Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont - 2015 Edition
Piedmont, Italy
Tasted October 9, 2015 - October 11, 2015 by Papies with 625 views
Introduction
Back for the 8th year, what begun as a trip to Alba has now become an annual event of great food, great wine and great friends. And the weather played ball too!
Flight 1 - Casual lunch at Il Boscaretto Resort - http://www.ilboscaretoresort.it/ (4 notes)
An ok casual lunch and dinner location. Best is that you get access to the main restaurant's ( 1* Michelin Le Rey) wine list. Not a destination but if you happen o stay there its an ok place.
Just about entering its drinking window but still a beautiful wine. Dark cherry, light tar, light liquorice notes. Quite firm on the palate, grippy tannin, lovely balance, modern but devout of modernist crap. Proper Barolo and with some patience this would be a high 90s wine. 93 for now but full of promise.
Flight 2 - Dinner at Piazza Duomo, Alba - www.piazzaduomoalba.it/en (10 notes)
Alba's 3 Michelin Star restaurant is one to be tried. A great place with great service. Does not shine as much during truffle season as it would during the main season we guess. Great sommelier, great wine list and with fantastic access to old Ceretto wines as it is owned by the family. Must be visited at least once we believe.
Quite a bit of colour and indeed evolution on the nose. The freshness of youth is gone but the complexity of age is here, well secondary, nice ripe earthy notes. Well round on the palate , nice balanced richness and very good length. A beautiful wine from a great producer. 92-3
Bright glossy in color. On the nose it has a petrolly feel, like Riesling in a way, with a good ripe citrus undertone. On the palate it is young and this grape has great ageing capacity. Full of charm, lovely structure. Age will make it a mid 90s wine . It a bit short on the finish at this stage. 92 for now.
Bright red , glossy. The nose on this wine is majestic. Pure, elegant red fruit, fresh vibrant nose so complex. A mesmerising nose . On the palate it continues very well, pure, good fruit core, bright fresh red fruits, very elegant and with good depth. We would love to come across this in the future . A must buy wine. 95 easy a don will improve.
Much like the 2010 this had an excellent, majestic nose. Pure red fruits, open and rushes out of the glass. Elegant and pure one of the best aromatic nose we have come across. On the palate the 2008 is one shade lease to the 2010 and felt a touch thinner ( 2008 being a wet vintage in Loire we believe) but still an excellent wine. Not sure if this has the ageing capacity of the 2010 but a very good 93-94
Of course the colour is brick red, brownish in a way but clear ( required careful decanting though muslin cloth) and bright. The nose is well secondary and earthy but with good fruit notes, light truffle at times. Similarly on the palate this was well matured and evolved but still very much a beautiful wine albeit have its best was a few summers ago. A beautiful experience , very complex and elegant. Andreas 93 Nicol 95 > 94.
Rich yet balanced, nice depth of flavour, elegant as expected and full of character always a joy to cross paths with this wine. 92
Flight 3 - Lunch at La Ciau del Tornavento - http://www.laciaudeltornavento.it/ita (10 notes)
The focal point of our trip and the reservation around where all is built. By far the best the area has to offer during truffle season and consistently delivers. Easily the best lunch of the year every year. Great people too and beautiful location. Just excellent and a MUST place.
A beautiful wine as always, this the best "champagne" outside of champagne is a clear favourite for us. Nice rich, yeasty profile, depth, complexity, of course elegance and just a great way to start any celebration. Only worry here is that it felt a bit too evolved which worries us as to its longevity. 93 and beautiful now.
Has quite a bit of colour, shows its age. On the nose it has that light petrolly feel, but had also secondary notes, evolved fruit and some earthy notes. The freshness of youth is not there but it has evolved nicely into a different proposition. Very good 91-92 and drink now. We believe this is a wine better had younger.
Shows quite a bit of evolution on the colour. Cherries on the nose, light tar feel and generally a well evolved and well aged Barolo form top pedigree. Unfortunately (much like the. 2004 we had later that day - Papies 90) it had a dry feel as if the fruit has given way . A nice Barolo but not a great one and we wonder if it's a Scavino issue here. 90
The definition of a beautiful Barolo which is now in a great place. Sourced from the cellar of Ciau deal Tornavento this was just singing from the moment the cork was popped.
The fruit is still very much in the forefront, nice secondary notes too though, light cherry , a touch of tar. The tannin is firm but silky and was was a magnificent bottle. 95 easy.
Richer, fresher , darker wine. Still very elegant, complex, typical Barolo and very nice to see it at this stage with good weight on the palate and before the secondary side come forward. Different to the 2001 in weight of fruit and still an excellent 95 for us.
still a great wine, good rich core of fruit and very nice length. None of 2003 burnt shenanigans. Felt like a 93
Nutty, cocoa, dark fruited, light oxidative. Needs its time to develop but post that was just a very good. Rich yet balanced, nice depth and length. Great value for money too. 91-92
Flight 4 - Casual dinner at Il Boscaretto Resort - http://www.ilboscaretoresort.it/ (3 notes)
To be honest ( much like the 2000 we tried earlier on the day - Papies 90) a little bit disappointed by it and given vintage and pedigree we expected a lot more. The nose was nice, with nice cherry notes, still very much on e fruit. But the on palate like the 2000 the fruit was dry with little presence and just made it feel ordinary. We wonder if it's an issue with the winemaking here or just our luck. 90
On the palate it has decent weight of fruit, nice rich core but also had a few dry notes, like sharp edges and we expected an overall more rounder feel from this wine. A year ago when we had this we rated it 93 and definitely that was a better experience . A good 91-92 this time.
Quite a bit of weight on the palate , nice dark fruits from nose to palate, light oak to complement, well round and silky. Could have use a bit more vibrancy but a very good 92 from us.
Flight 5 - Lunch at Antica Torrein Barbaresco - https://www.cellartracker.com/classic/editevent.asp (4 notes)
The best way to finish the trip and this beautiful gem of a trattoria in the middle of Barbaresco (opposite the Cantina dei Produtori) always delivers and along with Ciau is a must be visited place, year in, year out.
To be honest for a 2004 we expected a bit more fruit weight and depth by now. This was a bit linear and restrained, nice nose but on the palate it was not very giving and sort of felt closed. Not a bad wine but wanted/expected more. A good 89
Had a bit of struck match on the nose to start but then developed away from it showing pretty decent fruit. On the palate it had a good amount of fruit and albeit not the most complex and for a 2004 it could have had a bit more weight still this was a pretty good offering. a good 90.
Nice aromatics, well balanced and a very nice mouthfeel. Devout of overdone tricks and barrel abuse this barrel aged grappa was a perfect end to a beautiful 2015 Alba trip. We dnt rate spirits but if we did this would have been a 93
This felt to be in the right place, open and developed, with a nice core of fruit. Not rich per se but with good palate presence and nice ripe fruit. Tannin is starting to silken but its still firm. Good length too. A pretty wine. 91
Closing
Alla Prossima!