Barolo, Brunello and Brisbane: The Three Bs

‘The Three Bs’ – depending on your background that phrase may evoke Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms or booze, babes, and buds but last week it was all about Barolo, Brunello and Brisbane. Sommeliers Australia have been holding comparative tastings around the country exploring Italy’s two big guns via offerings from the heralded 2006 vintage and I made damn sure that I was there when the roadshow dropped in on my sleepy little city.

A cosy group of myself and ten others sat down to look at 18 wines tallying about $5000 in retail terms. I felt a little bit dirty but education is education…and it’s seldom cheap. Wines were served blind and straight from the bottle without decanting. The atmosphere was informal and lively with opinions encouraged.

THE BAROLOS

There’s nothing like a bit of tannin to kick off events. Complete polyphenolic immersion in fact. At five years of age I don’t think any of these wines were that approachable let alone anywhere near their peak drinking window. The 2006 vintage was widely considered to be a good one for Barolo. Heat caused consternation in July but that was mitigated by rain and some cooler temperatures in August. The crucial month of September was warm and windy with a little rain but not enough to cause any trouble. Overall results have been referred to as variable and not of the standard of 2004 but impressive nonetheless.

Our bracket of six wines exhibited diversity in style and quality. The ‘ rain on bitumen’ aromatics of a Marcarini Barolo ‘La Serra’ 2006 captivated me. Mixed in with florals and cherries and elegantly shaped around citrus tinged acidity and formidable tannins, this was my “wine of the first bracket”. At between $120-140 I’d certainly consider stashing some in the cellar. The Principiano Barolo ‘Serralunga’ 2006 that followed it was even lighter. Compelling notes of aniseed and chicory with a spiced orange finish. Well worth a look at around the same price.

Things got really interesting when the identity of wine number three was revealed. The Vietti Barolo ‘Castiglione’ 2006 was the favourite wine of 8 out of 11 tasting that day but it failed to win me over completely. Cherry veered too far into raspberry compote territory for my liking but its relative fruit forwardness did make it the most ‘drinkable’ of the first six Barolos. It was hardly lacking in complexity either, with plenty of earthy, aniseedy depth.

Aromatics played a big part in my affection for a Conterno Fantino Barolo ‘Vigna del Gris’ 2006. Lavender and rose petals, red and dark cherries, chocolate and tea leaf. Very purdy but incredibly backwards in the mouth with most of the flavour halted by a wall of structure before it could hit its stride. I’m still betting on this one though. Massive potential.

I didn’t have much time for a diffuse Vajra Barolo ‘Bricco delle Viole’ 2006 which seemed overly glossy. More impressive was the Poderi Colla Barolo ‘Bussia’ Dardi de la Rose 2006 with its cured meat charms met by a sweet red fruit overlay, black olives and tar.

THE BRUNELLOS

The 2006 vintage in Montalcino has been raved about. Consistently hot days and cool nights helped produce approachable wines that aren’t lacking structural integrity – or that’s the spiel. I’m not interested in dealing with the ‘Brunellopoli’ scandal of the proceeding year, where varieties other than Sangiovese allegedly made their way into certain wines. Classic and modern styles were stacked against each other in this bracket. Some of these wines displayed a lot of polish…one looked a little too buffed but the truth is I’d be more than happy to drink most of them, especially if someone else was paying.

The bracket kicked off with a slick Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 2006. Rich, ripe and supple with dark cherry and panforte characters. Plenty of chewy tannin provided form. Cola and licorice root were on display in the San Felice Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino 2006. I was ambivalent about the medicinal, animale element though.

Some pleasant rusticity was a feature of the Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino 2006 but hay and lucerne pellets turned into a full-on case of brett in an unappealing Constanti Brunello di Montelcino 2006, a wine which one taster described memorably as smelling like “my mum’s apricot chicken”.

The last two wines had a distinctly ‘modern’ edge. The Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino 2006 was too suave for my tastes. Black fruits and violets with more than a passing resemblance to certain warm climate Shirazes, right down to the showy oak. I found a Querce Bettina Brunello di Montalcino 2006 a more agreeable version of a similar style. Dried herbs on the finish were the clincher as I decided that it did, indeed, have enough soul. With 5 others naming it their favourite wine of the bracket it took out the honours for most popular. Both of these wines did pose a question though; “Is this really what I want from Sangiovese/Brunello?”

BAROLO VS BRUNELLO

The last six wines were poured with the overt challenge of picking Brunello from Barolo blind. Apparently a similar exercise was held by Sommeliers Australia a couple of years ago with interesting results. I felt pretty sure that I would be able to tease the wines apart but a couple of them proved more difficult than I had expected. On one occasion I just got it wrong. I blame tannin fatigue.

When it came to the Elia Altere Barolo ‘La Morra’ 2006 the table was split. I called it as Brunello on account of a Ribena like flavour and notable alcohol. I should have stuck to considering structure. The stand out wines? The E.Pira Barolo ‘Cannubi’ 2006, the Fullligni Brunello di Montalcino 2006 and the Domenico Clerico Barolo ‘Ciabot Mentin Ginestra’ 2006 (the only wine correctly identified by all participants).

UNDENIABLE CONCLUSIONS

By session’s end a few things were clear to me. I’m still a Barolo man at heart. And ‘tannin seizures’, as referred to by Philip White in a predictably brilliant piece on wine show judges, are real. My thanks go out to all of those involved with the event.