lies not only in the music but in the atmosphere it creates.
–Vittore Alessandria on FB, but this is essentially what he said at the tasting.]
Gorgeous perfume of black fruit and spice. Rich in the mouth. These wines always
seem more lush and thick compared to G.B. Burlotto's. Not better or worse,
but different in style. (94–?? points)
-
2019 Castello di Verduno Barolo Vigna Massara -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[First time at La Festa for this winery.
Marcella's mom (Gabriella Burlotto) is from Verduno and is a grandaughter of G.B. Burlotto.
Her dad (Franco Bianco) is from Barbaresco.
So they make wines from both Barolo and Barbaresco.]
Elegant. More in the Burlotto style than Fratelli Alessandria style.
Somewhat austere at this point, but should flesh out over time.
(92–94 points)
Flight 3: Rocche & Bricco Rocche
Both wines really show the breeding of Rocche and Bricco Rocche.
-
2019 Azienda Bricco Rocche (Ceretto) Barolo Bricco Rocche -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Alessandro Ceretto said that they used new barrique until 2005. Since 2010,
they have gone biodynamic, started using large botti, and replanted half this
vineyard using massal selection. This smallest of all MGAs is a Ceretto monopole.
It is between Rocche di Castiglione and Villero.]
Here the nose moves more toward sweet fruit. Rich, elegant, classic. Needs time,
but this has great richness all the way through. Maybe my favorite wine from Ceretto
in this millennium. (96 points)
-
2019 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Rocche di Castiglione -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Alex Sanchez said that his father-in-law, Giacinto Brovia, bought this parcel in
Rocche di Castiglione in 1968.] Another gorgeous, rich, red and black fruit nose.
A little more backward and monolithic at this stage but should age beautifully.
(94–?? points)
Flight 4: Nothing in common.
The title of this flight is a quote from Antonio.
-
2019 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[A blend of grapes from Baudana (Serralunga d'Alba), Villero (Castiglione Falletto),
Vignane (Barolo), Merli (Novello), and Le Coste di Monforte.
The last one is new in 2019.]
Gorgeous nose of red and black fruit. Smooth and rich on a long finish.
Tannins just peeking out here on the finish. Lovely. (95 points)
-
2015 Roagna Barbaresco Crichët Pajé -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Antonio introduced this wine as being a Barbaresco break between all the Barolos.
So Luca got up and said I'm the sorbetto.
]
Herbal red fruit in the nose. Ethereal from start to finish.
A wine of such finesse and quality. Explosive in the mouth.
Amazing, a show stopper. I wanted to cry at the beauty of this wine.
Sadly it is well over $1000 here in the US. (100 points)
Flight 5: Monforte d'Alba
-
2019 Poderi Colla Barolo Dardi Le Rose Bussia -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Muted nose of black fruit and spice. Long and rich. Beautiful in the mouth.
Rich, balanced with great harmony. A floral note throughout tells me this is
going to develop more elegance as it ages. (95–?? points)
-
2019 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Chiniera -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Black fruit, elegant. No sign of new oak. For my palate, this is the best wine
I've ever tasted from Grasso. (94 points)
-
2019 Conterno Fantino Barolo Mosconi Vigna Ped -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Red berries in a sweet chocolate nose. Well made and balanced,
but still too much new oak for me. (92 points)
All the wines are poured:
Flight 6: Serralunga d'Alba
Here the dark, rich fruit overwhelms the firm tannins. As ethereal as the previous wines were,
I will always have a special love for the added power and intensity of Serralunga.
-
2019 Massolino Barolo Margheria - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Rich black fruit. Dark and rich. Gorgeous. Elegance and power. (95–?? points)
-
2019 Luigi Baudana Barolo Cerretta - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Vajra is doing such great things with these sites in Serralunga d'Alba.
This has power and grace. There is a sweetness of fruit throughout.
(96 points)
-
2019 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cerretta - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Roberto said that this is the only single vineyard Barolo he will produce in 2019.
All the Francia and Arione went into the 2019 Monfortino.]
The difference between these two Cerretta wines was subtle.
The purity of fruit in the Conterno was just a bit more precise and intense,
but the similarities were far greater. Given that this wine is about four times
the price of the Baudana Cerretta, I would go for the Baudana. (97 points)
When it was time for Roberto Conterno to speak, he complained that another winemaker
on the panel
had not followed through on a promise he made. It was hard to tell
if he was serious:
He slowly walked to the other end of the panel, and explained that the guilty party
was Nicola Oberto who he said had agreed to speak about Roberto's wine:
He then proceeded to drag Nicola to the other end of the panel. Nicola took it all in stride.
His first words were, I am happy to tell you about my new winery
which got a big laugh:
All photos in the above sequence (except4 and 5) by Manuel Bürgi.
Summary
This was my ninth of these structured new release tastings at La Festa del Barolo.
2019 is a great vintage. These wines have gorgeous perfume and a balanced lightness
from the nose through the attack and the long finish. I don't think they have the
intensity to last as long as fully classic vintages like 2013 or 2016, but
they will bring great joy over the next couple of decades.
There is more elegance than power.
2019 also shows the terrior quite well, so the wines get progressively more powerful
as we move from La Morra and Verduno to Monforte d'Alba and Serralunga d'Alba.
Tasting notes posted from
CellarTracker.
Lunch
Lunch was served in
The Grill
with the wines from the tasting. I had had enough of the wines from the tasting,
so I didn't need to retaste them, but a magnum of 2004 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Rocche
open from the night before was irresistible.
I got to sit with Pietro Colla and Andrea Zarattini
(Director of Sales and Marketing for Poederi Colla)
and Jack Gordon (who went to same high school I did).
We had a great time talking wine.
Pietro Colla and Andrea Zarattini:
Jack Gordon:
Tuna Ravigote (raw tuna in an acidic sauce made with shallots, capers, herbs):
Cheeseburger:
Sides of French Fries and Brocolli:
-
2004 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Rocche -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[From a magnum at the La Festa del Barolo Saturday lunch.
This mag was leftover from the Gala dinner the night before.
So it had been open at least 20 hours.]
Still young, but rich and fragrant. A mix of dark red and black fruit on the
nose with hints of spice. Full bodied and rich in the mouth. Long finish.
Still needs time, but delicious now, especially with the hamburger.
(95 points)
Seagram Chocolate Cake:
After lunch, I chatted with
Alessandro Masnaghetti:
Photo by Isidoro Vaira.
Manuel Bürgi and me:
Antonio and the winemakers:
I'm not sure who took these last two photos.
All original content © Ken Vastola
