Jay Kline

9.5

The Scavino family’s holdings in the Rocche dell’Annuziata MGA have always been quite special and at Paolo Scavino, it’s bottled as a Riserva. This 2016 was popped and poured and enjoyed over a several hour period. It pours a deep ruby with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of dark cherry, red roses, some tar, dried herbs, gentle warm spices and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. There’s wonderful concentration and the finish is grippy, long and delicious. As far as Riserva’s go, this is a winner. And, because this is a 2016, you can drink now (with some patience) if you wanna enjoy in its relative youth but this will undoubtedly last for decades.

Over the last 70+ years, Enrico Scavino was a force behind the family’s expansion in the Barolo region. And while he was never been shy about innovation (Enrico was one of the “Barolo Boys” after all), he was a bit more judicious with his use of new French oak; careful to ensure each vineyard’s story was being told. Increasingly, there has been an even greater lean towards a more traditional touch with less time spent in barrique (very little of it new) and more time spent in botti. And while the quality has never really been an argument, the results are evident in the glass and I’ve been impressed with the wine of the last several years. But I digress, the real news is that Enrico passed away in late February which means Piemonte has lost yet another legend.
— a month ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Gallinotto is an official vineyard located within the Giachini MGA. It’s notably unique due to its exposure and soil composition relating much closer to Rocche dell’Annunziata, just a bit lower in altitude. FWIW, I have found that the Barolo of Mauro Molino get more interesting with each passing vintage; presenting a really smart value.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over a two hour period. The 2019 “Gallinotto” pours a bright garnet with a translucent core and a slightly orange rim. Medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, developing with predominantly fresh red fruits: raspberries, cherries, strawberries with some pomegranate, roses, orange peel, gravely earth and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with sneaky high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is a very elegant expression; juicy with a lovely, slick texture. Power is not a word I would use here but it’s very attractive. Drink now and over the next 15 years. — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

The Bricat vineyard is a unique site located within the Gramolere MGA that just so happens to be planted to a healthy percentage of the rare Nebbiolo Rose. Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2014 “Bricat” pours a striking pale garnet color with an orange-ish rim and a transparent core. Medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears and no signs of sediment. On the nose a beautiful perfume of tart cherry, roses, tar, dried herbs and dried earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes on the nose. The finish is long, lovely. 2014 was a challenging year throughout Barolo but some producers were able to do quite a lot, despite the challenges. In those cases where hail didn’t annihilate the vines, their efforts in the vineyard to overcome the challenges associated with rain resulted in beautifully honest expressions of the terroir. The 2014 “Bricat” by the Manzone family is such an example. Drink now and through 2034 with ease.
— 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Figli Luigi Oddero, the Barolo producer in La Morra currently markets one Barbareso and all of the fruit comes from approximately 5 acres of vines they own in the Rombone MGA in Treiso.

Popped and poured. The 2018 “Rombone” pours a light ruby color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, this is developing and already very pretty with Luxardo cherry, pomegranate, red flowers, dried earth and mild spices. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and grippy. A lovely Barbaresco showing the elegance and juiciness of the vintage. Drink now and through 2038.
— 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Brought to V. Mertz from my cellar. Cascina Fontana is an ultra-traditional producer located in the commune of Castiglione Falletto; just across the border from Monforte d’Alba. The bulk of their holdings are western-facing parcels within the Mariondino MGA that were formerly part of the “Valletti Zone”. However, as an ultra-traditionalist, they only produce two Barolos and both are blends of fruit from different MGAs. One is labeled simply "Barolo" (which is a blend of fruit sourced from their holdings in both Castiglione Falletto and La Morra) and this wine, labeled under the “del Commune di Castiglione Falletto” designation. It is a blend fruit from Mariondino and the neighboring Villero MGA. Their holdings in Villero don’t suck either. Their parcels reside next to those of Vietti and Giacomo Fenocchio.

The 2016 Cascina Fontana pours a bright garnet with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity and no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous aromas of Morello cherry, bruised strawberry, pink and white roses with freshly cut stems, crushed rock and some tar. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. The texture? Simply divine. A debonair Barolo from Castiglione Falletto that paired well with Morgan Ranch wagyu tartar. Because it’s 2016 (and with a little Villero), you can drink now with patience and through…well…probably 2066. No cap. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

The “V.S. Caterina” is a single vineyard located in the southern most portion of the Lazzarito MGA, in Serralunga d’Alba. This is considered a monopole of sorts since Guido Porro is the sole producer from this vineyard. Geographically speaking, the holdings are ideal with great southwestern exposure, located close to the village of Lazzarito and right next to Vietti’s holdings.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over a period that lasted a couple of hours. The 2015 pours a bright, reflective ruby color with some hits of garnet towards the rim and a transparent core. Medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears and no signs of sediment. On the nose, ripe cherries, strawberries, loads of roses, dried green herbs, and gravely earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. Superb balance. I didn’t buy many 2015’s from Barolo or Barbaresco because I didn’t really like them on release and they didn’t seem to have structure to carry the day. And while the latter may yet be true for extended aging, the 2015’s have been strutting their stuff over the last year, showing off all their solar glory. Drink now and over the next 7 years with ease. — 5 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Cascina Ornato is located in the southern portion of Serralunga d’Alba, right along the ridge. The elevation is higher here and the Ornato MGA falls to the west and south from there. Ornato is nearly a monopole for Pio Cesare would it not be for a couple of parcels that are controlled by Palladino. This bottle of the 1982 was generously provided from the cellar of a good friend; it was opened and enjoyed over two days. On Day 1, half the bottle was poured into a decanter and served immediately. The color was a slightly hazy garnet with an orange rim. On the nose and the palate, the wine came across rather tired. It wasn’t dead…and it definitely wasn’t vinegar, it just was...a bit dull. Since there were other wines open that were showing very well, we let it sit. At the end of the night, we poured what was left back into the bottle and I elected to take it home; hoping that it might wake up overnight. On Day 2, the wine had transformed. The color had deepened and everything had brightened up! The nose is loaded with tar, desiccated red fruits, sweet pipe tobacco accompanied by porchini, forest floor and dried, cracked leather ball glove…like after pitching 6 innings of baseball in the middle of July (IYKYK). On the palate, the wine is dry with surprisingly vigorous structure! The tannins are more pronounced than they were the day before and there’s also great acid to give everything a buoyant lift and some youthful energy. The fruit and non-fruit notes from the nose are confirmed with an added element of red rope licorice. Somehow, this is younger today than it was yesterday. At forty years old, this bottle clearly needed time to stretch its legs. Drink now with several hours of air but remarkably well-cellared examples could last for many more years. An illuminating experience in so many ways!

Something worth noting: Pio Cesare did not begin bottling single-cru Barolo “Oranato” until 1985. Curiously, this bottle was labeled “Vino da Tavola del Piemonte”. I reached out to Pio Cesare in hopes of getting some additional information and they were very kind to share some helpful detail. It turns out this bottling was an idea from their former importer, Terlato, with grapes for this wine sourced by Cascina Ornato. It was a traditional blend of Nebbiolo and Barbera! A long time ago they had a small amount of Barbera planted there. Now, Ornato is more or less 100% Nebbiolo. The “Vino da Tavola del Piemonte” was a sort of predecessor to the “Langhe Rosso” designation since there were not many appellations back in those days. The more you know!
— a year ago

Jay Kline

9.1

BTG at Howard Street Wine Merchants. The 2017 Prapò pours a deep ruby with a garnet rim and a transparent, but nearly opaque core. Medium+ viscosity with no staining on the tears. On the nose, this was initially funky stewed cherries, Twizzlers and tar. The fruit profile seemed to freshen up with some air and along came a dozen dark red roses, leather, dried herbs, orange zest, and some asian spices. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Sometimes I wonder how certain 2017 Barolo’s will age, primarily due to the heat and solar nature of the vintage. This is one that has me scratching my head. Perhaps it’s the healthy southern exposure of the Prapò MGA? It’s drinking well now on the pop and pour but I’m curious how it will show towards the end of the decade? I say drink’em. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

I’ve been so looking forward to experiencing one of my bottles of the 2018 Margherita Otto and decided tonight was the night since it was -17°F here in Omaha. While a relative new-comer as far as Barolo producers are concerned, Alan’s approach leans heavily towards the traditional. Until now, his Barolo remains a blend of Nebbiolo from different communes in an effort to make a more complete expression of the zone. The first few vintages incorporated fruit from Monteforte, Serralunga and Castiglione Falletto. This vintage was the first to incorporate some fruit from the Vignane MGA in Barolo.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. There was some evolution but it was consistent, with no noticeable dip in enjoyment. The 2018 pours a deep ruby with a translucent core and a slightly garnet rim; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, youthful with a pleasant mix of red and black fruits: bright Morello cherry, strawberries, raspberries, Marionberries, pomegranate, roses, dried herbs, tar, orange peel and dry gravelly earth. On the palate, bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long with a touch of anise and red rope licorice thing. Just lovely and definitely a producer I'll be following. Drink now with some patience and over the next 20 years. Fewer than 4000, 750ml bottles were produced. — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Oh. My. Goodness. I recently made a comment on another tasting note for a 2018 Barolo; pointing out that great producers made killer, classic wines in 2018. This is an even more remarkable example. Popped and poured; consumed over two days. Day 1 had the most beautiful aromatics; Day 2 brought the power. Both brought illumination. This was my first experience with Olek Bondionio. The wine pours a gorgeous, pale garnet color with a transparent core. No obvious staining of the tears. Medium+ viscosity and no signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is intense. A mix of red and dark fruit: Morello cherry, blackberries and positively redolent of roses. There is more, however. Perfumed scents of cedar, dried green herbs and dry earth can be smelled from across the table as the wine sits in the glass. Seriously, my 16 year-old son asked what smelled so good from across the dinner table. I asked him to smell the glass and he said, “yep…that’s it!”. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes on the nose. On Day 1, the wine came across lighter and more Burgundian. On Day 2 it filled out; becoming darker…and bigger with an almost chewy texture. It finishes with a flourish and in a way that only Piemonte can do. It makes an impression. In this case, I’m now a fiend for it. This is a fabulous expression of the Roncagliette MGA. Drink now with patience or enjoy over the next 20 years. — a year ago