Vinitaly 2011, Part 4

After lunch Friday, I wanted to spend our afternoon tasting the latest wines from Piedmont, but first we needed to make one last stop for a Brunello at Salvioni. We've met Giuliano Salvioni before, and I had a great visit with him last summer in Montalcino, so we couldn't miss out on stopping by at Vinitaly. It also helps that his wines are some of the best in Montalcino, and the latest releases were no different. We had the 2009 Rosso, followed by the 2006 Brunello, which was just as great in bottle as it was in barrel last June.

Now we headed to the adjoining building for Piedmont, but were rudely greeted by the heat. The weather was unseasonably warm this year in Verona, and Pad 9 where the Piedmont producers were headquartered had no air conditioning. It wasn't the most ideal way to taste great Nebbiolo, but we did the best we could. Our first stop was at Vietti, who was sharing their very large space with Coppo. I was surprised that Vietti had such a large, somewhat impersonal booth, as many of the top Piedmont producers are much more low-key. The first wine we tasted was the 2008 Barbera d'Asti from Coppo. We then were offered just two wines from Vietti, the 2007 Barbera d'Alba Scarrone and the 2007 Barolo Castigione (their base offering). The wines were nice, but it was disappointing not to be able to taste more.

Next we headed to the main tasting area of many of the top small producers in the area, the Langa In group. Our first stop was at Cigliuti, a producer we first learned about on our first visit to Vinitaly. We began with a pair of Barberas, the 2008 Barbera d'Alba Serraboella and the 2008 Barbera d'Alba Campass. Next we moved up to the Langhe wines, one Nebbiolo and one blended with Barbera, with the 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo and the 2008 Briccoserra Langhe. Finally, we had two excellent Barbarescos, the 2006 Barberesco Vigna Erte and the 2007 Barbaresco Serraboella. I thought these two wines were great examples of traditionally made Barbaresco from a top producer. As we finished up our tasting, we were discussing other similar small family producers, especially any that may be looking for import representation in Florida, as Dominic was with us and interested in finding potential clients. Within minutes, we were being whisked away to our next tasting.

Piero Busso was the producer we visited next, and one I must confess I was not familiar with. However, we were treated to a very nice lineup, with a few very good wines. We actually started with a white, the 2010 Langhe Arneis, followed by a pair of Barberas, the 2009 Barbera d'Alba Majano and the 2008 Barbera d'Alba Santo Stefanetto. Following the 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo, we then went through four Barbarescos from two vintages. First up was the 2007 Barbaresco Borgese, their entry offering. It was ok, but not among my favorites. Next was the 2008 Barbaresco Mondino, which was probably my favorite of the lineup, especially for the cost. We then went back for the 2007 Barbaresco Santo Stefanetto and 2007 Barbaresco Gallina, which was the most modern-styled of the bunch. Overall, I thought the wines were of good quality, though not quite at the top level of some of the other Barbarescos we tasted. However, they are very affordably priced for the most part and would be good choices for an intro to Barbaresco without breaking the bank.

Our next stop was to visit one of the best value producers of Barbaresco, the co-op Produttori di Barbaresco. We began with the 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo, then followed up with three different vintages of Barbaresco. First up was the 2007 Barbaresco, then the 2006 Barbaresco, and finally the 2005 Barbaresco Riserva Pora. The Produttori normally make several riservas, but don't offer them all for tasting. Also, there were no riservas produced in 2006, so the regular bottling can contain some of that riserva juice (depending on the Lot). All in all, it was another solid lineup from the co-op.

We then made a quick stop at one of the iconic producers of Barolo, Giuseppe Mascarello, where we were offered the 2004 Barolo Villero. I was a bit disappointed that this was the only wine we were offered, but it was nice to taste a wine I hadn't previously had.

Our next visit was yet another of the legendary Barolo houses, Aldo Conterno. Unfortunately, Aldo himself was not present, but we still got to taste some great wines. Before getting to the Barolos, we tasted the 2008 Barbera d'Alba Conca Tre Pile and the 2008 Langhe Il Favot. We then had the 2007 Barolo and the 2007 Barolo Cicala, which was an absolutely top-class Barolo, and one of my wines of the week.

At this point, the day was starting to run short, and though we knew we had time for at least two more visits, we wanted to make them count. On our way back to the Langa In area, we stopped in the area for producers that are part of the Mark de Grazia portfolio. There, we found Moccagatta, another top Barbaresco producer, and were treated to another great lineup that included whites and reds, and all of their Barbaresco bottlings. The two whites we tried were the 2010 Chardonnay and the 2009 Chardonnay Buschet. Moving to the reds, we had the 2010 Dolcetto d'Alba, the 2010 Barbera d'Alba, and the 2010 Langhe Nebbiolo before moving up to the Barbarescos. We were then treated to all of their 2008s, starting the the 2008 Barbaresco. It was then on to the single-vineyard wines, with the 2008 Barbaresco Bric Balin, the 2008 Barbaresco Basarin, and the 2008 Barbaresco Cole. Each was outstanding, though I had a slight preference for the Bric Balin.

Finally, we went back into the Langa In area, and were able to get a seat with Chiara Boschis of E. Pira-Chiara Boschis, who we had also met on our first Vinitaly trip. Chiara was friendly as ever, and led us through one more great lineup. Here we began with the 2010 Dolcetto d'Alba, followed by the 2009 Barbera d'Alba and the 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo. Moving on to the Barolos, we tasted the 2007 Barolo Cannubi, the 2007 Barolo Via Nuova, and finally the 2006 Barolo Cannubi. The Barolos were all excellent, classically-styled wines that I thoroughly enjoyed and were a great way to finish the day.

Overall, our second day was another success, with 74 more wines tasted. In our afternoon tastings, I came away impressed with the general quality of the 2008 vintage in Barbaresco, and really the quality of Barbaresco as a whole, which I think tends to get overlooked by its Barolo sibling. We again managed to visit with old friends, make a few new ones, and generally enjoy all there was to offer. Of course, now we only had one day left, and a lot of wine still to taste, which meant that Saturday we'd have to have a good plan and be on our game to get through as much as we could.