Cascina del Monastero - Annunziata, La Morra

The next day, we made our last stop of the trip at Cascina del Monastero in Annunziata.  We had met Beppe at a tasting in Asti earlier this year and had told him we would stop to taste all of his wines the next time we were in the area.  Cascina del Monastero is also an agriturismo so contact them if you are going to the area around La Morra for a nice place to stay and try their wines.

First was the 2011 Nebbiolo Langhe, 14% alcohol.  The bottle was opened for us.  Quite acidic with subdued fruit.  Recommend 3-4 years in the cellar to let it smooth out.  Euro 10 per bottle.

We then tried the 2009 Barolo Pernot, 14.5% alcohol.  This bottle was open for 24 hours before our arrival.  The fermentation time on this wine was 25 days under controlled temperature.  Light fruit, tannin and acids.  We consider this ready to drink.  Beppe then brought out the same wine that was produced for the Chinese market.  It had only eight days of fermentation which would practically eliminate any tannins and increase the fruit in the mouth.  Euro 20 a bottle.

Next was the 2010 Barolo Bricco Luciani, 14.5% alcohol.  Good fruit and acids with a nice nose.  Leave it four to five years in your cellar.  Euro 26 a bottle.

Last was the 2007 Barolo Riund Riserva, 14.5% alcohol.  We had tasted this one in Asti and wanted to put it in our cellar for further aging.  The wine has a beautiful Barolo nose with light acids and tannin.  Let rest for one to two years.  Euro 30 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

26 May 2016  We opened the first bottle of the 2007 Riund Riserva Barolo today with a lunch of Russian Borsch and Lebanese Dolma.  We had expected the wine to be quite "big" and robust.  It was not.  The wine was quite soft (should not have been, IOHO) and should have stood up to the Borsch.  We now know that it is quite soft for a Riserva and should be drunk as a "conversation wine" rather than with food.  We will open another bottle around the end of 2016 to see if our opinion has changed.  This weekend, I hope to see Beppe at the Vinessage in Asti to talk to him about the wine.  If there are any things to report, you may read them here!!

2 November 2016  We opened, as promised, another bottle of the 2007 Riund Riserva Barolo for lunch today.  We served it with a lightly seasoned meal (see review just above) of sauteed vegetables and ground turkey.  Similar to the first bottle, there was a strange taste that neither one of us could pin down nor could we tell you what it was.  The best description of it was "unpleasant".  We decided to leave the bottle open for about 45 minutes to see what it would do, remain or go away.  It was still there after the 45 minutes but gone after one hour.  We have pushed the opening of the third bottle out to no earlier than June of 2017.  We hope that the strange flavor will have decided to fly away when it sees the cork gone.  In any case, a light Barolo, could be considered a conversation wine but leave it open for a hour if you open it now.

19 February 2017  We opened the next to the last bottle of the 2007 Riund Riserva for lunch today.  It seems like Sunday is "Barolo Day" in our house.  We have a number of bottles that are ready to drink so it might spill over to other days of the week but in any case, we will drink them.  Similar to the first and second bottles, there was a strange taste that neither of us could identify much less tell what it was.  After about 30 minutes, that strange taste was gone and what we had in our glasses was a very nice Barolo.  We felt it was not a "big" Barolo as we prefer but there really is nothing wrong with it if you give it a hour open before you pour it.  Of course, if you are in a hurry, just decant it and swirl it in the decanter.  We served the wine with a plate of pasta with a bagnetto sauce (as for the recipe).  It was an abnormal Sunday lunch as we had been to a Polenta dinner in Monale the evening before and were not interested in a big meal.  Next and last opening will be in late summer.

9 April 2017  The last bottle of the 2007 Riund Riserva was opened today for our lunch.  The menu was mozzarella di buffala, a plate of pasta with fresh asparagus tips from the garden of a friend and a hunters' turkey stew which had red bell peppers, sauteed mushrooms and onions seasoned with Sicilian oregano in a jar of tomatoes from our garden.  The wine matched very well with the stew.  If you have this, we would strongly suggest that you open a bottle to see its progress of maturation!

Cascina Ballarin - Annunziata, La Morra

Our first stop on our second day of visits was Cascina Ballarin where we were met by Giorgio Viberti, the owner and wine maker.  The cascina is also an agriturismo.

All wines presented were in half bottles, our first experience with this mode of tasting.  We could go into a fairly lengthy discussion of our opinion of half bottles but we will save that for another day but if you want, send us a comment and we will discuss it with you.  Economically, it is a very good idea.  We will leave it at that.

First wine was the 2011 Nebbiolo.  14% alcohol from the Bussia vineyard.  A light Nebbiolo, good fruit and acid after having spent six months in used barrique.  It is ready to drink.  Euro 10 a bottle.

First Barolo was the 2010 Tre Ciabot.  Grapes are from Bussia, La Morra and Monforte d'Alba.  Done completely in used botte, it has great fruit, light acid and little, if any, tannins.  14% alcohol, we think it needs one to two years to come around.  Euro 22 a bottle.

Second Barolo was the 2010 Bussia, a single vineyard bottling.  Nice nose, light acid and no tannins were noted.  14.5% alcohol, it was produced in 50% new barrique and 50% used.  Needs two to three years in the cellar.  Euro 31 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

Third Barolo was the 2010 Bricco Rocca, another single vineyard bottling.  A soft Barolo with 14.5% alcohol, great mouth with good fruit, light acids and light tannins.  Produced in 50% new and 50% used barrique.  Euro 31 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

Giorgio also gave us a bottle of his Punte dei Tre Ciabot Vino Spumante Brut di Qualita` (Metodo Classico) to try.  We will serve it with Kung Pao Chicken for lunch on Sunday and report back to him.

10 September 2016  We saw Giorgio at the La Morra tasting and confirmed our visit for the following afternoon.  There was a group of guests from his camping/Agriturismo who shared his wines with us.

He served a glass of his new Extra Dry Metodo Classico to open the tasting.  100% Chardonnay.  Very good, is now in our cellar.

First was the 2013 Langhe Nebbiolo, 13.5% alcohol.  A good light Nebbiolo, ready to drink.

Next were two of his Barberas which we will not comment on but were quite good.

Then, we had the 2012 Bussia Barolo,  14% alcohol.  It is a wine that just begs to be put in the back of the cellar and left for several years to come into its glory.  All the piece are there.  They just need time to come together.  Give it a minimum of seven years before opening the first bottle.  Euro 32 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

The last Barolo was the 2012 Bricco Rocca, 14% alcohol.  We could just tell you to read the commentary on the Bussia because we  think that they need the same amount of rest.  They are two different Barolos from two different areas but they were vinified with great care giving them the ability to last for seven to ten years.  Euro 32 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

4 September 2017  As usual after the La Morra tasting, on Monday afternoon we traveled to Cascina Ballarin to see what Giorgio had been up to over the past year.  We normally see him at other tastings so we have tasted some of his offerings but today was the first time to taste his 2013 efforts.

We did have a glass of his Nas-Cetta before starting on the Barolos.  It it quite good and highly recommended if you can find it.

Then he poured a glass of the 2013 Tre Ciabot Barolo.  Half bottle opened for us.  Light fruit and tannin in the mouth. Euro 24 a bottle.

Second was the 2013 Bricco Rocca.  Also poured from a half bottle opened for us.  Big fruit and tannins in the mouth.  Needs five to six years in the cellar.  Euro 35 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

Last was the 2013 Bussia.  Again, poured from a half bottle, opened for us.  We are big fans of the wine produced from this cru.  Giorgio's is not the only Barolo we own from that area.  The wine has big tannins but the fruit is there to balance it out.  The nose shows the fruit very nicely.  Needs at least ten years in the cellar.  Euro 35 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

7 April 2019   We opened a bottle of the 2010 Bussia from this producer to serve with some arancini and formaggio di buffala.  The wine is ready to drink but can use a short time open before serving.

05 May 2019  We opened a bottle of the 2010 Bricco Rocca after our experience with the 2010 Bussia.  Our lunch of large shells stuffed with Basmati rice and porcini mushrooms and baked in a tomato sugo went quite well with the wine. our lunch of large shells stuffed with Basmati rice and porcini mushrooms and baked in a tomato sugo.  We believe the wine can use another six months to a year before it starts on the down hill.

24 June 2019  We opened our last bottle of the 2010 Bussia to serve with our lunch of Kung Pao chicken.  It went quite well with the Chinese dish but we do recommend that you open it at least ten minutes prior to serving it.  We believe it is ready to drink.

26 September 2019  We opened a bottle of the 2010 Bricco Rocca Barolo today for lunch.  If you read our blog a lot, you will notice that we usually eat quite different things.  Today was an exception.  We had grilled cheese sandwiches with a salad of cucumbers from our garden.  As to the wine, it is ready to drink.  We have one more bottle of it and will drink it before the end of the year.  It is very good and went well even with the sandwiches.  Highly recommended to drink now.

22 November 2020  One of the biggest problems when you have a Barolo collection is having a bottle when you want it.  In our case, most of our collection starts being ready toward the end of 2021 through 2031.  It was this problem that forced us to take a bottle from the collection that probably was not ready but we wanted Barolo for lunch.  The lunch was stuffed cabbage rolls, chicken breast pieces and carrot salad.  Even though the wine, a 2013 Bricco Rocca was a long way (we estimate another 3-5 years), it made a light lunch better than it should have been.  Have patience!!

15 March 2021 We opened a bottle of the 2012 Bricco Rocca Barolo from this producer.  We have a lot of faith in the wine so even if we had it read some months down the road, we decided to try it.  Natalya made her famous Borsch along with Dim Sum stuffed with biological chicken and onion.  I made my grandmother's insalata di Nonna.  Great wine, great food.  Not really ready to drink.  We put it out another year.

 
18 April 2021  I again say how difficult it is to find a bottle to go with our diet which to say the least is eclectic.  We opened a bottle of the Bussia 2012 Barolo for a lunch that included Natalya's Thai soup, straciatella cheese, branzino fish and pan fried potatoes.  I have to say that the wine held up to this lunch.  It is ready to drink but in our opinion, has a few years before it starts to go downhill.  Try it! 

25 March 2022 This day we opened a bottle of the Ballarin 2012 Bricco Rocca Barolo.  It was served with a mushroom salad with some chopped fine onion.  Then we had Chinese noodles with sauteed shrimp marinated in zenzero, garlic and butter with a few lemon leaves.  We also had a spinach salad to top off the meal.  Wine is spectacular, ready to drink.

25 July 2022  Something different...Natalya and I had gone to Barcelona to see a woman that I worked with in California and her husband. We took two bottles of excellent Italian wine to show them what can be done over here.  This night, we opened a bottle of the Cascina Ballarin 2012 Bussia, the last in the cellar.  I had marked it to be drank now some years ago and we were not disappointed.  It was enjoyed as a "conversation wine", not accompanied with any sort of food.  We were all very glad to have such a good tasting Barolo.  It was a really good bottle of wine and ready to drink.

29 December 2023 We opened a bottle of the Bussia Barolo 2013 from the producer for lunch of a chicken soup and chicken cake from the oven.  The wine did not standup to the lunch.  If you have any of these bottles, we suggest that you, when you open it, taste it after about a quarter hour.  Natalya and I believe that it should be a wine for conversation.  It is a very good and  light wine.

9 June 2024  Because our plethora of Barolo in our cantina, we thought to bring out a bottle that I have thought (when we bought it) was ready to drink.  For the day, Natalya made Russian Dim Sum made with chicken and pickled cabbage.  I had told her a few days before that I would bringing out the 2013 Cascina Ballarin Bricco Rocca that I believed it was ready for drink.  I opened it about ten minutes before she was going to serve so here is what we thought:  a slightly acidic nose after opening; when tasted, good Barolo mouth; Heavy wood along with good grape taste; the acid gently disappeared about fifteen minutes the bottle was opened;  The Barolo mouth was all was left; as we ate and drank, the wine lightened in the mouth; and after about two hours, the mouth was very light.  So, drink in now.  We think it is ready!

16 June 2024 The last bottle of the Cascina Ballardin 2013 Bussia.  I am still crying it was the last and I am not able to find others.  It is specular no matter what you serve it with.  Drink now!

Fratelli Revello - Annunziata, La Morra

After the annual tasting in La Morra, we began our three days of visits with Fratelli Revello, tasted for the first time at the La Morra tasting in 2013 (we are really behind).

The cantina is located on a hillside overlooking the vineyards.  We were greeted by Enzo, one of the brothers that run the cantina.  The tasting room is surrounded by windows that allow a very nice view while tasting the wines.

The first offering was the 2009 Barolo Gattera.  It was opened for us.  Produced completely in large Slovenia tanks of 1500 liters, it is a well done Barolo with a good balance of fruit, acid and tannins.  14.5% alcohol, we believe it needs 3-4 years of additional aging in the cellar before opening a bottle. 
Euro 29.50 a bottle.

We then tasted the 2009 Barolo Giachini.  This was also opened for us.  Produced in half new and half used french oak barrels.  It has a prominent Barolo/oak nose.  It needs one to two years of aging before opening.  14.5% alcohol.  Euro 35 a bottle.

Next was the 2009 Coca Barolo.  Again, it was opened for us.  Great Barolo nose, good tannins, fruit and acids in the mouth.  14.5% alcohol.  We think it needs at least 3 years in the cellar before opening.  Euro 40 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.

Last was the 2009 Rocche del Annunziata Barolo.  14.5% alcohol, it has a strong Barolo nose with fruit, tannin and acids evident in the mouth.  It was produced in 50% new and 50% used french oak barrels.  Euro 40 a bottle, purchased for our cellar.  We will not disturb it for at least three years.

4 November 2018  This is the first bottle opened from the wine purchased back in 2013, one of our first Barolo purchases.  For a lunch of a vegetarian torta based on zucca (a type of pumpkin) and another torta based on a local cheese, we served a bottle of the 2009 Conca.  It is a delicate Barolo, very suited for the lunch that used the tastes of the vegetables and cheese that it was based on.  We believe that the wine has an additional one or two years before it heads downhill.  We suggest that you try it with lightly spiced foods.  You may also wish to use this wine and the following Barolo from Revello for a "conversation" wine.  After tasting the Rocche del Annunziata (see the tasting right after this), we decided that both can be used as such a wine.

25 November 2018  This is the first of the bottles of the Rocche del Annunziata that we purchased some years ago.  We served it with a Thai soup, Russian pierogi that Natalya made with a crust enhanced with kefir, sliced onions and some organic chicken breast pieces.  The wine is a light, delicate Barolo which is what the Barolos produced from grapes around La Morra are known for.  While the wine is very good and ready to drink, it had trouble standing up to the Thai soup.  It went quite well with the pierogi.  After trying both of the Barolos that we purchased that day, we recommend that you try using either for a "conversation" wine.  Both are very good but would do better with something very light like a snack.  Ready to drink!

17 February 2019  We opened the last bottle of the Rocche del Annunziata today for lunch.  The menu was a steamed branzino (a local fish) and a salad of fennel and onion, dressed with Sicilian olive oil and lemon juice.  The combination went well with the lighter wine from Revello.  If you have this wine, it is time to take it from the cellar and enjoy it.

Erbaluna - Borgo Pozzo, Frazione Annunziata, La Morra

We visited the cantina on 4 November 2011.  Our guide through the wines was Giulia from the Erbaluna offices.

The tasting room is filled with old bottles of Barolo, regretfully nothing from the year of either of our births.

Erbaluna produces only wines from grapes grown under strict Italian agriculture standards.  There is no pesticides used on the vines so the wines have the "biological" label.

There were a number of bottles for tasting, from their whites to their grappas.  All had been opened for at least six hours unless otherwise noted in the description.

We first tried the 2009 Nebbiolo, 14.5% alcohol, bottled September 1, 2011.  The wine spent one year in large Slovenian barrels.  It was very soft and ready to drink.

The second offering was the 2007 Erbaluna Barolo, 15% alcohol.  This is their "Barolo di Base", produced from a variety of vineyards.  It had a light Barolo nose.  In the mouth, it was three separate pieces, the grape, the tannin and the alcohol.  They are fairly well balanced.  We believe it will take anywhere from three to five years to come together.  We purchased this wine.

The next was the 2007 Vigna Rocche, 15% alcohol.  This had been open for two days.  There was a strange odor in the glass when first poured but blew off quickly.  Thus, if you have this wine in your cellar, we recommend you decant it before serving.  It has a good nose with very good structure that will require again, at least three years in the cellar before drinking.  We purchased this wine also.

We were also served the 1997 and 2000 Barolos but they were "over the hill" probably because they had been open too long.

We also purchased their Grappa di Nebbiolo.

16 August 2014  For lunch today, we opened a bottle of the 2007 Erbaluna Barolo.  We had made a smoked salmon and onion omelet with Indian spiced potatoes.  We needed something that would stand up to the Indian spices so tried the Barolo.  It did quite well for itself.  Whereas, the wine was in three pieces (grape, tannin and alcohol) when we bought it, it had pretty much evened itself out to a very good example of the wine.  There was a very nice nose that had developed also.  We consider this wine ready to drink.  Recommended for a light meal, not highly spiced.

31 March 2016  For lunch today, which was a plate of pasta with our sauce that was derived from my Sicilian grandmother's recipe and a plate of mozzarella with Sicilian olive oil , we opened another bottle of the 2007 Erbaluna Barolo.  As mentioned above, this is the base Barolo, made from grapes that are not of a single vineyard but those that were from a number of places.  The wine was opened about 15 minutes before the pasta was cooked.  It was quite acidic upon first taste and smell.  It proceeded to open more and change from an acidic wine with little fruit in the mouth to a wine that was drinkable but not the type of Barolo we are used to now.  After one hour of being opened, and at the end of our meal, it had become somewhat even in its mouth and nose and was drinkable.  We have another bottle that we have labeled "open one hour before".  Have it in your cellar?  Drink it now but we believe you should open it one hour before consumption!

15 July 2016 We opened the last bottle of the 2007 Barolo base that we had in our cellar today for lunch with a pasta dish that we prepared with shrimp cooked in Sicilian olive oil, seasoned with garlic grown in our garden, a little paprika and some dried oregano from our garden also.  We had opened the bottle about 45 minutes before serving the pasta and realized that the wine was not ready.  However, after about 20 minutes, it turned into a very nice Barolo with good fruit and tannin and a touch too much acid.  During the meal, the wine leveled out to "one piece" which we enjoyed greatly with our meal.  Recommended that you drink it now!!

5 March 2017  A sad day in our home today.  We opened the last bottle of the 2007 Erbaluna Vigna Rocche.  It was served with spinach and ricotta cannelloni.  The wine went very well with the light to medium flavors of the cannelloni.  Compliments to my wife for trying something new in our kitchen.  We highly recommend that you open this wine and drink it within the next year if it has been stored properly.  It is ready to drink and a great example of the Rocche vinyeard.
 

Renato Ratti - Annunziata, La Morra

We were at the cantina on 4 November 2011.  We were greeted by Francesca Sandri from the Ratti offices.

After a short wait, we were shown into the tasting room where there were three bottles on the table to taste.  We were expecting to see the 2007 Marcenasco as well as two vintages of the Rocche bottling that Ms Sandri had told us we would be able to taste.  Instead there was the Marcenasco and one vintage of the Rocche (2007) and their 2007 Barbera d'Alba.  We did the tasting on our feet as we were not invited to sit.  As is our custom, we will discuss only the 2007 Marcenesco and the 2007 Rocche.

We had had the Marcenasco at a restaurant in Novello some weeks before and found it not to our liking.  I had told Ms Sandri this when I called for the appointment and it is then that she told me that we would have two vintages of the Rocche to try.

The wines were open six hours when we tasted them.

The 2007 Ratti Marcenasco is a blend from a number of Barolo vineyards in the Barolo area.  Ms Sandri described this as their "Barolo di Base", their basic Barolo.  While it is not unpleasant, it is not of the style that we prefer.  The nose is classic Barolo.  In the mouth is a nice tannin feeling but not so much so that it is overwhelming.  There is a lesser amount of the flavor of the grape in this effort.  We question whether it will be balanced when it is ready to drink, in our opinion in at least five years.

The 2007 Rocche comes from one of the better known vineyards in the area.  Its location is near Castiglione Falletto, one of the eleven towns.that are in the Barolo growing area.  This wine has a full Barolo nose with good separation in the mouth of tannin and the grape.  We believe it will take at least five years to become a balanced wine.  We did purchase this wine.

06 September 2016  If you have read the preceding information, you will know that we were received quite "coldly" when we visited the cantina in 2011.  Back then we did not record a lot of information about the wines but in this case, we noted that the reception was not what we got when we visit cantinas now.  Now a bit about the 2007 Rocche that we opened for the first time today.  We wanted to open it because we intend on giving one of the bottles as a gift to my orthopedic surgeon that did a prosthesis on my left shoulder the end of October.  I am doing ok, obviously it is difficult to "hunt and peck" but I am getting by.  The wine was opened today to serve with a lunch of pumpkin soup, Russian salad made by the Russian member of this twosome and Lebanese dolma (a stuffed grape leaf).  We did not expect much (wine "cold" like the reception we received?) but we were pleasantly surprised.  The wine is ready to drink.  However, we are going to suggest that you leave it open for a half hour before serving it.  All the pieces are there especially the fruit and the nose.  Recommended!!

01-01-2017  The first Barolo of 2017 (but surely not the last)!  We drank the last bottle of the 2007 Rocche today with our NYD meal.  We prepared a risotto with lobster (hey, it is NYD) and lentils with spinach.  Yes, not what you would normally prepare but we had some of the lentils left over from last night (a dish that we eat to bring new luck in the coming year because the lentils signify small coins) and we thought "why not put them in the risotto?".  It was very good.  Will do the combination again.  The wine did not disappoint.  But, we still remember the cold reception from our first visit to Ratti.  It is highly unlikely we will return there.  They will have to change their client reception practices and communicate same to us before we will.