Actually I’d prefer more to be exposed to the brilliance of Barolo and, more broadly, Piedmont.
I’m not at all versed in Burgundy but do like to think I know a thing or two about Piedmont. With that said:
I wonder if the proper “comparison” should be Piedmont Nebbiolo based wines to Burgundy, rather than Barolo to Burg? I say this because I have a Piedmont Nebbiolo buying strategy - acquire the same handful of producers (all traditional) annually (notwithstanding washout vintages like 2002) for Barolo, Barbaresco and declassified Nebbiolo. Usually the Barolo and Barb producers are different and the Nebbiolo producers overlap with both. Drinking windows for these are staggered (although some Barbs can last nearly as long as some Barolo) so I get a result that allows me to have the grape along the way, admittedly at different quality levels (with the goal of some amount of producer control).
Isn’t this somewhat akin to buying Burgundy from the various tiers of crus/producers (gran, prem, villages, etc - again I’m not a Burg expert so I may have bungled this classification).
Anything here or am I’m being intellectually obtuse (ie. stupid)?
Might have been a typo or an omission. As for 07s - some producers are automatics, so I still ended up with close to 5 cases. But then I buy little else besides barolo (and now some burgundy )
There was no need to be worried about the big Aldo Conterno blow out sale from K&L Wine Merchants. I can’t speak for other retailers but not only is K&L utterly trustworthy, but the following was in their email offering:
“It’s been a little over a month since we first introduced the Aldo Conterno offering of older vintages and extreme savings. As we mentioned at the time, and still believe today, this is easily the finest opportunity we’ve ever encountered in terms of picking up tremendous Barolo at a massively reduced prices. The response from our customers has been overwhelming, making it the biggest Italian email we’ve ever done. Unfortunately, however, it was not so sweet for one of our competitors, who got shut out from the offering and decided to take out his frustrations by badmouthing the supplier we’re working with on this deal. Sour grapes! Despite obtaining some leaked correspondence where this character tries to get us cut off (our prices were too low and “ruining the market”), we decided the best move would be to send our Italian wine buyer Greg St. Clair back to Italy to visit the warehouse and sample the Conterno wines randomly. He was very happy to oblige, having already visited this temperature controlled facility many times and tasting these same wines on several occasions over the years. Long story short, Greg found the wines to be exceptional (again), and we continue to press forward with the greatest Barolo buying opportunity in our 36-year history.”
The prices were great, particularly the 2004 Aldo Conterno Barolo “Romirasco” for $64.99 .
for '07 vs '06/'08, just think that (from all I’ve read) '07 is ‘better’, though ymmv.
I Think the early drinking thing is big as no one drinks young Barolo (or at least no one drinks and really enjoys young Barolo) while Burg has a much wider drinking window. And the recession in the ‘natural’ markets also must matter. I also don’t think that Barolo producers have done a very good job at explaining differentiation between vineyards. In Burg, they’ve done a great job. So there’s demand for each vineyard from each producer, not just demand for the producer. So instead of buying a case of some Barolo, I wind up buying 5 cases of different vineyards from a single Burg producer.
And for whether to buy now (for '07s) or wait for deals, just a tradeoff between wanting the stuff in your cellar vs waiting for that great deal to come along in time. I’m sure, every year, you’ll get a crack at a great Barolo deal, either a ‘sale’ or a ‘dump’.
I’ll second this. If you want something big and accessible, then maybe the 07’s might be for you. I’ll take a couple of something, like I do every vintage just to see what the vintage is like, but I wouldn’t be stocking up on them.
I don’t have a lot of experience with Nebbiolo but I have loved it. It really scares me to think that I could become hooked on another type of wine. So I adoped this strategy (this is not a joke): I am only allowed to buy Produttori Langhe Nebbiolo (okay, I admit to having purchased an odd bottle of Barbaresco). I love the Langhe and it captures that combination of lightness and structure that seems to be the hallmark of Nebbiolo.
I am curious, how do people think 07 in Barolo compares to 09 in Burgundy? Both have been considered hot and ripe years. Seems to me that in Piemont, this has a more negative effect on the perception of the wines. Anyhow, from the few that I sampled (Brovia, Vajra) they were more than fine, and time might benefit them. But I have to say, I did not like the Marcarini, at least not now. I dunno however about generalizing. Seems 07 is so easily dismissed, but have people (well, except for Greg) tried that many of them, especially in the high-end range?
Like Bob, I am of an age where it makes no sense to buy 21st century baroli. I stopped in 1999, and am a serious back-filler, taking risks on provenance to get my hands on ready-to-drink barolo, which to me generally still means pre-1990. I’m happy to attend tastings and dinners to try recent releases, but leave the case-buying to a (much) younger generation.
I love Barolo and Barbaresco and have visited both places twice, but I’ve generally found that their appeal is pretty narrow. Outside of people who are really into wine (and then, only a subset of them), Barolo just doesn’t register with most people you pour it for. I don’t think most of your low to moderate level wine enthusiasts, and most civilians, get it.
And that’s totally fine, I’m not judging anyone out there who isn’t into Piedmont nebbiolo, but I think between the narrow appeal, the fact that something like 14-15 out of the 16 vintages have been good ones there, and the growing number of producers making consistently better wines, you don’t have the conditions for high and rising prices. I too tend to wait around for sales and bargains to restock.
Peter,
I won’t get into the issue of vintage preference but I will say the idea of buying Barolo now is a pretty good, it’s what I’ve done.
I have always found that Barolo has been expensive, I have worked in Italian restaurants for a long time and until around 03’ (year not vintage) Barolo was the most expensive wine on the list, that has since been replaced by Veneto and Super Tuscans.
Barolo (to me) has been in the same price ballpark as Burg and BDX, it hasn’t been until around 01’ (again year not vintage) that the price divide started to happen and it wasn’t until about 2004 that Burgundy started to take off as BDX was really gaining steam as far as price been left in the dust.
Forget about the idea that Barolo needs years to age as the argument for sluggish sales, don’t believe that it’s poor vintages either.
To me the reason that Barolo has never taken off is that Nebbiolo has never been successfully made in the US, new world Nebbiolo has never received 100 pts.
When you look at Pinot, Syrah, Cab blends and Chardonnay they have all achieved 100pt wines in America. So as a logical extension is that the ‘Mother’ regions are sought out and made sacred, meaning that a Roumier Bonnes Mares is put even more on a pedestal since people always seem to want to try the original or the ‘old standard’.
Since Nebbiolo has never taken off here, Cayuse or SQN have never ‘nailed it’ so Nebbiolo kind of gets lost in the shuffle.
My belief is that if Nebbiolo could have been cultivated in another region other than it’s original it would be far more sought after, again consumers try each regions version of a grape and then they want to try the original, once hooked that region gains a financial premium based on the fact that the newly popular grape comes from that region.
So since all regions (look at CNP) are expensive, where are the bargains?
Many would say Barolo, prices are cheap and the wines are off the hook right now.
Same with Tempranillo…
Answer: yes. Many good observations above. Barbaresco is often said to be more “feminine” than Barolo, and also less ageworthy. Both assertions depend strictly upon the wines involved, the vineyards, the producers and the vintage. The older great vintages of Gaja’s San Lorenzo are as ageworthy as the top two or three Baroli, for example, as are some, but not all, of Giacosa’s Barbarescos. Conversely, many La Morra Baroli are lighter, more feminine and less ageworthy than the strongest Barbarescos. The greater truth, it seems to me, is that old, great Nebbioli and old, great Burgundy can converge to the point where many could not tell them apart. Nebbiolo usually carries its tar component to the grave, but not always. That element is weaker in some wines, or perhaps dominated by the fruit, floral, truffle and/or earth components that Nebbioli share with many Burgundies.
Completely agree that Barolo is the bargain now. Great producer ‘normale’ wines sub $100 (maybe a little more for the few rock star guys) and riservas for $150 (also except for a few guys who jump to $250-$350). This is about 1/2 to 1/4 of the same pricing in Burg and Bordeaux (and also N Rhone).
Interesting idea, that it’s because of the 100 point system and the Nebbiolo grape growing in Calif, can’t really agree with the latter as it’s a big world of buyers, lots in Asia, few care about what grows in Calif?
Re: Barolo vintages, I’ll give you that '07 is the equal of '06, just different (Structure vs Fruit argument), but anyone who’s buying '08 when there are tons of '07, '06, '04, '01’s laying around is being inefficient.
+1. When pressed on the 2007s, Galloni claimed yes, early drinking potential, but also exceptional quality and ageworthiness. He has no more basis for the latter assertion than any of the rest of us do for a 5-year old Nebbiolo, and I found it a little surprising coming from a critic who has pretty consistently pooh-poohed the idea of hot-weather vintages like 2000, 2003 and 2009 going the distance. 2007s are being drunk in quantity in ristoranti here since release. I am drinking them and enjoying them, but would not take up cellar space with them…
