Barolo vs. Old School Rioja vs. Burgundy
BB House
Tasted Sunday, January 17, 2016 by CWilliam with 2,261 views
Introduction
Our group got together to taste some mid-range Barolos, old school Riojas and potentially a bottle or two of Burgundy.
All the bottles were mixed up before the tasting began to make it more exciting. We revealed the wines one by one. Theory of the tasting was that with age, Barolos, old school Riojas and Burgundies show some similarity (especially the 1991 Tondonia Gran Reserva LDH). The Barolos tasted herein didn't have enough age for that theory to prove out but we'll just redo this in 10 years and see how it goes!
All notes are mine and notes in brackets are tasting notes on the respective wine in years past (if tasted).
Flight 1 (9 Notes)
Closing
All wines served with grilled skirt steak and other appetizers - the Barolos really needed that. I have had 4 of these wines before so it was good to see the evolution of these wines. I had two surprises - how well the '07 Produttori Barberesco showed and the surprisingly tannic structure of red wines from Pommard.
WOTN was the 1998 Manzoni Stefano Barolo followed closely by the 1991 Tondonia Gran Reserva. All of the wines, other than the young Rioja (Siglo) showed extremely well. Asides from the Siglo, I'd be happy to have any of these wines in my cellar.
2013 Ellena Giuseppe Langhe Nascetta
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
White starter.
Drinking well - mineral / lemon / herbaceous flavor profile - medium body with medium+ acidity. 91+
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2006 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Wine #1
Decanted 30 minutes before tasting (not enough time). Brick red color. Nose relatively closed (opened with airtime) - sour cherry, menthol, black cherry. Similar flavor profile on palate - high acidity & tannic structure. Should age well. Guessed '04 or '07 Barolo. 92-93+
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2002 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia 92 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Wine #2 (tasted blind)
On nose alone guessed old school Tempranillo. Medium red color (darker than I remembered). Beautiful nose. Dirt, tobacco, cherry, dried strawberry. On palate, similar flavor profile with sweet oak / dill as well. Very enjoyable. 92+
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2007 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Wine #3 (tasted Blind) - was decanted for 2.5 hours before tasting.
Blackish red color. Sediment not apparent. Sour cherry, cherry, fig, tobacco on nose. On palate, cherry, sour cherry, menthol, sweet cherry. Very tannic, high acidity with medium+ finish. Very expressive on the palate. 93+
Showed very well in Barolo / Burgundy / Old school Rioja tasting. Need to buy more to cellar.
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2011 Siglo Rioja Crianza 89 Points
Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
Wine #4 Tasted blind.
Splash decanted 15 minutes before tasting. This stood out as a modern style young Rioja in a Barolo / Burgundy / Old school Rioja tasting.
Dark red color. Sweet cherry, oak (too much), medicinal/ cough syrup. Similar palate. Medium body, medium acidity & medium finish. Not a re-buy. 89-90 range.
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2006 Vietti Barolo Rocche 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Wine #5 - blind.
Decanted for a few hours before.
Didn't note color. Sandalwood / cedar, rose petals, black cherry on nose (best nose of the Barolos at this tasting). On palate, similar flavor profile with high acidity, well integrated (but stout) tannins, full body & long finish. Very nice wine. 92+ - Still pretty young and should improve 1-2 points with age.
[Tasted in 12/2010 (blind)
Wine #4 / Notes started to go south - big nose (black cherry / cherry / tar) - full bodied, high acids and surprisingly approachable now (was decanted for 6 hours before tasting). 92++.]
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1998 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Vigna Cappella di Santo Stefano 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Wine #6 (Tasted blind)
Was decanted for 4+ hours before tasting (it needs it). Brownish red color & throwing some sediment. Dirt, tobacco, menthol, sweet cherry on nose (very expressive). On palate, black cherry, sour cherry, sweet cherry, tobacco. Full body, high acidity & long finish. 93+
[Note from 8/2011:
Tar, rose petals, nail polish, leather on nose - on palate, similar to nose + dried cherry, pine, sour cherry - acidity & tannins are well integrated. Very long finish - plenty of great notes already on this wine. For me, this was ready to go with a limited decant. Excellent, excellent wine. 93 - my wife loved this wine.]
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1991 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia 93 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Wine # 7 (tasted blind)
Guessed this was my wine (only 2 left so pretty easy). Opened and poured into a new bottle 30 minutes before tasting. Light red color with substantial meniscus. Dirt, iodine, dried cherry, orange peel on nose (very unique). On palate, dried cherry, sweet cherry, apricots. High acids, medium body with faint tannins. Very long finish. Some in group thought this was an older Burgundy. Wonderful old school Rioja. 93+
Came in 2nd for WOTN.
[My note from 12/2010 - Classic old school Rioja. Very light red color - showing it's age. Apricots, burnt oak, licorice, spice box on nose. On palate, dried red fruits, red licorice, - very rich acidity and a very long finish - I can still recall the taste 24 hours later - this is one of the best wines that I have ever had]
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2011 Domaine Lucien Boillot et Fils Pommard 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard
Wine # 8 - tasted blind. Decanted 1.5 hour before tasting.
Medium red color - no sediment. Notes getting bad here. Sweet cherry, cherry, menthol on nose & palate. Medium body, high acids & noticeable tannins. Long finish. 91-92 range.
This one threw me - I figured very young Barolo given fruit & tannic profile. Brightness of fruit should have given this away. By far the most tannic Pinot I have had, but with hindsight, the intensity of the fruit & the lightness of the tannins (relative to what you get with Nebbiolo) should have given this away. The one industry guy with us nailed this as an '11 or '12 Pommard.
Nice wine and the only Burgundy in the line-up.
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