TN: 2015 Barolo Tasting at La Festa del Barolo

“2015 BAROLO…THE BIGGER PICTURE” TASTING AT LA FESTA DEL BAROLO - The Pool and The Grill in the Seagram Building, NYC (2/1/2020)

Morning Tasting of 2015 Barolos at Antonio Galloni Vinous Media’s La Festa del Barolo 2020.

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.

Photos and more details can be found on my website.

2015 is an appealing vintage. The wines are uniformly forward and relatively open for Barolo so young. The quality seems quite consistent. I used the word “sweet” in almost all the tasting notes. Here I mean sweet tasting fruit and not residual sugar. In this regard, 2015 reminds me of 2007 with perhaps a bit more consistency.

Flight One: Rocche di Castiglione and Bricco Rocche.

• 2015 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.] Lovely nose of sweet red fruit. Sweet, medium body, long, elegant. Young, but you could drink it today with pleasure. Probably better to give it a decade in the cellar. 91-93 (92 pts.)
• 2015 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.] Reserved nose. Long and juicy in the mouth. Elegant and tasty. This is the best young wine I have tasted from Ceretto in some time. (93 pts.)
• 2015 Oddero Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [First time for Oddero at La Festa. Mariacristina “Cristina” Oddero mentioned that Rocche di Castiglione was the first single-vineyard wine made by her winery.] Pure red plum nose. Rich and sweet in the mouth. Medium length. Delicious. More black fruit in the mouth as it opens. Expansive and impressive. Serious Barolo. 93-?? (93 pts.)
• 2015 Vietti Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Huge sweet black fruit nose with hints of vanilla. Silky black fruit with firm tannins underneath. More new oak than I like, but it should integrate with time. 92-94 (93 pts.)

Flight Two: Bussia and Ginestra.

• 2015 Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [First time for Einaudi at La Festa. Matteo Sardagna is the great-grandson of founder Luigi Einaudi, following in the footsteps his grandfather Roberto Einaudi and his mother Paola Einaudi. I believe he said that this parcel in Bussia of nearly 6 hectares is the first that he has purchased. 2015 is their first vintage of this wine. Matteo also said that he has moved to more traditional methods such as no barriques and 40-day maceration.] Dark nose of black fruit and coffee. Juicy, rich, sweet black fruit. Tasty wine. The best young wine I’ve had from this estate. 91-93 (92 pts.)
• 2015 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Chiniera - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Gianluca Grasso said his first vintage was 1996. He is 45 years old. His father is almost 77 and is still out tending his vines and still teaching Gianluca new facts and ideas about the vines. He told a story where a consultant told them the grapes were ready to be harvested based technical measurements. His father said no and showed him how some grapes were not fully ripe and the seeds were still green. They harvested one week later and his father was right.] Sweet nose of red fruit ground beef. Long and delicious. Appealing spice and red fruit. My favorite La Festa wine from the producer. 93-?? (93 pts.)
• 2015 Parusso Barolo Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Blended from two parcels in Bussia, one of which is called “vigna Rocche”. 100% whole cluster.] Loads of sweet chocolate in the nose. Rich and spicy in the mouth with loads of vanilla and chocolate and a hint of red fruit. Heavily over-oaked. Not my style.

Flight Three: Cannubi.

• 2015 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Aleste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Barbara Sandrone (Luciano’s daughter) explained that Aleste is the new name of their wine from Cannubi Boschis. She was understandably emotional while explaining that Luciano is feeling his mortality at age 74 and having undergone heart surgery in December 2014, so he decided to name his most famous wine after his grandchildren ALEssia and STEfano (Barbara’s daughter and son). She also mentioned that in 2014, they bought a small parcel in Cannubi itself. It’s only 1/4 hectare, but it will not be blended into Aleste.] Huge nose of sweet black fruit, tar, and graphite. Rich and juicy in the mouth. Elegant and powerful. A delicious wine with significant aging potential for the vintage. 93-?? (93 pts.)
• 2015 Elio Altare Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Silvia Altare mentioned that this is her 17th vintage, which made me feel old since I first met her father when she was just a little girl. She also spoke at length about preserving the legacy of her father. She said this wine is from a small parcel in Cannubi proper which they lease and hope to buy.] Nose of sweet red fruit. Surprisingly austere in the mouth with elegant tannins creating a nice backbone in this fruit-forward vintage. Good grip on a long graceful finish. The use of new oak seems very restrained here. This may be my favorite wine from this estate since the 1980s. Wonderful balance and elegance with good structure. Sadly only 4 barrels are produced. It is expensive and hard to find. 94-95 (94 pts.)

Flight Four: Something New.

• 2015 Trediberri Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [This is the first time for Trediberri at La Festa. The 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. Nicola said that he thinks of the Ratti family as his second family.] Lovely floral nose of roses and violets. Sweet cherry fruit. Long and tasty. Very promising. 92-93 (92 pts.)
• 2015 Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno Barolo Bricco Pernice - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Valter Fissore mentioned that he’s now 55. He began at the winery in 1991.] Distinctive nose of black fruit and almonds. Spicy, juicy, tannic with rich fruit. Long and tasty. One of the more backward wines of this tasting. 92-94 (93 pts.)
• 2015 G.D. Vajra Barolo Ravera - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Giuseppe Vaira mentioned that their parcel in Ravera is adjacent to Cogno’s.] Nose of black fruit and licorice. Silky and rich in the mouth with a long delicious finish. Just riveting. The finish goes on and on. My second favorite wine of the tasting. Wow! 95-?? (95 pts.)
• 2015 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Nose of tar, red fruit, and spice. Rich cherry in the mouth. A hint of green tannin in the mid palate concerns me a bit. 93? (93 pts.)

Flight Five: Serralunga d’Alba.

• 2015 Paolo Scavino Barolo Prapò - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Nose of new oak and red fruit. In the mouth, it is unnaturally thick for Nebbiolo. Long finish of black fruit and vanilla. Well made, but the style is just too modern for me.
• 2015 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Arione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Opening slowly. The nose is stunning with a complex array of red fruit, black fruit, cardamom, and cloves. Powerful and expansive in the mouth. Incredible depth and complexity. Easily the wine of the tasting, though I would give a slight edge to the Arione Nebbiolo I tasted last night at the Gala dinner. (97 pts.)

This was my eighth of these structured new release tastings at La Festa del Barolo. This one might be the most consistent in terms of the quality of the wines. The 2015 Barolos have lots of sweet fruit and enough structure for medium term cellaring. OTOH, I don’t find a lot of the typicity of vintages such as 2013 and 2010. That is, the vineyard is not as prominent in these wines as those of 2010 and 2013. I expect the 2015s to be fully ready before the wines of those vintages.

Thanks for the notes Ken, much appreciated.

Thanks for all the info from the producers, Ken. Very informative!

Thanks for the notes Ken. I’ve tasted a number of these, and I think, if anything, I may be more oak averse than you are! (I was more concerned by the oak on the Vietti Rocche.) I also wonder if the Burlotto Monvigliero might have been a slightly weird bottle - I had a few of these in Italy and they were a joy to drink.

Might be, but no one said they thought it was off, and I was sitting next to some experienced tasters who had tasted it at the winery previously.

Maybe someone forgot to wash his feet during the pressing?

Hah!

Whenever I make judgments like that, the more likely possibility is that my palate isn’t sophisticated enough to pick it up.

Bought some of the Vajra Ravera today. Thanks for the note!