Wine Advisor
Roberto Voerzio, Barolo Brunate 2008
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Brunate (from cask) is all muscle, minerals and iron, with a powerful core of dark fruit that impresses for its depth and volume. It, too, is a wine of significant potential.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Brunate is beautifully balanced from start to finish. Freshly cut flowers, mint, licorice, hard candy and dark red fruit are layered in this utterly impeccable Barolo. Waves of fruit build toward a huge, dramatic finish supported by serious tannins, yet the Brunate remains one of the more understated wines here. The Brunate is all about length, weightless elegance and an elusiveness that is only matched by the greatest Burgundies. This is a dazzling effort. Readers should expect the Brunate to take the better part of a decade to become expressive. Following the Brunate over the course of several days was immensely rewarding. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2033. These wines from Roberto and Davide Voerzio represent a significant turning point stylistically. This is the first year in which most of the Baroli were aged partly in cask and partly in barrel, the same approach the estate used for its early wines, up to and including the 1993 vintage. The 2008s spent their first year in equal parts cask and barrique, and a second year in French oak barrels, just 20% new, a major change over the recent past. The exceptions are the Baroli Voerzio bottled only in magnums (Sarmassa and Vecchie Viti dei Capalot e delle Brunate), which were aged exclusively in French oak because of the tiny quantities of those wines. Roberto Voerzio describes 2008 as a year that was cold from start to finish. The wines are huge, tannic and likely to require quite a bit of patience. With time, though, the pedigree of the great Barolo vineyards simply can’t be denied. The best of Voerzio’s 2008s are pure magic. A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Blackberries with hints of coffee and dried flowers on the nose. Turns to mushrooms. Full body, with firm and chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Tight and not giving much. Needs a couple of years to soften on the palate.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Brunate (from cask) is all muscle, minerals and iron, with a powerful core of dark fruit that impresses for its depth and volume. It, too, is a wine of significant potential.
About the Producer
Based in La Morra, Roberto started in 1986 with just a few hectares and the goal of producing the finest Barolo in the region. His viticulture is characterized by high density plantings and extremely low yields (750g /vine). The techniques he meticulously applies in the vineyards of pruning, green harvesting and bunch-thinning leave the fruit riper and more concentrated in flavors and sugars while maintaining a balanced acidity. The Voerzio vineyards are located in the finest Crus of Barolo: La Serra, Brunate, Cerequio, Sarmassa, Rocche del’Annunziata and Fossati, with complimentary vineyards of Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo all in the commune of La Morra. 20 hectares in total are farmed, all organically. In the winery, he is considered a classic ‘modernist’, with short fermentation on the skins, not exceeding one month. With the help of his son Davide in the cellar, the wines are aged in French oak barrique and botti, the Barolo for at least 2 years. Voerzio’s perfectionist approach in the vineyards, combined with his unrelenting quality of production and engagement in sustainable practices make his wines legendary, and are widely considered to constitute the superlative expression in the category.
