The 2015 are starting to arrive. So I wanted to taste these two as a quality assurance measure. And will taste the 2015 Domenico Clerico Barolo on Tue. with Oscar. With several others lined up over the next few weeks.
2015 Oddero Barolo - lighter red color, tons of cherry mixed with violets on the nose, tobacco and red fruit, tannin is firm but not aggressive, definitely traditional $45 retail
2015 G. D. Vajra Barolo Albe - med red/dark purple color, general blue fruit aromas, mixed berry dark fruit, easy tannin and good to drink now $35 retail
Both of these were very good. Those that want a more traditional Barolo will certainly want to consider the Oddero. It needs time. The Vajra is a more immediate Barolo with appeal to broader tastes. Good value.
Any tips for how to buy 2015 G. Rinaldi Brunate for anything close to the $167 people report on CT? After a stellar 2014, I wanted to start buying this producer… but my only retail connection stopped selling Rinaldi. Plenty of offers out there for $300!
I don’t know where the heck people are getting a price like that unless thats the retailer price. maybe IN Italy (if anyone is in Piedmont and wants to fill a wine check for me…)?
The best price I’ve seen is SommSelect and they’re north of 250. was disappointed because I had some retailers tell me they’d be in that 170-180 range.
Yep, that is the big question. G. Rinaldi and B. Mascarello are pretty much at the top of the class. Sandrone, Brovia and Vietti are some names that come to mind. Might not be a perfect match, but about as close as you can get. Oddero, Vajra and Germano would probably be next.
As much as I like the Vajra family and respect the wines they produce at both properties, their work at Baudana has a far too short track record to compare them to G.Rinaldi and B.Mascarello.
I tasted well over 100 wines from 2015 in May, and have good insight into the vintage. Barolo and Barbaresco are easy to like, with generous, obvious fruit and enough structure to allow for medium term aging. The Cogno visit was one of the highlights, and all of the usual traditional suspects made very good wine but the vintage is not in the same league as 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010, or 2013. It is somewhat akin to 2011, but both the fruit and structure are better. If I was going to splurge on 1 wine, it would be Cascina Francia. And in a bit of disagreement with some, the F Rinaldis were dull and disappointing. Maybe it was a root day. PM me if you have any questions about specific producers.
Tom,
Thanks for the comments. I’m surprised that you include 2008 in your list of top 21st century vintages while excluding 2006. I have very limited experience with all of these young vintages, but I was under the impression that 2006 was considered a more classic and high-quality year in barolo. What prompts the 2008 props?
Hope we have a chance to open some barolo corks together sometime,
Peter
Agreed on 2006, interested to hear why Tom omitted that year. I would absolutely also include 2008 though. Maybe it did not get as much hype initially as some of the others mentioned, but I would certainly include it in this list
I haven’t had an 06 for 3 years, so I don’t have any recent data points. It is a very good vintage, one worth owning. I just happen to like the vintages listed a bit better. I think 2006 will be excellent in 10-15 years, but it is too big right now. You also asked why I included the 08 - good acidity, bright, crunchy cherry fruit, great aromatics, medium weight. The two vintages are at opposite ends of the spectrum, and my palate aligns more closely with 08. But I own a fair chunk of 2006 wines; they just need more time.
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