2000 Barolo Brunate

Marcarini is one of the most solid, reliable Barolo producers. These may not be the flashiest or most exciting wines readers will come across, but they rarely fail to deliver the goods. Even better, the Marcarini Baroli remain some of the most fairly priced wines in the market. The estate's 2000s have developed as well as could be expected.

Exploring Brunate is the first in a series of articles in which I will take an in-depth look at the historically famous vineyards in the Barolo and Barbaresco production zones. I chose Brunate because it is a vineyard that is owned by many producers, so it is possible to taste several interpretations of this site. I was curious to learn if the wines shared any common traits or if the producers' styles and/or vintage might overwhelm the specific qualities of the vineyard. There are three tastings in this section: a horizontal tasting of the 2000 vintage Brunate Barolos, Elio Altare's Barolo Brunate vintages 1999-2001 and Marcarini's Barolo Brunate vintages 1996-2001. Note that some wines appear in more than one tasting in this section and in Issue 2 overall. I have included notes of each wine as I wrote them for each specific tasting. Some of the notes and scores for the same wine will vary because the context of the tastings was different. By all accounts, Brunate is one of the most storied vineyards in Piedmont. As far back as 500 years ago, Brunate had been identified as producing wines of special character. An old map from the 1477 La Morra land register shows the town's vineyards as they were known at the time, including Brinata (Brunate), Rocha (Rocche dell'Annunziata), Gateria (Gattera), and well as other well-known crus. By comparison, we have to wait until 1505 to see La Serra and 1524 to see Cerequio officially recognized. Brunate is located on the border between the towns of Barolo and La Morra, although most of the vineyard is considered to belong to La Morra. Brunate features a mostly southern exposure although some portions face southeast. The vineyard measures about 25 hectares and altitude ranges from 353 meters to 239 meters. Manuel Marchetti of Marcarini says the wines of Brunate are usually “austere, yet ethereal, notes of spices, mint, licorice, and balsamic are all very typical.” In fact, many of the wines do show those flavors. Davide Asselle of Roberto Voerzio says “Brunate is a bit like people from here. We can be tough and cold at first, but then we warm up over time.” Within the context of La Morra Barolos, the Brunate wines may seem tough initially, but they possess sweet tannins that make the wines relatively accessible with age.

Marcarini's Barolo Brunate is one the most representative wines in the region year in year out. I recently had a chance to taste the six most recent vintages, which was a great learning experience. The wines are all very young and will require patience. It would be great to do this tasting again in ten years, and see how the wines have developed. While all the wines are excellent, the 1999 and the 2001 are truly special and the 1998 is not too far behind…

In terms of his wines Marchetti says “I tend to look at 1996, 1999, and 2001 as being similar in style. The 1996 has the hardest tannins and is still very young. The 1999 is more complex and potent, and the 2001, while also potent, is easily the most elegant of the three. I expect the 1996, 1999, and 2001 to be the most long-lived of the wines. The 1998 and 2000 are similar, they are both fatter, more feminine and easier to drink right now, they will easily last 15 or more years. The 1997 I place in a category by itself because of the very ripe, high-alcohol style wine we made in that vintage. 1997 is also drinking well right now, but probably won't last as long as my other wines.”

Director Manuel Marchetti rates 1999 as even better than 1996, owing to its elegance. Among the recent string of strong years, according to Marchetti, 1999 was the second highest in dry extract to 1997. He described 2000 as a tricky harvest. "Some picked too early because of a bad weather forecast," he told me. "But the skins were thick, and it was possible to let the fruit hang through the rainy period in mid-October. The later-picked stuff may have lost a bit of potential alcohol but it had much more color. Vintage 2000 resembles 1998 in quality, style and structure, even if 1998 witnessed a drier harvest." The Marcarini Barolos still spend a month on their skins, but in recent years the actual length of fermentation has been shorter and an automated system has been used to spray the must onto the cap in order to push the juice through the skins more gently. These are aromatically expressive, stylish Barolos with a history of aging gracefully.