1999 Barolo... We should have been nicer to ye!

Posted December 3rd, 2009 01:12 by Brad Royale

The 1999 vintage of Barolo has the middle child syndrome. Stuck in the middle of a string of excellent and diverse vintages, the 1999's got a polite hand on the head before being shuffled out of the kitchen to the back yard where the dog lay, awaiting a comrade.

There are a few reasons for this, the most immediate being the barely warm reception by early press. The wines were difficult to showcase on release due to their reticent personalities, giving warrant for recommendations on the previous three vintages as best buys (most of these vintages were still available on the market if one so such desired.) The critics who did some digging into the wines knew better, seeing the quiet qualities of the vintage and touted their attributes. These insightful informants claimed the wines required additional time, and would surely blossom into sweet little purities of Nebbiolo deliciousness, much to deaf ears unfortunately. Moving from the critic to the consumer; those who follow Piedmont wines had cellars full of 1996 ("full and complex"), 1997 ("vintage of the century") and 1998 ("classic and long lived") and could barely catch their breath with 1999 before the press showed up and demanded everyone pay attention to 2000 and 2001. Even Dante Scaglione, then winemaker for Bruno Giacosa, is quoted as saying, "....we probably overlooked the 1999 Le Rocche del Falletto. To me it was always a wine worthy of the Red Label." To fans who know Bruno Giacosa, the Red Label reserve is the house's top wine and arguably the region's best tribute to classic Barolo. All these circumstances rallied against this poor little vintage of deliciousness...booo.

Being a fan of Barolo in general, and having a disgustingly decadent supply of them in the Alberta market I felt no surer duty than to stash a six pack of the top gems away on release and see how the wines fared with a decade pinned against the labeled vintage. This seemed like a good idea then, and proved so in its application now. The wines chosen represented a big swath clockwise around the Barolo area; starting in Monforte d'Alba in the south, moving up around to Barolo proper right in the middle, then into La Morra just into the west and finally succumbing to the aromatic heights of eastern Serralunga d'Alba. Soils types and aspects always providing intimate voyeurism into a wines personality, the various styles of production between the group gave an insight into their wardrobe. The wines showed marvelous diversities of style, adding to Barolo's fascination. Experiencing the staunch traditionalism of Giacosa versus the modern stealth of Gaja and compared still further to the extremities of Voerzio gave evidence to just how varied the region has become in the past 20 years. With regards to age the wines showed pretty much as one would guess based on producer and local. Grasso was showing well offering delicious value and could make an appearance on the dinner table if you sweetened its ear with a sumptuous plate. Conterno was ripe, explosive and it may be hard to hold onto this bottle as it drank like it knew you. Einaudi showed its dabbling with wood and gave voice to the Cannubi site, a fulsomeness that requires some patience. Voerzio emerged dark and brooding, like a black suit hanging in a dark closet...kinda scary and best to keep downstairs. Gaja showed up dressed as usual giving sermon to style and elegance and eerie power. Giacosa was legend, aristocratic and obviously waaay out of our league right now, we'll check back in a decade when we've grown up and can roll that large.