Frank Deis
Frank Deis
There doesn't seem to be much discussion of Barolo here. And I think one reason is that there has been a shift over the past 20 years, the wines that you hear about have become rather Parkerized. Lots of new oak etc. BUT that isn't the history of Barolo and the wines that I had last night were textbook examples of the sort of bright sappy red wines that I deduce that most people here really love.
I went down to my friend Larry's house in Philadelphia. Larry is an excellent cook and a man who understands Barolo, so he put together a menu (with nods to Thomas Keller) that would bring out the best in these wines. There was a lot of duck. Another friend, Ed has bought a vineyard in eastern PA and has been through a couple of harvests. Ed loves Italian wines. Dave was also there, he is a gentle soul with an encyclopedic knowledge of Italian wines and a special appreciation for the older styles -- and a collection to match. Jean, Larry's sister, brought a fabulous selection of cheeses, focusing on Piedmont for the most part. And my wife, Louise, made Kookoo (for nowruz) and a cake for dessert, Mo (Ed's wife) brought a delicious lemon curd tart, and Susan (Larry's wife) made some courses including an intriguing salad of asparagus, avocado, and crab meat and a blackberry tart for dessert. There were also several kids running around...
During the earlier courses, Mo was talking about the qualities she admired in a white wine. We had decanted some of the "larger" Barolos but I was inspired to start with a wine that I knew would match what Mo was saying. I opened the 1993 Barale Castellero. It did not disappoint, the wine practically crackled with a tangy sappy brightness. Vivid garnet and very clear aromas of tar and roses. This was straight from the freshly opened bottle.
For the second wine Dave insisted on opening a wine he had brought, the 1982 Scavino Bric del Fisc. Now, for those of you who know Bric del Fisc as an oak loaded Parker bomb, let me tell you, Scavino had not bought all those oak barrels back in 1982. The wine tasted remarkably young, and it was a true match for Barale in sappy freshness, with a mineraly backbone. What a treat!
Then I had brought the 1989 Gaja Barolo Sperss. Back then the name included "Barolo" so it was theoretically 100% nebbiolo. The last bottle of Sperss I opened was so closed you couldn't taste much of anything, it was just a dark brooding enigma. This one seemed like it had just reached a long plateau of drinkability, and I remarked that it was like a wine that was half Bordeaux and half Barolo. Which is not entirely a bad thing. It was like a very good Bordeaux with the oak truly integrating with age, plus the classic Barolo profile, the second part was certainly not lacking. Wonderfully dark and wonderfully flavorful. But maybe you guys would turn up your noses. What is completely ridiculous is that I could replace THIS wine in my cellar for much less money that it would cost me to replace my bottles of Lafite Carruades for which I paid some $35 per bottle. What fools these mortals be.
Now I have to plead ignorance, Dave brought a 1982 Conterno, [EDIT: 1982 Giacomo Conterno Barolo "Cascina Francia"]. It was lacking in bouquet and some of the wives confessed to not liking it all that much. I found it quite rich, I have had Barolo like this before where the missing aroma seems to correlate with an enhanced flavor. Once again it was remarkable to taste a Barolo THAT old that tasted so young and fresh. None of these wines had the least bit of color fading.
We were getting into some palate fatigue by this time but I ended up opening two more wines I had brought, the 1990 Marchesi di Barolo which was basically amazing, a bit sweet and rich, and the 1993 Clerico Ciabot Mentin Ginestra. Clerico is one of the Barolos I have had in the past which had little bouquet but lots of flavor so I was pleasantly surprised that both the bouquet and the flavor were vivid and rich.
At any rate the only oaky sweetness that was at all obvious was in the Gaja.
My take home lesson for readers here is this. If you are the sort of person who seeks out the few Beaujolais producers who make truly serious wine, if you are an oak hater who is curious about whether there is a Barolo that would truly please your palate -- seek out some Barale. AFAIK he has still not shifted over to the dark side, and maybe he never will.
Frank
I went down to my friend Larry's house in Philadelphia. Larry is an excellent cook and a man who understands Barolo, so he put together a menu (with nods to Thomas Keller) that would bring out the best in these wines. There was a lot of duck. Another friend, Ed has bought a vineyard in eastern PA and has been through a couple of harvests. Ed loves Italian wines. Dave was also there, he is a gentle soul with an encyclopedic knowledge of Italian wines and a special appreciation for the older styles -- and a collection to match. Jean, Larry's sister, brought a fabulous selection of cheeses, focusing on Piedmont for the most part. And my wife, Louise, made Kookoo (for nowruz) and a cake for dessert, Mo (Ed's wife) brought a delicious lemon curd tart, and Susan (Larry's wife) made some courses including an intriguing salad of asparagus, avocado, and crab meat and a blackberry tart for dessert. There were also several kids running around...
During the earlier courses, Mo was talking about the qualities she admired in a white wine. We had decanted some of the "larger" Barolos but I was inspired to start with a wine that I knew would match what Mo was saying. I opened the 1993 Barale Castellero. It did not disappoint, the wine practically crackled with a tangy sappy brightness. Vivid garnet and very clear aromas of tar and roses. This was straight from the freshly opened bottle.
For the second wine Dave insisted on opening a wine he had brought, the 1982 Scavino Bric del Fisc. Now, for those of you who know Bric del Fisc as an oak loaded Parker bomb, let me tell you, Scavino had not bought all those oak barrels back in 1982. The wine tasted remarkably young, and it was a true match for Barale in sappy freshness, with a mineraly backbone. What a treat!
Then I had brought the 1989 Gaja Barolo Sperss. Back then the name included "Barolo" so it was theoretically 100% nebbiolo. The last bottle of Sperss I opened was so closed you couldn't taste much of anything, it was just a dark brooding enigma. This one seemed like it had just reached a long plateau of drinkability, and I remarked that it was like a wine that was half Bordeaux and half Barolo. Which is not entirely a bad thing. It was like a very good Bordeaux with the oak truly integrating with age, plus the classic Barolo profile, the second part was certainly not lacking. Wonderfully dark and wonderfully flavorful. But maybe you guys would turn up your noses. What is completely ridiculous is that I could replace THIS wine in my cellar for much less money that it would cost me to replace my bottles of Lafite Carruades for which I paid some $35 per bottle. What fools these mortals be.
Now I have to plead ignorance, Dave brought a 1982 Conterno, [EDIT: 1982 Giacomo Conterno Barolo "Cascina Francia"]. It was lacking in bouquet and some of the wives confessed to not liking it all that much. I found it quite rich, I have had Barolo like this before where the missing aroma seems to correlate with an enhanced flavor. Once again it was remarkable to taste a Barolo THAT old that tasted so young and fresh. None of these wines had the least bit of color fading.
We were getting into some palate fatigue by this time but I ended up opening two more wines I had brought, the 1990 Marchesi di Barolo which was basically amazing, a bit sweet and rich, and the 1993 Clerico Ciabot Mentin Ginestra. Clerico is one of the Barolos I have had in the past which had little bouquet but lots of flavor so I was pleasantly surprised that both the bouquet and the flavor were vivid and rich.
At any rate the only oaky sweetness that was at all obvious was in the Gaja.
My take home lesson for readers here is this. If you are the sort of person who seeks out the few Beaujolais producers who make truly serious wine, if you are an oak hater who is curious about whether there is a Barolo that would truly please your palate -- seek out some Barale. AFAIK he has still not shifted over to the dark side, and maybe he never will.
Frank