A tasting in Oslo on February 16th, hosted quite a lot of nebbiolos. Here are some that I tasted including a complete vertical of Produttori del Barbarescos riservas from 2001.
Barbaresco 1999, Oddero
Transparent red colour. Nose gives tobacco, tar and anise. Medium bodied Barbaresco in the mouth. Highly transparent style. The fruit is really take-no-prisoners-traditional in style. Although not very full. Fine aromas of tobacco and tar. Fine acidity and some tannins in the back. Drinking very well now. Good for the price.
Barolo Vigna Rionda (Serralunga d'Alba) 2001, Oddero
Red, transparent colour. More high notes and even some fruit here. Hints of tar and cherries. Some anise. Fuller in the motuh with better concentration. Fine acidity and quite cool fruit. Tannic end. Needs time. Good.
Barbaresco Santo Stefano (Neive) 2001, Castello di Neive
Red colour. Fruitier style. More cherries, still some fine notes of tobacco and tar. Fuller also in the mouth. Fine cool fruit. Fruitier style, still quite traditional and fine complex fruit. Young and tannic end. Very fine wine.
Barbaresco Santo Stefano (Neive) Riserva 2001, Castello di Neive
Red colour. Beautiful nose. More complex showing tar and tobacco. Cherries. Fine high notes. Powerful in the mouth. Young wine. Good concentration. Quite cool tobaccoish fruit. Hints of tar, red fruits, minerality. Tannic end and needs time to open, but this is a very fine Barbaresco.
Barolo Vigna Arborina (La Morra) 1998, Mauro Veglio
Brick-red colour. Fine nose of tar and tobacco. A little fine high-notes. Some red fruits. Shows more evolvement. Fullbodied wine in the mouth with medium concentration. Quite round in the mouth with decent acidity. It does not quite live up to the nose. Still a decent Barolo.
Barolo Villero (Castiglione Falletto) 2001, Giacomo Fenocchio
Red transparent colour. Nose is fine and quite tarry. Fine hints of tobacco, sweet anise and morellos. Medium bodied Barolo in the mouth. Quite tannic mouthfeel, but good concentration of fruit. Traditionally made and very fine Barolo. This is the cheapest Barolo in the norwegian marked right now and that is stunning. This has a high QPR.
Barolo Bussia (Monforte d'Alba) Riserva 1999, Giacomo Fenocchio
The Riserva is a little bit darker. The nose shows some more red fruits and is a little more closed. Hints od wet earth and anise, which makes me think of Monforte-Barolo. In the mouth this is tannic and closed. But this does not seem to have more power than the Villero and seems also perhaps a tad less interesting concentration of fruit. I prefer the Villero.
Barolo Bussia (Monforte d'Alba) 2001, Monti
Dark red colour. Nose shows fruitier with noticable oak. Also some tar and wet earth. Fullbodied Barolo in the mouth. Tannic and structured with good concentration. A bit closed fruit, but some nice typical hints. Also some oak. But there is a decent balance if you like some oak in your Barolo.
Barbaresco Bric Balin (Barbaresco) 1999, Moccagatta
Dark red colour. Honse shows tar and some fine high notes. Quite fruity. Fullbodied and more resolved and integrated oak than last time I tasred this. Seems cool and quite complex wine with fine aromas. A bit fruity and quite typical of the Moccagatta-vineyard. Tannins in the back. Fine modern Barbaresco.
Barolo Cannubbi (Barolo) 2001, Marchesi di Barolo
Red colour. Lighter more elegant type of Barolo. Earthy, fine liquorice, red fruits. Some high notes. Fruitier in the mouth. Rounder and softer style. Quite kind actually. Still fine fruit. More traditionally styled Cannubbi from Marchesi di Barolo. Some tannins in the back. Fine, but not very interesting.
Barolo La Volta (Barolo) 2001, Cabutto (Tenuta La Volta)
Nose shows tar, anise, some earth. Rougher, more traditionally made Barolo here. Fullbodied Barolo in the mouth. Medium concentration. Fine acidity and a tannic end. Not the most elegant Barolo di Barolo, but it is interesting and price is low.
Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 1998, Bruno Giacosa
Redbrown colour. Great and complex nose. Tar, truffles, anise. Very fine high notes. In the mouth this is a little more closed and one-dimensional. It's an elegant Serralunga d'Alba with fine acidity and tannic, but still quite round style. I would give this another 3-4 years. Great Barolo and my favorite of the day.
Barbaresco 2003, Gaja
Deep red colour. Fruity nose, intense dark fruits. Herbacious oak. Very powerful style in the mouth and very round and fruity style. Lots of oak. Quite silky oak. But fruit is very one-dimensional and lacking depth. Low acids and a tannic end. Decent quality and too expensive.
Barbaresco 2000, Gaja
Deep brick-red colour. More earth and tar in the nose here. Again the new oak is noticable. But more complexity and hints of truffles. Fullbodied, round and silky Barbaresco in the mouth. A little finer acidity and a tannic end. Need smore time. This is far better than the 03. Still too expensive.
Langhe Sperss (Serralunga d'Alba) 2001, Gaja
Dee red colour. Cooler nose here. More complexity. Hints of cherries, tar. Also quite fruity styled and powerful in the mouth. But with a finer fruit and more complexity. Better structure and acidirt. Tannic end and quite closed. This is a fine wine.
Barolo Monprivato (Castiglione Falletto) 2000, Giacomo Mascarello
Redbrown colour. Fine nose, very typical Monprivato; hints of tobacco, nettle, earth, some herbs. Fullbodied wine in the mouth with a very transparent fruit. Lots of tobacco, earth. Surprisingly open and drinkable for this wine. Quite round style with a bit low acids in the balance. Tannic end. Probably deserves some more years in the cellar, but this will be an early drinker. A very fine wine, but a little disappointing in the context of the high quality this wine has in other vintages.
Barolo Bric dël Fiasc (Castiglione Falletto) 2001, Paulo Scavino
Red colour. Nose is quite fruity, showing cherrires, tobacco. Fullbodied Barolo in the mouth. Lots of concentration of quite cool fruit. But still a little one-dimensional and fruity. Fine acidity and a rounder finish than normal for this vintage. Fairly tannic. Needs time to develop more interest.
Barolo La Rosa (Serralunga d'Alba) 2000, Fontanafredda
Red colour. Fruit shows tar and cherries in the nose. In the mouth this is a medium bodied Barolo with strangely cool fruit for this vintage. Fine and quite fruity and primary right now. Red fruits and hints of tar. An elegant Barolo from this vintage. Not the most structured. Fine quality.
Barolo La Rosa (Serralunga d'Alba) 1998, Fontanafredda
Red colour. Nose shows cherries, a touch of spice and tar. Fruity and medium bodied in the mouth. Again quite elegant, but lacking a little weight. Fine aromas and not too structured. Drinking fine now. Fair quality.
Barolo La Rosa (Serralunga d'Alba) 1995, Fontanafredda
Brown-red colour. Nose is more evolved with hints of tar, earth, herbs and a touch truffles. Again quite a light Barolo in the mouth. Lighter and less concentrated. Quite transparent adn evolved fruit. Some complexity and fine hints. Still quite elegant and a lightweight Barolo. Fair quality. Of these three I preferred the 2000.
Barolo 1967, Fontanafredda
Brick colour. Sweeter nose with motsly tertiary aromas of earth, tar, tobacco, old dust. In the mouth this is a mature wine with quite fresh acidity. Rounder tannins. Fruit is evolved and perhaps lacking a little depth. Not the most complex older Barolo, but very interesting to drink.
Barbaresco riserva Rio Sordo (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
Then I finish with a complete vertical of the riservas 2001 from Produttori. The order of tasting here was desided by Aldo Vacca earlier the same day. The Rio Sordo showed tar, tobacco and cherries on the nose. It was cool and had an acidic mouthfeel showing fine fruit with hints of tar and anise. A bit kind structure and round tannins. Very fine fruit, but surprisingly kind Rio Sordo.
Barbaresco riserva Pora (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
More high notes here in the nose with hints of anise and tar. Fine nose. Also quite acidic mouthfeel, but seems more elegant than the Rio Sordo. Also a little more tannins in the back. Tighter. Fine Pora.
Barbaresco riserva Asili (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
Killer nose on this Asili. More complex and exotic. Fine anisy notes. In the mouth this has very fine and cool fruit. More refined and even more elegant than the Pora. Fine concentration with more depth. FIne acidity. Tannic end, but drinking fine now. Great wine and one of my favorites.
Barbaresco riserva Paje (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
Fruiter style here. Cherryish with a hint sof tobacco and tar. Fruitier and simpler in the mouth. Lacking the depth of the Asili. Fine acidity and more structure. Tannic end. Needs time to develop.
Barbaresco riserva Moccagatta (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
This shows the coolest fruit of the vertical. Cherry-stones, tobacco, even minerality and tar. More acidic mouthfeel. Pure fruity style with a fine mineral depth. Not the most tannic. Still quite closed. Another of my favorites, but then again this always are.
Barbaresco riserva Rabaja (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
More tar and cherry in the nose. A bit warmer and simpler style. Fullbodied and quite concentrated fruit in the mouth. But tannic and quite closed now. But seems to lack some of the depth of the finest wines. Very good.
Barbaresco riserva Montefico (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
This shows a bit cooler fruit again. More cherry with hints of tobacco and tar. More complexity than the Rabaja. Fullbodied in the mouth. Tannic, still there remains some elegance in the fruit. Good acidity. Needs aging.
Barbaresco riserva Montestefano (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
As always the hardest to judge as a young wine. Very closed. Showing only some cherry and a touch of tar. Seems cool and fine. Tight in the mouth. Fine acidity and the normal tannic end. Very closed fruit. Hard to judge, but this is normal for this vineyard and it always turn out to be one of my favorites with aging.
Barbaresco riserva Ovello (Barbaresco) 2001, Produttori del Barbaresco
I was surprised that the Montestefano was not served last. Tasting this I can understand it. The Ovello is more open now than the Montestefano, but shows highly aggressive and tannic. The nose shows darker fruits, cool blue fruits. A bit simpler. Some earth and tar. In the mouth this is very tannic, but also quite fruity and more open than the Montestefano. A bit simpler. Needs time to round off the aggressive finish.