2015 Barolo: The Bigger Picture
@ The Pool Restaurant, NYC (2/1/2020)
Morning Tasting of New Release 2015 Barolos
at
Antonio Galloni Vinous Media's
La Festa
del Barolo 2020.
All the wines were opened around 9:30am and served cool (cellar temp).
The tasting ran from 10:30am to 12:30am.
The tasting was followed by lunch.
2015 is an appealing vintage.
The wines are uniformly forward and relatively open for Barolo so young.
The quality seems quite consistent. I used the word "sweet" in almost all the tasting notes.
Here I mean sweet tasting fruit and not residual sugar.
In this regard, 2015 reminds me of 2007 with perhaps a bit more consistency and structure.
Links to each flight and to lunch:
- The Venue and Getting Started.
- Flight 1: Brovia, Ceretto, Oddero, Vietti.
- Flight 2: Einaudi, Grasso, Parusso.
- Flight 3: Sandrone, Altare.
- Flight 4: Trediberri, Cogno, Vajra, Burlotto.
- Flight 5: Scavino, G. Conterno.
- Photos of the Winemakers.
- Lunch.
I have been to many of the previous La Festa current release tastings.
You can find my photos and notes from those tastings here:
Part 1 of La Festa del Barolo was a
Gala dinner the previous evening,
where I sat with Roberto Conterno of Giacomo Conterno.
I went to the first five Gala dinners, then skipped the next two.
Here are my notes and photos for those that I attended:
Click on any photo for a larger view of that photo.
Many larger photos contain more image as well as
much higher resolution and are typically 3-4 MB.
The Venue and Getting Started
Arriving at the venue which used to be the historic
Four Seasons Restaurant
in the
Seagram Building.
It is now two separate restaurants:
The Pool and
The Grill,
under the managment of the
Major Food Group.
The entrance is on 52nd Street:
The 2015 Barolo tasting was held in The Pool.
My seat was just behind the pool itself:
Looking around the room before we get started:
Once we were all seated, I could not get a clear shot of the panel from where I was sitting.
Fortunately, my friend Manuel Bürgi did get these nice photos of the entire panel and
Antonio.
From let to right: Alex Sanchez (Brovia), Alessandro Ceretto, Mariacristina "Cristina" Oddero,
Luca Currado (Vietti), Matteo Sardagna (Einaudi), Gianluca Grasso, Marco Parusso,
Barbara Sandrone,
Silvia Altare, Nicola Oberto (Trediberri), Valter Fissore (Cogno), Giuseppe Vaira (Vajra),
Fabio Alessandria (Burlotto), Elisa Scavino, Roberto Conterno (G. Conterno).
More photos of the winemakers are below the tasting notes.
The Tasting Notes
Tough to get started at 10:30 the morning after the Gala dinner the night before, but
I quickly got up to speed. I'm a trooper!
Flight One: Rocche di Castiglione and Bricco Rocche
-
2015 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Alex Sanchez said that his father-in-law, Giacinto Brovia,
bought this parcel in Rocche di Castiglione in 1968.]
Lovely nose of sweet red fruit. Sweet, medium body, long, elegant.
Young, but you could drink it today with pleasure.
Probably better to give it a decade in the cellar. (91–93 points)
-
2015 Azienda Bricco Rocche (Ceretto) Barolo Bricco Rocche -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Alessandro Ceretto said that they used new barrique until 2005.
Since 2010, they have gone biodynamic, started using large botti, and
replanted half this vineyard using massal selection.
This smallest of all MGAs is a Ceretto monopole.
It is between Rocche di Castiglione and Villero.]
Reserved nose. Long and juicy in the mouth. Elegant and tasty.
This is the best young wine I have tasted from Ceretto in some time. (93 points)
-
2015 Oddero Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[First time for the Oddero winery at La Festa.
Mariacristina "Cristina" Oddero mentioned that Rocche di Castiglione was
the first single-vineyard wine made by her winery.]
Pure red plum nose. Rich and sweet in the mouth. Medium length. Delicious.
More black fruit in the mouth as it opens. Expansive and impressive. Serious Barolo.
(93–? points)
-
2015 Vietti Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Huge sweet lack fruit nose with hints of vanilla. Silky black fruit with firm tannins underneath.
More new oak than I like, but it should integrate with time. (92–94 points)
Flight Two: Bussia and Ginestra
-
2015 Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[First time for Einaudi at La Festa.
Matteo Sardagna is the great-grandson of founder Luigi Einaudi,
following in the footsteps his grandfather Roberto Einaudi and his mother Paola Einaudi.
I believe he said that this parcel in Bussia of nearly 6 hectares is the first that
he has purchased. 2015 is their first vintage of this wine.
Matteo also said that he has moved to more traditional methods
such as no barriques and 40-day maceration.]
Dark nose of black fruit and coffee. Juicy, rich, sweet black fruit. Tasty wine.
The best young wine I've had from this estate. (91–93 points)
-
2015 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Chiniera - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Gianluca Grasso said his first vintage was 1996. He is 45 years old.
His father is almost 77 and is still out tending his vines and still teaching Gianluca
about the vines.
He told a story where a consultant told them the grapes were ready to be harvested
based technical measurements.
His father said no and showed him how some grapes were not fully ripe and the seeds
were still green.
They harvested one week later and his father was right.]
Sweet nose of red fruit ground beef. Long and delicious. Appealing spice and red fruit.
My favorite La Festa wine from the producer. (93–? points)
-
2015 Parusso Barolo Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Marco Parusso said this is blended from two parcels in Bussia,
one of which is called "Vigna Rocche". 100% whole cluster.]
Loads of sweet chocolate in the nose.
Rich and spicy in the mouth with loads of vanilla and chocolate and a hint of red fruit.
Heavily over-oaked. Not my style.
At the end of this flight, I asked for a clarification of a comment by Marco Parusso.
Marco had said that his Barolo Bussia is blended from two parcels in Bussia,
one of which is called "Vigna Rocche".
I misunderstood him to say it was one parcel in Bussia and one in Rocche, which did not make sense.
Marco and Antonio clarified the situation to me.
There is a piece of Bussia on the other side of the road
which looks to be part of Rocche di Castiglione, but is still part of Bussia.
It is Vigna Rocche in Bussia.
After the morning session ended, Alessandro Masnaghetti came over to me and gave me this sketch of
the relationship of Vigna Rocche to Rocche di Castiglione:
Flight Three: Cannubi
-
2015 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Aleste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Barbara Sandrone (Luciano's daughter) explained that Aleste is the new name of their wine
from Cannubi Boschis.
She was understandably emotional while explaining that Luciano is feeling his mortality
at age 74 and having
undergone heart surgery in December 2014, so he decided to name his most famous wine
after his grandchildren ALEssia and STEfano (Barbara's daughter and son).
She also mentioned that in 2014, they bought a small parcel in Cannubi itself.
It's only 1/4 hectare, but it will not be blended into Aleste.]
Huge nose of sweet black fruit, tar, and graphite. Rich and juicy in the mouth.
Elegant and powerful. A delicious wine with significant aging potential for the vintage.
(93–? points)
-
2015 Elio Altare Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Silvia Altare mentioned that this is her 17th vintage, which made me feel old since
I first met her father when she was just a little girl.
She also spoke at length about preserving the legacy of her father.
She said this wine is from a small parcel in Cannubi proper which they lease and hope to buy.]
Nose of sweet red fruit.
Surprisingly austere in the mouth with elegant tannins creating a nice backbone in this
fruit-forward vintage.
Good grip on a long graceful finish. The use of new oak seems very restrained here.
This may be my favorite wine from this estate since the 1980s.
Wonderful balance and elegance with good structure. Sadly only 4 barrels are produced.
It is expensive and hard to find. (94–95 points)
Flight Four: Something New
Antonio said these wines were new in some way. Clearly true of Trediberri,
a new winery and new to La Festa. I'm not sure what is new about the others.
-
2015 Trediberri Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[This is the first time for Trediberri at La Festa. The winery only started production in 2010.
Nicola Oberto is one of the three owners and the primary winemaker.
His father was the winemaker at Renato Ratti and the grapes this wine is made from used
to be sold to Ratti to make their Rocche dell'Annunziata.
Nicola said that he thinks of the Ratti family as his second family.]
Lovely floral nose of roses and violets. Sweet cherry fruit. Long and tasty. Very promising.
(92–93 points)
-
2015 Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno Barolo Bricco Pernice -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Valter Fissore mentioned that he's now 55. He began at the winery in 1991.]
Distinctive nose of black fruit and almonds. Spicy, juicy, tannic with rich fruit.
Long and tasty. One of the more backward wines of this tasting. (92–94 points)
-
2015 G.D. Vajra Barolo Ravera - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Giuseppe Vaira mentioned that their parcel in Ravera is adjacent to Cogno's.]
Nose of black fruit and licorice. Silky and rich in the mouth with a long delicious finish.
Just riveting. The finish goes on and on. My second favorite wine of the tasting.
Wow! (95–? points)
-
2015 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Nose of tar, red fruit, and spice. Rich cherry in the mouth.
A hint of green tannin in the mid palate concerns me a bit. (93? points)
Flight Five: Serralunga d'Alba
-
2015 Paolo Scavino Barolo Prapò - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Nose of new oak and red fruit. In the mouth, it is unnaturally thick for Nebbiolo.
Long finish of black fruit and vanilla. Well made, but just too oaky for me.
-
2015 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Arione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Opening slowly.
The nose is stunning with a complex array of red fruit, black fruit, cardamom, and cloves.
Powerful and expansive in the mouth. Incredible depth and complexity.
Easily the wine of the tasting, though I would give a slight edge to the
Arione Nebbiolo I tasted last night at the Gala dinner.
(97 points)
Summary
This was my eighth of these structured new release tastings at La Festa del Barolo.
This one might be the most uniform in terms of the character of the wines.
The 2015 Barolos have lots of sweet fruit and enough structure for medium term cellaring.
OTOH, I don't find a lot of the typicity of vintages such as 2013 and 2010.
That is, the vineyard is not as prominent in these wines as those of 2010 and 2013.
I expect the 2015s to be fully ready before the wines of those vintages.
Tasting notes posted from
CellarTracker.
Photos of the Winemakers
This year I was able to get quite a few good photos of the individual winemakers.
The quality of the photos themselves is not so great since I was seated perhaps
10 meters from the panel and I had to use a zoom lens at 200mm.
Still, I liked the passion for their wine and region that came across in these photos.
Alex Sanchez (Brovia):
Alessandro Ceretto:
Mariacristina "Cristina" Oddero:
Luca Currado (Vietti):
Matteo Sardagna (Einaudi):
Gianluca Grasso:
Marco Parusso:
Barbara Sandrone:
Silvia Altare:
Nicola Oberto (Trediberri):
Valter Fissore (Cogno):
Giuseppe Vaira (Vajra):
Fabio Alessandria (Burlotto):
Elisa Scavino:
Roberto Conterno (G. Conterno):
Group Shots
Alex Sanchez, Alessandro Ceretto, and Cristina Oddero:
Luca Currado of Vietti and Matteo Sardagna of Einaudi:
Joe Campanale of Fausto Restaurant
pours for the panel:
Silvia Altare, Nicola Oberto, and Valter Fissore:
Silvia Altare takes a selfie with Nicola Oberto:
Nicola Oberto, Valter Fissore, and Giuseppe Vaira:
Fabio Alessandria and Elisa Scavino:
Fabio Alessandria, Elisa Scavino, and Roberto Conterno:
Elisa Scavino and Roberto Conterno:
More shots of the panel:
Standing off to the side during the panel was James Forsyth with his son Alex:
Lunch
Lunch was served in
The Grill
with the wines from the tasting.
It was nice just to enjoy the wines with the food.
This might be my only chance to say that the 2013 G. Conterno Barolo Arione
is a great hamburger wine!
Looking around The Grill as we settle in for lunch:
Our table is set:
Tuna Ravigote (raw tuna in an acidic sauce made with shallots, capers, herbs):
Cheeseburger:
Lemon Chiffon Cake:
All original content © Ken Vastola