Barolo - Turning from Beginner to Intermediate Understanding of the Region

As my viewer and subscribers may know, one of my areas of focus this year is Barolo. I am trying to learn a lot more about the region.
A few months ago, I did a video on an introduction to Barolo. After a few months of intensive Barolo drinking, I wanted to share my thoughts on what I have learned.
I hope viewers will enjoy this process. I am learning and some of my points may not be correct but I am trying to confirm "book" learning though my tastings and where there is a discrepancy, I try to point this out.
Hope you find this video interesting!

Пікірлер: 24

  • @timelessracecars7796
    @timelessracecars7796 Жыл бұрын

    Also Barolo achieves its peak drinking and enjoyability window after 10 years at least, this makes these wines so special

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    timelessracers: to me, based on my tastings, that is not entirely true. So based on my tastings, a lot of lower altitude blends and MGAs, particularly from La Morra and Barolo vintages can be drank before the 10 year mark. Most higher altitude Serralunga Valley Barolos need more than 10 years. Exception if you get to very high altitude when wines drop off in terms of their body. That is why I encourage people to also have tasting experience. Book knowledge is great but your own palate will give you the exceptions to the rule for your own palate. So many people have knowledge about wines but have never tasted them and you can't know wines vicariously. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!

  • @Pseudopimelodidae
    @Pseudopimelodidae Жыл бұрын

    Great video for wine drinkers who want to learn about a new region. Here in Finland Barolos are pretty popular because a prominent importer has done a lot of work to make them known and available.

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    pseudopimelodidae: thank you for watching my video. I think Barolos are popular all over the world but hopefully with my series of videos, people will understand why. For me the minimum 3 years of aging guarantees quality as no producer is going to "cheap out" with Barolos. Cheers!

  • @willhaowu
    @willhaowu Жыл бұрын

    Amazing to follow your journey with Barolo! Personally I am focusing on Barbaresco instead, but I hope to get into Barolo before prices skyrocket.

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    will: thanks for your continued support. Barbaresco is the same type varietal but not as compact in terms of villages as Barolo. But I like focusing on a region and really deep diving into it for a period of time. Cheers!

  • @grigorhaig
    @grigorhaig Жыл бұрын

    Good class and insights.

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for your support always!

  • @timelessracecars7796
    @timelessracecars7796 Жыл бұрын

    Barolo producers have historically been blending different plots to achieve higher quality consistently, villages and vineyards have much different conditions then for example in burgundy so the new MGA trend is growing to underline different terroirs and village profile

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    timeless: thank you for viewing my video and your comments. Perhaps this is supposed to be understood but not many people talk about this at all even at the beginner level. Most people talk about Barolo as a uniform region but to me, it is quite similar to Burgundy only on a smaller scale. Please like, subscribe and keep watching

  • @noahcap
    @noahcap Жыл бұрын

    Great to be able to learn along with you. You spoke a lot about terroir variables, but I'd also be curious about your thoughts on winemaking techniques. More than perhaps any region, there is a big split, you might say rivalry, between the traditionalists (long maceration, early picking, neutral botti) and modernists (higher ripeness, French oak, smaller barrels). Maybe you could touch on this in a subsequent video! Keep up the great work!

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    noahcap: I think I did touch upon it in my beginner video. Basically, I think "Barolo Wars" is a media thing. If you talk to winemakers, they don't dislike each other, they just use different styles. Nowadays, most winemakers use a combination of small barriques and large Slovenian barrels so there not so much of the modernist/traditionalist approach. They just make good wines is it up to the wine critics to label a wine modern/traditional. Not many winemakers say they make modern or traditional style.....they just make the best Barolo they can. Having said that there are wines that are much more modern style vs traditional style. One is not better than the other but just what you prefer and also depends on context. If I am drinking a wine young and with lighter food, I will choose a modern style Barolo. If it is heavier food and I have an older vintage, I might choose a tradition style Barolo. Cheers!

  • @MoPomer
    @MoPomer17 күн бұрын

    Thank you for this video. I'm in a similar place. Just FYI - 'C' followed by an 'E' is pronounced 'Ch' not 'S'. So Cesare is pronounced Ché-za-ré. And Figli just means children. So with the bottle on your left, you would list it either as Figli Luigi Oddero or (I would guess) Luigi Oddero. Thanks again.

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    17 күн бұрын

    MoPower - thanks for the info! Cheers!

  • @MoPomer

    @MoPomer

    16 күн бұрын

    @@TrophyWineHunter one other thing, the lead wine maker for Figli Luigi Oddero is a really young man called Francesco Versio, who was trained by Giacosa. He now has his own line of Barabarescos (grown on his grandparents' vines) out, and the 19 is terrific. Worth you trying.

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    16 күн бұрын

    @@MoPomer thanks for the info..what is the name of the wine he produces...it is under Versio? Cheers!

  • @jeffdimambro3339
    @jeffdimambro3339 Жыл бұрын

    Great video. What are your thoughts on Brunello??

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    jeff: thank you for viewing my video and your question. Love Brunello but not my focus this year. Perhaps next year I will do a deep dive into that region. However, last year I did quite a few videos on Brunello and Chianti Gran Selezione so check those out. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!

  • @Lioninthenight
    @Lioninthenight Жыл бұрын

    I believe La Morra is more sandy soil. Serralunga is more clay my friend.

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    lioninthenight: did I get it mixed up and got it backwards? Do you have a source for this? Somehow I have it that La Morra and Barolo are clay and drink earlier whereas Serralunga, Monteforte & Castiglione is sand and take more time to age. Cheers!

  • @Lioninthenight

    @Lioninthenight

    Жыл бұрын

    @@TrophyWineHunter Yes I do: Rajat Parr's "The Sommelier's Atlas Of Taste." --Kindle Book, pg. 242. Maybe other sources have said differently.

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Lioninthenight how about something on the google I can check? It is quite confusing and probably these are generalizations but I would like to get it right in my mind. Cheers!

  • @Spiritchaser93
    @Spiritchaser93 Жыл бұрын

    I had the Giacomo Conterno Francia 2016. Holy smokes this one is aggressively tannic and very uninviting. There is just too much structure that it becomes savory and bitter. I think I prefer the more elegant Barolos especially from Bartolo Mascerello and Giuseppe Rinaldi (no surprise, both are stand-out producers from la morra). I've also had entry level wines from Bruno Giacosa and Vietti which were pretty good. Don't forget to have some Roagna from Barbaresco. Much better value-for-money than Gaja.

  • @TrophyWineHunter

    @TrophyWineHunter

    Жыл бұрын

    Spiritchaser: I have a bottle also but waiting..glad I waited. Comes from village of Monforte D'Alba so should take longer to mature that La Morra wines. Thanks for the tip on Roagna. I have been trying to pick up bottles at auction but looks like you are not the only one who loves this wine as prices of Roagna are starting to skyrocket. Cheers!