2016 Barolo @ Chez Fielding-Ren, Pleasant Valley, NY, 6/20/2026

2016 Barolo: Ten Years After
@ Chez Fielding-Ren, Pleasant Valley, NY, 6/20/2026

It was my good fortune to be invited to this great lunch of 2016 Barolo by George and Christine. Based on this tasting, 2016 is a magnificent vintage of uniformly high quality.

All the wines were opened around 10:30am, but not decanted. We began tasting them around 12:30pm.

George was the chef and all the food was delicious. Marina made the dessert.

Click on any photo with a border for a larger view of that photo. Some larger photos contain more image as well as much higher resolution and are typically 3-4 MB.

I had a beautiful day for the drive down. This is crossing the Rip Van Winkle Bridge near Hudson, NY.
In the 2nd photo, if you look closely just to the right of center, you can see Olana, the home of
Frederic Church, the great American landscape painter, at the top of the hill.

The table is set in their beautiful dining room:

Antipasto
Castelmagno with Charcuterie, then George showing us the entire wheel of Castelmagno.
Castelmagno is a semi-hard, half-fat cheese produced from whole cow's milk, obtained
from cattle of the Piedmontese breed, fed on fresh forage or hay from mixed meadows
or pasture. Production is permitted only within the boundaries of the towns of Castelmagno,
Pradleves, and Monterosso Grana, in the southwest of the province of Cuneo.

La Morra & Verduno
Acclivi is a blend from their best and oldest vineyards located in Verduno (Monvigliero, Neirane, Rocche dell'Olmo and Boscatto). The Riserva del Fico is from the Bricco Rocca MGA in La Morra. La Tartufaia comes from the Serradenari MGA in La Morra.

2016 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Acclivi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Lovely nose of red fruit. Rich, red fruit. Long and expansive finish. (93–95 points)
2016 Giulia Negri Barolo La Tartufaia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Muted nose of red fruit. Sweet red fruit with lots of tannin and black fruit on the finish. May improve with time. (91 points)
2016 E. Molino Barolo Riserva del Fico - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Black fruit and spice on the nose. Really dark red and black fruit. A deeper and more serious wine than the first two. Lots of rich fruit and tannin on the long finish. (94–96 points)

Primo Piatto
Stuffed Ravioli with Porcini Tomato Sauce Topped with Hazelnuts:

Monforte d'Alba

2016 E. Pira & Figli (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Mosconi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Black fruit and licorice on the expressive nose. Rich, tannic, dark fruit. Long and complex. Wow! (95–97 points)
2016 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Nose of sweet black fruit and roses. Long, structured, complex. Stunning! (95–96 points)
2016 Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Muted black fruit nose. Rich, long with that chocolatey finish that turns me off on their wines. But if you like the house style, it's an excellent example. (93–?? points)

Castiglione Falletto
The Oddero Riserva Bussia Vigna Mondoca is from Monforte d'Alba. This wine was accidently substituted for the Oddero Rocche di Castiglione Falletto.

2016 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Lovely perfume of black fruit and licorice. Rich, tannic, long, tasty. (93–?? points)
2016 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Lovely nose of red fruit and chocolate. Lovely, rich, complex and expansive. It hold its oak well in this powerful vintage. (94–?? points)
2016 Oddero Barolo Riserva Bussia Vigna Mondoca - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Sweet black fruit nose with hints of leather and roses. Rich, smooth, absolutely delicious right now, but should drink well for 20 or more years. Wow! (96 points)

Secondo Piatto
Osso Bucco with Safron Risotto:

Two Wines
The Pajè was supposed to be the Pira, but I can't complain. It was terrific.

2016 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Brea Vigna Ca'mia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Red fruit and spice in the nose. Tannic, rich, backward, tart. This needs a lot of time. (93–?? points)
2016 Roagna Barbaresco Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Big, smokey, red fruit nose. Sweet cherries, tar, and tannin. Expansive and complex. A brilliant Barbaresco that holds its own among these Barolos. (96–97 points)

Serralunga d'Alba

2016 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Rich nose of black fruit and fruitcake spice. Silky but tannic with loads of black fruit. A classic wine, expansive and complex. The Rocche Riserva must be outrageous. (96 points)
2016 Guido Porro Barolo Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Big rich nose of red and black berries. Lots of licorice and balsam. Needs time. Seems a bit disjointed. Needs time. (93–?? points)
2016 Massolino Barolo Riserva Etichetta Nera Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Incredible nose of black fruit and licorice. Rich, thick black fruit and tannin. Super long, expansive. A stunning wine of power and grace. Wow! (98–100 points)

Dolce
Torta Della Nonna ("Grandma's cake") is a traditional Italian dessert from Tuscany,
featuring a shortcrust pastry (pasta frolla) filled with lemon-infused pastry cream
(crema pasticcera) and topped with pine nuts and powdered sugar:

Summary
What a pleasure to taste these great wines with these great people.
The food was also wonderful and beautifully matched to the wines.

Group photo by Christine:

All the wines:

My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.