1997 Barbera d'Alba

There have been significant changes in recent years at this estate at the top of the Monfalletto hill. In addition to renovating the winery, Gianni and Enrico Cordero have adopted a computer controlled system for pumping over the must (rather than the rotating tanks that are becoming increasingly popular in the region), which enables them to carry out a shorter and hotter fermentation than previously. They also began using barriques with the '95 vintage. The use of small oak barrels, in conjunction with hotter fermentations, enables the Corderos to produce softer, less aggressive wines than in the past. Before, says Enrico Cordero, the wine was still green six months after the bottling, but not any more. When we first experimented with barriques we made the mistake of taking the wine out of the wood early, and the wood taste remained strong. Now we leave it for 18 to 24 months, and the wood is more successfully integrated. Still, Cordero maintains, many people overestimate the importance of the new oak or old oak variable. "No matter how it made, nebbiolo has distinctive aromas and tastes of chocolate, white truffle, pepper, coffee and tobacco," he explains. "Traditional versus modern technique is less important than the quality of the raw material." 1997 is a strong vintage, says Cordero, but one cannot compare it to '96. I tasted the major components of the '97 and '96 Monfalletto bottlings, which had not yet been assembled.