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2004 Barolo Recommendations
- Thread starter Steven Spielmann
- Start date
gregory dal piaz
gregory dal piaz
I tried the oddero, some during the tasting some at the estate.
They are the best wines Oddero has ever made. the Brunate and Mondoca are exceptional. The Villero and Rocche very good as is the base bottling. The prices on the west coast are lower than wholesale on the east coast.
Cappellano's Rupestris from botte showed the potential to be the wine of the vintage. I have not had it from bottle. The Pie Franco was lovely.
Monprivato, Cascina Francia you can not go wrong. I bought both.
G Rinaldi, Cannubi Ravera may be more expressive then Brunate Le Coste in 04. I bought Both
Marcarini La Serra edges out Brunate for complexity. I bought both
Callotto Bricco Boschis was exceelent the San Giuseppe a step up, I will buy both.
Guido Porro Santa Caterina edges out Lazzairasco by a hair but they are smashing wines and at under $40 a bottle those who don't buy these are dopes.I am not a dope.
Burlotto Monvigliero is brilliant, the cannubi very fine as is the Aclivi
Bartolo Mascarello is excellent
In a slightly more modern vein Brezza Sarmassa is excellent.
As are Einaudi Costa Grimaldi and Aldo Conterno Colonello which were the positive surprises of the vintage for me. The Romirasco as well but that is such a strange beast.
Brovia, which i bought, did not show particularly well while I was there but based on past performance...
I think 2004 will age in a somewhat similar fashion to 1985. Their hand has been overplayed in my opinion. There are more great wines than ever but the wines are a touch easy and dilute. Having said that they are better than the 1979's.
The 1979's, admittedly with higher acidity, remain fresh and delicious, contrary to what kane says.
They are the best wines Oddero has ever made. the Brunate and Mondoca are exceptional. The Villero and Rocche very good as is the base bottling. The prices on the west coast are lower than wholesale on the east coast.
Cappellano's Rupestris from botte showed the potential to be the wine of the vintage. I have not had it from bottle. The Pie Franco was lovely.
Monprivato, Cascina Francia you can not go wrong. I bought both.
G Rinaldi, Cannubi Ravera may be more expressive then Brunate Le Coste in 04. I bought Both
Marcarini La Serra edges out Brunate for complexity. I bought both
Callotto Bricco Boschis was exceelent the San Giuseppe a step up, I will buy both.
Guido Porro Santa Caterina edges out Lazzairasco by a hair but they are smashing wines and at under $40 a bottle those who don't buy these are dopes.I am not a dope.
Burlotto Monvigliero is brilliant, the cannubi very fine as is the Aclivi
Bartolo Mascarello is excellent
In a slightly more modern vein Brezza Sarmassa is excellent.
As are Einaudi Costa Grimaldi and Aldo Conterno Colonello which were the positive surprises of the vintage for me. The Romirasco as well but that is such a strange beast.
Brovia, which i bought, did not show particularly well while I was there but based on past performance...
I think 2004 will age in a somewhat similar fashion to 1985. Their hand has been overplayed in my opinion. There are more great wines than ever but the wines are a touch easy and dilute. Having said that they are better than the 1979's.
The 1979's, admittedly with higher acidity, remain fresh and delicious, contrary to what kane says.
Chris Coad
Chris Coad
He does seem enthusiastic about it, doesn't he?
Levi Dalton
Levi Dalton
I think that the positive thing about purchasing Barolo now is that you are asked to pay what you would have had to pay for red Burgundy a few years ago, as opposed to what you are asked to pay for red Burgundy now. But I don't really see 2004 as an amazing vintage. It is no '96 or '01 in my personal estimation. I don't see usually mid-tier bottlings tasting like great wine in '04s, which I take to be the sign of a great vintage, and many times I don't taste wines that are suggestive of long ageability. Some '04s that you wouldn't expect are downright weird in texture. And bottlings that should be forward and approachable as a rule are often not in '04. So I actually think it is an alright/good vintage that is not one to buy up unless you are a Barolo fan in general. Better to go back to '96, '99, and '01 for long term cellaring, or '93, '98, '00, '03 for near term drinking. As I have mentioned before, I think purchasing '03 Nebbiolo for drinking right now is actually pretty smart money in many cases. Purchasing the other vintages I mentioned makes sense in terms of the current auction market.
But there are several producers who are making exceptional wines each year, and they made exceptional wines in '04. Gregory listed many of them. Although I would note that I currently find the wines of Elvio Cogno to be of more interest than those of his old employer, Marcarini. And Francesco Rinaldi did well in '04, IMHO.
Anyway, I think Oddero is excellent in '04, the wines have a proven track record of ageability, and they are priced below producers like the Conternos and the Mascarellos.
But there are several producers who are making exceptional wines each year, and they made exceptional wines in '04. Gregory listed many of them. Although I would note that I currently find the wines of Elvio Cogno to be of more interest than those of his old employer, Marcarini. And Francesco Rinaldi did well in '04, IMHO.
Anyway, I think Oddero is excellent in '04, the wines have a proven track record of ageability, and they are priced below producers like the Conternos and the Mascarellos.
2004 is the first really IMPORTANT vintage that I haven't had a chance to get to know before release. The hype surrounding it has been pretty incredible and I appreciate your tempering comments.
I will continue to look for straggling 2001s and 1999s instead of worrying that I will miss out on 2004 (although I've already bought Brovia).
I was pretty impressed with the 2001 Oddero, so good to hear about 2004.
I will continue to look for straggling 2001s and 1999s instead of worrying that I will miss out on 2004 (although I've already bought Brovia).
I was pretty impressed with the 2001 Oddero, so good to hear about 2004.
lars makie
lars makie
I haven't seen anyone mention Ratti in this discussion. I was able to grab a couple of his 2004 Marcenasco Rocche Barolo a little while ago. Has anyone tried their '04 barolos or have any idea if they are long lived? Thanks.
gregory dal piaz
gregory dal piaz
Re Ratti Good fruit driven wines which I do not think will be paticular long lived.
As to Levi's comments, I agree almost entirely. For me the vinage to focus on, should one not be buying for sentimental reasons, is 1999. Not only is it the best vintage since 1989 but it was not as hyped as 1996 or 2001. Some 04's, Oddero, Cavalotto. Guido Porro and Marcarini for example are still very well priced and have made excellent 04s. As for the majority of the others, well the wines are attractive, the prices not so much, while i bought them I bought a fraction of what I had in previous vintages.
My favorite vintage for drinking in the near term is 2000, which I find noticably preferable to 1998 or 2003. If it weren't for the Spectator's misguided pubicity stunt this too would be a better value but the wines do have an undeniable appeal.
1995 continues to get little to no love and while the prices for many wines no longer make these wines an attractive value many of the wines are very fine and as a vintage I prefer it to 1993.
Of course the real values out there are the even older wines.
As to Levi's comments, I agree almost entirely. For me the vinage to focus on, should one not be buying for sentimental reasons, is 1999. Not only is it the best vintage since 1989 but it was not as hyped as 1996 or 2001. Some 04's, Oddero, Cavalotto. Guido Porro and Marcarini for example are still very well priced and have made excellent 04s. As for the majority of the others, well the wines are attractive, the prices not so much, while i bought them I bought a fraction of what I had in previous vintages.
My favorite vintage for drinking in the near term is 2000, which I find noticably preferable to 1998 or 2003. If it weren't for the Spectator's misguided pubicity stunt this too would be a better value but the wines do have an undeniable appeal.
1995 continues to get little to no love and while the prices for many wines no longer make these wines an attractive value many of the wines are very fine and as a vintage I prefer it to 1993.
Of course the real values out there are the even older wines.
originally posted by gregory dal piaz:
Re Ratti Good fruit driven wines which I do not think will be paticular long lived.
As to Levi's comments, I agree almost entirely. For me the vinage to focus on, should one not be buying for sentimental reasons, is 1999. Not only is it the best vintage since 1989 but it was not as hyped as 1996 or 2001. Some 04's, Oddero, Cavalotto. Guido Porro and Marcarini for example are still very well priced and have made excellent 04s. As for the majority of the others, well the wines are attractive, the prices not so much, while i bought them I bought a fraction of what I had in previous vintages.
My favorite vintage for drinking in the near term is 2000, which I find noticably preferable to 1998 or 2003. If it weren't for the Spectator's misguided pubicity stunt this too would be a better value but the wines do have an undeniable appeal.
1995 continues to get little to no love and while the prices for many wines no longer make these wines an attractive value many of the wines are very fine and as a vintage I prefer it to 1993.
Not surprisingly, I agree with almost everything here. Especially with regard to the 1995 vintage where I have had lots of luck from a wider variety of producers than 1993.
I agree somewhat about 2000, but don't have the experience with it that I'm sure Greg does.
Of course the real values out there are the even older wines.
I think that value chain has ended.
Keith Levenberg
Keith Levenberg
I don't really think of '95 and '93 together because for me the appeal of '93 is how many are in a drinkable condition (and have been for a few years). Nearly all the '95s I've had are still unready. I guess it's likely they'll turn out better, but for me no Piedmont vintage has been as *useful* as '93 - available, ready to drink, and cheap!