The February 2023 Auction: Part 2
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1 / 2Lot 665
Estimate: $375
2x3.0cm, 1 Nicked capsule.
Sold:
This auction has ended. Bidding is closed.
Collection name
Reviews
94+ST
"Impressive dark red-ruby color. High-pitched, complex, slightly roasted nose combines currant, minerals, violet, earth and sweet, spicy oak. Minerally, firm and perfumed in the mouth, with lovely clarity of flavor. I found a powerful stony element that reminded me of Chateauneuf du Pape. Finishes with huge but horizontal tannins and great aromatic persistence. This may prove to be the best vintage yet for this bottling, although the infant 2001 already offers extraordinary sweetness and concentration, with great thickness and extract and fruit of steel. The Currado family now owns 32 hectares of vineyards, following a very expensive purchase of a parcel of Barolo Villero. The family is in the process of expanding its winery, although there are no plans to increase production. Luca Currado is a flexible winemaker with strong ideas about the different needs of his crus. ‘The Rocche needs a long fermentation and does not take well to aging in barriques’ he told me. ‘Brunate is a more feminine wine; it typically requires more oxygenation during its first year. The Lazzarito is a typically hard terroir of Serralunga. Small barrels are essential: the wine is like a wild horse that you need to ride.’ Currado is increasingly doing the malolactic fermentations in barriques which he believes adds silkiness and fat to the family's wines without making them overly oaky. But elevage varies depending on the wine. For example, the Barbaresco Masseria is aged entirely in barriques but the Barolo Villero is racked into large Slavonian ovals the spring after the harvest, once the malos have occurred in small barrels. Rocche is the only Barolo that spends no time in barriques.Currado is a champion of the 1999 vintage, which offered excellent material and power ‘for the Barolistas.’ He described 1998 as an elegant, crowd-pleasing style of wine, like a more structured version of 1988. (‘No, it's more like '89,’ interjected Alfredo Currado.) Luca added that he thought 2000 favored Barbaresco over Barolo, but that 2001 is stronger for both areas. ‘For me, 2001 is a 100-point vintage, surely the best since 1996. 1996 would have been as good if we knew then what we know now.’"
Region
Red
Country
Score
"Impressive dark red-ruby color. High-pitched, complex, slightly roasted nose combines currant, minerals, violet, earth and sweet, spicy oak. Minerally, firm and perfumed in the mouth, with lovely clarity of flavor. I found a powerful stony element that reminded me of Chateauneuf du Pape. Finishes with huge but horizontal tannins and great aromatic persistence. This may prove to be the best vintage yet for this bottling, although the infant 2001 already offers extraordinary sweetness and concentration, with great thickness and extract and fruit of steel. The Currado family now owns 32 hectares of vineyards, following a very expensive purchase of a parcel of Barolo Villero. The family is in the process of expanding its winery, although there are no plans to increase production. Luca Currado is a flexible winemaker with strong ideas about the different needs of his crus. ‘The Rocche needs a long fermentation and does not take well to aging in barriques’ he told me. ‘Brunate is a more feminine wine; it typically requires more oxygenation during its first year. The Lazzarito is a typically hard terroir of Serralunga. Small barrels are essential: the wine is like a wild horse that you need to ride.’ Currado is increasingly doing the malolactic fermentations in barriques which he believes adds silkiness and fat to the family's wines without making them overly oaky. But elevage varies depending on the wine. For example, the Barbaresco Masseria is aged entirely in barriques but the Barolo Villero is racked into large Slavonian ovals the spring after the harvest, once the malos have occurred in small barrels. Rocche is the only Barolo that spends no time in barriques.Currado is a champion of the 1999 vintage, which offered excellent material and power ‘for the Barolistas.’ He described 1998 as an elegant, crowd-pleasing style of wine, like a more structured version of 1988. (‘No, it's more like '89,’ interjected Alfredo Currado.) Luca added that he thought 2000 favored Barbaresco over Barolo, but that 2001 is stronger for both areas. ‘For me, 2001 is a 100-point vintage, surely the best since 1996. 1996 would have been as good if we knew then what we know now.’"
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Italy grows more indigenous grape varieties than any other country and produces wine in all 20 of its regions. From Piedmont's Nebbiolo to Tuscany's Sangiovese, its finest wines pair structure and bright acidity with a strong sense of place.
In Italy's northwest, Piedmont is home to Nebbiolo, the grape behind the powerful, perfumed and long-lived reds of Barolo and Barbaresco. Fog-shrouded hills and calcareous soils define its greatest wines.
The 'King of Wines,' a powerful, tannic and perfumed Nebbiolo from Piedmont's Langhe hills, celebrated for tar-and-roses aromatics and extraordinary aging potential.
Produces pale but powerfully tannic and perfumed reds with tar, rose and cherry notes. The grape behind Barolo and Barbaresco, it is among the most age-worthy in the world.