2008 Barolo Tasting
Tasted Sunday, August 25, 2024 by rmcl92 with 307 views
Introduction
For this gathering our group decided on a theme of 2008 Barolo, as we'd gathered earlier this year to taste a bunch of 2010s and wanted to see how the '08s compared. We ended up opening 13 different '08s.
In short, we found the 2008s to be aging more variably than the 2010s, and the highs were not quite as high. But most of the wines were quite good and the vintage appears to be faring much better than 2006 or 2007.
Some takeaways:
1. The best wines of the vintage still have that really sweet, candy like fruit and floral nose, often with a bit of an exotic citrus / tropical fruit like top note. The aromatics on the best wines were stunning. This is consistent with the initial reviews of the '08s / our past experience.
2. Compared to 2010, the wines lack a bit of intensity in all dimensions except perhaps aromatics. They tend to be a bit lighter in body - there's a bit less acid / structure. Feels like there is less tannin on average. There's less complexity, I thought, even in the best wines - i.e. the Bartolo '08 was extremely seductive, but didn't seem to have quite the depth of the '10 Bartolo....the '08 Rinaldi Brunate was super sweet and intoxicating, but kind of one-note compared to the '10 Brunate.
3. One of the disappointments was the '08 Conterno Francia, a wine for which I've read mixed to negative tasting notes over the years. We opened two bottles, the first of which had a grassy, very odd aromatic profile. The second was clean and a solid wine, but below what one would expect for Conterno in a vintage like this, lacking vibancy of fruit. I've found previously that the Conterno Francia is in my opinion nowhere near the level of the Monfortino, especially in the 2000s vintages. Even in 2010, we found the Monfortino much more open and giving than the Francia, which was quite austere. But in 2008 I wonder if something went wrong with the Francia bottling or import to the U.S., because even the cleaner bottle (both bottles were bought on release, from different sources) was unimpressive. Meanwhile, the '08 Monfortino is an incredible wine in my experience and I think would have been the best wine of the tasting if we'd included it.
4. Bottle to bottle variability in Barolo continues to, anecdotally, be frustratingly high. The two Francia bottles were quite different despite perfect corks, both bought on release. The '08 Vajra was unimpressive in the tasting (bottle bought on release), but the bottle I opened from my cellar when getting back home today was better. The '08 Monprivato in the tasting was unimpressive, but I've had an excellent bottle of it 2 years ago. The Sandrone Le Vigne was also probably a bad bottle.
For the Sandrone Le Vigne and Monprivato, presumed to be bad bottles and unrepresentative, I did not post tasting notes.
2008 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 97 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Bartolo was incredible, in line with my past experience. The nose was very perfumed with sweet red berry fruit, mint, dark red roses and violets, all with a candy like sweetness. It's textbook 2008 Barolo. On the palate, the wine shows a similar profile, with a mass of super sweet red fruit, red florals, and mint, medium in body, with very smooth, almost imperceptible tannins. I think it lacks the complexity of flavor profile and the concentration of the 2010, but the sweetness of the fruit and aromatic intensity are exactly what I was hoping for. This seems like a wine you could decide to drink now or age for a long time. It's fresh and vibrant and the flavor profile is still quite primary.
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2008 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 95 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Rinaldi Brunate showed similarly to the bottles I've had in the recent past, and it was super attractive, but kind of one-note and almost too sweet and ripe for its own good. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and am rating it highly. But the combination of the newer Giuseppe Rinaldi style and this vintage could be too much for some folks.
On the nose, I found super sweet, candied red fruit and red floral tones, exotic tropical fruit notes, sweet spice, and a touch of a darker, more rustic balsamic note. On the palate, the wine is a perfect example of '08 Barolo, medium in body and not as concentrated as other great vintages, but with incredible sweetness and finesse. I found the wine to have relatively high acidity compared to the others as well as showing the most sweetness of fruit, sort of candied in tone, and that combination is dramatic. To me, this wine doesn't feel like a Beppe Rinaldi wine, but it's delicious.
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2008 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti)
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Rupestris was also exactly what I hoped for, while being a bit less electric than the Bartolo - it's more austere, more in need of time perhaps. I found the Cappellano to have arguably more complexity to the flavor profile, with some leather and iron notes alongside the core of red fruit and floral tones. On the palate, the wine is quite primary and fruit forward at this point, and is medium in body with fine grained tannins, a bit less smooth than the Bartolo at this stage but very approachable. The '08 Rupestris was also less interesting than the '10 in my view, again just lacking the complexity / concentration of the '10, but it's a damn good wine and should improve from here.
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2008 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Rocche 95 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Brovia was beautiful, again just a textbook '08. The whole Rocche flight was impressive. The nose here was dark fruit, violets, dark floral notes, and spices with an intense sweetness. On the palate, the Brovia was medium plus in body, one of the more concentrated wines I thought, but with the tannins still really refined and smooth. On the palate, the same intense sweetness of fruit comes through as did in all the great wines of the vintage.
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2008 Vietti Barolo Rocche 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Vietti Rocche is a great wine in the making, in need of time a bit more than most others I thought. I found it a bit more muddled, with a touch of oak influence, than the more recent vintages of Vietti, but it's still excellent. The nose showed really sweet dark red fruit, sweet spice and anise, with a hint of oak, while on the palate this was medium plus in body, one of the more concentrated wines. The tannins are fierce and I think this calls for another 5-10 years for them to integrate.
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2008 Oddero Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Oddero Rocche was probably the big positive surprise of the tasting. None of us had tasted Oddero from this time period, and we expected a rustic wine. Instead, this was exotic, intensely perfumed, and elegant. The nose showed tropical fruit tones, candied red floral notes, and red berry fruit. On the palate, it's medium in body, and again really sweet and exotic with red and citrus fruits. The tannins were quite refined and this was very drinkable, and it's hard to imagine it getting better for my tastes.
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2008 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Acclivi 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Acclivi opened with exotic, whole cluster like aromatics, with lots of exotic spice and a bit of funk. I don't believe there is actually any use of whole cluster on this wine, but blind I would have said there was. I found red strawberry fruit, mint, herbal and exotic spice notes, red florals, and a bit of funk. On the palate, the Acclivi was really fresh and vibrant, with medium plus acidity, while the tannins were already well integrated. The palate was also dominated by the red strawberry fruit, a very different fruit tone than the other wines.
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2008 G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
At the tasting , the '08 BDV we opened was disappointing. It was bought on release, the cork was perfect looking, and the color of the wine was youthful, but the wine seemed tired and lacking the vibrancy and sweetness this wine showed a few years ago. Upon arriving home today, I opened a different bottle that was much better. The second bottle showed dark red cherry and plum fruit, dark red floral notes, orange peel, menthol, and anise, with that sweet and somewhat exotic profile common to the '08 vintage. On the palate, the wine is medium in body and maybe shows a bit less complexity than the aromatics, but it is super finessed with perfectly integrated tannins and the fruit is beautifully sweet.
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2008 Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Grasso seems like it's going to age into a nice Barolo, but I found it a bit difficult to approach right now. There is a lot of fruit in this wine, but I find quite a bit of oak influence in the aromatics that is distracting. I know that this wine doesn't actually see new wood, but supposedly Grasso strips the barrels in between uses. I find these oak-like notes to be more apparent on the Casa Mate than the Gavarini. Personally, I prefer the Gavarini and find it fresher and more transparent, and I prefer the red fruited profile of Gavarini over the dark fruit and balsamic profile of the Casa Mate. The '08 Casa Mate showed intense dark red to black fruit, sweet oak notes, balsamic, black tea, and dark floral tones. On the palate, this is an intense wine, with waves of dark fruit and balsamic, high acidity, and plenty of tannin that is in need of time to integrate. It's possible with another 5-10 years of aging, I'd rate this meaningfully higher.
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2008 Azelia Barolo Margheria 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The Azelia Margheria was enjoyable, although it was a bit muddled and simple compared to the best wines. I found red cherry fruit, tobacco, spice, and red floral notes on the nose. On the palate, it's medium to light in body with smooth tannins, not showing a ton of complexity, but enjoyable.
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2008 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
As described in the tasting story, bottle #1 of the Francia seemed flawed, with what I would describe as green grass like notes in the aromatics distracting from whatever else was there. Bottle #2, from a different source, was clean, but lacked vibrancy. I found dark red fruit, tar, black tea, and a hint of balsamic and roasted meat notes, a really dark, meaty, and savory wine, lacking the intensity of fruit common in the best '08s. On the palate, the wine has incredibly high acidity, seemingly out of balance with the rest of what is there. I found licorice, black tea, tar, and a bit of shrill dark red fruit. I love the '08 Monfortino, and that is a wine I've found to be full of exotic fruit like the other great '08s. I don't understand what's going on with the Francia if this bottle was representative.
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