Friday 18 January 2013

Friday Dinner Barolo - 1997 Vigna Enrico VI, Cordero di Montezemolo

On returning home this evening I immediately pulled the cork. Poured straight into Riedel Extreme Pinot/Nebbiolo glass - aaaaah...

1997 Barolo Vigna Enrico VI, Cordero di Montezemolo
This Barolo comes from a 2 hectare plot in the Villero vineyard in Castiglione Falletto.
Just opened it oozes of a moist mushroom forest - lovely! With air fine notes of red currants, dried strawberries, rosehip, licorice, hard cherry candy and red beets emerge. The empty glass is all about fresh rose petals - very intense! Not a hint of the well known 97 heat on the nose.
The taste is tight, fresh and very coherent with notes of red currants and cherries, mushroom, rosehip, dry leather and a hint of cold coffe. A very long, finely tuned, elegant finish. The well polished tannins creeps up in the end of the finish. This is really fine. Given this blind I would have guessed a fine 96. And with a grilled steak with some mushrooms and a Marsala sauce - oooh boy!
92p   (tasted 2013/01)

Read more about Cordero di Montezemolo here.

2 comments:

  1. I brought the '78 of the site to a blind tasting a couple of years ago. Good stuff. Needed time. But I've understood that the winery has gone barrique style now? True? Do you know?

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    1. Hi Niklas!
      I would think that your 78 was more traditional made. In Barolo to Valpolicella (1999), Nicolas Belfrage writes: "the family are updating and modernizing in various ways, with new styles and new wines emerging after something of a lean spell in the 1980s".
      According to their website the Enrico VI undergo the malo on french barriques and then is aged on french barriques for 18-20 months. Their Monfalletto seems to get a more tradtional approach.
      But I didn´t get any wood feeling in the 97, the barriques was nicely integrated.

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