2012 Marcarini Barolo Brunate

Community Tasting Notes (15) Avg Score: 91.5 points

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  1/9/2024 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 90 Points

  My first Marcarini. I chided myself when, having bought this at auction some years ago, I discovered a local chain store stocked the maker. This boded ill, I felt. This is, of course, a bit silly, as whilst it is true that one is unlikely to find the unusual or challenging or truly excellent at this chain, it doesn't mean that they only stock rubbish or the anodyne. And is there such a thing as anodyne Neb?
  
  A maker with a long background in Barolo, well regarded for making traditional style wines (minimal new oak and long maceration etc.) and with some excellent vineyards, including the Brunate, a more muscular wine. 2012 was a tricky vintage, though not a disaster. I think the wine reflects all of the things noted.
  
  I enjoyed the cherry and rose petal fruits, the forest floor and earthy/tarry elements. You are getting very much the quintessential Neb characters here.
  
  The finish was a touch short and there was a slightly dilute aspect to the wine in the mouth, although one might also see that as a kind of elegance. It was not watery, however.
  
  The tannins are, of course, prominent. They sit well with a steak, but they lack the pleasure giving aspects of Barolo from the best years; I did not, however, see them as being hard or mean.
  
  Overall, a very good wine at the price and a very good effort for the vintage. I will probably look out for their work from better years as I suspect that in a vintage like 2016 or 2019 the QPR might be sensational.
  
  My own view on 2012 Barolo generally is that unless there is a special reason to buy one, it makes a lot more sense to go for 2011 or 2013, which are also widely available at auction and offer more prospect of really good drinking - I love the approachability of the 2013's, especially.

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  5/20/2022 - merdmark Likes this wine: 92 Points

  So wonderfully floral, with licorice, roses, herbs, cherries and much more. Impossible to get hold of here in Sweden, so I need to make another trip to La Morra. Had with ossobucco, which is probably what this wine was made for. I had registered this last bottle as a 2011 for some reason, otherwise it would probably have been laying down for another couple of years. However my only regret is that it is gone.

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  4/3/2022 - WAYupik wrote: flawed

  Corked

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  2/6/2022 - Winewhiskeyfood Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Opened bottle 2 hours of breathing
  Orange and bricking showing
  Mushrooms, earth, leather, roses and sarsaparilla following the red berry fruit
  Still lots of tannin but finishes very soft..
  Cold age a few more years, luckily I have another bottle

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  2/2/2019 - Winefornormalpeople Likes this wine: 95 Points

  The shining star of the evening. Smokey, perfumed like roses, with smooth but noticeable tannins. Excellent acidity. Gorgeous after 3 hours of decanting!! Perfect Barolo. Drinking well now. I need to get more of this.

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