Love, Italian Style: Blind on the Vine Barolo Tasting

Our wine tasting group, Bline on the Vine (BOTV,) met on 2/19/11 for a Barolo tasting. Al Reynaud, the oenophile who leads our group, and I collaborated on this one, and I have to admit to a moment of fear when we selected Barolo. The only Barolo wines I've had were in Italy, because the grape is grown where my relatives live in the Piedmont (Piemonte) region of Italy. Barolo is the typical table wine served in most restaurants and homes. I'd never bought any here in the U.S., and I had trouble finding a wine that met the parameters for the tasting: vintage from 1999 - 2005, price point at $60 and up. Finally, I found one bottle, and without knowing anything other than the wine was rated 95 points by Wine Spectator, I bought that one.

So, twelve of us met at Il Forno Classico, in the warm and comfortable wine shop attached to the restaurant, and tasted the following seven wines. It was a hugely successful evening, we all struggled to pick just one favorite out of the group. I had four tied for the top and was forced by several members to pick a winner.

Wines we tasted are in no particular order, and I have given both my ranking and the group's top five (six really, because two tied for fourth place) rankings. BOTV ranks on a twenty point scale, with five points for aroma (nose), five for finish, and ten for taste. We do a blind tasting, with the wines decanted and numbered.

1. Bricco Cerretta 2004
The wine had a more floral nose with a hint of tar. The wine was nicely balanced with flavors of bright cherry, raspberry, and pink rose petals. The finish was tart with lingering cherry and rose. It was still rather hot, and I thought this could be a great wine with a little more aging. I rated this 16 points, 5th, and the group rated this as tied for 4th place.

2. Pio Cesare 2004
The nose had stronger notes of tar and pine, along with a hint of rose. The front and mid-palate were largely cherry and rose flavors. The finish was a bit rough at first with a big punch of alcohol. However, the wine improved as it sat in my glass and although I only gave this 14 points and ranked it 6th, I tried it much later in the evening and liked it enough to buy a bottle of the 2005 from Scotty (owner of Il Forno Classico) who had it in his nicely stocked wine shop. I plan to age this for several years. This wine was very good with food. The group rated this tied for 4th with the Bricco Cerretta.

3. Pranotto Bassia (sorry, I somehow missed the vintage on this one)
The nose was a lovely floral blend of roses and violets. This was a delicious, smooth and well-balanced wine with flavors of bright cherry, rose and a hint of oak. The finish was lighter than others, and very smooth, like cream on the tongue. I loved this wine with food. I gave it 17 points, and ranked it 4th. The group ranked this last, at 6th, and I speculate it was because of the lighter finish.

4. Paolo Scavino 2000 - this is the wine I selected for the tasting
Without knowing this was my wine, I ranked it #1. The nose was full and round with notes of tar, rose, and a hint of menthol. A well-balanced and smooth wine, the flavors were of cherry, violets, and a little oak. The finish was still a little hot, which surprised all of us when we found out it was one of the older wines. You could lay this down for a few more years and it would be perfect! What really sold me was that I loved this wine with Il Forno Classico's risotto balls and marinara sauce. I gave it 19 points and ranked it 1st. The group ranked it 2nd...so I didn't win, but was oh-so-close. Rats.

5. Corino 2005
We all agreed this wine had a flaw in the aroma. Some said wet socks, I thought it was carroty, or earthy. We suspected perhaps a bit of cork contamination, but the wine tasted fine, so no one was certain in the final analysis. The flavors in the wine were of cherry and rose, with interesting hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. While it was not typical of Barolo, we all seemed to like the differences. A well-balanced palate that finished round and smooth and somewhat hot, again indicating more aging could benefit the wine. I gave this 13 points, knocking it down on the nose, and ranked it 7th. The group ranked it 5th.

6. Sori Genestra 1999
The oldest of the wines, this was delightful. Starting with a nose of rose with hints of pine and mint, the front of the palate had a delightful creamy vanilla flavor that developed into stronger notes of tart cherry and oak, and finished with a stronger note of oak. This wine was very smooth, and the only reason I ranked it 2nd was that I thought the Paolo Scavino was slightly better with food. It was a tough call, I gave it 18 points. The group ranked this 3rd.

7. Renato Raitti 2005
Oh the sadness of having to pick just one to win. This was the group's #1 wine and my #3, but only because I had to rank the top four - I really liked them equally, and it was like picking a favorite amongst one's children. This wine started with a nose of rose, violet and tar, very typical of a Barolo. The front of the palate had lovely, balanced flavors of cherry, vanilla and rose, and these flavors developed nicely and intertwined mid-palate. The finish was very smooth with lingering flavors of tart cherry and a hint of oak. This also was very good with food. I gave it 18 points, so it really tied with #6 for me.

What a wonderful evening, and a great example of why I love the Blind on the Vine group. Wonderful, friendly, fun, knowledgeable people whom I am so happy to have in my life. Special thanks to Al, who as always did a marvelous job of orchestrating an enchanting evening. And of course, if you ever find yourself in Rancho Cordova/Gold River, CA, be sure to stop by Il Forno Classico, have a wonderful meal and get some great wines from Scotty.