MORE PIEMONTESE WINES

CAVALLOTTO

The Cavallotto family has been farming some prime vineyards in the Barolo area village of Castiglione Falletto.  We've known this family for many years, finding their wines to be quite good in the so-called "smaller" vintages and rising to levels of importance in the bigger years. 
Virtually anyone in the Langhe region will concede, for example, that Cavallotto made "the best" Barolo in 1979, a "good vintage."

Yet they've worked in the shadows of their more promotion-savvy neighbors, selling their wines for fair prices and not tooting their own horn about it.
They have about 25 hectares, with 23 being vineyards. 

The property had been acquired in 1928 by Giacomo Cavallotto and his grandsons began making wine in just after World War II.

This estate's terroir is exceptional.  
It's part of the secret of many wines from Castiglione Falletto.  The vineyards combine the two famous soil types of Barolo.  To the west you have the Tortonian soils of Barolo and La Morra...to the east you have what has been called Helvetian soils...these "meet" in Castiglione Falletto.

 

 

 

 

 

The old line-up.


Today's portfolio of Cavallotto wines...

 

 

We remember being introduced to them ages ago.  One of their neighbors hooked them up with a crazy and enthusiastic American importer...he was of Italian heritage and he was a real character.  We suppose that was how we got introduced to the family (back in the early 1980s)...

Cavallotto had flown under the radar back in those days.  They made wines of really good quality, but brothers Olivio and Gildo were not skilled at promoting their wines.  They were farmers and winemakers, not marketing guys.
They let their wines speak for themselves and, for those who recognized good quality, Cavallotto was a name worth knowing.

Olivio's children began working in the family business in towards the end of the 1980s and today Alfio, Laura and Giuseppe run the place.

They remain staunchly making traditionally-styled wine.  

I was a bit concerned when I noticed they'd signed up with Marc de Grazia, a fellow whose stable of (excellent) producers leans heavily on the use of French oak.
"How many French oak barrels did you have to buy?" I inquired.
"None." said Alfio Cavallotto.
"Zero? Zip?? Nada??? Niente????" I asked.
"None."
"Good...I'll be disappointed if you do."

 

 

 

So, Cavallotto continues to produce "traditional" style Barolo. 

 

 

 

 

 

We currently have a few bottles of the 2016 Barolo "Bricco Boschis."
This is from an especially cellar-worthy vintage and Cavallotto routinely makes wines which demand some bottle aging.
There's a touch of a dried cherry element with a suggestion of a floral undertone.  You might detect a hint of a resiny element, as well.
This will likely start hitting its stride in 2025, or so and probably can go another 10-20 years after that.

Currently in stock:  2016 CAVALLOTTO BAROLO "Bricco Boschis"  SALE $99.99  (last bottles)

We were invited to a lovely vertical tasting of Cavallotto wines going back to the 1971 vintage...these age rather handsomely and the 1971 was simply a model of perfection.

Laura Cavallotto

We attended a tasting in Italy and each winery had an oak barrel as the "table" to present the wines.
I immediately had to take a photo of Alfio Cavallotto...

"Finally," I explained, "I have the only photo of Cavallotto using a barrique."

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SAN FEREOLO

The Piemonte region called Dogliani is south of the Barolo-producing area and it's famous for its Dolcetto wines.

There are many good producers of Dolcetto in Dogliani, though we must confess we're often more charmed by good examples from the Barolo environs.

Since the region is famous for its Dolcetto, it would appear as though we've missed the boat by being so enchanted by a wine of Dogliani that's made of Barbera.

But this is not just any Barbera.

First, the San Fereolo winery is run by a force of nature who's been at the helm since the early 1990s.  Her name is Nicoletta Bocca, daughter of a fellow who fought with American and British troops during World War II.  Giorgio Bocca was also, later, a founder of the newspaper La Republica.

 

 

 

Nicoletta moved from Milano to Piemonte knowing nothing about winemaking or grape-growing, but she fondly recalls the family trips to the Langhe in her father's pursuit of good Barolo.  

She currently has about 12 hectares of vines, focusing on Dolcetto, of course, but dabbling with Nebbiolo and Barbera.  And she even grows a tiny bit of Riesling and Gewürztraminer!

 

We're big fans of a wine she calls Austri.   It's a Barbera that's intensely soulful.  Nicoletta makes the wine in a patient and thoughtful manner.  It's not rushed to market, but given time in wood to develop and then, once bottled, it slumbers a few years before being released at a point when it's just coming out of its hibernation.

We currently have the 2009 Austri and we think the wine is entirely Barbera, though earlier vintages had a small percentage of Nebbiolo.  This is a wine which starts off nicely and it just seems to get better and better as the bottle becomes emptier and emptier.

There's an underlying red fruit tone here and the fragrances might be mistaken for a Nebbiolo with some age to it.  There's ample acidity and a lack of tannin, yet it still has good structure and palate-cleansing features.

We'd suggest decanting it and leaving it to breather for an hour, but it's really interesting to watch its evolution in the glass, so simply open it and pour.

Currently in stock:  2009 SAN FEREOLO Langhe Rosso "AUSTRI"  $31.99

Someone, clearly, spends time in the vineyards...rain or shine!

Is there a pot of gold at the end of that Dogliani Rainbow?

There's a small chapel on the property.

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ETTORE GERMANO

Sergio Germano is the winemaker for this small family estate in the Barolo sub-area called Serralunga. He had worked, for a number of years, at the Fontanafredda winery.  After that, he's been at the family estate, with his wife Elena, in the areas of Cerretta and Prapò, north of the town of Serralunga.

The red wines from this site tend to be structured for extended cellaring.  

He also has a vineyard site in Cigliè, about a 15 minute minute ride south of Serralunga.  It's a higher elevation location and cool enough to cultivate Riesling with success.

 

Barolo here is quite good and traditionally-styled, but made with modern sensibilities.  Sergio's wines have become more polished and complex over the past decade and he's a guy who's earned the respect and admiration from his neighbors (and competitors) as you will hear if his name comes up in conversation.

 

Elena and Sergio are the wife and husband team that make the Germano winery a leader in the Langhe region.

 

 

The cellars have been remodeled over the years and when we visited in early 2019 we found some impressive fermentation and aging rooms.

 

 

 

 

 

As you will see in many cellars these days, people are playing around with "concrete eggs" and terracotta "amphorae."

 

 

 

As he does a good job with his Alta Langa sparkling wines, sales of bubbly are increasing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bubbly carries the DOC of "Alta Langa."  This is a relatively recent addition to the roster of deonominazione and there are less than ten producers of such a wine.  

Sergio is a fan of French Champagnes and is now making his own bubbly.  His Brut "Alta Langa" sparkler is terrific.  It's got a nicely toasty quality (minimum of 30 months en tirage for vintage-dated Alta Langa wines).  The first vintage we had was fairly big and toasty, with a woodsy note.  The 2010 shows greater refinement and elegance...
We've enjoyed a number of bottles of this wine, frankly.  It's a good alternative to Champagnes and every bit as good as many of the grower's bottlings we enjoy.  

It's 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay.  The Pinot is fermented in stainless steel, while the Chardonnay is barrel-fermented.  When it's disgorged, they don't add a sweetening dosage.  They merely top up the bottles with more of the bone-dry bubbly.  

 

There's a tiny production of a delightfully dry pink bubbly.  It's made entirely of Nebbiolo from a small parcel of half a hectare.  The juice is fermented in stainless steel, with 20% being fermented in 700 liter French oak.  This gives the base wine an additional layer of complexity.  The wine spends about a year and a half en tirage, so it's only faintly yeasty.  Dry, of course.  

The 2016 Barolo is from vineyards near the cellar..."del Commune di Serralunga d'Alba" to indicate its origins.
It's from younger vines planted over the past 25 years.  Sergio does a typical Barolo fermentation, leaving the juice (and wine) in contact with the skins for 20 to 30 days to extract color and tannin.   From there it goes into wood and spends a year and a half to two years in various sized cooperage.
The 2015 is a beautiful Barolo: medium-bodied and already showing handsomely, yet you can hold it for ten to twenty more years if you like.
We've had customers try a bottle and return for more, despite the wine being a bit young.

 

We recall how delighted and proud Sergio was when he shared a bottle of his first vintage from the famed Lazzarito cru near the winery.
That was from the rather hot 2003 vintage, a challenging year.
When the 2003s were first being released we saw quite a few negative reviews of the year as a whole.
But we can tell you a number of wines we've tasted some 15 years later have evolved into really nice wines (and certainly they're showing better than the early reports by various critics had suggested).

Sergio was thrilled to have access to some vines in the Lazzarito site, viewed by many as a "grand cru" caliber locale.

The 2016 is a baby on its release in 2022.
It displays some red fruit aromas on opening and then as it airs we find some interesting spice notes and maybe a hint of anise or fennel.
It's tannic, as it should be at this stage, but there's plenty of stuffing here to carry this for a few decades.


Prapò is a famous vineyard site near Cerretta and its wines are noted for their tannic backbone.
Germano's 2018 is going to be quite good if cellared for sufficient time...presently displaying red fruit notes, with time it will develop the classic tarry character for which matured Barolo is highly prized.
Sergio's father planted this site in 1967, so the vines are mature and have deep root systems.  A few rows of younger vines were planted in 2012, so they are now hitting their stride.
It's a traditionally styled Barolo, having a 40 day maceration period before being matured in large casks of 2000-2500 liters.
It spent about 2 years in wood.

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We've followed his production of Riesling over the years and it's become quite a good wine.  Not many consumers expect to find Riesling in Piemonte (and few know the Oltrepò Pavese region as a source of Riesling, along with the Alto Adige and Trentino areas), but Germano's is quite good.  It's called Herzù, which is some local dialect term for "steep."  If you ever visit the vineyards in the environs of Cigliè, you will immediately grasp the concept of the name for this Riesling. 
It's got good elevation and the soil has a fair bit of limestone.  As the roots have become more deeply established in that hilly area, the wine has improved.

Some years ago we took Sergio, on one of his periodic visits to California, to lunch featuring dim sum.  I brought a couple of bottles of Riesling.  One I can't recall and the other was a 2007 J.J. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling (which I can recall like it was yesterday!).

We were with a local fellow who's a customer and who had stayed at Germano's (then opened) agriturismo.
As we enjoyed the J.J. Prüm wine, Sergio said "Well, you know, I love German Riesling especially.  That may be because I am Germano!"

We taste the 2016 Herzù recently and this was very fine.  There was a floral note and some lime tones with just a faint hint of petrol (which should increase in intensity as the wine ages).

If you don't know the Germano wines, this is a vintner to follow as he's an attentive and diligent winemaker.

Currently in stock:   
2010 ALTA LANGA Brut Sparkling Wine $39.99
GERMANO "ROSANNA" Brut Rose Sparkling Wine  $34.99

2016  BAROLO "Commune di Serralunga"  $49.99

Sergio Germano in the cellar.


Sergio showing off the vineyards on a crisp, clear winter's day.

There are new vineyards south of Barolo in the commune of Ciglié.

Here Sergio cultivates Riesling.
"I am German-o, so I like Riesling." he explains.


Paparazzi seem to have mistaken Sergio for Brad Pitt or George Clooney.

Sergio is Out-Standing in the vineyard.


A "mama-razza" who routinely "stalks" Signor Germano.

 

A small parcel of Barolo vineyards in the Lazzarito cru...


Meanwhile...back in the cellar, tasting Barolo...


A barrel for Weimax!


There are large tanks in the cantina as well...


Sergio makes terrific Barolo wines...not as famous as some, but certainly as quality-oriented and as capable.


Maria and Elia, Sergio & Elena's two kids...this snapshot, from 2017, was taken at VinItaly.
Having watched this two grow up, it's really great that both are becoming proficient in speaking English and they already speak "wine" thanks to Mom and Dad.

 

Davide, the cellar man at Germano.

 

 

 

LUIGI BAUDANA

Luigi Baudana and his wife Fiorina live in a town near Serralunga called "Baudana."  Everything seems to have the name Baudana on it...the wineries are all owned by people named Baudana and I passed a trattoria called Baudana on a street called Via Baudana!

I thought the guy's wines I had tasted over here were good, but I didn't know they were that good!

Luigi Baudana had owned about 5 hectares of vineyards for years.  But it was only recently that he and Mrs. B have made their own wine commercially.  Luigi worked in an enoteca for years before finally taking the big plunge and starting his own wine cellar.  Since they have no kids, the couple sold the vineyards and winery to the Vajra family from way over in Vergne, an elevated town in the western part of the Barolo appellation.  Aldo and Milena Vajra do have kids and so this beautifully extends the family enterprise.

A full range of wines is produced at Baudana, including an interesting proprietary white wine called Lorense.  But it is Barolo that is of major interest.

The wines of this producer demonstrate the notion of "terroir."  That is, the wines taste like Barolo, but with a particular character of Barolo.  The Serralunga region is regarded as producing wines of cellar-worthy structure, even more so than those from Castiglione Falletto, La Morra, Monforte, etc.  

 

Luigi Baudana

 

Practitioners of "old school" Barolo typically ferment their Nebbiolo wines with the grape skins for 20-30 days.  Those in the so-called "modernist" school have much shorter maceration periods, from 4-7 days, perhaps.  Baudana, like famous winemakers such as Domenico Clerico and Luciano Sandrone, takes a middle-of-the-road approach.  "We do a ten to 12 day maceration on the skins." he explains.

Luigi & Fiorina



Samples of the 2000 vintage.

Over the past few years we've been able to follow the wines from this little estate.  The wines are routinely good quality and seem to reflect the character of the vintage.  

The 2004 vintage is a classic and produced a really magnificent Barolo.  The wine was not one worth opening upon its arrival here (in 2009), as it needs time to develop, soften, mature and blossom.  Tasted in its infancy, the Ceretta 'cru' promised to be really good.  Tasted a year later, one can see a tiny bit of evolution.  This is now showing handsomely.  Best decanted and give it an hour of breathing time.  Very fine.


Baudana strives to improve his wines.  "You have to seek to make better wines and you have to have good quality and fair pricing.  But you must always look to make better wines."  The Vajra family has had the same outlook, though prices have escalated.

We still have a few bottles of the 2001 and maybe a bottle or two of the 2004...please inquire.

 

Currently in stock:  2001 BAUDANA BAROLO "Ceretta"   SALE $89.99
2009 BAUDANA BAROLO Sold Out

 

ELIO GRASSO

Elio Grasso retired from a lucrative job in the banking industry and took over a winemaking property that has been in the family for several generations.  Wines used to be sold off in bulk and Grasso started bottling his own wines in the late 1970s-early 1980s. 
The winery and vineyards are located in Monforte d'Alba and the Grasso family has had holdings for more than 100 years.  

I first met Elio Grasso back in the mid-1980s.  He stuck out his hand and introduced himself saying "Io sono Grasso."  (This translates to "I am Grasso," of course, but the word "grasso" means "fat" in English.  I grabbed his hand and responded with "Anch'io!" which translates to "me too!"  We had a good laugh and have been friends every since.

 

Elio and the boss, his wife Marina.



Grasso's wines have often been magnificent.  I recall a tasting some years ago where his Barbera finished in first place.  Barolo wines have also been exceptional.  These are not exactly "old school" or traditionalist wines in a certain sense.  The Grasso Barolo tends to have a certain ripe and plump quality.  Today's bottlings seem a bit different from those I recall of the 1980s, showing a touch of oak.  That's a "touch of oak," not "overwhelmed-by-a-forest-full of wood."  They might be classified as "modern" styled wines, but given sufficient bottle aging, they develop into classics.

 

Currently in stock is a magnificent 2016 from their Gavarini Vigna Chiniera cru.  This is a 3 hectare parcel that's south-facing and features slightly sandy, moderately chalky soil.  This wine was matured for 24 months in Slavonian oak.  At this stage the wine shows a woodsy element and dark red fruits.  We find notes of berry and dark cherry.  It's tannic and cellar-worthy, to be sure, so this is a wine which not merely requires further aging, but it demands it.
We expect this wine can be cellared well into the 2030s and maybe some years beyond.

Grasso's prestigious bottling is called Rüncot.  It's his smallest parcel or cru of Barolo, accounting for but 1.8 hectares of vineyard and it's within the Gavarini cru..  The vines were planted in 1990 and it was in 1995 that the Grasso family made its first Rüncot Barolo.  I find the wine more lavishly oaked in its youth and a more concentrated, intense wine than his other bottlings.  It spent about 28 months in French oak (Allier).  The 1999 is very fine and it's showing magnificently at this stage and should continue to develop and blossom over the next 10 years.   It is routinely a stellar bottling as well.  It is only offered in top vintages, so you won't find Rüncot vintage to vintage.

There are three hectares of the Ginestra Vigna Casa Maté cru.  The soils have more clay than in their other sites and this wine, in top vintages, is typically fairly tannic and demands cellaring.  It is also matured in Slavonian oak.

He also makes a bit of Dolcetto to go along with the Barbera.  Chardonnay, called "Educato," is well-regarded by many.

Currently in stock: 2016 ELIO GRASSO BAROLO "Gavarini"  SALE $79.99

The new cellar at Grasso's place...


Two fans of the wines of the Paternoster winery in Basilicata, John Downing and Ronnie Grant turn out to be 'tifosi' of the wines of Elio Grasso.
Here they're tasting with Gianluca Grasso in a tiny, hidden room, deep in the winery.


An old vintage of Grasso Barolo...molto buono!  The various Barolo wines of this estate tend to age very well.

Here's an old label...

ODDERO

The Oddero name has deep roots in the world of Langhe wines.  The family has long owned vineyards and a winery in La Morra, but they also have holds in the Barbaresco, Serralunga, Monforte, as well as Barbera and Moscato vineyards near Asti.

I always found their wines to be traditionally-styled and perhaps a bit rustic.  Today, however, the quality of the wine is quite high and this is a label many wine drinkers ought to know about.

Giacomo Oddero, who today is in his 80s, was affiliated with the Cuneo government and it's his signature on documents granting D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. status to wines, cheeses and other agricultural products of the Langhe.  He's been an active Chamber of Commerce big-wig and he was the moving force behind the Il Centro Nazionale Studi del Tartufi, an organization devoted to studying truffles, of which Alba has the best.

The winery, today, is in the hands of Giacomo's daughters, Mariacristina and Mariavittoria.  Now, Mariavittoria's daughter Isabella is also working with the company.

Isabella Oddero

They have about 35 hectares of land, cultivating a lot of Nebbiolo within the Barolo appellation.  They also cultivate peaches, plums and hazelnuts.

Traditional cooperage in the cellars...although they do have small French oak as well...

In 2019 they had these funny-looking tanks for experimentation purposes.

There's a lot of history here...


...and the future is bright for Oddero!

The 2006 Rocche bottling from Oddero's holdings in Castiglione Falletto is an outstanding wine.  The vines, from a parcel that's 2/3s of a hectare in size, are about 50 years of age.  Here's a wine which bridges the traditionalist-to-modernist gap.  There's a whiff of wood but underlying the oak is a strong core of Nebbiolo.  It's a young wine and still needs time to acquire the classic character of mature Barolo.  


We recently opened a 1967 Oddero Barolo (not a vineyard-designated wine) and this was still alive, though certainly well-aged.  
It had the leathery, meaty, tarry notes we appreciate in classic Barolo wine.

There's a really good example of Barolo in half bottle format from Oddero...very nice now, especially if you can give it an hour in a decanter...it opens nicely.

The Bussia Soprano site is in Monforte and Oddero's vineyard there is called Mondoca.  It shows some red fruits on the nose and there's a hint of woodsiness in the background.  The 2004 is still youthful and opening this ahead of time is beneficial.  You can also hold this for another ten years, if you like...it will repay aging quite handsomely.

The 2015 Barolo "normale" is a delight.  It comes from vineyards in La Morra and Castiglione Falletto, with some rather venerable vines.  Some of the La Morra vineyards are 60 years of age, while in Castiglione, some are 40 years old.  The wine is traditionally-styled and is a good candidate for cellaring. This was matured in wood from Austria and Slovenia. Sure, you can open a bottle and enjoy it now, but it's not yet developed the special characteristics of majestic Barolo.  It's well-priced and well worth having in the cellar.

Oddero's 2019 Barbera d'Alba comes from 15 to 20 year old vineyards in Castiglione Falletto and 15 year old vineyards in La Morra near the winery.  It then goes into larger oak vats for about 16 months. The wood is nicely integrated, though, and it's a berryish, smoother-styled red.

Their 2020 Nebbiolo Langhe comes from parcels in La Morra.  Some people describe it as "young vines" Barolo, as the vineyards are about 15 years of age.  It is fermented for perhaps two weeks on the skins, less time than the Barolo, so it's a less tannic red wine.  
Oddero's Langhe Nebbiolo is aged in large wood and this is quite enjoyable in its youth.

Oddero's roster of 2015 Barolo bottlings is superb.  Each wine is expressive and beautifully intense, with the structure for long cellaring potential.
The wines have routinely been very fine, so it's impressive to taste wines with even more intensity, precision and finesse.

Pietro Viglino Oddero, making the rounds in April of 2022.
He's Cristina Oddero's son.

Currently in stock:  

2017 ODDERO BAROLO "Classico"  $57.99
2019 ODDERO BARBERA D'ALBA  $22.99
2020 ODDERO NEBBIOLO LANGHE  $31.99
2016 BAROLO "VILLERO"  Sale $89.99
2015 BAROLO "Classico"  $30.99  (375ml)

ALESSANDRIA CRISSANTE

The Alessandria family runs this small domaine, farming nearly five hectares of vineyards in the area of La Morra.  (Crissante is dad's name.)  Roberto and Michele Alessandria take care of the place, Roberto doing the cellar chores, while the older brother, Michele takes care of business aspects of the enterprise.

The place was founded in about 1960, when the boys were kids.  They make three wines, two single-vineyard Barolo wines and a barrique-aged Barbera.  

We found their wine in a blind-tasting of 1997 Barolo.  This is a wine that polarized the tasters: old timers (hard to imagine I am now an "old timer") had this scored highly, finding it to be a throwback to really good, serious, old-style Barolo.  The tar, roses, earthy, meaty fragrances cannot be mistaken for anything but wine made from Nebbiolo grapes.  On the other hand, those more comfortable with lavishly-oaked fruit bombs did not find this to be to their liking.  Pick which "school" appeals to you and make your choice.

Roberto explains they do a traditional vinification.  The skins remain in contact with the juice through the duration of the fermentation.  "Sometimes this takes 30 to 40 days." he tells us.  The wine is matured in "botti di legno," large wooden cooperage, while about 30% of the wine is matured in the standard size French oak barrel.  Amazingly (to me, anyway), I don't sense the use of barriques (the smaller cooperage) in this wine.    Like many 1997s, the wine is gorgeous now.  I don't know how well it will age, but suspect 5-10 years is probably about right.

The Crissante wines are no longer being brought in to our market...pity.

Currently in stock: 1997 CRISSANTE BAROLO "Roggeri" Sold Out

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS OF MY VISIT AT CRISSANTE ALESSANDRIA'S WINERY

 

HASTAE / QUORUM

For the most part, Barolo and Barbaresco wineries tend to think they make the best Dolcetto and Barbera wines.  Over the past decade they've had to admit that the region of Asti may actually produce Barbera wines of superlative quality.  The reason for this is that near Asti the best vineyard sites are planted with Barbera.  You can grow Moscato almost anywhere, but Barbera needs more care.  In the Barolo and Barbaresco areas, the top sites are planted with Nebbiolo and Dolcetto and Barbera are cultivated in sites which might not quite be as fine.

The late Giacomo Bologna was a giant in the wine biz.  Literally and figuratively.  He made profound Barbera wines.  These were admired by many of his peers.  The vineyards are between Asti and Alessandria.  His family has joined with the Antinori's who own Prunotto, the Currado's and Cordero's at Vietti, the Coppo's, the Chiarlo's and the Berta distilling family in a joint venture called Hastae.  This project is to show the world the greatness of Barbera d'Asti.  

To avoid some of the pitfalls of having five cooks in the kitchen, they hired the famous "chef" Ricardo Cotarella (he's responsible for a stable of amazingly good wines around Italy, but principally in Umbria and Lazio).  My initial thought was "How brilliant!  These winemakers can hire this fellow, see how he makes wine and then steal some of the secrets for their own productions!"  But, actually, the whole group makes pretty amazing wines.  The goal is to show the world that Barbera can have the nobility of Nebbiolo, Cabernet, Pinot Noir or Syrah.  Given how many producers have simply made "everyday" quality rosso from the grape, it is remarkable to see the potential of Barbera.

The first vintage was 1997.  Nice.  Lots of oak.  Many trees died to make that wine.  Not that "Quorum" Barbera will ever be described without reference to wood, but the first one was more oak than wine (in my humble opinion).  I'm not sure the 1998 we have in the shop is any less woody, but there seems to be more wine there.  The resulting balance, for my taste, is certainly dramatic, but less "over the top."  

While no expense is spared in producing the wine (relatively low yields in the vineyards, new and costly oak barrels, a famous winemaker, etc.), a side benefit these people derive is that you don't feel so badly about parting with $25-$50 for a bottle of their own wines, when you might have dropped $75 for the Quorum!   I bought a bottle of the 98 Quorum and served it with some grilled lamb to some frugal friends who sell wine.  "You know," said the Queen of Frugality, "I think this wine is so good it's worth every penny they ask for it."  Her husband and I each just about fell off our chairs upon hearing this.  Oh, and she doesn't like Italian wines.  Usually.

Meanwhile, the term "Hastae" is an old Roman word for the city that is now known as "Asti."  I commented to one of the collaborators "Barbera, Hastae, Asti, Basta!"

Both 2001 and 2000 are delicious wines.  Bring your wife or husband, pink slip and checkbook to Burlingame and we'll sell you a bottle.

Currently in stock:  QUORUM 2001 Barbera d'Asti  $74.99
2000 QUORUM Barbera d'Asti $89.99

 

BARTOLO MASCARELLO

I've known the Mascarello family since before they owned a telephone!  
You might think, then, that I have known them for 40 years or more, but that's not the case.  I've known them for about 20 years.  

Bartolo was the prototypical "old school" Barolo maker.
I used to tease him about not having a telephone (the local bar used to be where you could call him and they'd run around the corner and "page" him!).  I would send them notes once-in-a-while when I would find a postcard or greeting card with a telephone theme.  I once sent a die-cut card that was in the shape of a phone and I received this lovely hand-written letter from Bartolo thanking me for the photos of the family that I took when I visited.  

"I remain an old Italian winemaker in Barolo without a telephone.  I don't use the phone, I don't use French oak barrels and I am not visiting California to have a look at the wineries there.  Hope to see you soon...Bartolo."

Mascarello remained a vocal opponent of the producers who make French oak aged Barolo wines, saying the wines "don't taste like Barolo!"  Hobbled by old age, Mascarello could usually be found holding court in his little office on Via Alba in the village of Barolo.  A bottle of his wine was virtually always open and the family would share a taste of it with visitors.  While many winemakers think of themselves as artists, Mascarello spent much of his time drawing wine labels.  He was, in fact, a bit of an artist!  These labels routinely featured the "No French oak" theme, though some feature political statements, too.  Mascarello said "No barriques, No Berlusconi!" (the Italian prime minister).   

A store in Alba had bottles in the window with this label on them.  The police asked them to take the bottles out of the window, fearing someone of a different political perspective would vandalize the place!

 

Mascarello had quite a nice collection of two liter bottles of old Barolo vintages.  I was invited to lunch one day and they shared their 1958 vintage with me.  Mascarello's charming daughter, Terri, laughed as we drank this saying "My father is drinking my inheritance!"  

Bartolo passed away in 2005.  He was, as some described him, "l'ultimo dei Mohicani.
 as he was, "the last of the Mohicans."  He clung to what he knew:  good, old-fashioned Barolo.  

Terri now runs this small, historic winery.  They own vineyards in some prime locations and are proud of these.  They make tiny quantities of Dolcetto and Barbera, but, of course, are most famous for Barolo.  

Remember, Bartolo is "Barolo" with a "t".  

Mascarello wines are not widely available.  They don't make much and their former U.S. importer said he was "too busy" to even print a list of the wineries whose wines they import!  Mascarello finally changed importers (in 2013) and the new importer uses their wines for leveraging customers to buy other wines.  Our sales rep tells us "I have accounts which buy $20,000 worth of wines from this company and they are not eligible to buy any Mascarello wines."


The 2003 is a bit more evolved, coming from a hot vintage.  It's the most drinkable of the three vintages we have of Mascarello Barolo.  You can serve it now, especially if it's sat in a decanter for an hour or two.  We expect this to develop additionally for another 5-10+ years.

The 2004 is still youthful but shows some nice development..  It's ideally decanted these days and given some time in a decanter  to blossom.  Very fine.  

The 2007 is coming along...nice to taste, but really, this needs another 4 or 5 years to start to blossom and show its character.  It can probably be stored another 10-15 years after that.

The 2009 is young and starting to blossom a tiny bit, but its best days are ahead...

The 2011 is a baby still...don't think about opening this until 2020-something.

Currently in stock:
As these wines had been much in demand, the importer asks a price far beyond what they paid for it, demanding trade partners buy massive quantities of other wines in order to have the privilege to pay top-dollar for these.

We are happy for our friends at this winery to have the world beating a path to the cellar door, but are a bit sad that these wines now are more of a "trophy" than they are a beverage.

 

 

 

 

 

I visit the Mascarello's virtually every trip to Piemonte.  Being an unofficial member of the Currado-Vietti family, I'd routinely tell Alfredo Currado a big "hello from Bartolo."  Alfredo greatly respected old Bartolo and I knew Mascarello felt the same about the Vietti wines made by Currado.

I'd promised to drive Alfredo, hobbled by age, to Barolo for a visit with the Mascarello family.  When you live in the neighborhood, making time to go visit the neighbors is difficult.   Alfredo said "We have to go see Bartolo today!" so we got in the car and motored a few miles to Barolo and knocked on the door.

The two gentlemen were thrilled to see each other and both were delighted to still be alive after so many years.  A bottle of Barolo was opened and I enjoyed sitting in the room, a bit like the proverbial "fly on the wall."

The two spoke about the old days.  They spoke of "old man Pio Cesare" and what a "gran esperto" he was in selecting fruit.  Apparently the farmers would cart their Nebbiolo harvest from Barolo to Alba and Pio Cesare would have a look and select only the top fruit for purchase.

The discussion shifted to the much-praised 2000 vintage, awarded a "perfect score" as a vintage by The Wine Spectator journal.  Mascarello told of his interview with a young wine writer who proclaimed it "the best vintage for Barolo since 1947."
Bartolo eyed the 25 to 30 year old whipper-snapper with a jaundiced eye and said "Son, I was making wine in 1947 and I know what that vintage was like.  Where were you in 1947?"

It was a wonderful hour and a nice glass (or two) of good, old-fashioned Barolo.  The two old pals grabbed each other's hand since a hug was out of the question (what with Bartolo in a wheel-chair and Alfredo wobbling around on crutches).
It had been many years since these two dinosaurs had seen each other and it was the last time they'd be together for reminiscing and shooting the breeze.

 

Maria Teresa runs the Mascarello winery today with her Mom lending a hand.

 

 

 

TUCA NEN!

 

2018

REVELLO

The Revello family has owned this little property just near La Morra.  They've made wine "on and off" over the years.  Lucky for us: It's "ON" presently!

Brothers Lorenzo and Carlo run the vineyards and cellar these days, starting their production in 1992.  Before that they sold grapes to other winemakers.  Today they use all their own production for the Revello wines.  There are some eleven hectares of vineyards, six of them planted with Nebbiolo, 1.5 planted to Dolcetto and 3.5 in Barbera.

We're big fans of their Dolcetto d'Alba.  Too bad they don't make more!  They seem to have the right idea, to our taste, in making a balanced wine which can be consumed when it's young and fresh.  But with one-and-a-half hectares of this, the supply is rather limited.

We also have had a really good Nebbiolo Langhe from Revello.  It's matured in seasoned oak barrels and bottled in the summer following the harvest.  The wine is made from young vines and is, essentially, a declassified Barolo.  Even though the wood has been used to mature one or two other wines, there's still a nice touch of cedar to this.  And, the tannin level is perfect: not too much, but still with a lightly astringent note.

This is a good source for Barolo, too.  Their 2015 is currently in the shop.  It's a medium-weight Barolo with just a whiff of a cedary tone from some aging in French oak.  The juice is fermented in horizontal, roto-tanks before going into wood for about two years.  This is very nice now and it ought to blossom handsomely in the next 5-8 years.


By the way, the Revellos have a small "agriturismo" (bed and breakfast, basically) available, should you be in Piemonte for a week...A room for two will set you back about $60-$75 Euros a night.

Currently in stock:  2015 REVELLO BAROLO $39.99

COCITO

Giorgio Rivetti of La Spinetta fame made this wine from fruit grown in a vineyard that we're told is owned by some fellow in Milano.  The vineyard is near the cru of "La Gallina" and the wine is a most impressive and lavishly-oaked red.  The fragrance is wonderful, unless you're allergic to wood.  

The vineyard site owned by Ezio Cocito comprises less than one hectare.  The cru is Baluchin, a rather unknown site (unless you live in Neive, in which case you'll know precisely where this is located).  The wine is fermented in roto-fermentation tanks, somewhat along the lines of some Pinot Noir.  It's matured in 100% brand new French oak for 20 months, or so.  Total production for this vintage amounted to but 4,000 bottles.  

We like the dark cherry fruit and sweet oak.  Yes, I can say it's very difficult, if not impossible, to sniff a glass of this and say with certainty "This is a Barbaresco."  I'd probably guess it to be an Australian red of some sort.  Or a Napa Cabernet.  

Whatever it is, showy is one feature of this wine.

Currently in stock:  2000 Cocito Barbaresco "Baluchin"  $69.99

 

 

 

 

COCCHI BAROLO CHINATO

The Bava family owns the sparkling wine firm of "Cocchi" in Italy's Piemonte region.  

Piemonte is a center for aromatized wines such as Vermouth.  You'll find the firms of Martini & Rossi, Cinzano and Gancia here in Piemonte.  On the other side of the hills in France you'll find Noilly Prat's vermouth facility and, at one point Boissiere (now made in Italy!).  

Barolo Chinato is a curious product with Barolo as the base wine.  This was a somewhat normal creation many years ago, but today it's sort of like using classified growth Bordeaux wines to produce the aperitif Lillet, for example.

The Bava family's Cocchi company is highly-regarded for its Barolo Chinato, an aromatized wine featuring quinine  (china calissaia) for its particular character.  Add to this a myriad of spices and notes of rhubarb and gentian and you have one mysterious beverage.

If you're interested in discovering this mystery, stop by the shop with $46.99 and we'll sell you a half liter bottle of this rarity.

 

CAPPELLANO

Cappellano IS Barolo Chinato.  
Years ago, Dottore Giuseppe Cappellano created a digestive using Barolo as the base wine and it had various herbs and spices.  The main feature was quinine or china (pronounced 'kee-nuh" in Italian) and to this Cappellano added cloves and who-knows-what-else? to the mix.

Barolo Chinato became so popular, it was much imitated and many winemakers took a stab at recreating Cappellano's unique potation.

Well, now many years after its initial production and rise to popularity, Teobaldo Cappellano continued the family tradition and made Barolo Chinato until his untimely passing in early 2009.

Cappellano's is still a remarkable concoction.

I first met Teobaldo in the mid-1980s.  He was a great character and people always enjoyed listening to him tell jokes and stories.   He always asked if I could tell some jokes when we were at various events around the time of VinItaly, for example.  I seem to recall some evenings when we were at dinner with a bunch of other Piemontese winemakers outside of Verona at a particularly favorite osteria.  My command of Italian wasn't sufficiently good enough to tell my jokes and stories in their language, so Teobaldo, who spoke reasonably good English, would do me the honor of translating.

He had a twinkle in his eye, too.  And given the volume of laughter for his own stories, I gather he was a bit of a comedian himself.  

But there was a serious side to this guy and I only recently appreciated this part of his personality.  I was reading an article on Cappellano in a book devoted to Piemontese winemakers.   He's got a wonderful philosophy in regards to wine 'criticism.'  

Here are some thoughts from Teobaldo Cappellano:
"What I dislike about this world is the superficiality of thinking that an evaluation mark, set next to my labels in a wine guidebook, might determine a judgment -- be it positive or negative -- on my work into which I have put passion and strong feelings that certainly can't be described by a number.  On the threshold of 60 (years) of age) I decided to stop accepting marks.  Also because when I meet a friend I don't want to be asked what score Robert Parker gave me.  But what the hell do I care?  I'm an atheist.  Should I worry about the judgment of a man?" 

Cappellano's wines must be experienced to have a chance at understanding the philosophy and artistry of this winery.  And if you experience a nice bottle of their wine, you will have a clearer understanding of precisely why Teobaldo didn't want critics making a numerical judgment of his wine.  

We ordered a bottle of Cappellano's Barbera on a visit to Piemonte.  The wine was poured and we took a sniff and a taste.  Lovely.  But over the course of the next 30 to 40 minutes, we swirled, sniffed and sipped, each time finding something new in the glass.  The wine was magnificent to watch as it blossomed and danced in the glass.  I mentioned that it was a bit like tasting a half a dozen, or so, different wines and the evolution was that remarkable.

So--the question for someone reviewing the wine and assigning it a score:  how can you capture an accurate number for a wine which is in motion during its time in the glass?  It's a bit like trying to capture a butterfly without a net.  It's a bit like critiquing a film based on one frame of celluloid.
Good luck!!!



The Barolo Chinato is remarkable...Cappellano incorporated about 13 different herbs in the mix and you may sense hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, cardamom and mint.  Perhaps there's a note of rhubarb, too.  

The Cappellano Barolo wines are often terrific.  You might say they're "under-rated," but that's because they're not rated at all, typically.

They make a couple of Barolo wines.  One is labeled Barolo Piè Rupestris as it is planted on American root-stock.  Apparently the precise clone or clones of Nebbiolo are unknown and so they will tell you they have "Nebbioli" (meaning more than one kind of Nebbiolo) in that parcel. The vines are said to be 60+ years of age and they are in the cru known as Gabutti.
The other bottling is made from vines planted on their own roots, not on some particular rootstock.  This is called Pie Franco.  Teobaldo decided to risk planting some Michet (we understand) without Phylloxera-resistant rootstock back in 1989, or so.  The vineyard continues to do well and it produces a very fine example of Barolo.

Currently in stock:  CAPPELLANO BAROLO CHINATO  Sold Out presently
2005 CAPPELLANO BAROLO PIE RUPESTRIS  Sold Out

ROCCHE COSTAMAGNA

Rocche Costamagna traces its root back to the 1840s when Luigi Costamagna was licensed to sell wine.  Claudia Ferraresi's family owned the vineyards and cellar, though in the 1930s her aunt sold off some vineyards and wine was made only for the family.  They sold their grapes to neighboring winemakers until the 1960s when Claudia and her husband, Giorgio Locatelli, started to produce wine commercially.  Claudia was an artist and she had been a wonderful "ambassador" for the food, wine and art culture of Piemonte.  Son Alessandro Locatelli runs the show these days...his Mom passed away some years ago and Dad is still around, though.

The winery also has 4 guests 'apartments'.  If you're interested in having a look, CLICK HERE to see their web site info on renting one of these.

GIUSEPPE MASCARELLO (Mauro Mascarello & Family)

This is a very old estate and they make rather old-style or traditionally-styled wines.  Mauro Mascarello is a famous winemaker and his wines are certainly "old school."  
Visiting this old cellar was like stepping in to a time machine.  

We had visited back in the 1980s and Mauro Mascarello seemed, today, to be more youthful than he was back then.  In the :old days," Mascarello was a wise, old winemaker.  Today he's still a wise winemaker, but he didn't seem that old!

The property dates back to 1881 and some may claim not much has changed in more than a century.  The family certainly eschews making fruit-forward, modern, barrique-aged wines.  

An old snapshot of the Mascarello cellar, decades ago.


The Mascarello cellar in 2015...you'll notice the ladder has been invented since the earlier snapshot and there's a "no smoking" sign in the winery.

Giuseppe Mascarello bought a vineyard site in 1881 in Monforte d'Alba.  In 1904, Giueseppe's son Maurizio purchased the now-famous Monprivato site in Castiglione Falletto.  In 1919 he bought an old ice house in Monchiero (a small town about 10 minutes by car these days, southwest of Barolo and, we're told, an hour by horse back in the old days) which was viewed as ideal for making wine.  
Maurizio's kids ran the family businesses (one was wine, the other was building supplies) and, after a family squabble, Giuseppe II (known as Gepin) left the building supplies biz and devoted himself to wine, while his brother Natale kept his share of the family treasure.
Gepin was, by the way, the first vintner to employ Slavonian oak tanks for making Barolo.  He had been in Slovenia during World War II and he actually could see the forest for the trees.  He leeched out the wood flavors from the cooperage with water and then with Dolcetto and Barbera.  No self-respecting winemaker would, in those days, put Barolo in new oak!

Mauro Mascarello took over the winery in 1967 and in 1979, when Zio Natale passed away, he purchased the Uncle's wine enterprise and reunited the family holdings into the Azienda Agricola Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio.  

Being a traditionalist, Mauro does a fairly lengthy fermentation with the skins of the Nebbiolo grapes in making his Barolo wines.  He used to employ a 60 day maceration period, but then shortened it to 40 days.  Now he typically leaves the wine in contact with the skins for 30 days.  He's partnered with the well-known enologist Donato Lanati in designing a special fermentation tank to extract the maximum character from the grapes without obtaining harsh, gritty tannins.

Mauro's son Giuseppe III went to the wine school in Alba and, later, to law school in Turin.  Number Three now is working in the family cellar.  Three's sister, Elena, can be found in the winery office or their tasting room, showing visitors the current roster of releases.  Mom, Maria Teresa, also handles office and tasting room chores and pretty much is the general manager/capo di tutti capi.  

Giuseppe The Third

Mauro and Maria Teresa

Elena, under the watchful eye of her Papa, Mauro.

We periodically ask the sales rep for the importer if they have any wine for us...these days (2020) we're often told "No...you don't buy enough of our ordinary wines (not Mascarello) to be rewarded with these wines...
So these are hit and miss...every once in a while they'll "allow" us to buy some wine if their preferred customers have not snapped up everything.

We have their 2017 Freisa....  The Freisa grape had fallen out of favor...we used to see these routinely in enotecas in Piemonte and on wine lists there.  Back in the old days, you never knew what style of Freisa you might encounter.  Some were made dry and "still" (no fizz), while others were a touch sweet and perhaps fairly bubbly.  A few carried the term "Nebbiolata" on the label, indicating the wine had some Nebbiolo in the mix.  This might mean there was simply some Nebbiolo blended in or possibly they included some pomace (grape skins) from a Nebbiolo wine, giving the wine more structure.  
((Freisa can make a structured wine if grown on soils well-suited to Nebbiolo, but often producers made wines along the lines of a fruity Dolcetto, except the wine had a bit of fizz.))
Some of these wines, in fact, were really crude and a bit stinky, developing off aromas thanks to the sediment which formed in the bottle after all the sugar had been consumed by the yeast.
The Mascarello vineyard is in Castiglione Falletto, not far from their famed Monprivato site.  
The fermentation is fairly traditional, with maybe a two or three week maceration, enough to extract color and a moderate amount of tannin.
The wine then goes into Slavonian oak for maybe 15 months.
It is mildly earthy and has a cherryish fruit character with a moderate level of tannin.  

Their Dolcetto is presently out of stock and comes from a vineyard in Monforte d'Alba...specifically the Santo Stefano site in Perno, a bit north of town.

It's a medium-deep Dolcetto with lots of nice red fruit notes.  It's the sort of wine you'll want to serve a cool cellar temperature (please!) and it pairs handsomely with salumi, roasted chicken, grilled pork, sausages & polenta, etc.  If you're enjoying a fancy meal, start with some bubbly with some nibbles, then a bottle of this with a pasta dish as a prelude for a more "important" red wine with the main course.

This shines brightly with picnic fare, too.   

The 2017 Barbera d'Alba comes from vineyards in Perno, close to Monforte d'Alba.  The vineyards are 60 to 70+ years of age and produce a small crop.  Mascarello makes a  fairly full-bodied red with some dark fruit and faintly earthy notes.  It's got a bit of "bite" to it, so pairing it with a soulful meat sauce & pasta is not a bad idea.

Mascarello's 2018 Nebbiolo Langhe comes from vineyards in Perno, near Monforte as well as a few sites in Castiglione Falletto.  The wine spends maybe two to three weeks on the skins during and after its fermentation.  Then the wine goes into Slavonian oak for just less than a year.  The idea is to produce a wine that's a styled like a Barolo but in a more precocious way.  The 2018 is a medium-bodied wine.  This is best decanted and given a year or two of aeration if you're drinking it in the immediate future.

Currently in stock: 
2017 FREISA $39.99
2017 DOLCETTO D'ALBA Sold Out
2017 BARBERA D'ALBA "Scudetto"  $44.99
2018 NEBBIOLO LANGHE  $55.99

FONTANAFREDDA

I guess I can understand with a name of Fontanafredda (cold fountain or spring), why many Piemontese wine aficionados are 'lukewarm" to the wines from this historic property.

It is a large winery located in the Serralunga valley and it had been owned by a bank.  The wines over the past couple of decades have been "correct," but not especially exciting.  A few years ago, someone working there seemed to have the idea of actually making better quality wines and they set about doing so.  And, in fact, the quality seems to have improved a bit.

In 2008 the winery came under new ownership.  Two independent investors took shares of the winery and, as well understand it, they own nearly two-thirds of the business.  The remaining percentage, something close to slightly more than one-third, is owned by a charitable foundation which is affiliated with the bank that had owned the winery.  This would be the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation in case you're taking notes.

Danilo Drocco was hired to make the wines in the late 1990s and he's still there today after studying winemaking at the University of Prunotto in Alba.

The property owned by the winery comprises 145 hectares with 110 devoted to vineyards.  But they still buy a considerable quantity of grapes for their wines which are big production items.  

It's a large winery, for sure.  They even offer a Pinot Grigio from the Veneto.  

You'll find their wines to be of sound quality, all the way around.  Maybe they're not the most exciting wines, but I did have a chance to taste numerous vintages of older bottlings of Barolo and this is where Fontanafredda shines.  

At least with their single vineyard bottlings, the marketing team doesn't seem to have much influence.

We have some bottles of their 1999 "La Villa" Barolo. This is a wine that's pretty much at its peak.  It should remain in its current state for about another 5 to 10 years, we think.
Nicely leathery and a but truffle-like, too.  Moderate tannin level.  Best to decant this about an hour before serving it.

Currently in stock:  1999 FONTANAFREDDA BAROLO "LA VILLA"  SALE  $99.99
1996 BAROLO "normale"  SALE $79.99

 

 

Here I am pouring a "little" glass of Vietti Barbera "La Crena" for my dear friend, the late Alfredo Currado.



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