Opened a '16 Schiavenza - Ceretta this evening with veal chops in a chanterelle cream sauce. Popped and poured, without a decant.
Powerful scents of black licorice from the moment the cork was pulled, backed up by a melange of deep, dark fruits – some plums, black cherry, blackberry. Broad shouldered; very masculine; very Serralunga-ish. “Like the big jock at the end of the bench,” my friend said. Dense at first, with layers of fruit and ample tannin. (The last small pour seems more refined/finessed.) The black licorice is sustained across three hours. Very enjoyable now with meat, but with lots of concentration, all in balance, so it looks to have a good future. 93+. This has Serralunga written all over it.
Schiavenza is a traditional producer that flies under the radar, but they produce some very impressive wines. Here’s a photo taken out the window of the winery the first week of December 2005:
Just wanted to say how much I am enjoying this thread. Have been shifting my wine buying toward Italy for a few years and am excited about this vintage.
Also, a belated thanks to Jim and everyone else who’s opened bottles and posted notes in this thread. I’ve relied on it quite a bit in putting together a small cross section of 2016s.
It’s labeled at 15%, but that didn’t stand out, and I’m usually one of the first to notice high ABV. It was a cool night. Perhaps the alcohol might have been more conspicuous if the apartment had been warmer.
Hmmm… not what I was expecting either. I have 2 of these that I bought on a whim because of the 100pt score and the price I was offered $99. I guess I will definitely be keeping my hands off. Was going to use these for a milestone wedding anniversary so more incentive to do so now.
I have a 2016 Elvio Cogno Ravera on the way that I will try next weekend probably and I’ll report back.
Yeah, that’s what I’d expect from this producer, and why I don’t buy. Not my thing, personally; noticeable oak on Barolo is not something I like.
I had the 16 Alessandria Monvigliero recently; it’s certainly not as charming as the Burlotto Monvigliero and has a darker fruit profile, but it’s a lovely wine and drank pretty well on pop and pour. I’d have had better tasting notes, but it was consumed towards the end of the night a few weeks back. A very nice wine though.
I wouldn’t think anyone would be surprised by this. Has Chiara Boschis ever made Barolo that was not noticeably oaked in the last 20 years? She is a darling of critics and gets great scores, but she has certainly never been a producer of traditional Barolo.
I think she dialed back on the oak somewhat in the early 2000s. I visited in 2005 and she said something about how “we had to go to extremes” to make a point, in the 90s, I assumed.
I’m generally quite averse to oak on nebbiolo, but her 01 Cannubi was very balanced in its early years.
Via Nuova isn’t a top site, which might be another factor here.
Definitely not a darling of Kerin O’Keefe. Chiara Boschis / E. Pira doesn’t get a single mention in her Barolo and Barbaresco book. But Kerin makes it clear right up front in the book that she isn’t a fan of noticeable oak in Barolo, and consequently a number of modernist producers are barely mentioned.
Domenico Clerico fared marginally better than Boschis: Clerico at least had their name listed under “Other Wineries of Note” in the Monforte d’Alba chapter.
What point do you think she was trying to make? I met her around 2003 and recall her saying “People are tired of buying brown Barolo.” This seemed to be a pretty clear knock at traditional vinification methods. I had to chuckle to myself at that because I had a cellar full of “brown Barolo,” and she is a daughter of the very traditional Giacomo Borgogno family (and neighbor to B. Mascarello).
I assume if you were buying old Barolo that far back, then you know of the history of the rebellion of the younger generation in the 80s, use of barriques, etc. It always seemed like it was a mix of (familiar) youthful rebellion against tradition and a genuine desire to make better wines. Whether new oak and roto-fermenters were improvements is open to question, obviously.
As I recall, I asked her about the modern techniques and she responded with that line. I construed her statement to mean that they had to get the older generation’s attention and make people reexamine their techniques and habits. But I didn’t ask her to elaborate. I remember sensing that she didn’t want to go into that.
Right. Ironically, many of the traditional giants of the 80s (both Mascarellos, both Rinaldis, Giacosa, Produttori, Cappellano, G. Conterno, Burlotto, Brovia, Prunotto [Beppe Colla pre-Antinori] and many others) continued along mostly unchanged and are now some of the most coveted wines. Meanwhile, more and more modernists are reverting to traditional methods. At least that pendulum has swung back. It was pretty sad to see some of the older houses jump on the modernista bandwagon. And E. Pira used to be a quality traditional producer until the owner’s death and property sale to Borgogno (who passed it to Chiara Boschis).
There was a very good academic article maybe 10 years ago, tracking the history and the personal dynamics. I was just checking, but I can’t seem to find a copy in my own docs. I know I posted on it, but I’m not sure how to pull it up. It was quite fascinating, with many layers or explanation.
O’Keefe gives a nice, concise summary of the modernist movement in her book. She also discusses barriques, roto-fermenters, etc.
You can also watch the doc “Barolo Boys: The Story of a Revolution” which I believe is currently available on Amazon Prime. Also available to stream via Vimeo or stream/purchase via iTunes.
At some point she changed Via Nuova from single site to a blend of her 7 vineyards.
I haven’t had any of her wines yet but but some 13-16. How would her oak treatment compare to Scavino ? I found them very modern in style and my least favorite 16’s I’ve tried so far.
I found the Via Nuova among the more obviously oaked Barolo I’ve had from 2016 — more so than the Scavinos I’ve tried. I’ll open Scavino’s Prapo and Carobric tonight as a point of comparison…
Great thread so adding some of my notes. Cordero is a new producer for me and probably my find of the year. Loved the 16 base Barolo so much I tried one of the 13 Cru’s and wow.
2016 Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo Monfalletto- 94
9/17/2020 rated 94 points: I’ve had 2 bottles over the last month with very consistent experiences. This opens up with a very expressive nose with floral and cherry notes. It follows with complex flavors that have a slight richness to it and an excellent finish. Tannins are fine and slightly ripe but the wine already shows terrific balance. It’s expressive, classy and flat out delicious. It picked up some additional weight and depth over 3 hours and never showed signs of shutting down. It will be hard to give these more time as good as good as it drinks now. Modern but classy Barolo and my qpr of the year at $40
2013 Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo Bricco Gattera - 95
Cordero got on my radar with the terrific 16 Monfalletto. I was excited to try the Gattera with a bit of age. This is a beautiful, expressive and young wine. It has a terrific nose of red cherry, floral and slight mint tones. It’s packed with flavor and fine tannin. It was a sheer joy to drink. It picked up a bit of depth and power with air. It was also a fantastic match with Risotto and mushrooms. Highly recommend and I bought some more as I’ll give the next bottle at least 2 years. This should be stunning at age 15.
