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.
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?
ReplyDeleteHi Niklas!
DeleteI 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.