2008 Marcarini Barolo Brunate (Updated)

I am, of course, biased when it comes to Barolo. I prefer wines with little to no new oak, freshness instead of power, and austerity instead of sweetness. I’m a big fan of Old School Baroli. This bottle; Still relatively young, needed some time to open up. Typical fine tannins, found some cherries, a little tar and perhaps roses, with a nice hint of tobacco. The wine has a broad and emphatic balsamic richness with nuances of menthol and a meaty kind of feel, while still maintaining a freshness and zip. A great Barolo with potential and real good value for money IMO. This wine will improve over the coming years, currently at beginning of it’s drinking window.

First labelled and sold as a single-vineyard wine in 1934, Brunate is one of the Grand Crus of the Langhe region. Why? Because of its ability to deliver high quality fruit year-in, year-out. It is at the base of the La Morra slope, in a plum south amphiteatro which generates plenty of steamy heat by day and because of its position low down, it chills down quickly by night, preserving the perfumes and extending the hang-time.

Notes from the Winemaker

Single-vineyard. The Barolo cru is one of the most famous in the Barolo region apparently celebrated as early as the 1300s and expresses the elegance of La Morra to perfection. Élevage is at least 2 years in 20/40-hl. barrels of Slavonian oak, followed by a third year in bottle. Austere and imposing, a virile example displaying characteristic power and strength. Its classic style excites the nose with marvellous spice, tobacco, tar and dry rose scents. Barolo is without a doubt the noblest creation of the Nebbiolo grape, and in Marcarini’s “Brunate” selection it finds one of its highest quality expressions. For several generations our family has owned a considerable part of the Brunate vineyards; Brunate has been recognized as one of the Langhe’s most important cru zones since the 1300s. This precious denomination has been indicated on our bottles since 1958. As far as wine production methods are concerned, we are proud to be called “traditionalists”. We aim to be rigorous and demanding during our work in the vineyard, have a low yield per hectare, harvest the grapes when they are completely and perfectly ripe, and carefully select the grape bunches utilized in vinification. The fermentation is strictly controlled, and the maceration of the must in contact with the skins lasts for at least four weeks. When the malolactic fermentation is completed, the wine ages in medium-sized oak barrels (20/40 hl) for at least two years. Overall, it is subject only to traditional winemaking techniques. The wine has a magnificent garnet-red color with intense ruby-red reflections, of correct intensity and tonality. The nose is composite, rich, full and persistent, with hints of vanilla, sweet spices, tobacco, mountain hay and underbrush. Impressive taste sensations reveal the wine’s imperious, noble, warm and velvety character, and the flavor is long and intense. To be served in crystal glasses with very large bowls.

WA

The 2008 Barolo Brunate is gorgeous. An open, beguiling bouquet redolent of Christmas cake, plums, menthol and licorice melds into an expressive core of dark fruit. The mystery and allure of Brunate is on full display. The 2008 was quite open just after bottling, but it has begun to shut down since then. Both times I have tasted it, the wine has been translucent, weightless and yet powerful at the same time; in other words, the embodiment of what makes Barolo such a fascinating and complex wine. Simply put, this is textbook Barolo from one of La Morra’s top vineyards. The 2008 Brunate is steeped in class, but readers will have to be patient. Anticipated maturity: 2018–2028.