Tasting Notes
Vinous 94+
Good medium red. Spicy aromas and flavors of musky minerals, dried flowers and black pepper. Much more backward and austere than the Rocche, but with a classic dryness and superb precision. Not yet generous or pleasurable but this dry, powerfully tannic wine has the sheer intensity and underlying mineral spine to reward extended cellaring. A bit like a Rhone wine in nebbiolo clothing. Luca Currado noted that "the fruit must be brilliant for a Barolo to age a long time."
Robert Parker 96
The 2007 Barolo Lazzarito is a superb, plush wine loaded with dark fruit, flowers of all sorts, sweet menthol and minerals, all of which flow through to the long, powerful finish. The wine’s inner perfume emerges over time, adding even more nuance and subtlety to this big Barolo. The 2007 Lazzarito is far from an open, easygoing wine, in fact it needs time, and lots of it. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2042. Sadly the world lost Alfredo Currado – one of Piedmont’s pioneers – last year, but I am sure he would have been thrilled to see how his son’s wines have turned out. Luca Currado’s 2007 Baroli are every bit as impressive from bottle as they were from cask. Interestingly, Vietti is one of the few producers where the house style and vineyard nuances are just as evident as vintage character. Although the 2007s are gorgeous today, most of the wines shut down quickly in the glass, suggesting they may be headed for a period of stubbornness. All of the wines now see a fairly lengthy period of several weeks of contact on the skins, followed by malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels and aging in large, Slavonian oak casks. Always curious to explore, Currado continues to make small adjustments to vinification, including an experimental 2010 Barolo made with a strictly traditional approach that may end up being bottled only in magnum. I think it is fair to say readers will be stunned by the quality of the wines that are emerging from this family run property in Castiglione Falletto. An upcoming article on www.erobertparker.com will take an in-depth look at the estate’s Barolo Riserva Villero. Importer: Dalla Terra, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 259-5405
Anticipated maturity: 2022-2042
JancisRobinson.com 17.0
Serralunga d’Alba. Almost dark ruby. Intense and heady. Very slow, but richly fruited palate and ripe, coating tannin. Rich finish with lots to chew on. (WS)
Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020
