Barolo

[pirate]

On a recent trip, the sommelier at a restaurant suggested a glass of Barolo. My experience in the past has been that it would be a big heavy tannic wine and I remarked to that effect. At the sommelier's urging I wnt ahead. It was a 1999 and very good, not at all like the few barolo's I've had in the past. I commented on this to a friend who is very knowledgable in Italian wines. He said that there was a modern style of barolo producing more forward wines. I'm interested in knowing which produceers make barolo in the modern style and which do not.

[Craig Camp]

I did a column on that last year:

Barolo Wars

[Craig Camp]

... oh, by the way, I like the traditional wines best.

[pirate]

Thanks, Craig: The article went right to the point. Although I have Italian wines in my cellar, I have no barolos. Among the barolo producers, I have some Giacosa barbarescos. But the most interesting item was that Roberto Voerzio, Domenico Clerico, Elio Altare and Luciano Sandrone

are the producers of barolo that I've singled out for barolo purchases and they are all in the modern camp. It would be helpful if you would comment on their wines.

[project]

Gee, the last Barolo in our wine tasting notebook was from Antiche Cantine and Tenvte Galarey, 1964. We paid $2.69 for 24 ounces or so in 1970. We liked it.

Although we have fewer details, we did have a Barolo from Clemente Guasti 1974. We drank it in a restaurant in 1983 and paid all of $13 for the bottle. We liked it.

Too bad since then the rest of the world has also discovered Barolo.

Okay, on the principle that in fact it is not so difficult to grow decently good wine and that there are many regions that can do so, what should we look to today for a good big red wine, dry, complex, not for the soda pop generation?

[Craig Camp]

Gee, the last Barolo in our wine tasting notebook was from Antiche Cantine and Tenvte Galarey, 1964.  We paid $2.69 for 24 ounces or so in 1970.  We liked it.

Although we have fewer details, we did have a Barolo from Clemente Guasti 1974.  We drank it in a restaurant in 1983 and paid all of $13 for the bottle.  We liked it.

Too bad since then the rest of the world has also discovered Barolo.

Okay, on the principle that in fact it is not so difficult to grow decently good wine and that there are many regions that can do so, what should we look to today for a good big red wine, dry, complex, not for the soda pop generation?

From the sound of those two Barolos perhaps you should give Barolo another try as I don't think they would have given you an understanding of what Barolo was then and most certainly what is now. They certainly weren't good enough to get you to taste Barolo many more times.

Yes, while "it is not so difficult to grow decently good wine" what is very hard to do is to make great wine - wine that is distinctive and that speaks clearly of the grape and vineyards where it was born. Barolo and Barbaresco are two of those wines. In only one little corner of the world does nebbiolo make great wine - wines far beyond and far more interesting than wines that are: "not so difficult to grow decently good wine". It is indeed difficult to grow and make fine nebbiolo wines.

[Craig Camp]

Thanks, Craig: The article went right to the point. Although I have Italian wines in my cellar, I have no barolos. Among the  barolo producers, I have some Giacosa barbarescos. But the most interesting item was that Roberto Voerzio, Domenico Clerico, Elio Altare and Luciano Sandrone

are the producers of barolo that I've singled out for barolo purchases and they are all in the modern camp. It would be helpful if you would comment on their wines.

Well these are the who's who of the modern school. All of their wines are excellent if you prefer that style - maybe even if you don't prefer that style. The prices are now outrageous on these wines as they have long been "discovered" and thus promoted by wine journalists for years. While I happily drink these wines I will admit I do not seriously collect them for long-term aging and feel that they are at their best between 8 or 9 years old and 15. Even modern Baroli are not for drinking young.

One of the best at combining the best of both the old and new styles is Conterno Fantino who makes wines that show some of the "forward" (forward for Barolo anyway) and the stuffing and character of more classic wines. Also quite good in the "in between" style is Einaudi and the new Tenimenti Fontanafredda selections - which are not to be confused with their regular bottlings.

[project]

Craig:

"From the sound of those two Barolos perhaps you should give Barolo another try as I don't think they would have given you an understanding of what Barolo was then and most certainly what is now. They certainly weren't good enough to get you to taste Barolo many more times."

Naw, we thought that these two Barolo wines were terrific and that the prices were fine. Those two Barolo bottles were nearly as much fun as things from the Cote d'Or or Haut Medoc. In those years, we drank a bottle of wine maybe once each two months or so. Those two bottles are the only two we kept notes on; we drank more bottles of Barolo than just those two but not many more than a dozen. We just didn't drink a lot of wine. I still have a few bottles left from a case of Mosel I got before 1970! I hope Mosel keeps well!

"Yes, while 'it is not so difficult to grow decently good wine' what is very hard to do is to make great wine - wine that is distinctive and that speaks clearly of the grape and vineyards where it was born. Barolo and Barbaresco are two of those wines. In only one little corner of the world does nebbiolo make great wine - wines far beyond and far more interesting than wines that are: 'not so difficult to grow decently good wine'. It is indeed difficult to grow and make fine nebbiolo wines."

Sounds like we quickly got badly spoiled! It was easy: In the 1960s and 1970s, we were near DC, got

Frank Schoonmaker, 'Schoonmaker's Encyclopedia of Wine', Hastings House, New York, 1968.

and went shopping for wines in Georgetown and a few other places.

So, we just took Schoonmaker to wine stores, flipped through the book, looked at the bottles, concluded that with food (except desserts) dry was better than sweet, that the Haut Medoc could taste too much like flint or licking dusty windows and preferred the reds from the Cote d'Or and Rhone Valley, also noticed the Piedmont and the Nebbiolo, some Chianti wines, and thought that wines were fun! I later read two of Wagner's books on wine making but concluded that just Schoonmaker had gotten us a good introduction to some good wines quickly.

Could get a 1964 Pommard for $5! Got a nice case of Macon Blanc for the price of 11 bottles at $1.29 a bottle.

Yup, we were spoiled! Now those wine writers have told everyone! Now the Cote d'Or and Piedmont will really set you back!

Our view of what can be done with the Nebbiolo was likely a bit meager: Besides enjoying Asti Spumanti as a dessert wine, when we were drinking Barolo wines, we did hear that some were old and great. We may never have drank any of those.

Still, we had enough from the Cote d'Or to have some decent idea what a great bottle of wine was like, and the better Barolo wines we had really were nearly as good. So, there were lots of complex flavors, lots of flavor in total, good balance of flavors, and some fantastic aromas after maybe 30 minutes in a glass.

So, even the modern Barolo wines should be maybe more than 10 years old. Hmm!

So, we were spoiled and can't take wines as good as Barolo for granted or expect that we will easily see something comparable from the Nebbiolo from, say, the former Yugoslavia, Georgia, South America, Australia, etc. Bummer!

Thanks for your terrific detailed up to date guide to Barolo! I put a copy in a file in a directory I will have no trouble finding later! Your review of Barolo gave me another good reason to make a lot of money! eG and the Internet win again!

[Poots]

Saw a bottle of 1989 Vigna La Delizia Fontanafredda in my local wine store for around $45. Is that a good price for this wine? Worth a try? Appreciate your input.

[Craig Camp]

Saw a bottle of 1989 Vigna La Delizia Fontanafredda in my local wine store for around $45.  Is that a good price for this wine?  Worth a try?  Appreciate your input.

Fontanafredda has been reborn because a huge infusion of capital from an Italian banking group who purchased the estate. I have not tasted this wine and it was produced before everything was modernized. Considering that bottle has been bouncing around the market for many years in questionable storage conditions I would be hesitant to drop $45 on it.