Tasting Report: 2008 Barbarescos, Gajas and Others

The 2008 vintage is never going to be considered a truly outstanding year in Piedmont, but it made some excellent wines. Case in point is this tasting that covers mostly wines made in the region of Barbaresco. I scored a handful of wines 95 points, but the majority of the reds reviewed below were rated in the low 90s.

The wines seem lean compared to such recent vintages as 2007, 2005, and 2004. I think that most of the 2008 Barbarescos will be very drinkable in two or three years of bottle age.

The Barbaresco to buy from the vintage is Bruno Giacosa’s 2008 Asili. The single vineyard wine shows wonderful depth of fruit and polished tannins. It’s deep and impressive with an excellent balance as well. The Gaja single vineyard Langhes are also some of the best of the region in 2008.

Don’t overlook the handful of 2007s in the report. The more I taste the 2007s, the more I like them. Their generous fruit and round and velvety tannins are crowd pleasers. The best in the report is the 2007 Gaja Sperss. Check out a video blog I did on the wine.

Also tasted, but not receiving marks of 90 points or more:

2008 Bosco Agostino Barolo La Serra

2007 Cecilia Monte Barbaresco Serracapelli

2008 Olek Bondonio Barbaresco

2008 Olek Bondonio Langhe

2008 Paitin Barbaresco Serra