1997 Barolo Enrico VI

The Cordero brothers, Gianni and Enrico, have radically changed vinification and elevage in recent years, primarily to produce less aggressive wines. "In the early '90s, we didn't think that barriques were the answer," Enrico Cordero told me in September. "But we have discovered that if you use barriques with brains, and mix new and used barrels, you can make nice wines. Still, it essential to start with good grapes and lower yields." The Corderos get the fermentations going quickly, which they say results in lower levels of volatile acidity. They push the temperature to 34oC for 12 hours, using the heat to extract color, then bring it down to 28o pumping over frequently to regulate the temperature. Total time on the skins is much shorter today than it was ten years ago. The wines then go directly into barrels (33% of which are new for the Monfalletto, 50% for the Enrico VI, and 100% for the new Bricco Gattera cuvee where the malolactic fermentations take place. x000D x000D The Corderos compare '98 to '97 "but better." Nineteen ninety-six yielded wines with great fat, Enrico adds, for drinking a couple of years after the '97s. Incidentally, Cordero noted that the weather in '98 favored the northern part of the Barolo appellation, especially the area in and around Castiglione Falletto; it was a bit too hot, he said, in the southern and western portions of the Barolo zone.

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.