Top Barolo 2011 Riservas: Riding the rollercoaster

Stephen Brook reviews the vintage and picks out wines to consider buying for your cellar…

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Scroll down to see Brook’s favourite Barolo 2011 Riservas

The vintage

This was a rollercoaster vintage, with fluctuating weather conditions – wet March, hot April, cool and sometimes stormy early summer, and a hot August.

Cooler, damper conditions in September slowed the ripening but led to ripe grapes with excellent colour and tannins. The harvest was about two weeks earlier than usual and completed by the end of September.

Uneven ripening was a characteristic of the vintage, but conscientious growers could rectify that in the vineyard and by sorting.

The wines

Like the 2007s and 2009s, these are wines packed with fruit, which makes them accessible relatively young, although they have the structure to age. Acidity is generally higher than in 2009.

Elisa Scavino of the Scavino estate sees the wines as ‘aromatic, with rounded fruit, lower in tannins than 2010 or 2013 but more structured than 2012. They’re elegant wines with silky tannins.’

The quality seems to be consistent across the region.

To buy or not to buy

The Riservas are now coming onto the market, and a selection, from which the following recommendations was made, was tasted blind in Alba, and non-blind in London.

Riservas, with their longer ageing (62 months in all) and, one hopes, stricter fruit selection, are inevitably more expensive than the regular Barolos, but such is the appeal of the latter, that the additional outlay for a Riserva may not always be justifiable. It’s an individual decision.

Certainly, the best wines are excellent and will repay cellaring.

Costa di Bussia, Barolo, Monforte d’Alba, Bussia, 2011

Voluptuous raspberry and cherry nose, heady and beguiling. Rich and suave, this is harmonious and has no rough edges. The fruit is very ripe but there’s no jamminess and ample underlying freshness. Ripe tannins give structure and finesse too. Very long.

Points
95

Rocche Costamagna, Barolo, La Morra, Rocche dell’Annunziata

Intense raspberry nose with lovely purity of fruit. The attack is lean and fresh, showing precision and zest. Although very concentrated, it’s not too dense and perky acidity lifts the long finish.

Points
94

Barale, Barolo, Monforte d’Alba, Bussia, Piedmont, 2011

Smoky and leathery on the nose, but the palate has a fresh attack. It’s lean and limpid for Riserva, invigorating and zesty, with integrated tannins. Elegant, spicy, and very long.

Points
93

Cavallotto, Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Vignolo, 2011

Pungent raspberry and redcurrant fruit on the nose, but the palate shows more richness, with very ripe fruit, assertive tannins, considerable intensity, and perceptible alcohol. But it has drive on the finish and considerable elegance too. Very long.

Points
93

Oddero, Barolo, Monforte d’Alba, Bussia ‚Mondoca‘, 2011

Red fruits nose, with some smoky, leathery tones too, but not too evolved. Dense and opulent, a full-bodied wine with chewy tannins that are still slightly at war with the ripe fruit. But this has impressive weight and punch. Very long.

Points
93

Dosio, Barolo, Fossati, Piedmont, Italy, 2011

Brooding cherry nose with impressive density of fruit. Rich, juicy, and velvety, very concentrated with powerful tannins yet not too extracted, and with drive and persistence on the long finish.

Points
93

Curto, Barolo, La Morra, Arborina, Piedmont, Italy, 2011

Toasty raspberry nose, lifted and stylish. Rich and full-bodied, this is powerful yet not too dense, and there’s terrific weight of fruit without extraction , with mocha tones on the very long finish.

Points
93

Paolo Scavino, Barolo, La Morra, Rocche dell’Annunziata,

Voluptuous raspberry nose, packed with ripe fruit. Very rich but has underlying acidity, and the sweet fruit is supported by assertive tannins. Packs a punch though the acidity refreshes the finish, which is very long.

Points
93

Mauro Sebaste, Barolo, Serralunga d’Alba, Ghè, 2011

A monopole site on sandy limestone soils. Cherry and raspberry nose, with light mocha tones. Full-bodied and imposing, but with supple tannins and no excessive extraction. A forward style of Riserva but none the worse for that, as it has sufficient structure. Good length.

Points
92