2004 Barolo Mariondino

Marco Parusso's 2004s have turned out nicely. Some of the wines are a bit more impressive than they were at the outset, some less so, but not by a meaningful margin in either direction. A grower who is not afraid to chart and follow his own path, Parusso remains one of the true iconoclasts in Piedmont. Late harvests, cold soaks, aging on the lees in a very cold cellar and a high percentage of new oak are some of the signatures in Barolos that are built on ripe fruit and racy textures. Historically I find the wines need a good few years in bottle to show at their best.

Marco Parusso aims to make elegant Barolos that emulate much of what he admires among his favorite Burgundy producers. The fruit gets a 2-3 day cold soak to allow the grapes to recover from what Parusso describes as the shock of being harvested. The wines are fermented at a lower temperatures than is the norm here in order to preserve freshness. Parusso works with natural yeasts and minimal amounts of SO2, leaving the wines on their lees for 16-18 months, another practice that is uncommon in these parts. As was the case throughout the region, the harvest was fairly late by today's standards and the last of the Nebbiolo was brought in towards the end of October.

Among the most important changes at this estate in recent years has been Marco Parusso's tendency toward later harvesting. "I was an early picker prior to the 2001 vintage," Parusso told me. But when I visited him on September 19, he had only brought in his dolcetto and the first of his barbera. And in the precocious 2003 growing season, he picked Barolo extremely late: between October 10 and 15. Parusso describes 2004 as "a classic Barolo vintage harvested in cool temperatures. " He compares this vintage to '98, a year that he prefers to the more powerful 1999 for its finesse. "Wine is an aliment; it's meant to go with food," he explained. "The '99s have too much of everything. " Parusso works with 22 hectares of vines, 12 of which he owns and the rest under long-term rental arrangements. He uses a lot of Burgundian techniques, including a three-to-five-day cold soak for barbera and Barolo, and long aging on the lees. The Barolo crus spend 24 months in all new barriques, while the normale is aged half in new and half in once-used barrels.