barolo tasting

the bottle shop, wilmette IL
Tasted Friday, February 29, 2008 by KeithAkers with 502 views

Introduction

I've stopped in the bottle shop a few times, but haven't really had a chance to truly check it out. This was a good opportunity to really check it out with this tasting

Flight 1 - mascarello wines (2 Notes)

this was to start us off on the traditional style of barolo making. Along with the tasting there was a bit of background given on Mascarello too

  • 1999 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    nose: nice filling but nuanced nose of mint, spice, lavender, sweet cherry, black berries, and small bits of tar

    taste: luscious cherry hits you with roses, juiper, and mint

    overall: a very elegant wine with a nice long silky finish. Very classy

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  • 2001 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    nose: nice full aromatic nose of rose petals, cherry, juniper, persimmon, and bits of tar and mint

    taste: very firm tannins with cherry, rose petals, mint notes, and tar

    overall: very nice aromatics on such a young barolo. Still a bit tight, but very elegant and brings a very nice lasting finish of mint and juniper

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Flight 2 - Natale wines (2 Notes)

This was my favorite flight. The quality was so high here and the wines were great and it was interesting as Natale's are made in the traditional style and are very production(I think they said 1200 cases a year) barolos.

Flight 3 - Rocche Manzoni wines (2 Notes)

I was torn on this. After having the traditional stylists, these just stuck out like sore thumbs and while good, just didn't compare to the other two flights. A bit overdone, but the Big'd Big was fairly restrained in it's style whereas the Roul was a bit too over the top

  • 1999 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Big'd Big 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    nose: big aromatic nose of cherry and floral notes with tart oak notes

    taste: nice full feeling on the palate with lots of cherry, hi-floral notes, and tar

    overall: very interesting trying out one of the modern style barolos. The nose was deep and there was still that elegance to it, but it had a much heavier feel on the palate then the traditional style ones that I'm used to

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  • 1999 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Vigna d'la Roul 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    nose: huge medicinal nose that is a bit extracted with menthol, loads of cherry, oak, and some spice notes

    taste: very tannic with oak, vanilla, dark cherry, and tar. very new world style

    overall: interesting. a bit too new worldy for me and has some extracted fruit which bothers me, but it still is an excellent wine with a nice long and spicy finish

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Flight 4 - The big finish (1 Note)

well, they obviously saved the best for last. This was special and it was great to see the modern style blend in with some of the traditional style while still being a more modern style Barolo

  • 1999 Pianpolvere Soprano Barolo Riserva Bussia 95 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    nose: massively aromatic nose with dark cherry, rose petals, blackberry, black licorice, and tar

    taste: wonderful and haunting flavors of dark cherry, rose petals, black licorice, and tar

    overall: a beautiful wine. very full and supple with amazing balance and an insanely long finish

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Closing

It was a really great tasting and this was a great chance to taste some Barolo's that aren't as easy to find. A very high quality tasting and the bottle shop was a really nice place. I'll be sure to give them some more of my money in the future

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