Beautiful Italian vineyards on a cold winter day.
Just three hours after arriving in Malpensa airport near Milan, we were tasting wines. We’d come from Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific flight CX 233. Nick Stock, the JamesSuckling.com senior editor, and I were extremely excited to taste more than 350 Barolos from the excellent 2015. And the first few wines we tasted brought smiles to our faces.
We expected the 2015 Barolos to be ripe and exotic in character due to the hot grape growing season, particularly in the summer. Yet the wines showed fantastic tannin structure and freshness despite the ripeness of fruit. The 2015 vintage of Barolo already reminds us of the great 2001, another ripe year with firm tannins and bright acidity. The newest Barolo on the market is classical in character with wonderful perfumes of tar, roses and cherries as well as distinctly defined palates typical of where they are from.
Tannin quality is all important in evaluating wines, besides the purity of fruit. We noticed that some cool areas may have produced some of the best wines. We love the top wines of Cannubi as well as Ginestra and Mosconi. But there are so many great wines. We have another 100 or so to taste today and then the tasting for this portion is over.
Right now we are on our way to Tuscany to taste 2014 Brunello di Montalcino and 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. Can’t wait! Stay tuned for more updates as we take you on our 2019 tasting journey. Click here for part two, notes from Tuscany.
Taking in the fresh morning air of Langhe before tasting 2015 Barolo.
