Seattle Tasting Group does Barolo and Barbaresco (no April Fool's here)

It was my turn to host the self-proclaimed Seattle Tasting Group, and for a theme I wanted to visit a region that we hadn't really visited in our 2+ years of tasting, the wines of Piedmont. Most folks have a few bottles in their cellar, but only a couple of folks really professed to know the region well. It was an educational tasting focused on Barolo and Barbaresco. When I picked the theme, I also couldn't help but think of Ben Smith and Gaye McNutt who in addition to running Cadence Winery are the biggest Nebbiolo-heads that I know. I invited them along as special guests, a nice surprise for folks to get to meet them and chat about wine.

The wines were tasted double-blind (except each attendee knew what they brought).

We started with a white wine from the region as we milled about, munched cheese and waited for everyone to arrive.

• 2003 Tre Donne Roero Arneis

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero

  The nose is floral and surprisingly flamboyant with peach and pear notes. The palate is fairly simple yet clean with nice acid.

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Our first flight of reds featured our oldest oldest wines. These definitely showed that a decade really helps to soften these tough, tannic wines into something quite interesting, but clearly these were at most middle-aged. None of these were barnburner wines, yet all were interesting and enjoyable.

• 1993 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  This was at its best right when it was first poured with a masculine "oh my" nose of tar, pine needle and soaring notes of violet. However, this didn't do very well in the glass, as it tended to shut down aggressively with aeration and the nose reverted to duskier notes of mushroom and underbrush. The palate is swimming in asphalt notes, powerful, coursing with tannins, almost majestic in its structure yet largely closed. My initial score on this was 93, but the longer I sat with it the more it fell off.

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• 1993 Giacomo Brezza e Figli Barolo Cannubi 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  For most if not all tasters, this was the wine of the flight. When it was first poured I was worried, as it seemed to be oxidized with clear notes of rusty iron and underbrush. However, the more air the wine had the better it showed with very clear notes of rose petals emerging. At first the palate showed nice acid but seemed to lack the depth of the Giacomo Conterno. However, as this aerated it became more impressive with a lovely sweetness and delicacy on the mid palate, perhaps from a tiny bit of madeirization. The finish was very persistent with sneaky tannins that started to show up over time. Very nice.

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• 1995 Giacomo Brezza e Figli Barolo 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  The nose is floral with mineral and some spicy notes of cinnamon. The palate is very round and lush, surprisingly approachable, bright with nice notes of black cherry fruit.

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As we poured this next flight, I slipped into the kitchen for a 20 minute workout regimen as I stirred up a huge pot of mushroom (shiitake and black trumpet) risotto. Dressed with just a hint of white truffle oil, it was fascinating to see how well this worked with the wines and helped to soften their tannic edge. This next flight featured mid to late 90's Barolo.

• 1996 Prunotto Barolo Bussia 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Wow, a lovely nose of tar, licorice, and rose, textbook young Barolo. The palate is very structured, almost chewy. A cedary spiciness emerges on the finish. I loved this!

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• 1997 Prunotto Barolo Bussia

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  This was a disappointing showing for a wine that I have enjoyed before. Very little on the nose at first, but on a fresh pour there are notes of ripe, nearly rotting, plums. The palate is loaded with extract and structure to match, but this seems a bit ungainly and awkward. Others liked it a lot less. I would have scored it an 88, but I am reserving a score since I think the bottle was flawed or off in some way.

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• 1997 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 83 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  This was my least enjoyable wine of the flight. The nose was sweet like too much raspberry jam, simple, cloying. The palate is candied, monolithic, too sweet. There is a nice core of pure fruit, but this just doesn't show the structure and focus of the other wines.

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• 1998 Luigi Pira Barolo Marenca 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Wow, this was my favorite wine of the flight. There was some clear oakiness on the nose, but it was drowned out by lusciously rich notes of tar, pine and mineral. The palate is awesomely structured, probably the best structure of any wine in the tasting, just a huge, broad-shouldered wine, chewy, tannic, with great depth and dimension. Yum!

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Sated with risotto, we moved onto the last flight of explosive, young Barbaresco. As the host I contributed a horizontal of the 2000 La Spinetta Barbaresco. Even with really aggressive decanting, these still needed more air. My day 2 samples of the leftovers showed a lot of improvement, and these are clearly wines that need some time to fully absorb the aggressive oak regimen.

• 2000 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Vürsù Vigneto Gallina 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  The nose on this was a bit off-putting with some notes of pickle, rhubarb and caramel. The palate was the real deal, loaded with tar with gorgeous focus and structure. Sweet tannins round out the gripping finish. This one needs some time to integrate its wood.
  DAY 2: Ahh, what a difference a day makes, as now those Gallina raspberries are singing along with faint notes of espresso and soy sauce. The palate is a bit more muddled than the Valeirano or Starderi though with a slight 'stewed' quality. The tannins are very present and very aggressive, somewhat chalky and tough. This is my least favorite of the troika.

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• 2000 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Vürsù Vigneto Starderi 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Wow, this is a serious young wine, and on this night it was the unanimous favorite among all 8 tasters of the 2000 La Spinetta Barbarescos. I'm going to have a hard time not popping my other bottle soon, as this is at a gorgeous point in its young life. The nose soars from the glass with crushed raspberry, violet and rose, very high-pitched. The palate is simply awesome, loaded with structure and pure, sweet fruit, impeccably balanced, yet still brawny and powerful.

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• 2000 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Vürsù Vigneto Valeirano 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Like the Gallina, there are some green notes on the nose, although this is more brackish with seaweed. Like the other La Spinetta Barbaresco's, the palate is impeccably structured.
  DAY 2: I saved the leftovers overnight, and WOW what a difference. The nose is loaded with smoky tar with the wood finally integrated and the green just a faint herbal note in the background, now rather attractive. The palate shows amazing structure, not as lush or giving as the Starderi or Gallina but very attractive for its sheer power.

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• 2001 Cantina del Pino Barbaresco Ovello 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  I didn't take any notes at the tasting on this wine, but I recall that it clearly held its own againt the La Spinetta troika and if anything distinguished itself with its focus and structure.
  DAY 2: One advantage of hosting is that all of the leftovers stay with you, so fortunately I was able to pour a glass 12 hours later and give this another try. The initial impression is slightly roasted with earthy scents, roasted nuts, and a hint of leafiness. The palate is gorgeously pure with nearly unforgiving acidity, much more traditional than the plush, extracted La Spinetta wines. This will clearly reward time in bottle, but it is already beautiful as a young wine, a real celebration of Nebbiolo.

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It was getting late, so we moved onto a lovely Moscato to clear our palates and then an enjoyable, young vintage port that Roy had brought.

• 2003 Tre Donne Moscato d'Asti 86 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Moscato d'Asti

  Ahh, what a breath of fresh air. After all of the tannic reds this was so approachable, so clean and so delicious. This is everything you would want from a Moscato, crisp, lightly sweet, exposing a little bit of minerality.

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• 1995 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Silval 90 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  This is a fantastic young port which Roy picked up for a song at $19.99 if I recall correctly. The nose sings of violets and shows no heat. The palate clearly shows some spirit left to resolve, but this youngster is already a delicious, primary mouthful. Medium weight for a vintage port, this is is very pretty with chalky minerality to go along with the violets. Quite enjoyable.

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