| 2009-01-08 10:00 |
IWC: By Stephen Tanzer
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, November/December 2007, Issue #135
(Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Vigna Chiniera) ($72; from sand-and-chalk soil; aged for two and a half years in large Slovenian casks) Moderately saturated reddish-amber. Mellow and inviting aromas of blackberry, plum, tobacco and loam, with a captivating orange peel quality emerging with air. Lush, sweet and mellow in a loamy, minerally Burgundian way, but with a marzipan quality that screams Barolo. Very nicely delineated for such a supple wine. Finishes with serious but thoroughly ripe tannins. Give this five or six years of bottle aging. 91 points |
| 2009-01-08 10:00 |
WA: Grasso’s 2004 Barolo Gavarini Vigna Chiniera is a floral, perfumed wine made in a precise style that highlights the mineral-infused red fruits and spice flavors that are typical of this limestone-rich vineyard. It is a generous, dense Barolo in this vintage and offers remarkable harmony, with a pure, focused intensity that carries through to the finish, where finessed tannins round out the satisfying close. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2022.
Elio Grasso’s wines are made in a unique, crisply articulated style that highlights balance and harmony over sheer power. “For our 2004 Barolos we did roughly 30 days of maceration in stainless steel, where the wines also completed their malolactic fermentations,” says Gianluca Grasso. “The wines were then racked into 25 hectoliter barrels where they aged for two and a half years. The Runcot saw 35-40 days of maceration and may spend up to 40 months in 100% new French oak.”
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 |