Bright and Balanced from Barbaresco and Barolo, Plus Vega Sicilia’s One and Only: Weekly Tasting Report (Aug 14-20)

Besides highlighting some top Spanish wines from well-known wineries, our latest Weekly Tasting Report includes some superb 2021 Barbarescos from such illustrious names as Bruno Giacosa and Gaja. James and Marie spent four days in Piedmont visiting a number of these greats to taste recent releases and walk through vineyards.

“I think that 2021 is a great vintage that will age incredibly well,” said Bruna Giacosa, the owner of Bruno Giacosa, which was founded by her late father. “The vintage reminds me of the great 2001 vintage, which is still drinking incredibly well.”

She said that 2020, meanwhile, is very much like the 2000 vintage, a classic year with a hot and dry growing season. She added that both the Barolos and Barbarescos from 2020 are very open, aromatic and drinkable young. 2000 was the first vintage in Piedmont that James officially rated for The Wine Spectator, and he wrote at the time that it was one of the greatest ever, comparing it to the legendary 1947 vintage. Giacosa also said that the harder and less ripe vintage of 2019 is more like 1999.

READ MORE BOLGHERI 2024 TASTING REPORT: NURTURING A LOCAL VIBE

James tasted Giacosa’s two famous Barbaresco crus of Rabaja and Asili in both the 2021 and 2020 vintages. He couldn’t help but have a slight preference for the more open and opulent 2020s, but Giacosa said that the 2021s will outshine the 2020s with time in the bottle. We will wait and see.

Of the Barbarescos from the Gaja winery, James said that the San Lorenzo 2021 clearly stood out with so much intensity and character on the nose and palate. It’s structured for the long term but offers lots of flavor already.

Last year, the 2020 San Lorenzo also rated highly, with Gaia Gaja, whose family owns the famous winery brandishing her surname, saying that what made 2020 special was its "sweet tannins and the finesse of the nebbiolo." But she thinks that 2021 may be more classic and have a longer life, adding that the two vintages are "very different" in character.

Gaja’s current release of its pure cabernet sauvignon may have finally hit its mark, at least for James, after decades in production. James has always enjoyed the wine but never thought it was exceptional. The 2021 proves otherwise, with its pure blackcurrant and violet character not to mention the integrated and refined tannins. James joked with Angelo Gaja that he didn’t need to call the red “Darmagi” anymore. The word means “a shame” in the local dialect of Piedmont. Gaja laughed.

It's interesting to compare it to the Mazzei Siepi 2022, which is a classic super Tuscan red made from sangiovese and merlot. The Siepi has equally polished and long tannins but shows a little more richness and texture due to the hot growing season in Tuscany.

BALANCED BAROLOS

If the 2019 vintage in Barolo was a classic – with its often austere and bony wines suited for long aging and more traditional palates – 2020 is more balanced, with the fleshier offerings more approachable and less tense but with the same ageability.

Among the best of the 2020 Barolos Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli tasted was the G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero. Burlotto’s winemaker, Fabio Alessandria, is one of the most talented winemakers not only in the Verduno commune where Burlotto is based, but in all of Barolo, with his care for the vineyards constant, informed and meticulous – a crucial aspect of his vision for a great wine.

The Monvigliero is the only Burlotto wine fermented using whole clusters, and like their other Barolos it is processed in wood using indigenous yeasts, and is also aged in wood barrels. It’s a wine of extraordinary grace, dominated by a very intense nose of cinnamon and Parma violets, wild strawberry, peonies, bitter orange and rhubarb – almost like a vermouth.

And while the single-vineyard crus of Barolo dominate in the region, there are those who continue to uphold the tradition of blends from multiple vineyards. This is the case with Maria Teresa Mascarello of the Bartolo Mascarello winery, who produces a single Barolo from all her vineyards. The novelty of her 2020 vintage is the return of the glorious Cannubi San Lorenzo, which, after being replanted, infuses the wine with the touch of elegance that has always characterized it. The wine offers great balance, finesse, a medium body and excellent aging potential.

HARMONY FROM RIBERA DEL DUERO

In Spain, Senior Editor Zekun Shuai ventured into Ribera del Duero to visit a few producers and taste new releases, with Vega Sicilia at the forefront of wineries showcasing their supreme consistency of quality across vintages. Pablo Alvarez, who heads the winery, said that achieving that sort of consistency came from the winery’s philosophy of rejecting fleeting trends in favor of maintaining its own style.

“When you do a vertical of Vega Sicilia Unico – and of course, some vintages are better than others – you can expect the [Vega Sicilia] identity and the consistency of quality,” he said of their flagship wine, which is based on a blend of the estate’s top terroirs from 40-year-old-plus vines.

The latest release of the Unico, the 2015, is striking for its balance, complexity and finesse of the tannins. Its length is simply awe-inspiring. The wine is not shy in delivering pleasure, but its restraint makes it an incredibly complete and harmonious Ribera del Duero. It comes with the exotic spice, balsam, tobacco and dark mineral touch that the Unico is known for, and this is particularly true in the warmer, concentrated 2015 vintage.

Meanwhile, the coming 2025 release of the Unico Reserva Especial NV – composed of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 vintages – promises a more refined experience. Zekun noted its impressive length and powdery tannins, describing it as akin to “a sheet of velvet.” Both the Unico 2015 and Reserva offer immediate enjoyment and should mature beautifully over the next two decades.

In Ribera del Duero’s elevated subregion of Atauta, Frenchman Bertrand Sourdais has been making a significant mark with his Dominio de Es project, focusing on Atauta’s distinctive terroirs through his La Mata and La Diva wines, which are both limited-production set pieces of around 1,000 bottles each.

“The precision of La Diva comes from the sandy limestone soils,” Sourdais explained. This stands in contrast to the brown clay subsoils, blanketed by a sandy, calcareous overlay, that La Mata comes from. La Mata 2022 is the more mineral and profound wine as a result,  with more blue fruit, even though it is arguably less nuanced and powdery on the palate than La Diva.

GERMANY'S CLIFFSIDE RIESLINGS

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott returned to the Nahe region of Germany to taste the wines made by Rebecca Crusius at the Dr. Crusius winery in Traisen. When Stuart first tasted there, the wines were made by Rebecca’s grandfather, Hans Crusius, who was one of the first winemakers in modern Germany to make dry rieslings that had a cult following.

And it was the latest vintage of one of those wines, the Dr. Crusius Riesling Nahe Bastei GG 2023, that impressed Stuart. Its immense crushed rock character is hardly surprising when you consider it comes from a vineyard planted on the narrow strip of scree at the foot of the Rotenfels cliffs. This huge mass of volcanic porphyry is the highest inland cliff north of the Alps. The name refers to the radish color of the rock.

The Dr. Crusius Riesling Nahe Felsenberg GG 2023 is hot on the heels of the Bastei, with terrific tropical fruit aromas and an almost endless finish. This pair are the stars of an excellent range of dry rieslings from 2023.

In contrast to the wealth of impressive dry wines, nobly sweet rieslings from the 2023 vintage in Germany are hard to find. This is because harvest conditions were quite wet that year and winemakers were fixated on removing negative botrytis from their grapes, not looking for shriveled fruit to make dessert wines. The Dr. Crusius Riesling Nahe Felsenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2023 is a rare example of purity and elegance for a dessert wine of the 2023 vintage. The vibrant acidity cuts through the tropical richness of the wine like a samurai sword.

Christian Stahl of the Franken region (sometimes still referred to as Franconia) is an unusual German winemaker for a number of reasons. One of them is that he made his reputation without producing any significant wines from the riesling grape, instead majoring in varieties like sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and even muller thurgau.

However, with the 2023 vintage he has made his first great dry riesling, the Stahl Riesling Franken Pfülben 2023, which has a fantastic interplay of delicate peachy fruit and wet stone minerality. It has been made to age and is still quite tightly wound. The Pfulben is a forgotten great site that is suddenly enjoying a renaissance.

Stuart was no less impressed by the Stahl Scheurebe Franken Cyriakusberg 2023, with its enormous concentration of grapefruit, lime zest, mint and lemon balm aromas. The scheurebe grape is usually associated with dessert wines, but this shows that in this region it is capable of greatness as a dry white. Stahl is also one of the chefs in his own Michelin-starred restaurant, so it's no surprise that these are gastronomic wines!

ATLAS PEAK ELEGANCE

To say that California’s Atlas Peak appellation is “in Napa Valley” is quite a stretch of the imagination, especially when you drive to its outermost reaches, as Executive Editor Jim Gordon did over the past week to taste the elegant wines of Amuse Bouche and its sibling labels.

While technically within the greater Napa Valley American Viticultural Area, Atlas Peak is literally on another plane, sitting 1,000 feet (305 meters) or more above the valley floor where most of the vines are planted.

Jim drove up and over the high ridge connecting to the actual Atlas Peak that is visible from all of southern Napa County and out onto a rugged, high plateau of hills, canyons and chaparral vegetation.

There on the vineyard property that grows several red Bordeaux varieties, he met and tasted with John Schwartz, the cofounder and mastermind behind Amuse Bouche, Au Sommet, Coup de Foudre and other wines in the portfolio.

The Amuse Bouche Napa Valley Vin Perdu 2022 is one of the two highest-rated California wines this week, offering great power, firm tannins and potent red and black fruits balanced by fresh acidity. Founding winemaker Heidi Barrett makes it with 64 percent merlot grapes, defying the adage that merlot lacks structure, partially by adding 32 percent petit verdot and 4 percent petite sirah, both known for tightly knit tannins.

Virtually as impressive and delicious is the “regular” Amuse Bouche Napa Valley 2022, an elegant and silky offering blended from 91 percent merlot and 9 percent cabernet franc. Two reds from the Coup de Foudre winery also stood out: the 100 percent cabernet sauvignon Lightning Bolt 2022 and the more crisp, subtle and fresh Bordeaux-style blend, Cuvee 37.2 2022.

The other top scorer from California is a Bordeaux-style blend that marks a comeback for Sonoma County’s Chateau St. Jean winery in Kenwood. The pioneering winery had gone almost dormant under Treasury Wine Estates but was bought recently by Foley Family Wines & Spirits. The Foley winemaking team, which is headed by Mari Wells Coyle and new arrival Lisa Evich, have pared the St. Jean line of wines down to just three items, topped by the well-known Cinq Cepages Sonoma County. The 2022 is a beautiful example of the ripe and warm vintage, with savory, lavender-like aromas and graphite, dark chocolate and creme de cassis flavors that linger on the finish.

And El Dorado County in the Sierra Foothills provided the most remarkable California white wine of the week. The Cedarville Viognier El Dorado Estate Bottled 2022 is an ethereal, lavender-scented, concentrated and luscious wine made from a small patch of old vines at 2,500 feet elevation by owner winemaker Jonathan Lachs.

READ MORE NAPA VALLEY CABS SHINE IN 2021: APEX VINTAGE IN A ‘REDEMPTION’ YEAR

Our tastings of South African wines continued in our Hong Kong office, with pinot noirs and chardonnays from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley shining the brightest. These were led by the Bouchard Finlayson Pinot Noir Galpin Peak 2022, a spicy and flavorful offering from a cooler growing area on the Cape South Coast that shows rich, toasty undertones to the red- and orange-fruit aromas while remaining bright and lively. The Cap Maritime winery, which features the same winemaking team as Franschhoek-based Boekenhoutskloof, also made a pretty 2022 pinot noir from the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, with bright red berry-fruit and cinnamon notes.

Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt also liked Bouchard Finlayson’s spicy, chalky and nutty Chardonnay Missionvale 2023, as well as the cedary and flinty Chardonnay Overberg Crocodile’s Lair Kaaimansgat 2023, from a cooler, later-ripening Hemel-en-Aarde vineyard that lies 700 meters above sea level.

Two chenin blanc standouts from South Africa were Dewaldt Heyns’ Weathered Hands 2022, a spicy and compact offering from the Swartland showcasing plenty of phenolic tension, while Ken Forrester’s The FMC 2023, from Stellenbosch, is a ripe and full-bodied white with alluring honey and tropical fruit aromas. Also check out Stellenbosch reds like Hartenberg’s The Megan 2020, Jordan’s Sophia 2018, Alto’s Estate Blend 2022, and Keermont’s meaty and peppery 2018 syrahs, Steepside and Topside.

To finish off with a complex dessert wine, Groot Constantia’s Grand Constantia 2019 is a muscat that is lusciously sweet, balanced by fresh acidity and generously exuding floral, spice, caramel and apple-pie aromas.

– James Suckling, Aldo Fiordelli, Zekun Shuai, Stuart Pigott, Jim Gordon, and Claire Nesbitt contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.