A Great Barolo Vintage 2010: Cause for Celebration Tom Maresca

A Great Barolo Vintage 2010: Cause for Celebration Tom Maresca Here’s a giant piece of very good news for Nebbiolo lovers: As Giovanni Angeli said, perfect weather for Nebbiolo played a major The just-now-coming-on-to-the-market 2010 bottles contain part in forming the greatness of the the best vintage of Barolo since 2004 — even better than 2004, 2010 harvest. The Barolo/Barbaresco in the opinion of some producers. I concur with that: The best Consorzio’s report spelled that out in unusual detail and with unusual 2010 Barolos have thrilling Nebbiolo fruit, as clean and pure enthusiasm. Here is a very condensed as I have ever tasted, combined with the kind of structure that version of that report: presages a long, long life. And like the 2004 vintage, 2010 Barolo seems to be accessible and drinkable from the get-go. The 2010 vintage endured a particularly long, hard winter. Heavy The hardest thing about this vintage will be to leave it to mature snowfalls ensured considerable water and not to drink it up too young. reserves in the soil, and April/May temperatures led to excellent bud break and vigour. Plenty of rainfall Elisa Scavino of the Paolo Scavino Those two estates produced some at the beginning of the summer. winery sums up many growers’ of the finest wines of this very fine enthusiasm: “2010 was special from vintage, among the very best of Mild temperatures at the beginning the beginning. It had grip, lightness, roughly 200 Barolos (and half again of August presaged late ripening, a beautiful drinkability, wonderful as many 2011 Barbarescos) I tasted important for Nebbiolo. Higher complexity. It is great without being in May at the Nebbiolo Prima event temperatures prevailed from the last too big. You can drink it young, in Alba. To be sure, not all producers ten days in August through Septem- and it will age for a long time. realized everything that this harvest ber, with excellent variations between It’s a complete Barolo.” offered them: The barrique addicts daytime and night. Nebbiolo particu- particularly suffered. So pure and larly benefitted from this, offsetting Giovanni Angeli, winemaker at intense is the fruit of 2010 — the the slight delay in the ripening of Massolino Vigna Rionda, is even classic Nebbiolo black cherry, tar, the grapes due to the wet weather more emphatic: “With 2004, 2010 tobacco, earth, and mushroom in July and early August. Ripening is one of the best vintages of the past congeries — that even a slightly heavy checks showed that sugars continued 20 years — almost a perfect vintage. hand with oak diminishes it. to accumulate during the second half We had nearly perfect ripeness of the The producers who did best were of September, while the acid profile grapes and the seeds and skins. invariably the most traditional — gradually dropped to very accept- The weather was ideal for Nebbiolo. those who fermented in big botti and/ able levels. Ripening of the phenolic The wines are complete, balanced, or stainless steel, or those who, if components which are essential for big, showing great potential to age they used barriques, used only those ensuring body and ageing capacity but nevertheless approachable of second, third, and fourth passage. has been excellent. Without question, now — like 2004, but we think By those methods, the intense char- Nebbiolo has responded sublimely potentially even more long-lived.” acter of this harvest’s Nebbiolo was this year. fully preserved — and it is glorious. contined on next page page 2 Take my word for it, the usually Well, if I didn’t make it over the In Barolo and La Morra, the overall cut-and-dried Consorzio reports do moon I certainly got into orbit. level of achievement was so high that not often call anything “sublime.” The rest of the week’s tastings it is almost invidious to single out covered, among other wines, all some producers as better than others, Naturally enough, in a wine zone as the remaining Barolo communes, but — that said — I was neverthe- internally varied as the 11 communes all larger and usually regarded as less particularly impressed by Barale of the Barolo zone, neither the more important than the first day’s. Fratelli’s Castellero and Giacomo weather nor the winemaking skills Of these, I thought Barolo and La Grimaldi’s Le Coste, both from and styles are uniformly distributed, Morra performed best, followed by Barolo commune; and, from La and some communes performed Serralunga, Monforte, and Castigli- Morra, Serradenari’s eponymous markedly better than others. To the one Falletto. In the latter commune, bottling, Monfalletto Cordero di surprise of many tasters, in a field outstanding performances were Montezemolo’s Monfalletto, now dominated by cru bottlings, turned in by the before-mentioned Malvirà’s simple (?!) Barolo, Aurelio some of the outstanding wines were Scavino and Massolino, whose wines Settimo’s Rocche dell’Annunziata, the “old-fashioned,” classic Barolos were brilliant throughout their line, Marcarini’s Brunate, and Oreste blended from multiple communes. and by Roccheviberti, a small grower, Stroppiana’s San Giacomo. This group included familiar names practically a garagiste, whose wine like Bartolo Mascarello — the pace was huge, and classic in every respect Overall conclusions? 2010 is horse of the pack, in my estima- – a dream wine for fans of traditional unquestionably a very great vintage, tion — Pio Cesare, Prunotto, Chiara Barolo. Claudio Viberti, the owner, certainly the best of this still-new Boschis’s E. Pira, Batasiolo, and agronomist, winemaker, cellarmaster, century, and maybe the best since Sandrone, as well as lesser-known and all-around factotum, microman- 1989 or 1990. This was also, for all producers such as Luigi Oddero, ages his two hectares of Barolo (other the prominence of familiar names Parusso, Deltetto, Clavesana, Terre of his vineyards grow Barbera and among those I’ve been citing, The Year del Barolo, and Cascina Ballarin. Dolcetto, both fine) for maximum Of The Small Producers. So many of quality: Fermentation is in stain- my highest scores went to producers That fine group of wines kicked off less steel, with long maceration on scarcely known to me, many of the tasting sessions at Nebbiolo Prima. the skins, followed by long aging in them former growers who have been The rest of the first day’s tasting cov- small French oak, which, somehow bottling their own wine for, at the ered Barolos from the smaller com- or other, leaves no flavor trace in his outside, 20 or 25 years, often consid- munes — Cherasco, Grinzane Cavour, wine, just an elegant polish. erably less than that. The Barolo and Novello, Rodi, and Verduno. There Barbaresco zones have come of age, wasn’t an unsatisfactory wine in that In Monforte, the overachievers and the level of winemaking through- group, and several superb included Diego Conterno and out them is enormously high, high bottles stood out: Elvio Cogno’s Rave- Pecchenino, the former a smallish enough to match the potential of the ra, Franco Conterno’s Panerole, both producer whose Barolo Ginestra was many privileged vineyard sites they from Novello; Negretti and Paolo outstanding, and the latter medium- possess. It’s not impossible — human Scavino’s Bricco Ambrogio, both sized producer, with an equally ingenuity is infinite – to find a bad vinified from the only cru in Roddi; impressive specimen of Barolo Le wine in this vintage, but it’s going to Burlotto’s Gian Carlo and Coste. In Serralunga, the top wines be difficult. For Barolo lovers, these Bel Colle’s classic Barolo, both from for me came from Cascina Luisin, are glory days. Verduno, and even the Scuola whose wine bears the mouth-filling * * * Enologica’s Castello from Grinzane name Leon del Commune di For the convenience of QRW Cavour. My summary note for the day Serralunga d’Alba, and Ascheri, readers, on the following pages are says it all: “If the tastings continue at whose cru Sorano showed beautiful lists of the Five Star and Four Star this level, I will be over the moon.” structure for long cellaring. wines I tasted in Alba. contined on next page page 3 As you will quickly see, they are numerous, and I don’t see the point publishing any further down my tasting notes. As you will also quickly see, tasting notes themselves are totally absent, for the very good reason that they would have been incredibly repetitious. So many fine wines, vinified from the same single grape in the same harvest, all pres- ent variants on the theme of tar/tobacco/black fruit/earth aromas, black cherry/mineral/ mushroom/earth/tobacco/tar palate, and leather/dried fruit/ tar/tobacco finish – which, delicious as it may be to experience, no one should have to read ad nauseam. Maresca's HHHHH 2010 Barolos Ascheri, Deltetto, Negretti, Barolo 2010 Sorano Barolo 2010 Sistaglia Barolo 2010 Bricco Ambrogio Barale Fratelli, Umberto Fracassi, Armando Parusso, Barolo 2010 Castellero Barolo 2010 Barolo 2010 Batasiolo, Francone, Pecchenino, Barolo 2010 Barolo 2010 Francone Barolo 2010 Le Coste Bel Colle, Mario Giribaldi, E. Pira, Barolo 2010 Barolo 2010 Barolo 2010 Via Nuova Comm. G. B. Burlotto, Barolo 2010 Bruna Grimaldi, Prunotto, Burlotto Gian Carlo; Barolo 2010 Barolo 2010 Bricco Ambrogio Barolo 2010 Acclivi; Barolo 2010 Cannubi Giacomo Grimaldi, Roccheviberti, Cantina Terre del Barolo, Barolo 2010 Le Coste Barolo 2010 Rocche di Castiglione Barolo 2010 Vinum Vita Est Malvirà, Paolo Scavino, Barolo 2010; Barolo Cascina Ballarin, Barolo 2010 2010 Bricco Ambrogio; Barolo Barolo 2010 Tre Ciabot 2010 Bric del Fiasc; Barolo 2010 Marcarini,

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