Fascinating and instructive little horizontal Oliver arranged for us. All the wines served single-blind (in the order of the tasting notes below).
Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi S. Lorenzo-Ravera 2007
A wine whose identity was surprisingly easy to guess blind, thanks to the precise terroir expression. Quite luminous ruby-red-black. Fruity-lively, ethereal, minerally, smoky marzipan, tar, baked plum. Deep, lovely, tea-like tannin with finesse. Quite long. A pretty wine in this vintage, lighter than the 2006, more approachable. Probably no more than a mid-term ager for Rinaldi, but: who cares? Rating: 91(+?)
Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2007
Plummy ruby with a black hue. Less subtlety (let alone perfumy florality) on the nose than Rinaldi’s Cannubi S. Lorenzo-Ravera. A bit closed in comparison, tighter, more concentrated, a bit more density, but no more complex. More marzipan to the tannin (while there is little oak noticeable in the Viettis, which tend to be transferred to larger formats after the malo, there is none at all in a Rinaldi). Relatively tarry tobacco, sweet, pretty blood orange coulis, anise, licorice, wild strawberries, morello. As good a Vietti Castiglione as we have had. Rating: 90+/91(+/-?)
Vietti Barolo Rocche 2007
It seems everyone at the table identified the Rocche, even if all in the know had hoped it would be even better. Deeper, more saturated, less evolved violet colour. Tighter and more tannic, more powerful, minerally, more darkly fruited, set off by green tobacco leaf. There is new oak here, too, but along with so much more stuffing. An altogether more serious wine, no doubt. Almost Gaja-like combination of tar and black cherry. Impressive depth to the tannin. Long on the finish. Albeit not overwhelming, still one of the finest Vietti Rocche of all time, along with the 1982, 1989, 2004 and 2006. Problematic in terms of quality-price ratio, we all agreed, especially since the allocation policy is such that it is practically unavailable on its own at release price. Remo hit the nail square on the head when he noted that after all, it is still Vietti Rocche (not some elusive trophy bottle). Rating: 93+/94(+?)
Vietti Barolo Lazzarito 2007
Similar colour to that of the Castiglione but horse-sweatier, if less evolved on the nose. Less fruit complexity. Lightly nutty oak. More vinosity, superficially riper, but really showing partial over- and underripeness, including a minor bitter note. Rounder, but showing more herbaceousness along with a caramel top note with airing (again pointing to uneven ripeness). Medium length, that is, relatively long, but less so than the other Viettis. Was undecided for a moment if this is the Brunate or the Lazzarito, before deciding upon the former. Rating: 90+/91(-?)
Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate-Le Coste 2007
About 75% from Brunate and 25% from Le Coste. Again typical and easy enough to guess blind. Luminous ruby-black. Quite fruity, but lighter and drier than the 2006. Slightly austere, in fact. Subtlety despite power and tannin. Hinting at greater depth than the Cannubi S. Lorenzo-Ravera. Probably more concentrated, too. Quite long. Maybe the more promising wine per se, but in hindsight, I would go for the Cannubi S. Lorenzo-Ravera as it seems more in tune with the character of the vintage. Rating: 91+
Vietti Barolo Brunate 2007
Violet ruby-black, good gloss. Tannic, firm, well-concentrated wine. Quite full-bodied, if with more noticeable alcohol. Sweet, some depth, and good subtlety for Vietti Brunate. Some stone dust. Lightly green licorice. Grey pepper, more green pepper. Tiny olive note. Not just the second-finest among the 2007 Viettis, but very likely my favourite Vietti Brunate to date (my favourite thus far was the 2004 – in general, I prefer Brunate from other producers). Improved with airing. Rating: 92+/93?
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti