Brilliance, finally

Posted on 14 May 2011

Last day of blind tasting here at Nebbiolo Prima 2011. We took a more relaxed stance today: just 30 samples of 2007 Barolo (plus 22 Riservas from 2005, on which I’ll blog separately in a few days). All came from the village of Serralunga d’Alba, long famed for its structured, austere, tannic, ageworthy wines.

Barolos from Serralunga should not just be austere and tight but also show a fresh, airy fruit profile, and a more distinctive minerality than other Barolos. This was largely confirmed today, with what certainly was the best performance of 2007 wines across the appellation. It’s no new thing: Serralunga also shone amongst 2005s and 2004s. Vineyards here are located slightly higher up and on lighter soils, so that grapes ripen slower and suffer less from global warming during the recent string of hot, dry vintages.

It’s easy to overdo the tannins in Serralunga, and there’s also no shortage of boring new-oak modernist wines here, but on the whole there are many excellent Barolos allying that fresh-fruity, spicy, at times almost mentholly bouquet with the iron-cast structure for which Serralunga is famous. Beautifully fresh, with electrifying poise and brilliance. I blogged on Massolino a few days ago, and mentioned Paolo Manzone here; other favourite Serralunga estates include Luigi Pira, Giovanni Rosso, and Ettore Germano. The latter two presented some lovely wines from the Cerretta cru, which is quickly becoming one of my preferred single vineyards in Barolo, combining fantastically intense fruit with mineral structure. In fact this year the wines of Cerretta outperformed more famous crus in Serralunga such as Vigna Rionda, Lazzarito or Prapò. And there soon will be more exciting interpretations of this vineyard from Giacomo Conterno – write-up of this visit to appear on this blog soon.

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There were also a few surprises: an excellent wine from Gemma, and shockingly in the context of my recent article on Pio Cesare, a brilliant 2007 from this estate which never showed well in my blind tasting of new releases. We learn every day.

Nebbiolo Prima 2011 is over but I’m staying in Barolo for a few more days to visit and speak to some top producers including Giacomo Conterno, Maria-Teresa Mascarello and Aldo Vaira. Live blogging continues so stay tuned!

Disclosure

My trip to Piedmont including flights, accommodation and wine tasting programme is sponsored by the Albeisa association of wine producers.