Varaldo - Barbaresco

We tasted the 2007 Barbaresco at the Enofila in Asti as indicated in a post below.  We felt it was good enough to purchase it and put it away for a time.  This is our anniversary week and we wanted a good Barbaresco to have during the celebration so we pulled a bottle of this wine.

Regretfully, the cork split on removal and it was determined that the wine was "corked" indicating that it was a bad cork and the wine had spoiled.

We visited Rino at the cantina on the 1st of September.  It was a pleasant day and the cantina is located overlooking the river dividing the Langhe from Roero.

The first wine was the 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo.  This is a quite closed wine, needing some years (estimated at 3 years +) to become the wine we think it is.  It is done in all used barrels so as not to interfere with the natural flavors of the grape. It was purchased for our cellar.  Cost was euro 16.50.

Second was the 2008 Fantasia, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Nebbiolo and Barbera.  Because of the varying times that the grapes mature, the wine is not produced every year.  In fact, when we asked to taste the 2008, we were told that the next vintage of this very good wine was 2011.  As we moved the wine in the glass, we smelled all the grapes varieties individually and then as one combination.  This is a very good wine for conversation as it would be difficult to pair it with a meal (but, of course, we will try and report to you).  It is ready to drink but will last 20 years according to Rino.  We purchased the wine for our cellar at euro 20.

Last was the 2006 Barolo, Vigna di Aldo.  This is an excellent Barolo with great structure and great nose.  It would improve with another two to three years in the bottle.  Euro 32 a bottle.

The 18th and 19th of October 2014 will be the grand tasting of Barbaresco called Piacere Barbaresco.  If you have an interest, find a room now.  There are not many rooms available.


25 December 2014  We opened our last bottle of the 2007 Barbaresco Lori Loreto for our holiday lunch.  It went very well with the varied menu (from buffala mozzarella to lobster) we had prepared.  We suggest, that if you have this wine, you leave it in your cellar for at least another six months.

The only problem was that it was our last bottle but perhaps Rino has more.  We will inquire.  It is a very good example of the grape.

25 April 2015  We opened a bottle of the 2008 Fantasia for lunch today.  The wine is still quite closed in so it did not show the blend that it is but we tasted the individual grapes as we enjoyed it with lunch. The next bottle will be opened in October of 2016.  Hide it away, it needs time.

23 April 2017  Rino, you really hit it with the 2011 Lori Loreto Barbaresco!  We had our first bottle of this wine with lunch after working cutting weeds in our orchard.  We strongly suggest that if you have this wine, you serve it with a lightly spiced meal.  Natalya had stuffed some artichokes and the wine was impaired with the lemon juice that is used to keep them from darkening during preparation and cooking.  We really liked this grape juice!  Highly recommended, will last six months to a year when stored properly.

16 July 2017  OK, so we do not always read what we write as far as recommendations as to when to drink the wines.  We opened the last bottle of the 2011 Lori Loreto Barbaresco and served it with Natalya's borsch, some sauteed turkey breast slices and something from her childhood in the Urals, a mixture of red potatoes and porcini mushrooms.  After she told me what she was preparing, I scanned the wine list and came up with this bottle.  She thought it might be too light for what she was serving but we opened it anyway.  It matched the food exactly.  The wine has a beautiful Barbaresco nose and the lightness of the wine with the lightly spiced food she prepared went exactly as we thought it would.  We would caution that the wine seems to have lightened in the mouth as lunch went on, leading us to believe it was time to open it so...if you have it, try a bottle.  You will not be sorry!  Thanx again, Rino!!

17 September 2017  Today for lunch, we had something very special...we had purchased some summer truffles when we were in La Morra for the Barolo tasting.  We decided to use one for a plate of pasta with just a little extra virgin olive oil from Sicily.  We also sauteed some slices of turkey breast.  For this, we opened the bottle of 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo from Varaldo.  The wine is ready to drink.  This is spectacular grape juice.  We hope to see Rino again when we go to Piacere Barbaresco later next month to see what his new offerings are like.

10 December 2017  We opened a bottle of Varaldo Nebbiolo 2011 today for lunch with Natalya's version of quiche.  I thought that it might override the taste of the delicate dish but it went quite well.  Recommend you drink it now as it will not last much longer.

25 February 2018  If you read above, you will notice that Rino said that the 2008 Fantasia would last for at least 20 years.  We had our doubts but put a two year minimum and the twenty year maximum drinking period on the wine when we purchased it.  Wanting to be circumspect, we opened a bottle today to have with our infamous piadine with sauteed vegetables and chicken.  We now believe that Rino was correct in saying it will last for 20 years.  What a spectacular wine!  We will save the last bottle for a very special occasion.  Drink now or wait until 2028!! 

13 May 2018  Today, we opened the last bottle of Rino's 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo to serve with a simple lunch, a plate of pasta with sauce made from the products from our garden.  The wine had a taste that some people might have thought that meant that it was "over the hill" but after about 30 minutes open, it was very smooth.  We recommend that if you have this wine, do not give up on it when you open the bottle but we believe that it is time to drink the wine.  We feel it does not have a lot more time to age.  Thanx again, Rino!!

Azienda Agricola RiDaRoca - San Damiano d'Asti

We have neglected this local producer of some good Barberas and also some good Nebbiolos.  We recently tasted a bottle of the 2007 RiDaRoca Nebbiolo Roero.  The owner of the cantina had given the bottle to us after we purchased some of his Barbera with the admonition that the wine was very closed and we should wait some time before opening.  Our patience finally ran out and we opened the bottle on the 23rd of June 2014.  It is a very good wine, ready to drink.  If you have it in your cellar, now is the time to open and enjoy it.  Drink with food.

Latest Tastings

Over the last two weeks, we have been to two different locales for two different tastings.  For the most part, the wines were quite good but some stood out more than others and will dictate further follow-up.

At the Enofila in Asti, we had the opportunity to taste the 2007 Barolo Riserva from Cascina del Monastero, represented by Beppe Grasso.  To be called "Riserva", a Barolo must have a minimum of five years of aging before release.  Beppe told us he also has a 2005 Riserva that we are looking forward to tasting.

We also tasted the 2007 Varaldo Lori Loreto in the Enofila...a spectacular Barbaresco that is ready to drink.  They were represented by Rino and his daughter.  This wine was purchased for the cellar as it is in short supply.

At the Castello di Roddi, there was a first tasting of the 2010 Barolo.  We had good Barolo from Le Strette (see our commentary about Le Strette in a posting below), Fratelli Serio & Ballista Borgogno, represented by Federica Boffa and Broccardo, represented by Federica Broccardo.

A short comment about the 2010 Barolo...in our opinions, this Barolo will be very difficult to judge.  It is practically completely closed giving the drinker little to base their purchase decisions on.  It took more than two hours for any of them to open enough to give us any sort of idea as to how it will be when ready to drink.  But, going out on a limb, our "guess" is that they will require a minimum of five to seven years in the cellar before we would even consider opening them.  This turns out to be a great opportunity to stay in touch with the producers as they will, of course, be more knowledgeable about what is going on with the wines.  We will be sure to provide detailed observations when we visit the Cantine and are able to taste the wines and speak to the producers in an atmosphere that is more conducive to getting to know the wines.