Canonica Barolo

A group of Neb Heads (most of them from the Nebbiolo group formed through the Vinous forum) met to check out the wines of Giovanni Canonica.

Photos and more details can be found on my website.

• 2015 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Grinzane Cavour 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted around 8am.] Lovely perfume of roses and tar and red fruit. Fine and delicate. Long and complex. Just a beautiful wine to drink tonight.

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• 2016 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Grinzane Cavour 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted around 8am.] More black fruit with the same tar and roses as the 15. Richer, darker more black fruit and structure in the mouth typical of 2016 vs 2015. Has a way to go to reach its peak, but enjoyable now. 94-96

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• 2006 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Paiagallo Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted at 1pm.] Nose is pure green. Delicate, light, sour. Not drinkable.

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• 2008 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Paiagallo Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted for a half hour around 8am.] Muted nose of black fruit. Backward black fruit is giving nothing. Some say it's mildly corked or oxidized. Hard to believe this is the 2008 at its best.

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• 2010 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Paiagallo 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted for a half hour around 8am.] Gorgeous nose of black fruit and licorice. Rich juicy super long finish of complex black fruit and spice. 95-97 My WOTN.

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• 2012 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Paiagallo 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted for three hours around 3pm.] Gorgeous nose of flowers and red fruit. Open and ready. Long, rich, impressive. A terrific 2012.

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• 2014 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Paiagallo 88 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted for three hours around 3pm.] Black fruit and roses. Tart, medium length. The least of the non-defective wines tonight.

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• 2015 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Paiagallo 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted for three hours around 3pm.] Muted nose of ripe red fruit. Stunning in the mouth with lots of ripe fruit and a long finish. Expansive and a joy to drink tonight. Less delicate than than the 2015 Grinzane Cavour, but similar in its openness and pleasure tonight. My #2 WOTN.

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• 2017 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Paiagallo Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Double-decanted for three hours around 3pm.] Slightly sour fred fruit nose. Tart and thin in the mouth. Hard to know what to think of this. I'm going to assume a flawed bottle.

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• 2019 Giovanni Canonica Barolo Paiagallo Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Opened about 6pm. Tasted around 8:30pm.] Overwhelming acetone in the nose and mouth. Sad. This vintage should be great.

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A real mixed bag. When these wines are good, they are really good, but we had just too many flawed bottles. Four out of ten defective is not good.

As Iggy said, "The extreme bottle variation, which is endemic with this producer, was much more tolerable when I was buying the wines for $65 to $70 per bottle,... [but] when the price hit the $200 range, I bowed out, even though I do enjoy the wines when they are on. But if only half of the bottles are good, you are effectively paying $400 per good bottle, which is too much."