Top Barolo 2011 Riservas: Riding the rollercoaster
Stephen Brook reviews the vintage and picks out wines to consider buying for your cellar...
Scroll down to see Brook’s favourite Barolo 2011 Riservas
The vintage
This was a rollercoaster vintage, with fluctuating weather conditions – wet March, hot April, cool and sometimes stormy early summer, and a hot August.
Cooler, damper conditions in September slowed the ripening but led to ripe grapes with excellent colour and tannins. The harvest was about two weeks earlier than usual and completed by the end of September.
Uneven ripening was a characteristic of the vintage, but conscientious growers could rectify that in the vineyard and by sorting.
The wines
Like the 2007s and 2009s, these are wines packed with fruit, which makes them accessible relatively young, although they have the structure to age. Acidity is generally higher than in 2009.
Elisa Scavino of the Scavino estate sees the wines as ‘aromatic, with rounded fruit, lower in tannins than 2010 or 2013 but more structured than 2012. They’re elegant wines with silky tannins.’
The quality seems to be consistent across the region.
To buy or not to buy
The Riservas are now coming onto the market, and a selection, from which the following recommendations was made, was tasted blind in Alba, and non-blind in London.
Riservas, with their longer ageing (62 months in all) and, one hopes, stricter fruit selection, are inevitably more expensive than the regular Barolos, but such is the appeal of the latter, that the additional outlay for a Riserva may not always be justifiable. It’s an individual decision.
Certainly, the best wines are excellent and will repay cellaring.
More articles like this
Underrated Barolo crus: Five wines to try
Tom Hyland picks five wines demonstrating the originality and value on offer by the lesser-known Barolo crus...
Anson: A wine treasure trove to visit in Piedmont
Jane Anson visits Piedmont wine bank...
Barolo & Barbaresco producers to know about
Who made the top 10...?
Costa di Bussia Tenuta Arnulfo, Bussia Riserva, Barolo, Monforte d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
Voluptuous raspberry and cherry nose, heady and beguiling. Rich and suave, this is harmonious and has no rough edges. The fruit is very ripe but...
2011
Costa di Bussia Tenuta ArnulfoBarolo
Rocche Costamagna, Rocche dell'Annunziata Bricco Francesco, Barolo, La Morra, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
Intense raspberry nose with lovely purity of fruit. The attack is lean and fresh, showing precision and zest. Although very concentrated, it's not too dense...
2011
Rocche CostamagnaBarolo
Barale, Bussia, Barolo, Monforte d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
Smoky and leathery on the nose, but the palate has a fresh attack. It's lean and limpid for Riserva, invigorating and zesty, with integrated tannins....
2011
BaraleBarolo
Cavallotto, Vignolo Riserva, Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
Pungent raspberry and redcurrant fruit on the nose, but the palate shows more richness, with very ripe fruit, assertive tannins, considerable intensity, and perceptible alcohol....
2011
CavallottoBarolo
Oddero, Bussia Mondoca, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
Red fruits nose, with some smoky, leathery tones too, but not too evolved. Dense and opulent, a full-bodied wine with chewy tannins that are still...
2011
OdderoBarolo
Dosio, Fossati, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
Brooding cherry nose with impressive density of fruit. Rich, juicy, and velvety, very concentrated with powerful tannins yet not too extracted, and with drive and...
2011
DosioBarolo
Curto, Arborina Riserva, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
Toasty raspberry nose, lifted and stylish. Rich and full-bodied, this is powerful yet not too dense, and there's terrific weight of fruit without extraction ,...
2011
CurtoBarolo
Paolo Scavino, Rocche dell'Annunziata Riserva, Barolo, La Morra, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
Voluptuous raspberry nose, packed with ripe fruit. Very rich but has underlying acidity, and the sweet fruit is supported by assertive tannins. Packs a punch...
2011
Paolo ScavinoBarolo
Mauro Sebaste, Ghè, Barolo, Serralunga d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
A monopole site on sandy limestone soils. Cherry and raspberry nose, with light mocha tones. Full-bodied and imposing, but with supple tannins and no excessive...
2011
Mauro SebasteBarolo
Bric Cenciurio, Coste di Rose Riserva, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy, 2011
From a small site near Monforte. Lush, intense raspberry nose. Very concentrated and suave, this has depth and power but not rough edges. The tannins...
2011
Bric CenciurioBarolo
