Per Kamperin

2001 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda - 🍷🍷🍷 - Stunning bottle , at mid of drinking window? (Pic from my cellar..) Barolo Vigna Rionda Riserva 2001

2004 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato. Classic and typical with cherries, spice, soil, tar and leather. Concentrated with complex nuances. Great Barolo. Many years to go… Monprivato is one of the most distinctive Barolos around.  It boasts a level of elegance, clarity of expression and beautifully nuanced complexity that's heartbreaking. There's a unique and very compelling mingling of fruit, flower and earth with an incredible finesse.  The life of Monprivato is legendary.  It can age for decades. Over time, it shows its breeding to an even greater extent and gets even more beautifully aromatic and transparent. With time, a beguiling depth and perfume emerges.  2004 is a very strong vintage for Piedmont, but even in this context the Monprivato is brilliant.  Few wines reached this level of refinement and delineation. Monprivato - Vintage 2004

2007 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate - Le Coste, a wine worth devoting yourself to… ”Powerful, complex and multi-faceted - red fruit, leather, cherries, blackberries, herbs, tar, orange peel, a hint of medicinal tones and a floral touch and perhaps also some meaty and animal features.. First labelled and sold as a single-vineyard wine in   1934, Brunate is one of the Grand Crus of the Langhe region, even if the classification has not yet been made. 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.

 ”Protected from cold, eastern winds by the high ridge of Serralunga, Vigna Rionda gets full southern exposure. This combination allows grapes to reach ideal ripening before harvest almost every year. High vineyard altitudes of 985 feet provide marked day-night temperature changes that prolong the growing season and create complex aromas in the finished wines.”   Vigna Rionda - Vintage 2004

  The vineyards in Gabutti in Serralunga d’Alba are unanimously regarded as one of the most prestigious ‘crus’ of the Barolo-producing area.  They are located at the centre of a land with an extraordinary vocation for growing nebbiolo, a vine which produces wines with remarkable character and structure perfect for ageing.  This is the birthplace of Barolo OtinFiorin Piè Rupestris: it is 100% Serralunga in its character ‒ a paradigmatic wine thanks to its severe and authoritative tone, with an austere but also generous and sharing manner ‒ as well as in the organoleptic characteristics: liquorice, juniper, tar, balsamic notes, spices and undergrowth are just the most recognisable and typical expressions of an aromatic patrimony which sketches, year after year, a veritable narration of the land.  This is made authentic and trustworthy by our unequivocally natural choices and by an attitude alien to mediation. A narration which changes and evolves in time, under the sig...

2013 M. Marengo Barolo Bricco Viole, Barolo DOCG. (Far too young today...) "A bottle of good wine, like a good act, shines ever in the retrospect" - Robert Louis Stevenson. Add caption

This was a very nice Nebbiolo, light colored with intoxicating aromatics, and a surprising balmy and rich bouquet, concentrated fruit with hints of plum, licorice and perhaps also with slight nuances of violets. Silky ripe tannins with typical acidity. (Wine Spectator gave this wine 91 points for the vintage of 2009.) A great wine in summary… Producer Notes: Deep ruby red color with garnet shades. Fresh fragrance with hints of red fruits, hibiscus and rose supported by intense balsamic and spicy sensations. The taste is warm, persistent and elegant with a pleasant ending of licorice and almond, confirming it as a wine of character, austere, compact .

2004 Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté. Distinct tannins, cherries, violets, roses, ham/meat with some wood and a hint of tobacco. Grape:  Nebbiolo First vintage:  1978 Aspect and height above sea level:  south-facing, 300-350 metres Soil type:  moderately loose-packed, slightly clayey, limestone-based Vine training system and planting density:  Guyot-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare Average age of productive vines:  around 40 years Harvest period and method:  second 10 days of October, manual harvest The vinification procedure for Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè involves alcoholic fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, with daily pumping over. After completing malolactic fermentation, the wine matures in 25-hectolitre barrels of Slavonian oak. Bottling normally takes place in August. The Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè then stays in the binning cellar for 8-10 months before release. Front Label

  Mamete Prevostini - 2014 Corte di Cama Sforzato di Valtellina D.O.C.G. This bottle initially appeared a bit angular and tight on the nose, but it soon revealed it’s pure and delicate Nebbiolo character. This wine was full-bodied with a high level of alcohol (15.5%). While still young, it showed real ‘elegance’ and a balanced acidity with rather ripe tannins. We found cherries, licorice (or anise..), a spectrum of different spices, typical dried fruit with hints of both vanilla and raisins — and perhaps also hazelnuts? A beautiful wine that will be stunning after another 5+ years in the cellar…  More on Mamete Prevostini: https://medium.com/@perkamperin/two-great-wines-from-mamete-prevostini-226c4fd8ead0

Italian Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.. G.D. Vajra - Albe - Vintage 2014

The Albeisa bottle was created towards the end of the 18th century by producers around Alba who, desiring a unique and recognizable bottle of their own, a “BOCG” for their own wines, requested it from the master glaziers of the renowned Vetrerie di Porino firm just outside the city of Turin. A new bottle which would satisfy their requirements. It was in 1973 that the “BOCG” of the Langhe area came back to life. Thanks to the foresight of 16 producers of wine, inspired by the visionary work of Renato Ratti, the ALBEISA bottle was reproduced and given formal production regulations through a precise Statute which never previously had been put into practice to govern and control the use of a container.

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...

2004 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato. The definition of a ”Unicorn Wine”, elegant and complex, though still at beginning of drinking window IMO. Slow oxed (10h) & another 30 min in the glass before drinking, paired with self-picked wild Swedish Chanterelles on toast. Nice pairing IMO and in this bottle we found, as expected, notes of leather, roses, truffle and perhaps also a hint of tea-leafs and tobacco. Great Barolo!

Classic and typical, but still rather young IMO — cherries, roses, tobacco, a bit of leather and some tar with a hint of floral nuances. Rather long finish and a sense of minerality.  Wine in the glass.. Winemaker Notes; An impeccable balance. Aroma and finesse with power and body at the same time. Sweet nose, with hints of cherry, black currant and licorice. Fruity tannins. A union of characters. Front Labels WS Cherry and plum flavors are buried in a dense matrix of tannins, shaded by tobacco, leather, tar and iron notes. Linear and persistent on the finish, if less expressive at this stage than its peers. Best from 2021 through 2040. WA This vineyard is located in Serralunga d’Alba, where the soils are rich with clay and limestone. Vines are 50 years old, on average. The 2013 Barolo Margheria is a terrific wine with broad shoulders and a fully loaded, exuberant personality. The bouquet is dark and gristly in places with aromas of dark cherry ...

I admit to being a Nebbiolophile and in this expensive and highly appreciated top Barbaresco you will find all the expected traditional, and for the Nebbiolo grape typical references to varying degrees; roses, dried cherries, leather, violets and perhaps a hint of tar, but no truffles. This bottle (slow ox’d for 7 hours) was robust, but pure, with floral and mineral notes, opulent but not forceful in any way with splendid tannins present. This is a truly great wine, mature and balanced with great complexity, earthy of course, with an elegant finish with nuances of acid berries and also an inkling of citrus bergamia aromas. This wine is drinking beautifully today IMO, and possibly better than ever? I will enjoy the remaining few bottles over the next couple of years, but perhaps keep one for the long run.. The notes above does not aim at giving the reader a full descripion of this great bottle of Barbaresco, it’s just a muddled summary of my drinking experience. The very act o...

Classic and typical, but very young - cherries, roses, tobacco,  a bit of leather and some tar with a hint of floral nuances. Rather long finish... Per Kamperin - Wine Blog Product Description: "In 2004 Luigi decided to age part of this Cru in large casks: an exemplary work. From it, Margheria takes its best from itself. A vineyard of rare beauty. Entirely facing south, the vineyard is situated in the centre of the commune of Serralunga on the hill which extends below the castle of the town. The clayey and calcareous soil of Serralunga d'Alba shows all its complexity. The tufaceous marls confer richness in extracts and power to the wine. Minerality and sapidity: Margheria widely expresses the strong and austere character of this town. 1920 Cavalier Lorenzo Scavino began to vinify part of the grapes produced in the family's vineyards, a small rural reality in the heart of the Langhe region, in Castiglione Falletto. His son Alfonso started enthusiastically to bo...

2006 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin. Dried fruits, tar, liquorice, spice and tobacco with a hint of juniper and pine. Elegant and traditional with huge potential... Per Kamperin - Wine Blog

2008 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi San Lorenzo Ravera  “..Austere, severe, that demands research. It takes time. You have to study, to think, to understand, like all of art. It isn’t simple but complex; it doesn’t please right away. It’s the opposite of a mass-produced product. It has angles, not curves. It’s not easy.  2008 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi San Lorenzo Ravera

2001 Roagna La Rocca e La Pira. Everything's there - tar, tobacco, roses and cherries - a great classic and mature barolo, will hold for many years IMO.  Barolo...

Being a dedicated ‘Barolophile’, I have seen that demand and appreciation for Nebbiolo has skyrocketed the last ten years. As prices have risen for the best Barolos and Barbarescos (the most famous Nebbiolo wines) wine-lovers have looked out for alternatives, but Nebbiolo, unlike many other grapes, has never really prospered outside (northwestern) Italy. The Nebbiolo grape has long been associated with the Piedmont region, but alpine regions like Valtellina in Lombardy offer an interesting alternative. Valtellina Within the Valtellina zone, where Nebbiolo is known as ”Chiavennasca”, the wines are defined by two basic quality levels. The base is the Valtellina, which generally tends to be light-bodied and tannic. A distinct step up, with richer textures and more complex flavors, is the Valtellina Superiore. Valtellina also produces ”Sforzato”, a powerful Amarone-style wine made of 100% dried grapes for added body and concentration. Valtellina is also one of the most dramatic v...