There seems to have been a big change. Tasting through the '14 and '15 lineups last year and this year, they were surprisingly transparent and balanced. None of the sort of fuzz that had characterized Scavino’s wines for so many years. (I didn’t like the '13s, which seemed very muddy/fuzzy/obscured/nontransparent.)
great report, Also great to hear about the Giacosas. Is the wine you reviewed a red label ? Kens sight seemed to indicate none made this year but maybe I got it wrong ? I’ve seen a couple of reports indicating it was red label. Our local distributor is listing it as Le Rocche de Falletto.
John,
I love your description of excessive oak as ‘fuzz,’ and ‘nontransparent’ is very good too. Even big Nebbiolo should be somehow transparent in flavor.
Greg,
Thank you for this very helpful information. I would like to reply to one of your observations, that of Palladino producing “crus [that] are classic, traditionally styled wines”. My experience with Palladino, most recently the 2014 Ornato, is that it was a big, rich wine, with a distinctly vanillin oak nose. Pat Burton’s helpful thread classifies Palladino as a “median” producer on the traditional/modern spectrum. Do you have any specific information regarding the oak treatment and wine making style at Palladino. Has it changed?
I specifically asked about Scavino and Clerico because most of their wines from the early-ish 2000s turned me off them due to excessive oak. With most bottles it was debatable whether the fruit would outlast the hard-as-nails oak.
Glad to hear Scavino has changed. Does Clerico still have the young winemaker who was there in 2014 when we visited? Domenico was still around at that point, and he spent quite a bit of time talking with us, but of course he wasn’t making the wine by that time. Any thoughts on their recent wines, and does anyone know if there have been other changes since Domenico passed?
To be clear, it wasn’t oak flavor, so I don’t know if it’s barriques or something else. (I think by '13 Scavino’s use of barriques had been sharply curtailed.) Whatever the cause, tasting the wines was like looking through a very dirty window at the vines.
I found something similar tasting in Bordeaux in 2001 at the properties that used reverse osmosis.
Was this change noticeable all the way to the Monvigliero?
Interesting. Would one of those be Pape Clement?
Yes.
I bought the Burlotto, Frat. Allesandria and Scavino '12 Monviglieros and have been waiting for a chance to taste them blind because I really loathed the '13 Scavino Monvigliero. I’ll be interested to see how the three '12s stack up against each other.
Indeed, we made a stop there. And Smith Haut-Laffite. And a number of others. I still have my notes somewhere. It was an impression formed after a couple days of back-to-back visits. The pattern started to emerge for me.
But I can’t imagine anyone is using RO is the Langhe.
I tried the 2015 Fratelli Alessandria San Lorenzo yesterday
Wow what a redfruited and fragrance rich young Barolo.
Re Giacosa. 2014 Rabaja were better than 2015. IMO
I am not getting gooey, though my brain perhaps is!
If anything my palate has shifted from over-ripe, though I increasingly enjoy actual ripe. Actually I never liked over-ripe crap.
I tasted from a shiner but Bruna indicated that they were leaning towards labelling this as Riserva, though that decision had not yet been made. I don’t know what the finale decision was.
The ageing regimen for the crus is 30 day macerations, six months in concrete followed by two years in botte. Parafada saw a year in tonneaux and a year in botte but I think now it’s all botte. I would not be surprised if a round of new botte introduction have lent their oak to some recent bottlings. My notes indicate that the 2014 Ornato saw 2 years in botte.
Something like this happens when you dry the grapes for a few days.
I bought my San Lorenzo yesterday. Looking forward to trying it again. Just a vivid and exuberant wine, my kind of Barolo.
I didn’t try the 2015 Rabaja, but I’ll take your word for it.
Gregory. It’s difficult to see where your reply is. You need to type it AFTER the last [ / quote ]