Wine Advisor
Elio Grasso, Barolo Gavarini Chiniera 2006
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Grasso’s 2006 Barolo Gavarini Vigna Chiniera is laced with racy, perfumed red fruit, flowers and minerals. The wine gains weight and depth in the glass as its energy and vibrancy take center stage. This is a supremely beautiful Barolo where expressive aromatics, generous fruit and silky tannins come together with unusual grace and elegance. Sweet, floral notes add a sense of lift on the finish. The 2006 is the best Gavarini since the 1989, and who knows if one day it might not match that legendary Barolo. Readers won’t want to miss the sublime 2006 Gavarini Vigna Chiniera. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2031. I was deeply impressed with the Barolos I tasted this year from Elio and Gianluca Grasso. This is an important vintage for the Grasso family, and readers will want to get their hands on these exceptionally pure, beautiful wines before they disappear. In discussing their 2006s, many producers draw comparisons with their 1989s. This is one of the cases where such a comparison seems fitting. Speaking of which, readers may want to take a look at my notes on Grasso’s 1989s (and 1990s, too) in my “What About Now” feature in this issue. Grasso farms three vineyards in Monforte; Ginestra, Gavarini and Runcot, all of which have their own unique qualities. Harvest times can vary as much as 7-10 days from parcel to parcel. The Barolos are fermented using the traditional submerged cap method and see a full month of maceration on the skins. Malolactic fermentation is done in steel, and the wines are subsequently aged in cask. Despite all of their success, Elio, Marina, Gianluca and Francesca Grasso, along with their cellarmaster Enrico Marchisio, remain some of the most unassuming, humble and classy people readers will meet in Piedmont. Various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808; Langdon Shiverick Imports, Cleveland, OH; tel. (213) 483-5900; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA; Admirality Beverage Co. Columbia Distributing Company, Portland, Oregon; tel. (503) 289-9600; Oliver McCrum Wines, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 654-9159
About the Producer
Elio Grasso’s History Born within an old family of Monforte d’Alba with substantial vineyards in the prestigious parts of the town, Grasso may seem destined for a career as a Barolo producer . But instead he chose a different path, at least in the early stages of adult life, choosing to work in the world of finance and living an urban existence that was decidedly different from that of the rural world in which he was born and raised. The wines of Elio Grasso The call of the land, however, eventually proved strong, and the return to Monforte d’Alba was probably only a matter of time. And what he returned to was in fact an impressive patrimony: 18 hectares of vineyards that include first-rate sites such as Chiniera , Casa Matè , and Runcot . Grasso, in fact, just in 1978, decided to ferment and age on his own the grapes of his best plots and was a pioneer in selling both a regular Barolo and also a series of crus . As a producer, Grasso has always been attentive to tradition, but, given the important experiences linked to the numerous generations of his family in the area, he has never wanted to radically transform his wines: both Chiniera and Casa Matè are aged in barrels; only the Runcot , a Riserva , ages in small barrels. Innovation, on the other hand, is represented by two other wines from the line: the excellent Barbera Martina aged in barrels and Educato , a Chardonnay fermented in barrels.
