G.D. Burlotto Barolo

The Rare Wine Co. set up this dinner focusing on the Barolos of G.B. Burlotto. The official name of the winery is Azienda Agricola Comm. G.B. Burlotto, where "Comm." is an abreviation of "Il Commendatore" ("The Commander" in English), and "G.B." stands for "Giovan Battista". Il Commendatore Giovan Battista Burlotto was the highly respected founder of this winery and its winemaker for 77 years: 1850 until his death in 1927.

The guest of honor was the winemaker, Fabio Alessandria. Fabio is the son of the owner, Marina Burlotto, the Commander's great-niece, and her husband, Giuseppe Alessandria, who is responsible for the vineyards.

The food at Del Posto was excellent and well-matched to the wines except a couple of dishes that had too much hot spice for these wines. The service was excellent. All the wines were opened and double-decanted between 5 and 6pm. The dinner started around 7:45 and lasted till about 10:30pm.

• 2007 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Relatively light and bright color compared to the 2006 and the Cannubis. Lovely, complex nose. Rich, elegant wine. Tannic, but riveting sweet fruit on a very long finish. Classic!

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• 2007 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Classic floral Cannubi nose. Less tannic than the 07 Monvigliero, more sweet in the front. More pleasure sooner. 92-94 points.

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• 2006 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Muted nose of intense red fruit. Much sweeter and concentrated than the 2007. Harder to judge at this stage. 92-? points.

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• 2006 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Another gorgeous floral nose, but the palate is waxy and spicy in a weird way. Seems more like a Rhone. VA maybe? NR

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• 2005 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Beautiful nose. Very balanced and harmonious. Elegant and perfumed. Quite classic. Much more similar to the 07 than the 06. 93-94 points.

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• 2004 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Muted, highly structured. Fairly shut down at this point, but the potential is obvious. Someday, this wine may well be better than any of the preceding. 94-96 points.

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• 2004 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Much tighter nose than previous Cannubis. Quite thick and rich in the mouth. Needs 5 years.

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• 2003 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Lovely nose. Surprisingly structured. Not overdone or overripe like so many 03s. Fabio says that only the grapes from the very old vines went into this wine, something like 30-40% of the harvest only.

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• 2001 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Stunning, expansive. Elegant tannins. Great length. Wow! 94-97 points.

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• 1996 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Seems off. Hard to tell if it is the bottle or the wine. Seems cooked. NR

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• 1995 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Elegant long. First wine with a sign of olives, the typical signature of Monvigliero. Vibrant and beautiful tonight.

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• 1989 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 96 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [From double magnum.] Classic 1989 nose of earth and tannin. Huge, structured, massively tannic. So young from 3 liter bottle. Wish I had one of these to put down for another decade or so.

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I drank these in the reverse order from the way they were served.

• 1964 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo 88 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Sweetly maderized nose. Juicy and over the hill, but gently over the hill. Still appealing but drink up!

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• 1967 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Totally maderized and quite unpleasant.

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• 1985 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [From double magnum.] Smokey nose. Young, ripe, smooth. Lovely and youthful. I suspect 750s of this are quite ready, but this is still too young in 3 liter.

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Fabio Alessandria and his parents are making some terrific wines at Burlotto which would honor the Commander! One fascinating aspect to this tasting is that the Monvigliero and the Cannubi are made in a similar manner, but are very different wines. It is also clear that Fabio and Monvigliero do very well in lesser vintages.