By Gordon Hullar

January 27, 2009 4:18 PM | Link to this

Has quality now been defined by how long a wine will age? That is certainly not my definition. And what is the definition of traditional vs. modern. Controlling yield by use of a “green harvest” is certainly not traditional. The story of Elio Altare being disinherited for dropping fruit is legend so we know that dropping fruit was not done before Elio Altare,Enrico Scavino, Domenico Clerico, Marc de Grazia and a few courageous others led the way. What about the changes in the cellar to control fermentation temperatures and improve skin contact during maceration? They are certainly not traditional because the technology didn’t exist until recently. Or are we just talking about whether a winemaker ages some percent of their Barolo in French oak barrels? All of Marco’s producers are doing the above and yes, most do use some French oak barrels. In recent weeks I have tasted an Altare La Morra 1988, a Clerico Ginestra 1986, a Corino Vigna Giachini 1988, a Manzone de Grazia 1990 and a Sandrone Cannubi 1990. The Altare (plain Barolo, not a cru) was balanced, refined and delicious. The Clerico (in 1992 Parker rated the 1986 vintage a 78R)had a pretty nose and interesting complex flavors and I was glad I still had two more bottles. The 1988 Corino had good grip, nice flavors and will be tasty for at least two or three years more. My notes after tasting the Manzone were “great now, try again in two or three years”. The Sandrone was simply profound. Everyone just stood there and smiled. That might be why a bottle is still selling for $500-$1,000. When I hear others say that the wines produced by Marco’s producers don’t age, I can only wonder how the wines have been stored.

By Ann Boucher

January 10, 2009 4:34 PM | Link to this

I have always admired the writing and palate of Ed McCarthy. To my mind, he is one of the most spot-on and cogent American wine writers. On this subject, as with most of his topics, I’m in complete agreement with his position. No internationally styled Barolo can hold a candle to a well-made traditional Barolo with a little age on it. I think I speak from experience, as I have had the good fortune to taste through most of the wines he referenced in his article. In fact, in a previous capacity in the wine trade, I was personally responsible for bringing three of the growers mentioned (Veglio, Alessandria and Giacomo Conterno) to Ohio and Kentucky. The modern style certainly fills a niche when smartly priced, offering young or impatient drinkers (or both) a glimpse at the greatness of Barolo. However, as their prices have been creeping up as of late, many are just not worth the money anymore, making the “old school” Barolos the best values within this category. I had the rare and wonderful opportunity to drink a Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato 1985, a few years back. Just in writing this sentence, I’m salivating and starting to tear up – the wine was truly that memorable.

By wine-o

January 9, 2009 7:52 AM | Link to this

As a distributor that represents some of the luminaries on both sides of this aisle, I have to disagree with Ed’s very black and white assesments. The truth is that Barolos like all wines in the U.S. are sold within a year or two at most of the current vintage. I.E. 90% of the Barolo in market is from ‘03 and ‘04 with just a smattering from the awful vintage of ‘02 (you know who you are and you should be ashamed of yourselves!) and even less from the heralded ‘01 and ‘00 vintages. Ed can talk up the old style all he wants, but Giacomo Conterno is a tough sell simply for the reasons stated in the article- the wines are tough, tannic and backwards in their youth. While after a decade or two they turn into works of art, that is way too long for most people to wait, and then one must take into account cellar conditions, viability of the cork, etc. before we start proclaiming them the best wines ever made. Most Baroli are sampled by the wine buyer when they are but months removed from the winery. Most are served or sold at about the same time or shortly after. Time and time again more of the “new style” such as Mauro Veglio, Gianfranco Alessandria, Paolo Scavino, Clerico, et al show better in their youth. These are the wines you want to drink now and the fact is we do drink them now. As for not aging, In the past month I have had a ‘99 Veglio that would make you want to cry it was so good and a ‘93 Clerico that was in a word stunning. If you have 25 years to wait by all means only buy the old school producers, otherwise there is way too much quality in these wines to write them off as simply “too modern.”