PSA: NYC 2016 Barbaresco Tasting on 10/21

Just got this email… 50 slots left…

https://www.chambersstwines.com/Products/73827/barbaresco-night-world-atlas-of-wine-jancis-robinson-hugh-johnson-tribe

Please get some intel from Jancis about how 2016 Produttori Riservas are shaping up…thanks in advance!

Description from email

Just by itself, the prospect of tasting 40-50 of the best 2016 wines from Barbaresco would have me lining up. There are plenty of famous names on the list, and - thanks to Walter’s demanding palate - some exciting discoveries as well. Add a copy of the new “World Atlas of Wine” ($65 retail), the august company of authors Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, and plenty of wonderful food - it will be another great evening. Jamie Wolff

Some, but not all, of the wines to be tasted: Albino Rocca, Bruno Rocca, Ca’ del Baio, Castello di Verduno, Ceretto, Colla, Cortese, Fontanabianca, La Ca’ Nova, Luigi Oddero, Luisin, Marinacci, Marchesi di Gresy, Moccagatta, Musso, Oddero, Bondonio, Abrigo, Paitin, Quazzolo, Rabaglio, Rivetto, Socre, Sottimano, Lequio, etc etc

This looks great. Thanks! I may be in town that week.

Anyone else joining? Never completely sold out, 5 spots left (not a total surprise given the tariff with the price of book). I signed up. Figuring out my tasting strategy now, as my palate can’t take down all of these young wines in one go. I’m eye balling about half of them. Will probably skip many of the super rare productions which are hard to find, as my main goal is to see who I want to be buying.

Please report back!

Below are my unpolished notes I took on an iPhone… sharing because you asked / I won’t have time to refine them. I even have scores, but keep in mind this was rapid tasting experience! I thought most wines were very good, but my expectations were to be blown away by explosive wines, and that did not happen for the most part. I thought there were very good value wines to be had (e.g., $30-40 price points), but will save more $ for Barolo.

My favorites were the Barale, Poderi, Bondonio, Sottimano Pajore, La Ca’nova, Cascina Luisin Rabajà. I have bought some Barale already and am excited to drink those over the coming decade (I put a fuller CT note up on that, reviewed on a full bottle). If storage was free, I’d look to retry the Poderi and Cascina Luisin Rabaja. The Bondonio intrigues me, but not really available in the U.S.

The notes below are in order of how I tasted them. Their is a lot of structure in the wines. My tongue burned out at some point, so caveat emptor (e.g., I tasted the Marchesi early and said “delightful” and at the end of night revisited and it was “DNPIM”). A pat on the back for those who can taste young nebbiolo professionally!


La Ca’ Nova, Montestefano 2016 93-96AG $40
Tannic
dark / light raspberry
Very good but felt thin
It really is well balanced and very good, and so good you expect it to have more depth/concentration which it does not have
92+?

Marchesi di Gresy, Martinenga 2016
Delightful.
Not as delineated as the la ca nova, but similar style.
Less structured and less crystalline fruit. 91?

Moccagatta, Bric Balin 2016 95 AG $45
More concentration than first two.
Raspberry plum cherry.
More plummy, plum skins and pits than the first two.
More plum skin and pits.
Astringency on the finish.
92-93, but I prefer the La Ca’Nova as a style

Albino Rocca, Cottà 2016 91-94AG $50
Slightly sour Cherry, green stems
90

Sottimano, Cottà 2016 6 94+AG $60
Sweeter cherry
Very structured, slightly more so than pajore
92-93
More concentration than la ca nova, but I would rather get the Pajore or trade down to la canova

Sottimano, Pajorè 2016 9 95+ AG $60
Rose, Cherry
Slight vanilla
Huge structure
A streak of acidity later
Not a heavy weight despite huge tannin
93-94
Having tasted it before, I was expecting more. I cancelled a pre-order I had on it, despite liking it the time I tried it before. Did not resonate as much as I expected… I tried it before with excellent prosciutto so maybe that prior experience was skewed. Nevertheless, very good.

Ceretto, Asili 2016 2 95+ AG $100
More fruit and concentration than others. More going on
Big fruit: cherry, raspberry and even some strawberry?
Mild green stemmy note
Drying structure
A little vanilla
A bit clunky in its youth
QPR here doesn’t make sense to me… just buy a better made Barolo?
(Score ? 93+?)

Cascina Luisin, Asili 2016 $40
Sweet cherry and strawberry
Very soft. Missing the big structure. But there is drying structure on the finish, so maybe my tongue is going?
Want to revisit given how harmonious and soft it is. A bit fruity. Lacking acidity?
92?

Cascina Luisin, Rabajà 2016 $50
A step up from the Asili
More concentration and power than the Asili
Nice sappy cherry fruit
Good balance
More structure
Gentle tannin, but not as structured or astringent as other wines
92-93
Would like to retry/revisit to get a fresh look at the structure

Giuseppe Cortese 2016 93+ AG $40
Bright cherry
Vanilla
Simple or deceptively simple?

Castello di Verduno, Rabajà-Bas 2016 $54
Poor showing
Had lightness and energy. But sour and disjointed?
I just had a spicy salami which probably didn’t help… but this was not great

Poderi Colla, Roncaglie 2016 $60
Brighter cherry with integrated vanilla
Soft fruit
Medium weight
Good acidity
Pleasant austerity on the finish
Great balance
92
Very good. Maybe I underscored this by a point? Would revisit. But I thought this was $40, not $60, not one to chase?

Cascina delle Rose, Rio Sordo 2016 $55
Hight toned raspberry
And very structured astringent drying
Not a combination I personally like
Objectively a 92-93?
Have a bottle of this and Tre Stelle at home to compare one day

Musso, Pora 2016 $40
Concentrated bright cherry
Dill vanilla
Too much cherry and vanilla?
Another very drying structure. Not the most, but its up there
92?
Another strong qpr? But I think I prefered the La’Ca Nova more

Bruno Rocca 2016 88AG $53
Nice crystalline ripe cherry fruit
Vanilla finish
So much structure
91-92
There is better qpr for the price
Why did AG bag on this one?

Bondonio 2016 Roncagliette $80
Concentrated bright cherry
Mouth puckering structure
Think loads of bright sappy cherry married with huge structure. A bipolar wine.
Not my style with that high toned cherry
But a lot of material here that could age well? Definitely preferred over the Cerretta
93?

Oddero
Got the last 1/10 of an ounce
Seemed very good
Darker/more cola and more barolo-like than any other wine
Maybe the tasting bottle was finished for a good reason?

Barale
Definitely a vintage QPR winner
Light pink, rose petals, herbs, cedar
Lacy
A little heat
92?
Impressive to have this show well so late in the night when my tongue was clearly seared to a crust.

I’m traveling and don’t have my notes with me, but a couple of broad observations:

  1. My friend and I both found that the wines from the village of Barbaresco were pretty consistently better than those from Neive and Treiso. I asked Walter (Jancis Robinson’s Piedmont writer, whose surname I forget) if the vintage favored that commune. He said Barbaresco is generally favored, in part because of its proximity to the Tanaro. I’ve generally focused on vineyards and hadn’t thought much about where they fell within the zone (as I do in Barolo), but the difference was quite marked at this tasting, where the wines were organized by commune.

  2. I found these wines less impressive than the '13s at the similar Barolo tasting that Robinson and Chambers St. sponsored two years ago. I suspect that’s because those wines had an extra year in wood and/or bottle, rather than an inherent quality difference. I was a bit surprised that there were so many disappointments, since I’ve adored so many '16 Nebbiolos from Barbaresco producers.

A few random observations on individual wines from memory:

The Moccagatta Bric Balin was markedly oaky. I was a bit surprised since, in the past, I thought they had a deft hand with the barriques. But I haven’t tasted their wines regularly in recent years. Perhaps I’m just less tolerant of oak on nebbiolo than I used to be.

The Musso Pora was also quite oaky. I’d liked their '99 and '04 Rio Sordos young, but they have not developed well. No more gambles on Musso.

I thought the Cortese was outstanding. I think this is a very under-appreciated producer. All of their vines are in Rabaja. (Shon - I see you found vanilla. If it was there, it wasn’t from barriques, because they use larger casks.)

I found the Ceretto Asilli lacked precision when I tasted it, which I attributed to their modernist approach. Then, in our conversation, Walter said in passing that this wine was the most transformed – that they’ve dramatically changed their approach. I felt kind of dumb, so I went back and retasted. It was better, though I still wasn’t wowed. Lesson: Don’t let your preconceptions color what you taste in the glass.

The Produttori did not provide samples for the tasting. And they generally release late, anyway. I was sorry the Cigliuti and De Forville wines were not there, as their '16 Nebbiolo was stupendous, and I liked their '13s and '14s a lot.

Finally, I would add that I find Walter one of the best-informed and most thoughtful critics around. He, too, is underappreciated!

All seems so simple, the least oak makes the best wine ; )

Kidding aside, I’d assumed 16’ Barbaresco would be a great vintage as it has been hyped in Barolo and shown to be in other key European regions, but 14’ is a good example of how it can be good for one (Barbaresco) and not so good for the other (Barolo).

Thanks! I enjoyed reading them and hearing your thoughts.

Two that I’ve tried recently:
La Ca’ Nova Montefico 2016 - incredibly, undrinkably tannic on day 1, and this didn’t reach balance until Day 4, but then it was quite nice.

2016 Silvio Giamello Barbaresco Vicenziana - Pretty, elegant, great right out of the gate. I enjoyed this one.

I’m definitely saving up for more Barolo than Barbaresco, but I did buy a few of both above.

Thank you for that observation! I put together a tasting order that went a little back-and-forth versus by commune,was annoyed producer wines were not aggregated. But now the commune approach makes more sense.

Any favorites besides the Cortese?

Cortese is on my re-taste list. It confused me on initial tasting and when I went to revisit it later in the evening my tongue was shot. Given your strong recommendation, I will prioritize it for a re-tasting.

This was a big bummer given how positive WB’s are on this wine.

I started at the Treiso table because it was less crowded, so I kind of worked my way up to Barbaresco. I think it would have been much less fun the other way around.

Since I don’t have my notes with me, I honestly don’t remember other favorites. I found them tough enough at this point that I wasn’t running out to buy many.

I remember the Cortese because it’s $40-$45 and I ordered some. FYI, there was one corked bottle on a table near the window, and it may have been a Cortese. I said something to Jamie and he said to put it aside, so I did. Perhaps you tasted off that bottle. Evidently no one else thought to say anything. But I’m not sure that was a Cortese.

I’m back from my trip and dug out my notes.

Because of the walk-around format, and the difficulty of assessing the wines at this stage, my notes are very sketchy, so I’m not sure how useful they will be to anyone.

I arrived early on and had two hours or so to taste through, including retastes toward the end. Periodic palate refreshing with cheese and food was essential every few minutes.

I think if I’d been sitting down and had a chance to swirl and experience each wine at more length, and with some food, the scores would be higher. In many cases, I didn’t give points because my impressions were based in a quick taste. And I either didn’t taste or didn’t bother to take notes on a half dozen or so.

As I said above, these were much less enjoyable than the '13 Barolos were when they were released two years ago, which may just point to the benefit of four years of aging before release, whereas these have had only three.

Arranged by village, as the tasting was:

ALBA:

Marinacci – Barbaresco d’Alba (never heard of that DOCG!): Fairly fruity, good depth. 90


BARBARESCO:

Fletcher – Recta Pete: Light body, tannic. 87

Socré: Beefier, more tannic and extracted, but good balance. 90

Moccagatta – Bric Balin/Muncagota: Pretty oaky in the mouth. Rather hard (wood?) tannins at the back. 87/88

Prunotto – Montaribaldi, Bric Turot: “Weedy” is all I wrote. It seems I moved on.

Ceretto – Asili: “Bland. Harsh tannins,” I wrote. Walter Speller said he thought this wine showed the dramatic turnaround at this producer, toward more traditional wines. I was probably prejudiced by their reputation for being very oaky, and I went back and retried it after Walter’s remark, but I wasn’t wowed even on retasting.

Cascina Luisin – Asili: Less interesting but balanced

Musso – Pora: Some oak, good depth, seems to get better.

Cascina Luisin – Rabajà: Good concentration. 92

Cortese – Rabajà: Really good. Great depth and tension. 93++

Castello di Verduno – Rabajà-Bas: Really good. Luscious, nice sweetness. 93++

Cascina delle Rose – Rio Sordo: Some sweet cherry

Podera Colla – Roncaglie: Some oak. Hard tannins.


NEIVE

Bruno Rocca: Tougher tannins. Some oak, but restrained. Harsh tannins at the back.

Massimo Rivetti – Froi: OK. 88

Albino Rocca – Cottà: Lacks middle and concentration. 85

Sottimano – Cottà: Really lovely. Great balance. 92 (FYI, this spends two years in barriques, 15-20% new, but I didn’t pick that up on this wine.)

Barale – Serraboella: Much more tannic than the Paitin Serraboella, but good balance and depth. 92

Paitin – Serraboella: Lovely sweetness, good concentration, less fruit. Shows better later. 90 bumped up to 92.

Marchese di Barolo – Serragrilli: No descriptors but I gave it 90.

Antichi Poderi dei Gallini – Gallini, L’Ciaciaret: Earthy, dense, powerful, concentrated. 93
Ugo Lequoio – Gallina: Beautiful floral and fruit on the nose. Dense, good fruit in the mouth, with a kiss of oak. 93

Poderi & Cantine Oddero – Gallina: Dense, darker. No score for some reason.

Rabaglio – Gaia-Principe: Light in color but concentrated. 91

Sassi San Cristoforo – San Cristoforo: Medium/light body, but good fruit. 89+


TREISO:

Rivetto – Marcarini: Very light color and body

Luigi Oddero – Rombone: Very light color, light body, but classy. Tannic and backward, notwithstanding the weight. Very promising.

Rizzi – Rizzi: A fair deal of tannin, but balanced.

Sottimanno – Pajoré: Sweet, fruity, feminine. Holds up well. “Some oak?” I wrote. Indeed, 24 months in barriques, 15% new.

Molino – Ausario: Lighter in color, but good depth

P.S. I’ll be tasting a smaller number at a more leisurely pace tomorrow night. I’ll report in after that.

Thanks for the notes John. I tasted the Sottimano 16s recently at the estate (I’d not really had them before and was curious) and they’ve dialed back on the oak quite a bit in the last 7 or 8 years, and keep dialing it back. I really enjoyed the 16s from them, especially the Cotta. As you say, to the extent you pick up oak, it’s a very light touch. Was too early to taste the Riserva unfortunately.

Thanks for digging up the notes. Keen to hear about the re-tasting notes!

Interested to hear your thoughts. Especially interested in the La Ca Nova Wines, not sure if those will be included? Visited the Estate in August of 2018 and the Wines were a bit too warm when tasted to properly evaluate. They seem to have plenty of extract, but just could not discern any subtleties. Probably take a flier on them anyways as they are really dirt cheap

The Sottimano 16 Pajore was poured at Skunirk’s Champagne tasting in NYC at the Italian table. It was delicious, great insight into 16 at the hands of a good producer. Moccagatta was also poured and revealed a very oaky “modern” wine.

Sorry, Tom, but La Ca Nova is not on the list.

Stay tuned . . . .

The importer’s website says that the Bric Balin is aged in 40% new barriques – quite high these days. Yet neither WS or Galloni mentions the oak:

Spectator
Score: 92
“This fragrant version offers menthol, eucalyptus, sandalwood and cherry aromas and flavors, married to an elegant frame. Balanced, with a lingering aftertaste of spice and tar. Drink now through 2028. 1,250 cases made.”

Vinous Media
Score: 94
“A deep, sensual wine, the 2013 Barbaresco Bric Balin is shaping up to be a real jewel. Hints of orange peel, mint, spices and white pepper make an appearance on a bouquet that is full of intrigue. The 2013 is deep, powerful and structured. Like all of these wines, the Bric Balin is likely to need at least a few years to start showing all it’s got, but there is plenty to look forward to.”

To me, that pretty much disqualifies them as critics.