Ep 234: The Greats -- Barbaresco and Barolo

Wine for Normal People

Alcohol, Lifestyle, Arts, Education, Food, Wine, Dining, Grapes

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2018

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week: The Greats Barolo and Barbaresco of Piedmont, Italy. These two wines are both 100% Nebbiolo, and are fragrant, tannic, acidic, and outstanding. We cover the similarities and key differences between these greats and why each is a force in its own right.

Here are some key show notes:

Barolo

King of Wines and Wine of Kings
Production Zone in Province of Cuneo: Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba, parts of Cherasco, Diano d’Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Novello, Roddi, Verduno
Production must be on hillsides: no valley floors or humid, flat areas nothing with northern exposure – mandated by 2010 law
The soils and mesoclimates vary slightly, subtle differences but also winemaking plays a big role
Until mid 19thc Barolo was SWEET -- 1835, Paolo Francesco Staglieno published a winemaking manual about how to make wine stable for transport – fermenting dry was one of the ways.

The Barolo wars: Traditionalist v Modern

Modern: “international style” fermentation is 10 days (less tannin), age wine in new French oak barriques (smaller, more oak flavor). Very different flavors – fruitier, more new oak, doesn’t age as well. May illegally put in Barbera, Cab, Syrah… unproven as of yet

Modernists producers: Elio Altare, Domenico Clerico, Robero Voerzio, Angelo Gaja, Renato Ratti

Traditionalist: Extended maceration, long cask aging, less fruit requires age and patience.
Traditional producers: Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, Giuseppe Mascarello, Capellano, Marcarini, and Giuseppe Rinaldi

Barolo wine aromas/flavors:

Classic: light in color, smells like tar and roses, very aromatic – dried fruit, mint, leather, licorice, plum, tobacco, herbs, truffles
Standard Barolo must be aged for three years — two in cask and one in bottle.
Riserva: Aged for five years upon release — three in cask and two in bottle.
Barolo Chinato -- digestif

BARBARESCO

Barbaresco -- immediately to the east of Alba – communes of Barbaresco, Trieso, Neive plus part of San Rocco Seno d'Elvio
Vineyards on Tanaro river, go up northeast of Alba, closer to the river (the Tanaro), with higher fertility in the soil
Slight maritime climate – warmer, drier, milder than Barolo

Barbaresco Communes:

Barbaresco:
- 45% of Barbaresco production, largest wineries
- light in color and body, well structured and aromatic.
- Best cru: Asili, Martinenga, Montefico, Montestefano and Rabajà

Neive:
- 31% of Barbaresco's production
- Powerful and tannic expressions of Barbaresco if closer to the commune of Barbaresco, to the east, more sand, lighter wines
- Albesani, Santo Stefano, Bricco di Neive, Gallina

Treiso
- South of Barbaresco, highest altitude sites in the area, constant breezes, great diurnals
- lightest in body, perfumed, higher acidity
- Pajorè is best site

San Rocco Seno d'Elvio: floral with finesse

Barbaresco History

Cantina Sociale di Barbaresco was founded in 1896 by Domizio Cavazza: he died early in 1915, not until the late 1950s that Barbaresco was reignited -- with Bruno Giacosa and Angelo Gaja leading the way
Local parish priest, Don Fiorino Marengo, founded Produttori del Barbaresco cooperative cellar, the best co-op in Europe

Wines

Grapes ripen earlier, less tannic, need less aging
Aromatic – spicy, perfumed, floral with rose and violet, cherry, truffles, licorice, fennel, leather tar
Normale: 2 years of aging, 1 in wood
Riserva: four years of gaining, two in wood

Best producers and vineyards: Gaja, Bruno Giacosa, Ceretto, Produttori del Barbaresco, Roana, La Spinetta, Rizzi, Marchesi di Gresy, Punset

BAROLO V BARBARESCO:

Size: Barbaresco is smaller and more consistent
Altitude: Barolo is higher than Barbaresco
Weather: Barbaresco gets less rain and bad weather.
Tannins: Barbaresco is better at an earlier age and lighter body than Barolo. Barolo is a better bet to hold for long periods.
Soils: in Barbaresco, the roots of the vines do not have to go as deep as with the thinner soils found in many parts of the Barolo zone -- less aggressive tannins for many Barbaresco.

On or the other is NOT BETTER: they are DIFFERENT

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Addendum: the Cru of the regions

Barolo

Barolo:

Bricco Viole
Brunate
Cannubi
Cannubi Boschis
Rue
San Lorenzo
Sarmassa
Via Nuova

La Morra:

Arborina
Brunate
Cereguio
Gattera
Giachini
Marcenasco
Rocche dell’Annunziata

Castiglione Falletto:

Bricco Rocche
Fiasc
Mariondino
Monprivato
Parussi
Pira
Rivera
Villero

Monforte d’Alba

Bussia
Cicala
Colonnello
Dardi
Ginestra
Mosconi
Munie
Romirasco
Santo Stefano

Serralunga d’Alba

Falletto
Francia
La Serra
Marenca
Marenca-Rivette
Margheria
Ornato
Parafada
Vigna Rionda

Barberesco

Barbaresco’s Cru:

*Asili
Ca' Grossa
Cars
Cavanna
Cole
Faset
*Martinenga
Montaribaldi
Montefico
Montestefano
Muncagota
Ovello
Pajé
Pora
*Rabajà
Rabajà-Bas
Rio Sordo
Roccalini
Roncaglie
Roncagliette
Ronchi
Secondine
Tre Stelle
Trifolera
Vicenziana

Nieve's Cru's

Albesani
Balluri
Basarin
Bordini
Bric Micca
Bricco di Neive
Canova
Cottà
Currà
Fausoni
Gaia Principe
Gallina
Marcorino
Rivetti
San Cristoforo
San Giuliano
Serraboella
Serracapelli
Serragrilli
Starderi

Treiso's Best Cru's

*Pajorè
Ausario
Bernadot
Bricco di Treiso
Casot
Castellizzano
Ferrere
Garassino
Giacone
Giacosa
Manzola
Marcarini
Meruzzano
Montersino
Nervo
Rizzi
Rocche Massalupo
Rombone
San Stunet
Valeirano
Vallegrande

The Cru of Barolo...

Barolo:

Bricco Viole
Brunate
Cannubi
Cannubi Boschis
Rue
San Lorenzo
Sarmassa
Via Nuova

La Morra:

Arborina
Brunate
Cereguio
Gattera
Giachini
Marcenasco
Rocche dell’Annunziata

Castiglione Falletto:

Bricco Rocche
Fiasc
Mariondino
Monprivato
Parussi
Pira
Rivera
Villero

Monforte d’Alba

Bussia
Cicala
Colonnello
Dardi
Ginestra
Mosconi
Munie
Romirasco
Santo Stefano

Serralunga d’Alba

Falletto
Francia
La Serra
Marenca
Marenca-Rivette
Margheria
Ornato
Parafada
Vigna Rionda

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for
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0:14.0	I'm Elizabeth Schneider, a certified Silmaier and certified specialist of wine.
0:20.0	And I'm MC Ice, just a wine-loving normal person.
0:23.0	Couple pieces of housekeeping before we get to the podcast.
0:26.0	Just wanted to let you know that for the next two weeks, there will be no podcast because we are moving to Raleigh, North Carolina, which is a place in the southern
0:35.4	United States. It's a lovely city close to where we met at business school, MCIs and I.
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0:44.4	The second thing is there are some classes that are posted that we're gonna teach
0:49.4	Wines of France in June and then in July on Bastille Day. Come on you got to take this one the wines of the loire.
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1:20.3	Patreon.com, forward slash wine for normal people. So what's new in your Vivino catalog?
1:25.0	Actually I'm planning on reviewing this burillo that we're drinking tonight.
1:31.0	What is Vivino? V Vivino is an app that you can use to scan and
1:36.8	keep track of your wines. But now you can also shop through their web store and on our patron.com page we are starting a conversation
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