Bumping as I’ve been able to taste a few 2016s and later in Piedmont thus far. Punchline for me is that based on the Vietti and Margherita Otto 2016s, I think there are going to be some real showstopper wines from the vintage, and it is clearly much more interesting than 2015 and what 2017 appears to be based on a few data points.
(1) At Vietti I was able to taste the 2016 Castiglione, Brunate, Lazzarito, and Ravera. They were all very good wines in my opinion, with the Brunate and Ravera in particular showing very beautifully, while the Lazzarito was a very dark, dense wine and not showing much aromatically right now. The 2016 Castiglione is very good as well and going to be a steal at its price point. But the Brunate and Ravera were showstoppers. The Brunate in particular struck me, perhaps because it came first of the Crus and was a clear cut above anything that came prior…very perfumed nose with red cherries and floral aromas, and then explosive on the palate but yet seamless and with fine tannins. It is so elegant yet so rich on the palate. The 2016 Castiglione was served next to the 2015 version, and to me there is a noticeable difference where the 2016 is more gracious and perfumed and the 2015 felt a bit clunky in comparison.
I also encountered my first 2017 Nebbiolo at Vietti, the Perbacco, and I did not think it showed that well. It showed obvious signs of the heat of the vintage, with very drying, harsh tannins on the finish, that I have come to quickly realize appears to be a theme for the vintage.
(2) At Margherita Otto (Alan Manley’s new winery) he graciously let us taste the 2016-2018 Barolo. They are not apples to apples due to some vineyard changes throughout the period as he’s expanded. His 2016 spent an extended time in stainless steel for logistical reasons and appears a bit embyronic, perhaps as a result, and it is not showing much aromatically, but it is very dense and powerful on the palate with a long finish and once the aromatics open up it should be a beautiful wine. His 2017 was much more perfumed and showed much better than the Vietti Perbacco from earlier, but still retains some of the sharp tannins at the back end. His 2018 was the finest of the three in my view and is competing with the Vietti Brunate for my favorite wine of the trip thus far…gorgeous red fruit perfume, seamless from start to finish on the palate. I can’t wait to taste that wine again.
(3) At Bartolo we tasted the 2017 Langhe Nebbiolo…a pretty nice perfume, but sort of the same harsh tannins as the other 17s.
Hey Lorenzo - I’ve had a few bottles over the past month or so. I’ve posted the notes on CT but not here. Some of the highlights -
I think both 2016s from Elio Grasso are phenomenal. Given the price level, I think these two are must buys. In 2016 the two wines show distinctly different, with the Gavarini Chiniera having a red fruit profile and a ton of energy and the Casa Mate showing a dark fruit profile and a bit more creaminess in texture.
The 2016 Vajra Bricco delle Viole - I haven’t been able to taste it in the U.S. as it hasn’t arrived physically yet, at least in NYC, but I tasted it at the winery right before COVID kicked off and I thought it was very good. Probably the most impressive showing of a young BdV that I’ve experienced, edging the 2013. Again, a clear buy at the price it will hit at. The Coste Rose was also nice, a very pretty wine. I did not try the Ravera.
The Vietti 2016s are all good including the base Castiglione, but the Rocche di Castiglione is my favorite. I thought it had the most textural elegance of the lineup and also a sort of exotic fruit and aromatic profile that made it more interesting than the rest. The '16 Vietti Rocche is my wine of the vintage thus far albeit still small sample size.
The Giuseppe Rinaldi 2016s are very good, but very different, and I feel there has been a further style shift in the Brunate towards elegance over power. I found the Brunate to have its signature aromatics and fruit profile but the tannins were incredibly fine in texture and it drank more like a Burgundy than a young Barolo. I could see some thinking it is too elegant and drinkable to age like a classic Barolo - but I thought it was terrific. The Tre Tine I thought was a bit more of a classic Barolo in terms of texture, still very elegant in the grand scheme of things but not quite as extreme as the Brunate. I would say the '16 Rinaldi Brunate is my #2 of the vintage thus far behind the Vietti Rocche. The Tre Tine, I am happy to have some but it is hard to justify the U.S. price in my opinion vs. the Elio Grasso or Vajra above.
The Oddero Rocche di Castiglione 2016 was a very deep and muscular, savory wine. I found it enjoyable but it comes across as from a very different era than the Vietti Rocche noted above. I’ve yet to try the Brunate which has gotten the most praise of the lineup.
Lorenzo while it obviously depends on personal preference, I’ve yet to open a 2016 Barolo that wasn’t a pleasure to drink and where I felt like I’ve learned something about the wine. They’re very balanced wines and in many cases the tannins are quite elegant.
My only problem with Elio Grasso is that it has become more expensive than other wineries I also enjoy such as Brovia, F. Alessandria and F. Rinaldi. I haven’t tasted these yet so it might be that Elio Grasso justifies its price tag, but a recent 2014 barolo didn’t convince me at least. A bit the same for Vietti as I think the prices of their Crus are a hard one to swallow. They are more expensive than Burlotto and B. Mascarello, which settles it for me. I however still buy the base Castiglione.
Not sure what market you are in but Elio Grasso seems to be cheaper than Brovia, maybe a bit above F. Alessandria ($5-10/btl), ~$20/btl or so higher than F. Rinaldi. The wines increased in price with the 2015/2016 vintages and they’re now ~$80-90 USD wines vs. ~$70 before. Vajras pricing has also jumped a bit now with the BdV looking to be closer to $80/btl in 2016 than $60-65 as you could find it in prior vintages, but in all these cases I think the pricing remains very low relative to quality. As for Vietti - here in the U.S. market the Vietti 2016 single vineyards could be found for about $175 if you shopped carefully, with the Rocche being the hardest to find given the production quantity - B. Mascarello is $200+ except in the most lucky of circumstances and Burlotto Monvigliero '16 is also likely to be more expensive than Vietti on the open market, but TBD. I realize the winery pricing on Vietti is high whereas it is low for Burlotto & Bartolo, so if you can buy direct from the winery the math is very different. I prefer the B. Mascarello style vs Vietti although that has narrowed - the '16 Vietti are very classic in profile just with maybe an above average sense of concentration - and I feel a more emotional connection with the Mascarello wines, but I must say the Vietti single vineyards based on quality deserves every bit of their price in my opinion.
2014 is clearly a vintage where some got lucky and weren’t exposed to damaging hail etc and produced great classic wines, and some vineyards suffered. Grasso is clearly in the camp whose vineyards suffered in 2014, and as Brovia did they produced a single blended Barolo. I thought it was an OK effort given the circumstances but it is the weakest Barolo from Grasso I have tasted. Both the Elio Grasso & Brovia Unio 2014 to me were very lean wines lacking depth of fruit, more savory in flavor profile.
At least in Europe where I buy wine it seems Brovia are a bit cheaper than Grasso. F. Alessandria Monvigliero comes in at least 20 euroes cheaper than the Grasso Cru’s and F. Rinaldi is almost half price. I completely agree with you that that with regards to Mascarello and Burlotto that their winery prices are extreme low, so it really depends on where you source it from. 175 $ is a pretty good deal for Vietti Crus but at least in my area Vietti has also taken a jump in prices after Gallonis 2016 ratings.
But all in all I agree that they are still relative values compared to burgundy. That is also why I find it increasingly difficult to buy village burgundy, when I can drink G. Rinaldi Langhe, F. Rinaldi Barolo, Principiano Barolo and the like for same price.
It’s obviously a personal evaluation. For me, the Vietti Rocche in particular in 2016 is an edge above the Elio Grasso wines. 2x as good? No, but all wine pricing is diminishing returns past the $75-100 point in my opinion. I would rank the Vietti Brunate below the Grasso wines in '16 personally so while it’s a beautiful wine I think that is not the best QPR. I’ve yet to taste full bottles of the Vajra wines in a home setting to compare apples to apples. It’s also hard to compare different vineyards and say one is clearly better than the other, because they can be so different. The fruit expression of Vietti Rocche is very different than Grasso Gavarini or especially a Vajra BdV.
Scarcity clearly plays a role there in pricing. The Vietti Ravera is 7K bottles but the Rocche is 3.7K 750ml bottles and that’s similar for the Brunate and Lazzarito. 3.7K bottles is not a lot for a wine distributed globally, you figure Bartolo is making +/- 15K bottles per year in comparison I believe (although the key difference is a much higher % of those remain in Italy).
To me, in the context of global wine pricing, every one of the wines discussed in this thread remains a bargain including the Vietti, and it seems inevitable prices will rise. Especially in the context that some of these wines, i.e. the Rinaldi Brunate especially, to me the Vietti Rocche to a bit lesser extent, are so finessed at a young age - while there’s an argument i’ve heard that Barolo pricing may be limited because the wines lack the early appeal of Burgundy, I’d say the G. Rinaldi Brunate in '16 is every bit as enjoyable young as any grand cru Burgundy I’ve tasted that could cost 2x what I paid for the Rinaldi (at U.S. pricing).
Overall I’d say the vintage is looking great. I’ve only tasted 4 normale/base Barolo. All good 2 outstanding: Cordero Monfallatto and Vietti Castiglione. I’m trying the regular Burlotto this weekend. Based on how good the 15 was I have high hopes.
The broader critic sentiments I’m sure have affected demand and thus pricing as well.