1999 Barolo... We should have been nicer to ye!

The 1999 vintage of Barolo has the middle child syndrome.  Stuck in the middle of a string of excellent and diverse vintages, the 1999's got a polite hand on the head before being shuffled out of the kitchen to the back yard where the dog lay,  awaiting a comrade.

There are a few reasons for this, the most immediate being the barely warm reception by early press. The wines were difficult to showcase on release due to their reticent personalities, giving warrant for recommendations on the previous three vintages as best buys (most of these vintages were still available on the market if one so such desired.)  The critics who did some digging into the wines knew better, seeing the quiet qualities of the vintage and touted their attributes.  These insightful informants claimed the wines required additional time, and would surely blossom into sweet little purities of Nebbiolo deliciousness, much to deaf ears unfortunately.  Moving from the critic to the consumer; those who follow Piedmont wines had cellars full of 1996 ("full and complex"), 1997 ("vintage of the century") and 1998 ("classic and long lived") and could barely catch their breath with 1999 before the press showed up and demanded everyone pay attention to 2000 and 2001.  Even Dante Scaglione, then winemaker for Bruno Giacosa, is quoted as saying, "....we probably overlooked the 1999 Le Rocche del Falletto.  To me it was always a wine worthy of the Red Label."  To fans who know Bruno Giacosa, the Red Label reserve is the house's top wine and arguably the region's best tribute to classic Barolo.  All these circumstances rallied against this poor little vintage of deliciousness...booo.

Being a fan of Barolo in general, and having a disgustingly decadent supply of them in the Alberta market I felt no surer duty than to stash a six pack of the top gems away on release and see how the wines fared with a decade pinned against the labeled  vintage.  This seemed like a good idea then, and proved so in its application now.  The wines chosen represented a big swath clockwise around the Barolo area; starting in Monforte d'Alba in the south, moving up around to Barolo proper right in the middle, then into La Morra just into the west and finally succumbing to the aromatic heights of eastern Serralunga d'Alba.  Soils types and aspects always providing intimate voyeurism into a wines personality, the various styles of production between the group gave an insight into their wardrobe.  The wines showed marvelous diversities of style, adding to Barolo's fascination.  Experiencing the staunch traditionalism of Giacosa versus the modern stealth of Gaja and compared still further to the extremities of Voerzio gave evidence to just how varied the region has become in the past 20 years.   With regards to age the wines showed pretty much as one would guess based on producer and local.  Grasso was showing well offering delicious value and could make an appearance on the dinner table if you sweetened its ear with a sumptuous plate.  Conterno was ripe, explosive and it may be hard to hold onto this bottle as it drank like it knew you.  Einaudi showed its dabbling with wood and gave voice to the Cannubi site, a fulsomeness that requires some patience.  Voerzio emerged dark and brooding, like a black suit hanging in a dark closet...kinda scary and best to keep downstairs.  Gaja showed up dressed as usual giving sermon to style and elegance and eerie power.  Giacosa was legend, aristocratic and obviously waaay out of our league right now, we'll check back in a decade when we've grown up and can roll that large.  

As a vintage touted as being very shut down and a long siesta required,  the wines are certainly coming around.  If you do indeed have these wines in your cellar, and in any quantities if you're so lucky, experimenting with them now seems like a reasonable (pleasurable) idea.  They are just starting to hit that sweet spot of shedding youthful structure and allowing their complexities to emerge.

By the by, as side note, here I took the half bottles of Voerzio and Giacoasa to Bonterra to pair with dinner.  Bonterra does a bang up job serving richly textured Italian fare.  Braised rabbit risotto with Pecorino, just magic with the Giacosa and a simple preparation of ribeye, which managed to charm a little smile out of Voerzio.  By this time the wines had been open without gas for twenty hours.  No one would have guessed this had they tried the wines blind.  

Listed below are tasting notes for the six wines tasted.  Check ‘em out...use ‘em, love ‘em, drink ‘em!

1999 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Vigna Chiniera - Light hue, youthful with some sediment.  Intense nose with sweet, almost candied red fruits, hint of tree resin, bark, sandalwood, nougat and black tea.  The nose is youthful, but lifted with the time seen in bottle.  Firm in the mouth on the attack, but eases as the wine moves across the palate with the tannins being grainy and the acids starting to plump up.  The finish is a little compressed but should flesh out with some more years.  Drink now to check it out or best after 2014 to 2020.  

1999 Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala - Surprisingly developed rim with a tremendous amount of sediment.  The nose screams from the glass with candied walnuts, orange peel, red licorice, huge floral notes and a touch soapy.  A quite developed nose for the age perhaps?   The palate is surprisingly soft with supple, grainy tannins and plush acids.  Lots of chocolate, nougat, cashew and candied cherry.  Finish is open and long with chalky minerals leading the way.  A very open Conterno, almost surprisingly so and hard not to drink this gem right now.  Drink now through 2018.  

1999 Luigi Einaudi Barolo Nei Cannubi - Youthful ruby robe.  Soft and perfumed with round red fruits neatly wrapped in a swath of new oak, diakon, rose petal and fresh plowed earth.  Minerals are present, but slow to emerge.  The tannins are mouth filling and richly textured with acids supple and sweet.  The finish is developing, but a touch clipped at the moment.  Overall very pleasing and very youthful.   The style here gives leniency for early drinking, but certainly best after 2014 and will hold through 2025.  

1999 Roberto Voerzio Barolo La Serra - Fairly dark youthful hue.  Very closed nose offering clues to iron, roasted almond, pecan and truffle.  Definitely a richness here, quite brooding.  The palate is the same story, dense and powerful, but not offering much today.  The tannins are richly textured and a pleasure to feel, acids are firm and polished.  The wine reminds of youthful Bordeaux with certain graphite character.  Forget this one if you have any.  Revisit after 2015 to 2025.  

1999 Gaja Langhe Sperrs -  Even youthful ruby hue.  Quite high toned nose and very expressive with airy sandy minerals, toffee, sweet cherry, hazelnut and delicate floral.  Very youthful, but with some richness showing from the bottle age.   Delightful palate with lots of power and immense character, structure is firm, but yielding to the mouth.  The integration of the wood here is seamless allowing the pretty minerals and liquor like fruit to sing.  Impressive wine.  Best after 2012 to 2020.  

1999 Bruno Giacosa le Rocche del Falletto - Light to medium ruby hue.  Quite lifted nose with orange peel, licorice, fig, wax, honey dew, camphor and hints of blood, rose and truffle.  While being this open, it is really only showing a small portion of what's in there.  The palate is very firm with staunch tannins/acids compressing the palate.  The flavours on the palate are very impressive offering such beautiful purity.  Finish is definitely there with chalky mineral and cherry pit, but will take on substantial weight over the next two decades.  Try after 2015 and drink through 2035.