2017 Barolo / Barbaresco : What have you bought / planning to buy

WINE TALK
41

Or have extremely deep budget and cellar space? [snort.gif]

42

I admit, I am an ITBer, but I am first and foremost a wine lover. I’ve been drinking the good stuff for more than 3 decades and in my first decade of drinking I chased the ‘so called’ great years too. I now realise that Producer is the key, and that I quite like vintage variation. Most of what I buy is not at full retail, but let me tell you, Australia is an expensive place to buy wine. Our wholesale is your retail, Jon (assuming you are in The States).

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43

In my opinion, sleeping on '16 is an epic mistake. I’m not even talking about the big names, more of a classic “rising tide lifts all ships” situation. I’ve been just hugely impressed and would highly recommend grabbing some to evaluate. Although if you’re drinking '16 LN it should give an idea of the vintage.

44

Being 57, and liking Barolo/Barbaresco at 20+ years of age, I told myself that 2016 was the last vintage I would buy a few cases of. That said, I might buy a few different 2017s for nearer-term drinking, if I can find some bargains. It seems like the type of vintage that might be discounted when the 2018s arrive and things remain unsold.

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45

Sounds homer-ific to me. You can read reviews of others and figure out most of what you need to know. There’s pretty much nothing great about 2017 Piedmont that I can see from a drinkers perspective. If you need some early drinking wine, have at it.

46

I was ready to pass on 2017 as a warmer vintage but I tasted some of the wines on arrival and found I loved them. Not ‘tarry,’ not alcoholic, very typical flavors. I will drinking them, along with '12s and '14s, while I wait for more structured wines to come around.

Incidentally, some of us may be in the business but we we still have decisions to make.

47

Drink and buy what you like, whatever that may be. Like many here, I am a Vintage Skipper for many bottlings/regions that I routinely enjoy. I will rely both on my own palate, as well as reports from others I trust when making my (non-)buying decisions.

A point to keep in mind: everybody has a certain x number of bottles they’re going to drink in any given year. One could divy-up that x number of bottles in numerous ways; one such way is to enjoy vintage variation for particular bottlings. Another way is to enjoy producer variation.

I think vintage variation is quite interesting, although it can lead to many underwhelming experiences. I find it more interesting to explore different producers, regions, and grape varieties. Some posts here in favor of exploring vintage variation are tip-toeing awfully close to condescension, and some have, imo, crossed the line. Consider alternate viewpoints, folks.

48

This has been my experience as well. I’m not saying all the wines suck, because I’ve had some very lovely 2017s as well. I’ve also had enough 2017s to know the vintage is a minefield - for example I love Burlotto, but their Barolo 2017 was somewhat disappointing and in our tasting of young Barolos and Barbarescos (the report of which Mariano linked here earlier in the thread), it was the least impressive wine in the whole lineup. So not even “producer first” seem to work that reliably in this vintages.

I get to taste vintage variation more than enough in our Piedmonte tastings and verticals, so I don’t need to fill my precious cellar space with bottles that don’t interest me (except for the one or two labels which I try not to miss any vintages, but these are for vertical tastings, not for my personal consumption). I’d rather have a lot of 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2008 aging away and drink something else in the meantime than have wines like 2017s just for vintage variation’s sake. The qualities that I love in a great Nebbiolo are something that usually are around only in great vintages - freshness, high acidity, stern tannins, not obtrusive alcohol. savory fruit and varietal nuances like tar and roses. Can’t say most 2017s can tick all those boxes.

49

Personal circumstances should always come into account, and for someone actively building up a cellar for the long term, that might be reasonable advice. That’s not my position, so no, it’s not an epic mistake.

50

I don’t think any of us are buying bottles that don’t interest us. Or that our appreciation of the many different expressions, the different faces, a wine can reveal across vintages means that we are buying “just for vintage variation’s sake.”

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51

I enjoy variation too, and there are wines I buy almost every year, but I do skip some, and I think that makes sense for me. For example, since we’re talking about Piedmont, I bought almost nothing for the cellar from 2009 or 2014. That was based on tasting a lot of the wines and not finding a reason to buy those versions instead of more 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, etc. I haven’t tried any 2017 yet, so I have no opinion on those, but I also can’t imagine it’s worse than 2014 (and that is not to say I didn’t like any 2014s, I just always far preferred other available vintages of the same wines, and even some producers I like a lot produced wines that I found a bit awkward).

In Germany, I don’t really skip vintages, but I do buy a lot less of some and a lot more of others. There’s a small number of producers who I think make compelling wines every year. That’s just not the case for me in Piedmont or Burgundy, at least not with producers and wines I an afford.

52

I’m somewhat in-between the two poles on this thread, I suppose. In weaker vintages I’ll buy my usual producers in smaller amounts. In normal vintages I’ll take my usual allocations, in great vintages, I’ll buy more widely - to me the sign of a great vintage is when winemakers I don’t necessarily love make great wines. I appreciate the “Producer above all” view, but producers aren’t magic - sometimes the vintage is too limiting and sometimes even great producers screw up. I like to think I’m pretty good at my job, but I’m certainly not perfect, and neither are producers.

Personally, in 2017 I’ll buy Brovia, Cappellano and Cavallotto. Usually I’d also buy Burlotto, but given the prices I mostly passed after drinking a couple of the base Barolos - they were so alcoholic I couldn’t justify the money. I have faith the Monvigliero would still be delicious, but for the price…

53

Ian I don’t mean to be dismissive of personal circumstance at all. More commenting that if you haven’t bought due to your inability to get to Italy they are certainly worth a look. I’ve found them to be exceptional even at the lower level. To the extent I say “epic mistake” I hope it’s taken as implicit that I mean that only in the context of wine purchasing decisions, and not in comparison to real world issues outside of the trivial concerns of a wine hobby.

54

This is probably closer to my actual practice. I’m not a completionist - I don’t feel the need to maintain every vertical - with a couple of exceptions I’ll buy regardless (Germany, mostly). There are years I’m not in the mood, wasn’t paying attention, felt broke. And there are some actual disasters, though fewer and fewer. It’s more a general principle that I follow: buy the producers I love, buy more in what seem to be great years, buy based on my own tasting to the extent possible, don’t reject vintages out of hand (barring disaster), appreciate the beauty of many different kinds of vintages.

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55

Also, the older I get, the easier it becomes to just buy certain producers every year, especially once you have the retailer/producer relationship so that you just specify what you want (or accept what you can get). Unless there’s a specific vintage I don’t want, of course.

56

As a participant in the Monthly check-in: Cellar Inventory Reduction Plan, I am actually trying to reduce my cellar because I already have enough wine for the next five years if I don’t buy another bottle. There was a time that I bought lesser vintages, especially at discount (I bought lots of Piedmont 1988, 1993, 1998 back in the day for “early drinking while other stuff aged.”). But my cellar size will only reduce if I keep consuming (which I should curtail one day) while also buying less. I don’t need more wine and I am trying not to chase bargains. So I am trying to buy less than I consume now and and only buy special favorites from the entire world - two cases a month maximum. 2017 Barolo does not fit that limited group. Sadly, Barolo probably doesn’t fit any longer period unless someone starts making it 13% ABV that doesn’t need 20 years to enter peak window. I can’t see wanting to drink many 15% wines in my 70s if I don’t even want to drink them now.

57

I don’t understand your first sentence. If it has to do with ITB, like most ITB, I try to guide people to wines that they will enjoy, not mislead them. Making buying decisions exclusively upon the reviews of others is a rookie mistake. Your third sentence only serves to make my point. A vintage needn’t be “great” to merit having some wines from the vintage in the cellar for reasons such as you mention in your last sentence. And, further to your last sentence, in addition to making for some good early drinking, I expect that many 2017s will age and develop very nicely and with time many will look just fine alongside the 2016s. I have seen this happen too many times over the course of 35 years to believe otherwise.

I infer that you have tried exactly no 2017 Barolo and Barbaresco, which of course is just fine, as is skipping a vintage if you so choose but, IMO, you lack the basis to proclaim that 2017 “seems like it’s the worst vintage in recent memory.”

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58

I’d much rather buy lesser barolo vintages in the secondary market than fill my cellar with wines that “may” drink well, or are “early” drinkers. Plenty of other nebbiolo for drinking early, and the people here sometimes forget not everyone solely chases Cru barolo from top producers. For the level of wines I drink it’s possible to find 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 barolo for basically the same price as current releases, along with reviews and free storage.

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59

I didn’t proclaim anything or claim to have tasted anything, I said it seems like it is. That’s just based on the reviews I’ve been reading.

60

Proclaim: “To announce officially or publicly.”

IMO, common decency and respect dictates that discretion be used before making a sweeping denunciation of the results achieved by producers in a less than “great” vintage when they must do the same work vintage-after-vintage to remain viable, particularly if one takes advantage of their results in a “great” vintage. I would go so far as to say that one should have first-hand knowledge. Otto’s post serves as a good example.