Barolo Riserva Borgogno: the time machine

Vinitaly, the largest wine fair in the world of wine in Italy, perhaps in the world. You can meet producers there, drink their vintage wines. It is already more difficult to come across a vertical tasting of Barolo Riserva by Borgogno. To then taste a Barolo Riserva Borgogno that is over thirty years old is practically impossible. And yet that is what we will try to tell you about.

But what does Borgogno mean? Why does its name command at least a sense of respect?

The winery was founded by Bartolomeo Borgogno in Barolo in 1761. One hundred years later, Barolo Borgogno was chosen for the celebratory dinner marking the Unification of Italy. The estate remained in the family until the end of 2007, when it was taken over by Oscar Farinetti, who continues its incredible story. A story built on tradition, in which the Riserva is the product of blends of grapes from the estate's various crus (primarily Cannubi, Liste and Fossati, all in the municipality of Barolo), where pruning in the vineyard is particularly severe, with the removal of excess bunches and a rigorous selection of the harvested grapes. Macerations are long, aging in large Slavonian oak barrels and in bottle is long: the 2008 vintage we tasted has only just been released onto the market.

Winemaker Danilo Drocco guided us at the fair, at the estate's stand, through a tasting of the 2008, 1998 and 1982 vintages. Here is how it went.

Barolo Riserva 2008

This is the Barolo from the first harvest of Oscar Farinetti as owner. Flowering was in line with traditional timings, followed by optimal spring weather conditions. The weather then took a marked turn for the worse, with rain and a drop in temperatures below average. Work in the vineyard nonetheless made it possible to improve the quality of the grapes, helped also by the climatic improvement that occurred from mid-July through to the end of October. Overall, a great vintage.
The wine is characterized by a color that is garnet with ruby glints, with the typical transparency and luminosity of great Nebbioli. On the nose it is still closed, opening slowly with tones of fresh red fruit, raspberry and blueberry, floral notes with violet clearly prominent. Then a light spice of cloves, undergrowth with a finish of liquorice. On the palate we immediately notice the prevalence of the hard components over the soft ones. The tannic structure is significant, with a clear fresh-savory backbone and a long finish. It is still very young and austere, with the evolutionary potential typical of Borgogno Riserve.

Barolo Riserva 1998

Regarded as a great vintage and characterized by favorable weather conditions. Winter was cold and spring rainy. The hot and dry summer allowed for excellent ripening of the grapes. The months of September and October, with wide diurnal temperature variations, favored the development of the aromatic profile of the grapes.
It presents itself with a transparent ruby-garnet robe with a slightly orange rim. The nose is not fully open, with mineral notes, rose and violet, then fruity notes of sour cherry and cherry in spirit. We then perceive liquorice and mint, cinchona and clear toasted notes of coffee. On the palate the profile is very similar to the 2008, with a bracing acidity that carries returns of liquorice and balsamic notes, with a significant, very well-present tannin. The gustatory-olfactory persistence is very long. A 17-year-old Barolo that has only just begun its journey of tertiarization. Beautiful.

Barolo Riserva 1982

An exceptional vintage, with a long winter and a vegetative cycle initially behind schedule. The mild spring and hot, dry summer, with a September in which fairly high temperatures were recorded, allowed for excellent ripening of the grapes.
Beautiful the color of the wine, garnet-orange, clear and transparent. Incredible the olfactory spectrum that expresses itself slowly: dried rose and violet, cinchona bark and sweet tobacco, then chocolatey and balsamic notes of rhubarb. Then come notes of undergrowth, moss, leather with distant fruity returns of sour cherry and raspberry jam. On the palate what strikes you is the vibrant freshness, the silkiest tannins with a softness that is beginning to be perceptible, and a persistence measured in minutes.
A magnificent, mature wine, in the fullness of its emotional phase, certainly capable of remaining so for who knows how many more decades. Because for this 33-year-old champion one can only speak of evolutionary prospects still spanning decades. A Barolo that allows us to travel through time.
And now there is nothing left but to go and visit them at the estate.