Chinato up

Cappellano Barolo Chinato (Piedmont) – I admit to having, in the past, struggled with this construct’s occasionally overwhelming volatile acidity. It’s not absent here, but it’s under control, and the result is predictably gorgeous. Probably the best straight-ahead chinato I’ve ever had, in fact (there are variations on the theme that have been awfully compelling). Tannin, herbs both prosaic and exotic, a taste of Old Europe rent and torn by more than a touch of Southeast Asia. Fascinating, relentlessly complex, and utterly compelling. (10/11)

A tip of the Capp

Cappellano 1961 Barolo (Piedmont) – Some things transcend description not because of their inherent qualities but because of their unlikely reality. So it is with old wines. I mean, I love describing them – the longest note I’ve ever written was about a Vouvray of about this age – but when one has been lucky enough to have a fair number of such artifacts, the purpose of extensive notation becomes less clear. Because, really, how meaningful is the description? There’s almost none of this wine left, what’s left is incredibly expensive, and even if a bottle can be secured the likelihood of this bottle and another having much in common grows lower each year. So here, there’s a fragile, incredibly delicate wine of sweet berries and almost no remaining structure, and while that fragility shouldn’t be mistaken for decrepitude (it’s extremely intact, supple, and present), it’s certainly not going anywhere else worth waiting for. It’s a beautiful, beautiful old wine, with its diminishing bottle count reduced by one, but I enjoyed drinking it more than I’ve enjoyed writing about it. (8/11)

Making a Liste, checking it twic

Damilano 2005 Barolo Liste (Piedmont) – Roses – a surplus of them – with absolutely brutal tannin. There’s fruit, too: red cherry and strawberry. Also, bark and a cheese rind texture (not the spoilage or refermentation aroma, just a texture). Probably balanced in its idiom, but the twenty or so years likely required to bring the tannin down to something manageable…I just don’t know. I doubt there’s the complexity or fruit persistence to sustain that sort of timeframe. I guess we’ll see. (3/10)

Tippe Cannubi (and Tyler too)

Damilano 2005 Barolo Brunate Cannubi (Piedmont) – Even more muscular than the Cannubi, with a wallop of angular tannin, but better-balanced. Yet again there’s some syrup marking the midpalate, after which it finishes hard. Steroidal, and then dressed in designer duds. Will this ever be drinkable? And why the sheen in the meantime? (3/10)

Cannubi any more annoying?

Damilano 2005 Barolo Cannubi (Piedmont) – Laughing roses and the expected mass of structural tannin. Underneath, however, there’s a swell of New Worldish concentration that pretties this wine up a little more than is good for it. The finish returns to the hard, hard road Barolo often travels. There’s a good wine in here somewhere, but I don’t think it’s been dealt with as well as it might have been. (3/10)

Am I the Castiglione one?

Oddero 2001 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione (Piedmont) – Already fairly mature in some ways, with its soil turned pepper-powdery and the fruit having yielded to well-dried black roses. Old tar, laid long ago with aspiration, through a long-fallow field permeates both the tar and the structure. The finish is soil-derived but powdery. Very approachable, and despite all expectations I’d consider drinking this nowish. (3/10)

The Marchenasco of the shreves

Ratti 2001 Barolo Marcenasco (Piedmont) – Light and dirty, with a lift to it despite the dark-fruited, brooding core. Crushed flowers everywhere. This is still developing, and while there are prematurely mature elements present, the wine itself is still reasonably firm and grippy, and will need another five-plus years (at the very least) to yield its full range of aromatic complexity. (3/10)

But we will not count Le Coste

Rinaldi 1999 Barolo Brunate “Le Coste” (Piedmont) – Corked. (9/08)

A Marchesi shade of winter

Marchesi di Barolo 2003 Barolo (Piedmont) – Kind of a nebbiolo-bomb, full of appealing dark fruit and wrapped in a lush, almost gelatinous texture. A little overcooked, perhaps. It’s not what I think of as Barolo, but as a non-specific wine it’s tasty enough. (12/08)

Barale...oh, oh

Fratelli Barale 1967 Barolo (Piedmont) – Dark and dusty. Almost dead, but that last little bit that clings to life is interesting for its remaining but brief moments of existence. (6/08)

Pick six

Cavallotto 1990 Barolo Vignolo “Riserva” (Piedmont) – The only wine to directly flout the rules, and its aromatic beauty rather dominates the proceedings. Mixed red fruits and the usual crushed petals abound, but the wine is gentle and still seemingly holding its best in reserve. (9/08)

ca'mia, I've got something to show you

Brovia 1995 Barolo ca’mia (Piedmont) – Gorgeous. Roses, muscular tannin, and a huge core of dark but supple fruit. Complex. Still in its very early adolescence, but surprisingly drinkable now. (2/08)

Sacco & Vietti

Vietti 1997 Barolo Villero “Riserva” (Piedmont) – I’m not entirely sure I could identify this as Barolo or nebbiolo, if served from an unmarked container. However, some of the aromatics are definitely there – roses turning to potpourri, black minerality disintegrating into wet dust – along with dark chocolate and a concentrated, present-but-not-unpleasant cherry confiture spread over the top. There’s plenty of tannin, but it’s mostly ripe (though the tannin-averse should still avoid this wine), and very little acidity. If this note sounds conflicted, it is; based on the producer and vintage, I want to be more suspicious (or even cynical) than I am. But I do like the wine, as a beverage. Concerns about its typicity, or even its core philosophy, can wait for another day. (8/07)

George Brezza

Brezza 1996 Barolo Castellero (Piedmont) – Caramelized and dead. (4/08)

Sarmassa vecchio

Marchesi di Barolo 2000 Barolo Sarmassa (Piedmont) – Licorice espresso. Goregous and balanced. Still quite tannic and primary. Beautifully composed, with a long finish. Really, really nice. (2/08)

I'm very, very Sorì

Fantino Conterno 2003 Barolo Sorì Ginestra (Piedmont) – Pretty, leafy, and floral, with elegant spice and gravel. It’s very tannic (no surprise), but that’s the only real point of imbalance. (2/08)

Like a ton of Carobrics

Paolo Scavino 1999 Barolo Carobric (Piedmont) – Overextracted in every way. Actively offensive. (2/08)

Cia-cia-cia-ciabot

Silvio Grasso 2000 Barolo Ciabot Manzoni (Piedmont) – Gorgeous, silky tannin. Seductive and beautiful, maybe even a bit lush. More forward than I would expect at this stage. There’s a pleasant note of old cheese here, but there’s also a lot of wood. It’s a good wine, but it’s not really why I like Barolo. (2/08)

My private Piedmont

G&F Mascarello 2000 Barolo Monprivato (Piedmont) – Slightly sour, minty, and strange. Impossible to access right now, but I don’t much like what I’m tasting. (2/08)

Boxing Elena

Cogno 2001 Barolo Vigna Elena (Piedmont) – Very rosy, and quite tannic, but gorgeous throughout. Graphite, blackberry, and black cherry come the fore on the finish, which is, admittedly, a little odd. But it’s impossible to dislike this wine, and I’m not sure why one would try. (2/07)