We visited Marchesi di Barolo in the town of Barolo on May 7th, 2007. This is one of the largest wineries in all of Piedmont with a total production of 1.5 million bottles (125K cases !) per year. The facility is very large, especially given it is in the heart of the town on the hill. They use large Slovenian oak barrels (each holds 24,000 bottles) that are over 150 years old and slightly shave them every few years on the inside. A departure as many of the producers replace their barrels more frequently. We had a scheduled lunch at this facility so after the tour the tasting was conducted with the lunch courses. The food was excellent and the wines paired well. Paired with a leek, egg, and fontina cheese tartlet. The Barbera's acidity with the creamy sauce on this tartlet was a great match. 2004 Marchesi di Barolo Barbera d'Alba Paiagal - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (5/7/2007)
Tasted at the winery; Medium purple in color; Plums on the nose and palate. Rounded in character and balanced with a some acidity. A single vineyard Barbera and a potential buy at the right price. €14 at the winery. (88 pts.) The Barolo was paired with a risotto cooked with Barolo. Other than being a weird purple color the risotto was great. Barolo and Risotto = good! 2001 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/7/2007)
Tasted at the winery; Clear garnet in color; Classic Barolo roses & tar aromas and flavors. Medium weight with a long finish. Well-made wine with already soft tannins. Magnums of this wine were a departure from the usual Barolo bottle and were tall and thin, somewhat like a mag of an Alsace wine. Well-priced for the quality. The mags were €62 and single bottles were €29 from the winery. (89 pts.)
Finally there was a 2006 Moscato Zagara paired with a strawberry panna cotta. The Moscato was on the sweet side so I would have marked it down accordingly to about 85 points. I would have liked to bring home a mag of the Barolo just for the bottle but there was no way it was going in our suitcases (and not worth it to ship). I would purchase either of these wines at decent prices. See the TNs for the prices at the winery in Euro. 2001 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/7/2007)
Tasted at the winery; Clear garnet in color; Classic Barolo roses & tar aromas and flavors. Medium weight with a long finish. Well-made wine with already soft tannins. Magnums of this wine were a departure from the usual Barolo bottle and were tall and thin, somewhat like a mag of an Alsace wine. Well-priced for the quality. The mags were €62 and single bottles were €29 from the winery. (89 pts.) |