Entry-level Barolo

[Peter Creasey]

Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 -- Medium red, definitely youthful, good tension, variety of fruits and spices, full body, some heat, smoothed out in the glass, true to its Barolo (Nebbiolo) character, good potential needs time, worthy entry-level Barolo. [VG - E]

. . . . . Pete

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Peter Creasey:
Entry-level Barolo
Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 -- Medium red, definitely youthful, good tension, variety of fruits and spices, full body, some heat, smoothed out in the glass, true to its Barolo (Nebbiolo) character, good potential needs time, worthy entry-level Barolo. [VG - E]

Heat makes sense. The 2020 is 15% ABV.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by mark e:
Heat makes sense. The 2020 is 15% ABV.

Ouch!

 

[Peter Creasey]

Different sources are saying alcohol for Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 is 14 - 14.5%.

Barolos typically do have relatively high alcohol. Fortunately, this is often (usually?) well buffered by the fruit. For the specific wine in this thread, the inkling of alcohol comes across as being pretty much integrated.

. . . . . . Pete

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Different sources are saying alcohol for Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 is 14 - 14.5%.

Barolos typically do have relatively high alcohol. Fortunately, this is often (usually?) well buffered by the fruit. For the specific wine in this thread, the inkling of alcohol comes across as being pretty much integrated.

hey Pete, I think you'll find that most palates here will find buffering of alcohol by fruit to be insufficient for the kind of balance they are looking for. (Note I am not claiming that to be the case for the general wine drinker). There are definitely situation where alcohol is buffered successfully through means that include but are not limited to fruit, but I'll let others with better understanding of wine chemistry make my case here for me.

 

[Peter Creasey]

Yes, Pavel, the folks have made that clear...and those "most palates" are to be respected, at least by me.

. . . . . . Pete

 

[Bill Lundstrom]

I'd bet most Barolo is going to be 14-14.5% ABV these days. Probably quite a few at 15% too.

 

[Marc Hanes]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
I think you'll find that most palates here will find buffering of alcohol by fruit to be insufficient for the kind of balance they are looking for.

But how youse gonna get drunked???

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Different sources are saying alcohol for Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 is 14 - 14.5%.

The fact is there are no "multiple truths" when it comes to ABV. The exact amount, not a range, is the legal requirement where I am, so I suspect what I found is correct.

 

[Tore Rodahl]

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Different sources are saying alcohol for Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 is 14 - 14.5%.

Wines sold through the Norwegian monopoly for wine and spirits must undergo analysis and testing for each vintage offered. The ABV must be rounded to the nearest whole number or half number (e.g., 14%, 14.5%, 15%, etc.).

The wine you enjoyed Pete, Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20, hit the 15% mark for that particular vintage.

When I explore the three last released vintages for Barolo to stress test Bill's assumption I get the following breakdown:

2020
Two wines at 13.5% (Dosio La Morra and Villadoria Lirio)
132 wines between 14% and 15% and two wines, Paolo Conterno Ginestra & Schiavenza Broglio, at 15.5%.

2019
Two wines at 13% (Attilio Ghisolfi Bussia and Principiano Boscareto) and eight at 13.5%.
126 wines between 14% and 15%.

2018
One wine at 13.5% ABV (Diego e Damiano Barale Cannubi)
111 wines between 14% and 15% and two wines, Le Strette Normale and Bergeisa, clocked in at 15.5%.

And the same excercise for Barbaresco:

2020
Ricossa Barbaresco at 13.5%.
36 wines between 14% and 14.5% and Cigliuti Vie Erte & Serraboella, Ca'Barun Normale and Fratelli Giacosa Normale at 15%.

2019
Four wines at 13.5% (Fontanafredda Silver & Coste Rubin, Vinory San Cristoforo Riserva and Prunotto Secondine)
26 wines between 14% and 14.5%.

2018
16 wines between 14% and 14.5%.
Two at 15% (Fratelli Giacosa Basarin and Pelissero Vanotu)

Global warming is increasing the sugar content in grapes, shifting the traditional profile of Piemonte wines. Barolo, once around 13%-14% ABV, now commonly reaches 14%-15%. For those looking to avoid wines eclipsing 14.5% and close to 15% ABV, Barbaresco remains a safer option—for now.

 

[Peter Creasey]

originally posted by Tore Rodahl: Wines sold through the Norwegian monopoly for wine and spirits must undergo analysis and testing for each vintage offered.

Quite interesting, Tore, thanks. Given my math background and knowing how rounding customarily works with math, I suspect your statement should perhaps say, "The ABV must be rounded [UP] to the nearest whole number or half number (e.g., 14%, 14.5%, 15%, etc.)". Thus, if a wine is, say, 14.55% or 14.6%, it would be rounded to 15% in Norway.

. . . . . Pete

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

originally posted by Tore Rodahl: Wines sold through the Norwegian monopoly for wine and spirits must undergo analysis and testing for each vintage offered.

Quite interesting, Tore, thanks. Given my math background and knowing how rounding customarily works with math, I suspect your statement should perhaps say, "The ABV must be rounded [UP] to the nearest whole number or half number (e.g., 14%, 14.5%, 15%, etc.)". Thus, if a wine is, say, 14.55% or 14.6%, it would be rounded to 15% in Norway.

. . . . . Pete

If the steps are by half degrees, 14.55 would be 14.5. You wouldn’t roun up to 15 until you reached 14.75.

 

[Peter Creasey]

Okay, good point, Jonathan.

. . . . . Pete

 

[Tore Rodahl]

originally posted by Tore Rodahl:

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Different sources are saying alcohol for Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 is 14 - 14.5%.

Wines sold through the Norwegian monopoly for wine and spirits must undergo analysis and testing for each vintage offered. The ABV must be rounded to the nearest whole number or half number (e.g., 14%, 14.5%, 15%, etc.).

The wine you enjoyed Pete, Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20, hit the 15% mark for that particular vintage.

When I explore the three last released vintages for Barolo to stress test Bill's assumption I get the following breakdown:

EDIT! The selection of the three B & B vintages presented below is based on their availability on the Vinmonopolet website as of today.

2020
Two wines at 13.5% (Dosio La Morra and Villadoria Lirio)
132 wines between 14% and 15% and two wines, Paolo Conterno Ginestra & Schiavenza Broglio, at 15.5%.

2019
Two wines at 13% (Attilio Ghisolfi Bussia and Principiano Boscareto) and eight at 13.5%.
126 wines between 14% and 15%.

2018
One wine at 13.5% ABV (Diego e Damiano Barale Cannubi)
111 wines between 14% and 15% and two wines, Le Strette Normale and Bergeisa, clocked in at 15.5%.

And the same excercise for Barbaresco:

2020
Ricossa Barbaresco at 13.5%.
36 wines between 14% and 14.5% and Cigliuti Vie Erte & Serraboella, Ca'Barun Normale and Fratelli Giacosa Normale at 15%.

2019
Four wines at 13.5% (Fontanafredda Silver & Coste Rubin, Vinory San Cristoforo Riserva and Prunotto Secondine)
26 wines between 14% and 14.5%.

2018
16 wines between 14% and 14.5%.
Two at 15% (Fratelli Giacosa Basarin and Pelissero Vanotu)

Global warming is increasing the sugar content in grapes, shifting the traditional profile of Piemonte wines. Barolo, once around 13%-14% ABV, now commonly reaches 14%-15%. For those looking to avoid wines eclipsing 14.5% and close to 15% ABV, Barbaresco remains a safer option—for now.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

originally posted by Tore Rodahl: Wines sold through the Norwegian monopoly for wine and spirits must undergo analysis and testing for each vintage offered.

Quite interesting, Tore, thanks. Given my math background and knowing how rounding customarily works with math, I suspect your statement should perhaps say, "The ABV must be rounded [UP] to the nearest whole number or half number (e.g., 14%, 14.5%, 15%, etc.)". Thus, if a wine is, say, 14.55% or 14.6%, it would be rounded to 15% in Norway.

. . . . . Pete

Perhaps a math foreground would have led to a different conclusion.

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Tore Rodahl:

originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Different sources are saying alcohol for Mauro Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 is 14 - 14.5%.

For those looking to avoid wines eclipsing 14.5% and close to 15% ABV, Barbaresco remains a safer option—for now.

Actually, I'd say the safer options are Alto Piemonte and Valtellina, as well as Nebbiolo from Valle d'Aosta. I have still managed to find some Baroli at 13,5% ABV. Not easy and not often, though.

 

[Tore Rodahl]

I completely agree, mark e. Traditional Nebbiolo flavor profiles are still abundant under the names Spanna, Chiavennasca, and Picutener. Given that the sample size for the exercise above represents only a fraction of the 1,200 Barolo producers, it is far from exhaustive. A dedicated and discerning buyer can certainly still discover these classic expressions.

 

[Peter Creasey]

As expected, the bottle of Sebaste Tresüri Barolo '20 stipulates 14.5%. Of course the wine could actually be higher or lower percentage.

. . . . . Pete

 

[Claude Kolm]

FWIW, I'm definitely not a fan of high alcohol wines, and almost never will drink a wine labelled >14%, but I make exceptions for Nebbiolo- and Mourvèdre, where I think they can easily take up to 14.5%, and on rare occasions, even 15%. I think exceptions for those two grapes have long been recognized.

 

[Tristan Welles]

originally posted by Claude Kolm:
FWIW, I'm definitely not a fan of high alcohol wines, and almost never will drink a wine labelled >14%, but I make exceptions for Nebbiolo- and Mourvèdre, where I think they can easily take up to 14.5%, and on rare occasions, even 15%. I think exceptions for those two grapes have long been recognized.

I'm in strong agreement with Claude here. The Vajra Bricco d Viole (ia) is frequently listed as above 14% and I certainly enjoy drinking them and certainly won't be selling.