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La Festa del Barolo: Masterclass (and burgers)
The Pool/Grill
Tasted February 4, 2023 by MC2 Wines with 162 views
Introduction
A longstanding tradition of Festa which just celebrated 10 years. Amazingly all of the producers come and do a bit of a conversation about their wines/the year/the terroir/etc. We then taste through all of the most recent releases. This is followed by everyone splitting into lunch tables and a chance to continue to explore the barolos. Last year we started a new tradition to also bring champagne and I think that works quite well so we continued it this year.
Flight 1 (15 notes)
To be fair these were broken down into flights but I clumped them together thinking it was a bit easier.
Red
2018 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata
A pleasant surprise for me and a wine that makes me thinking that perhaps we should be making a visit here in a future trip. I mostly associate the winery with wines we bought from them back in the 60’s all of which have proven to be very strong and well-aged (in the back of my head I think just a splash of Barbera could have been part of it). This was a different animal entirely. All dark red fruits and soft and lighter bodied and a bit juicy and with that bit of lift. A great expression of Rocche which is a great La Morra vineyard and one to always keep an eye out for. Very nice and a good start.
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Red
2018 Elio Altare Barolo Unoperuno
Wine is of course as much about time and place and people as it is sometimes about the wine and the Silvia was just enchanting. She did an excellent job sharing the story and really helping you understand the idea of the one by one destemming process that goes into this wine. It sounds like an incredible labor of love and how can you not then love the wine that comes out of it. Darker fruits and a bit more floral. A bit more body and fullness. Drinks nicely. Another place that we’ve never quite made work that we should add to the line-up.
Red
2018 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barolo Vürsù Vigneto Campè
Here a bit of the oak (which also seemed to be just in the background of the Elio Altare as well). Comes across more as a drying tannin. There’s still some sweet red fruits and drinks ok now but seems to have the structure and the presence for more of a longer drinking window. A wine to check in again on 20-30 years.
Red
2018 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Aleste
With Luciano’s passing a few weeks ago it was amazing that the Sandrone’s made the event and I’d be surprised if there were many dry eyes in the house after they did their tribute to him. In our visits it is amazing the breadth of winemakers who talk about Luciano like the grandfather of Barolo. It seems he was always ready to lend a helping hand and play mentor and while the wines may or may not be the ones I love I do appreciate what influence he had. Reminds me of Robert Mondavi stories. For those who don’t know, this is the Cannubi Boschis renamed after Barb’s two children - Alessia (likely the future winemaker) and Stefano. It’s a charming story about a man who cares more about his family than trying to maximize the potential value of a label. The wine itself is a bit more of the modern style, some drying tannin here, a bit more heft to it. Give it a lot of time and perhaps we find that that style really does support the aging.
Red
2018 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
To be fair the problem with not blind tasting is this is a wine that I predicted could be one of the best of the tasting (it was up in the top group although not the winner). 85% Brunate and 15% Le Coste so while the label has changed it’s actually still the blend of always (perhaps a bit more Brunate and a bit less Le Coste). Interestingly enough it’s the Brunate vineyard from the Barolo side rather than La Morra. Very fruit fresh, black cherries, plum, lighter bodied in style. Drinks nicely.
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Red
2018 Oddero Barolo Brunate
A tough comparison on the back of the Rinaldi which also seems to retail for >2x the price point. Still this was fun to try. And not exactly the same Brunate as this is from the La Morra section of the vineyard. The smallest production of Oddero. Darker fruits, some black cherry. Missing the lift of the Rinaldi but a very solid example and still enjoyable.
Red
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Gramolere
I am noticing that there is a tendency on the nose for the very floral notes (which verge on the edge of handsoap to me). You can see some of the Monforte here but I can also I find some of the Verduno influence. It’s a bit lighter weight than some wines of that region. A bit more elegant in style. The person sitting next to me said he thought this had the most Burgundian influence on all of the wines. I can see that a bit as I look back across them.
Red
2018 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Villero
Another quite floral style of wine, some potpourri. Darker and brooding and while there is some freshness there there is also a clear request for more time. One of the new producers at Festa this year (and a visit we did a few years ago). Great family history of making wine.
Red
2018 Castello di Verduno Barolo Vigna Massara
Lots of floral (three wines in a row now with that very clear character). Somewhat lighter in style (makes sense compared to Villero which is much more intense). Opens up a bit with time and drinks well.
Red
2018 Paolo Scavino Barolo Monvigliero
Handsoap on the nose. So we are four for four with the strong floral character. The whole wine feels a bit like it is high intensity. Can see some similarities to others from the vineyard but just a bit on steroids.
Red
2018 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero
In my takeaways from Festa this year one of them is that Fabio is at this point making the most beautiful wines in Barolo. This was just awesome and it was interesting to see that at our little table of four all of us kept going back for me. It’s beautiful. There’s a lip smacking character that I do not normally get in wine that makes you want to be taking your next sip just as the last sip which somehow manages to linger despite the lightness of the wine is fading. It’s again some of that plum and peach style. Almost stone fruits. Not what I associate with the grape normally but it creates a bit more roundness to it and almost works to balance the just complete ethereal style. Elegant for sure. It’s a special wine as always and for me the obvious winner of the flight.
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Red
2018 E. Pira & Figli (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Mosconi
This is a producer I’ve really wanted to like but the extra oak has generally gotten to me and so it’s not always been my favorites. This though was a bit less intense in that manner. The first impression was cloves on the nose and then cloves on the palate. More herbal in style. Not nearly as intense as I remember the previous vintage being. Perhaps softening some.
Red
2018 Parusso Barolo Mosconi
A truly polarizing wine which you love or hate and I am in the former category. We visited this place last year and I found it fascinating how he thinks about the wine and while not all of the decisions he makes are ones that I super love (e.g. there is definitely new oak in here), there’s a lot to like. Esp the whole cluster cold room which lets the stems brown up a bit and then allows them to make everything (including the white wine) whole cluster. All of this means that there’s some citrus notes (interesting because there were fruit trees in the vineyards before the grapes) and to me almost a pomegranate or something similar going on. The fruit is more intense and deep but so are the more spicy notes. The owner is quite charming and a bit irreverent which came through more this year than in the past. He is clearly charting his own course and making the wine he wants to. Honestly, I applaud him for it. And I tend to like what they are doing. But I can understand if you are looking for a standard barolo that trying a Parusso might surprise you.
Red
2018 Piero Benevelli Barolo Mosconi
New producer for me and new producer for Festa but someone that we’ll keep an eye out for (surprising because it sounds like it is quite a large production spot). Bright and fruity and fresh in style. Very classic. Hard to compare this Mosconi to the Parusso as they are totally different but for the standard Barolo style I liked this a lot.
Red
2018 Vietti Barolo Cerequio
Interesting reading my previous note on this wine because I am getting something very different this time. Still a great wine - still get that cherry and bright fruits and loveliness but now the tannin is maybe a touch more pronounced and this wine is kindof a monster. Intense with elegance. Worth getting for sure. Interesting because I think this is the one wine that Luca will have made soup to nuts of this vineyard so likely to be something special.
Flight 2 (5 notes)
After the tasting there is the classic Grill burgers. We were quite excited to sit with Fabio again although it was a popular table - 17 of us in all! Lots of champagne flowing though to keep the afternoon going.
White - Sparkling
2018 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Millésimé Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules
From a magnum off the list at the Grill. It’s not often you get to drink Cedric Bouchard anymore these days so a real treat. No detailed notes, I just really liked the wine.
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White - Sparkling
2017 Bérêche et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Ludes Les Beaux Regards
Off the list at the Grill in magnum format as we were pouring a table of 17 people and that’s quite a lot! This poured a slightly darker color than some of the other ones that were more of that bright white-sunshine style. Still drank very well and while I didn’t take detailed notes I did notice the bottle did not last very long.
White - Sparkling
2016 Savart Champagne Grand Cru Haute Couture Le Mesnil
Just an embarrassment of riches in the Champagne world at lunch which perhaps makes sense since we only had one bottle and change of the barolo left and 17 people at the table so it did not get very far. This was drinking very nicely as well. A wine that captures your interest.
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White - Sparkling
2014 Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize
A producer I have been getting more and more into of late and so I’m excited that we’re planning a visit for April. This drank very nicely. Crisp and fresh and again that interesting that I always look for in a champagne. If you let the wine warm up in your glass does it taste like an interesting wine. The answer here is definitely yes.
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White - Sparkling
2018 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Blancs La Bolorée
Last bottle of a very long evening (at least for this event) but this is always just wonderful. It’s spicy and interesting and different and kindof jumps out at you while still being a softer and perhaps less rounded edges style. Really beautiful.
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Closing
Overall a very successful Festa weekend. We had a great time as always and learned a lot. Great to connect even more with the different producers. Antonio regularly talked about one the the things that makes the region truly great is that it is wine made by people and families and I tend to think he’s spot on with that. You can tell that this is a long standing tradition. It’s also interesting to see because really when I was born it would not have been a great calling to be born into a Piedmont wine making family. The region was very poor and the interest in the wine was more focused on Dolcetto than on Barolo. Of course today the times have changed and some of these producers are commanding quite extraordinary prices. Will be interesting to see how it continues to evolve. Also Luca’s last Festa which was a bit emotional. Looking forward already to next year!