2017 Margherita Otto - Barolo (750ml)

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This is one of very few old-school Barolo that’s still made using the traditional method: blending all vineyard sites into a single fermentation (and thus bottling) in order to build a more complex, complete wine. Nowadays, most folks are spinning off single vineyard sites that fetch higher prices into separate wines, and that’s okay ultimately, but critics rightfully point out that this tends to divest Barolo of its traditional complexity.  (It’s happening in the Northern Rhone as well, where the exact same debate ensues).

This wine is from a new winery which became a critical darling quite early on after their first 2015 vintage. Believe it or not, it’s from a NY expat, Alan Manley, who’d previously worked in restaurants. After falling in love with the region in 2011--as well as a local Piemontese named Daniella, who he ended up marrying!--he sold his restaurant and began internships with none other than legendary Bartolo Mascarello, as well as Sandrone and Cavallotto.  How lucky he was;  he was able to nimbly source fruit from hallowed vineyard sites, and was even able to borrow other winemakers’ cellars to test his first vintages (2012-2014) before releasing his first official 2015. It must have helped to have Maria Teresa Mascarello as a reference! Her enduring influence upon him is likely the reason he chooses to blend all his vineyard sites, as Mascarello does.

This Barolo is a blend of purchased Serralunga fruit, and estate-farmed fruit from Monforte d'Alba and Castiglione Falletto, and saw a total of 45 days of skin contact. These are wines of finesse rather than overt power--likely key in their critical reception. An exciting project to follow!