Barolo 2011 - Don't underestimate it!

Vintages come in all shapes and sizes: round or racy, sweet or savoury, rich or delicate. However when it comes to ultimate drinking pleasure, and indeed age-worthiness, it is balance that counts. Although it was far from an extreme year, being punctuated by cooler weather either side of August, 2011 was hotter and less uniform than the routinely brilliant 2010. Nonetheless the quality of the best 2011s is not that far behind in our view, specifically amongst the cooler high altitude or southeast-facing vineyard sites. The wines exhibit powerful yet open, sweet, headily-perfumed fruit, which makes them polar opposite to their impressive but more serious, predecessors. We think there are some impeccably balanced wines that are thrilling to enjoy now whilst offering good ageing potential. Following a great vintage is never easy, but don’t underestimate 2011, it is a very good vintage that will surprise many.

Vintage in depth:

Heavy rainfall characterised winter, right up until March. Higher temperatures in April brought the season forward by two weeks and, despite cooler weather returning in June and July, the growth cycle of the vine did not slow down. August was hot but thanks to the good water reserves, ripening continued uninterrupted, even if berries started to shrink in some cases. Rain in the first week of September further aided ripening and hot September days were followed by cool nights which preserved a sufficient level of freshness in the grapes and also helped build up incredibly aromatic components that characterise the resultant wines. Vintage started relatively early at the beginning of October. The crop was healthy and quantities were good. There are a handful of factors vital to the quality of the vintage: The crop was a good sized one and in some areas controlling this was important; vines grown in cooler areas, either at altitude or with southeast exposures, performed best; Late ripening varieties such as Nebbiolo coped best with the vintage conditions; a cooler September as well as the good underground water reserves ensured the growth cycle slowed down and returned to normal, this meant the “hang time” of the grapes was longer than compared to other “hot” vintages such as 2009.

So what of the wines? They are packed with rich, ripe, fruity flavours and intense floral perfumes. The tannins are powerful and evident yet your mouth is left sweet with fruit. The very best wines are those from the cooler sites or those with a cooler site component in the blend, and these wines are utterly compelling. They show a fine, balancing freshness to counteract the vintage’s heady fruit character. There are many excellent wines from La Morra the pinnacle of which are those from Brunate and Rocche dell’ Annunziata. Star performers from other communes were Cascina Francia, Fiasco and above all Rocche from Castiglione, whilst in Serralunga Brea from Brovia and San Rocco from Azelia were exemplary. A little lower down, but nonetheless brilliant, Cannubi showed its quality across the three producers that I tasted – Altare, Scavino and the Cannubi Boschis from Sandrone.

When tasked with comparing it to another vintage producers flitted between 2007 – but with more tannins and acidity (Roberto Conterno), 1998 (Davide Voerzio) and a blend of 2008 and 2004 (Vietti.) They are wines that have a sweetness and fragrance that make them very appealing already, although their structure and exquisite balance should ensure very good ageing ability.

A week in Piedmont - 2010, 2009 and Barolo "Classico"

Last week was one of the most enjoyable and exciting trips to Piedmont I can remember having. My schedule was fuller than ever before, including 20 of the region's top producers and upcoming stars. There were as many new faces to meet as old and plenty of wine to discover. At a time when Italy is in the doldrums, Piedmont seems to be positively buzzing. Not only is demand and quality of wine sky-high, but also the region is teaming with budding young winemakers. What a difference to 30 years ago when Barolo was being given away for free with more sought-after bottles of Dolcetto.

My main purpose was to taste 2010 Barolo, but first 2009. Understandably less homogenous, hot vintages are often pigeon-holed as bad and incapable of lasting very long. However this is an injustice. 2003 makes the case strongly. The successful ones still provide delicious drinking today, offering exotic vintage traits together with fresh, clear fruit flavours that keep you coming back for more. Who'd have thought it? And so it is likely to be with 2009. I tasted many this week. They were aromatic, seductive and eminently drinkable now already. They will probably not be in as fine fettle as the 2010s or 2008s in 25 years’ time but who cares? 10 years plus is well within their capabilities and at least we will have something to drink while we wait. Gaja's Sperss, Giuseppe Mascarello's Monprivato, Vietti's Castiglione were highlights. Marengo, Scavino and Azelia also excelled. 2008s, 2006s and 2004s have not really awoken yet and 2007s are still seductive but it would be a shame to approach the best right now.  Thankfully we have vintages to drink in 2003, 2005 and 2009.

2010 is the vintage on everyone's lips, though. I will spare the meteorological report, we have had quite enough of "weather" in the UK already this year, but in short 2010 was a very late vintage characterised by a late, poor flowering with resulting low yields; a cool and wet start to the summer; a return to good weather in September with big day night temperature differences that built freshness and aroma in the grapes; culminating with fine October weather in the run up to and during harvest at the end of the month. The wines are crisp and offer a refined intensity. The tannins are evident but distinctly sweet, smooth and weave deftly through the fruit. They give the initial impression of a gentle austerity which precedes long, floral and fruity notes. These are hallmarks of great Nebbiolo. There is a deep concentration in the wines but they remain streamlined, restrained and alpine-pure. As impressive as they are to taste however, to getting the most out of drinking them will require great patience. A benchmark vintage for laying down. I tasted with the good and the great: amongst many others the three Gs - Conterno, Mascarello and Rinaldi; Altare; Clerico; Giacosa; Vietti; Voerzio and Scavino just to name drop a little. Brovia and Elio Grasso were two firsts for me that greatly impressed. However the 2010 range that I kept comparing everything back to was Azelia. This is an estate that has been making bigger strides in quality than any other over the last few years. Their 2010s are simply brilliant and among the vintage's very best wines.

Surrounded by old, dusty bottles at almost every estate I went to, the one thing I was consistently reminded of during each tasting was how Barolo was traditionally always a blend. The pinnacle of production. Crus are a relatively recent phenomena and designed to not only be brilliant but also reflect the special characteristics of an individual terroir. Most Domaines worth their salt make a Barolo blended from Crus, as it was traditionally in the past, rather than use it as an outlet for young vine production or a hiding place for wine unsuitable for the Cru ine. In general considerably more of these blended Barolos are made than the individual Crus, the quality gap to the Crus is therefore often much smaller than the much lower prices suggest. Scavino's Barolo "Classico" as they call it, their ode to tradition, is one of the finest examples. I was struck by the quality of their 2010, its complexity, impeccable balance, vibrancy and completeness. Progression has brought Piedmont a long way in a short time but let’s hope the best of tradition is not forgotten in the process.

Piedmont: A feast of friends and family

Last Thursday the Justerini & Brooks sales team set out for Piedmont. The aim of the trip was to visit several of our key estates and to get a feel for the different villages, vineyards and approaches to winemaking. We spent three busy days consuming Piedmont and have come away with so much more…

To understand the wines of Piedmont one must engage with the families, both actual and extended, and with the myths, the histories and the conflicts. The story of Piedmont is one of contrasts: tradition and innovation; respect for the family and revolution. We found three generations all under one roof at Azelia, with Grannie still ruling the vineyard; a gloriously eccentric Domenico Clerico in his glossy modern winery and, at Altare, a story of such sadness that it bought several of us and Elio’s daughter Sylvia to tears. What was most striking about the story of Piedmont is how the stark financial imperatives of the 60s and 70s created and nurtured a culture of such innovation and artistry. We met many young winemakers who are striving for beauty and meaning in their wines and their communities, inspired by the revolution of their parents. There is a new tradition in Piedmont which the previous generation fought for, it is one of freedom and it is firmly focussed on quality. It is not a battle of the modern against the traditional. This battle has been fought and the future for Piedmont is open with producers embracing the best techniques for their wines, whether they be new or old. There is a sense of maturity about the approach here and we think Piedmontese wines have never been better.

Our itinerary was as follows. Please do contact your account manager if you have any specific questions or would like to hear any of the stories in more detail. There are many and they are fascinating!

FRIDAY:

Tasting: Voerzio

– We tasted a kaleidoscope of Voerzio’s wines with Davide generously treating us to a range of vintages including many of their top wines. This was one of life’s great wine experiences for so many reasons but one thing that particularly stuck with us was the meticulousness of the Voerzios, even the way Davide poured the wines was measured. This diligence shines through in the purity and precision of the wines.

Tasting: Scavino

– Scavino is one of the greats. So often erroneously classified as simply modern, in reality the Scavinos embrace the best of the old and the new to make true terroir wines. This terroir is more accessible in youth these days as they have scaled back the oak but the wines are as serious as ever. 2009 is a special vintage for Scavino with large scaled, powerful, ageworthy wines which will also be seductive in youth.

Lunch: Scavino

– The Scavinos very generously treated us to an incredible lunch with wines to match. Our two abiding memories are the 2006 Barolos and deep fried porcini in breadcrumbs. Wow!

Tasting: Azelia

– It was wonderful to visit another branch of the Scavino clan at Azelia. This is very much an understated, hands on domaine which is drenched in family history, memories and traditions. Lovely, lovely people and delicious wines which offer serious value. Margheria 2005, from the same vineyard as Gaja’s Sperss, is a real ace in the hole here. Buy it!

Tasting: Correggia + a light supper

– A relaxing jaunt through some wonderfully elegant Roero wines, which are real staff favourites. Freshness, minerality and elegance. Correggia offer distinctly un-showy yet supremely satisfying Nebbiolos and some terrific whites including an oak age Sauvignon. The style at Correggia is very relaxed and it was a lovely way to end the first day.

SATURDAY:

Tasting: Altare

– This was quite an experience. This estate is steeped in history with Elio’s father refusing to speak to him for seven years whilst living in the same house! Narrow avoidance of financial ruin and all sorts… The wines are nothing short of spectacular, Sylvia Altare served us a 1990 Barbera Larigi blind which confounded us all with its freshness and seriousness. Stunningly good Barbera, so serious that most of us thought it Nebbiolo.

Tasting: Vietti

– Like the wines, the Vietti estate comes across as elegant, sophisticated and impressive. There is very much a sense of having arrived. Vietti is one of the originals and still one of the very best.

Lunch: More e Macine in La Morra

– A terrifically indulgent, chaotic and lengthy scramble through some wonderful food. We kept trying to leave but they just wouldn’t let us. Very memorable, especially the panacotta which was so full of flavour we had to ask how they made it, the answer… some milk and something to make the milk set. Brilliant!

Tasting: Clerico

– Luciano and Domenico took us on a tour of this astonishing new winery and through these remarkable wines. Clerico continue to ease off on and adapt their use of new oak making these wines a little more accessible. However, as ever it is with age that they shine, Percristina 1998 and a delicious Ciabot Mentin Ginestra 2003 were the highlights here.

Tasting: Marengo + a light supper (a five course, highly sophisticated light supper!)

– We love Marco Marengo, so gentle, relaxed and honest and with so much Brunate! This is without doubt one of the best value domaines out there. Seamless wines with such authenticity and elegance yet with power and real ability to age. These are exactly the kind of wines we like to drink and we did! Marco and Jenny treated us to a stunning supper in their house. Proper Piedmontese cuisine and lots of Brunate. What a night! Again the 2006 Brunate sticks in the memory.

So, what did we learn?

Piedmont is in so many ways like Burgundy, in fact many of the producers we visited had as much Burgundy in the cellar as they did Nebbiolo. We found the sense of terroir, delicacy, etherealness and elegance that is so striking in Burgundy here in Piedmont and these guys have white truffles too! Like Burgundy, volumes are small and it feels like Piedmont is starting to take off in the same way that Burgundy has done over the last 10 years.

Buy more 2006 and 2008 Barolo: two different sides of the classical coin. Buy 2007s and 2005s to drink in the meantime. 2005s are delivering way above expectations!

Regardless of points, reviews and investment potential, in some parts of the world wine is still all about families.

In Piedmont, the hazelnuts are almost as good as the wines, especially at Altare. Oh, and Elio’s Coppa Ham is pretty special too!

- Martin Buchanan, Private Clients Sales Account Manager

A Piedmont Paulée at Zucca

Tuesday night was a memorable and hugely enjoyable evening that celebrated the food, wine and wine-growers of Justerini & Brooks favourite Italian region, Piedmont.

For the first time ever we gathered together seven top producers who brought with them a wine of their choice to share with 45 of our excited customers, over dinner.  The only stipulation we gave the growers was that the wine had to have at least 10 years bottle age.

The setting was Bermondsey Street's Zucca. A bonified institution for Italian foodies, Zucca's slick and super-friendly team did not disappoint -serving up seven deliciously elegant, traditional Piedmontese courses.

As I stood in the restaurant at 7pm crunching on an outrageously crispy fritto misto watching our producers filing in all present correct and on time, I looked around to see the smiles and excitement in people's faces.  It was going to be a great night.

Without further ado the growers took their seats and started chatting away to our customers about their history, growing methods and wine of choice. The producers moved table after each course, and so by the end of the evening had shared their wines with everyone in the room.  It was a bit like speed dating, said one of our growers (I won't name names.)

In no particular order the wines were:

Barolo Brunate Marengo 2000

Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra Clerico 2000

Barolo Carobric Scavino 1998 (magnums)

Barolo Bricco Fiasco Azelia 1999 (magnums)

Arborina Langhe Rosso Altare 1995

Roero Riserva Roche d'Ampsej, Correggia 1999 (magnums)

Barolo Capalot Brunate Roberto Voerzio 1999 (magnums)

and visiting producers were:

Riccardo Sgarra from Paolo Scavino

Davide Voerzio from Roberto Voerzio

LucianoRacca from Domenico Clerico

Elio Altare

MarcoMarengo

Sara Palmafrom Matteo Correggia

Lorenzo Scavino from Azelia 

Rather like the growers, each of the wines had their own very distinctive personalities, however there was a common and quite remarkable thread running through all of them.  Fruit.  Yes, the wines had softened and gained in complexity with age but without exception there was a total dominance of fruit and absence of secondary characteristics.  I was expecting at least one or two to offer something up a little more evolved but all seemed to be ageing rather gracefully.  This equally applied to the oldest wine there, Altare's 1995 Langhe Arborina, which was my wine of the night.


The Altare, Correggia Roero Riserva, Marengo Brunate and Carobric from Scavino were all moreishly "a point." The rest of the wines were gripping, seductive, complex and could clearly benefit from another 5 to 10 years bottle age each. Most notably the Voerzio, this is brilliant but still several years off its peak.

With a last sip of Marengo's Brunate the evening for our table drew to a close, all too swiftly.  It was a lot of fun.

A presto, Zucca!

Barolo 2009 and Piedmont's new releases

2009 may not go down as the most consistent of vintages, less so than 2008, for example, but based on my tastings in Piedmont two weeks ago it would be a huge mistake to dismiss them. I found some really thrilling examples.

There was lots of rain in spring, fortunately, because summer was constantly warm and dry. Waiting for tannins to ripen was important so in general harvest was early to mid October in "t shirt" conditions.

It was a warm vintage but not as hot as 1997 or 2000. The wines show dense powerful tannins but, thanks to lots of fruit sweetness, they are much easier to taste than similarly tannic but higher acid vintages such as 2006.

The high vineyards in La Morra were notably more successful than the lower ones, Roberto Voerzio's stunning La Serra, all Brunates I tasted and Marengos Bricco Viole are all very fine examples.

Overall it is Scavino who have made one of the collections of the vintage, achieving a consistently high level right across the board. Azelia too, have shown how they have progressed to new heights in the last few vintages, their three cru Barolos are up there with the very best of the vintage.

This year also sees some exciting other new release;. 2008 Riservas reiterate what a great vintage this is. May be it does not have the consistency of 2007 and 2004 but wines from good crus and reliable producers have made sublime wines that mix vitality, elegance and power. Capalot/Brunate and an old vine Giachini from Giovanni Corino are two that stood out.

Perhaps the most exciting find of the entire trip was Roberto Voerzio's Fossati Casa Nere 2003; a riserva that is made in the same way as the other Barolo Crus but will only ever be released in specific vintages and only after 10 years of bottle age. This has been one of my wines of the year so far, despite the "heat wave vintage" this has fruit, nuance and elegance to go with the ripe fruit and richness. Never has such a complex and powerful wine been so beguiling and easy to drink.

One final word must go to the oft-forgotten Dolcetto variety. I have the sense that there is the general acceptance in the region that this has in the past been made in too heavy-handed a way. Producers are making a concerted effort to make sweeter, more delicate examples and this combined with what looks like a very fine 2012 vintage, has resulted in more delicious juicy and immediately enjoyable Dolcettos than I can ever remember.

Portfolio Tasting 2013: Three masters of their trade

It was a huge pleasure to taste my way through the three masterclasses at our Portfolio tasting in the stunning surroundings of Somerset House last week. We were honoured to have three great wines estates presenting their finest wines, young and old.

First up was Katharina Prüm of JJ Prüm presenting no fewer than 9 wines in an hour from 2011 back to 1997. A hard act was brilliantly followed by Davide Voerzio of Roberto Voerzio, who talked us through 4 different Barolo Cru across various vintages and the evening fittingly culminated with the gentleman of Cote Rotie, Rene Rostaing, with whom we tasted La Landonne and Cote Blonde across 07, 05, 2000 and 1995.

There were many thrilling and differing wines in the line ups, one recurring theme however seemed to be the ability of a great terroir to show its true colours after sufficient bottle age even in a year where the vintage characteristics are decidedly dominant. An example of this is 2003. I have been lucky enough to have had some wonderful examples recently of this atypical, heatwave vintage. Terte Roteboeuf being one in addition to a number of 1er Crus from Marquis d'Angerville (there will be more detail in another post soon.) The 2003s in question on this occasion were Cote Blonde from Rostaing and the Fossati Barolo Riserva from Voerzio. The Blonde was bold, opulent and full of violets and youthful fruit whilst offering a distinct stoniness.  The Fossati was the wine of the night. An outstanding mix of perfume, velvet texture, sweet fruit and earthiness with enormous length of flavour, it had more fragrance and finesse than I was expecting from a 2003, remarkable. The other less typical vintage was 1997 in the Mosel. An exciting vintage on release that was less austere than many of its predecessors, concentrated for sure but almost suspiciously easy, fruity and round. Well the Graacher Himmelreich 1997 JJ Prüm had all of these characteristics in spades together with a vivid streak of minerally slate, a beautiful lively and very precise wine that whilst delicious now, still tasted on the young side.

A sumptuous R Voerzio Rocche Torriglione 07 Barolo

I had a bottle of this at home on the weekend, despite it seeming young, on paper, it was actually drinking beautifully well. A really intense, fragrant but suave wine with an incredibly long echoing finish. A very enjoyable drop already but it has the intensity to age well. It has 96 RP points and see below my tasting note from the original offer. We have 120 bottles in stock, retail price is £1400 per case 12 ib

"Even fruitier and more perfumed than the Cerequio, if less structured. A total charmer, a Barolo for hedonists, sweet perfumed red fruit flavours of Alpine strawberry, fresh violet and rose notes with touches of kirsch. Simply wonderful. A blend of 50- to 60-year-old vines from Torriglione and 30-year-old vines from Rocche; both have very similar soils and southern exposures. Voerzio’s parcels in both are very small and, as the style of wine is very similar, they blend them together"

Barolo Brass Monkeys

My annual pilgrimage to Piedmont is one of my absolute favourite trips, often occurring in mid March when the snow has been melted away by the increasingly warm sunshine, Spring is very much in the air. I always wondered whether it was the time of the year that made me feel that extra level of enthusiasm for the people, region and their wines. The 2012 voyage was to prove a stern test. My journey out there last week, earlier than usual, was accompanied by tough conditions, as the driver of this mini no doubt discovered. There was heaps of snow and minus 13 degree temperatures.

However the wines, predominantly the 2008 Barolos, passed the test with flying colours. The structure in Barolo is very similar to Burgundy, small artisan wine producers making individual vineyard expressions of, largely, one unique Barolo variety, Nebbiolo. The wines are clearly more tannic than Burgundy in their youth and more alcoholic, but otherwise there is often as beguiling and fragrant an aromatic profile, similarly light to mid deep colours but with enormous intensity of flavour and a marked difference in taste depending on the vineyard the grapes are grown in.

For me, time and again, the height of vinous pleasure comes from wine made out of a single grape variety, grown at its extremes, that expresses a site-specific complexity and character. Pinot Noir in Burgundy, Riesling in Germany and, of course, Nebbiolo in Piedmont.

I was totally seduced by the 2008 Nebbiolo based wines. Admittedly I was fortunate enough to taste at some of the greatest addresses in the region, including Clerico, Voerzio, Altare, Paolo Scavino, Vietti, Sandrone, G Rinaldi and G Conterno. Perhaps further down the pyramid there may well be variability, more so than in 07, but I found that with quality wine growers their efforts were every bit as enjoyable as the 2007s. The 07s are so seductive, smooth and complex. 2008s are clearly different but equally seductive. The very late and cool season, many growers weren't finishing harvest until end of October, was perfect for the late-ripening Nebbiolo and has resulted in one of the most aromatic vintages of the last ten years. The wines are fresh, like 1998, but have more stuffing and tannin, without the austerity of 2006 or 1996.

So many of these great Barolos hugely impressed me and had me reaching for my glass for another sip (which in my view should be the function of any truly great wine.) However the single most surprising bottle was from a lesser known area. The Rocche d'Ampsej Riserva from Matteo Correggia 2008 shows just what greatness the under-appreciated Roero region can achieve. The perfumed, poised, bitter-sweet Nebbiolo mix of red fruit, flowers and richness I found totally beguiling.

I much look forward to our full offer of the new releases in September 2012.

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Beyond Bordeaux: J&B tips growth regions

This morning's article in the Drinks Business by Gabriel Savage featuring Justerini & Brook's buyer, Giles Burke-Gaffney:

As prices for top Bordeaux climb ever steeper, Justerini & Brooks buyer Giles Burke-Gaffney has predicted a surge in popularity for Barolo, Burgundy and the Southern Rhône.

Read More ...