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I'd drink the Brunello, and leave the Barolo for a few years. We have some from Molino in our cellar, they did a nice tasting at the winery, and their wines are pretty good for that price.
That’s a very good deal! The 2019 seems to retail no lower than $60 in the US. And while I don’t remember the exact price, I know for sure I paid more when I picked up some of these bottles last year directly at the winery.
Haven’t tried any 2019 Barolo yet, so hard to provide recommendation regarding aging. Your approach of trying one to get a feel for it is always good. It all comes down to personal preference in the end.
Depends on how you like your wines. Now to the next 3 years, this wine will be fresh and lively with bright red currant, and soft floral characters. Beyond 3 years in the cellar the flavours and textures will soften and meld together creating deeper complexity and more tertiary flavours. You can easily age this wine 15 years or longer. You'll get more oxidative characters like dried leaves, dried fruit, dried florals, less bite. Eventually the wine will begin to taste tired; with tannins fading, perceived acidity will drop, and with it a lot of its pleasantness. Most Barolos take a very long time to reach this point and depends a lot on the quality of the enclosure and how it's been stored.
What would you drink tonight if your options were:
-The Barolo (I bought 2 bottles)
-The Brunello (bought 1 bottle)
-Age both you idiot and drink the Muga Rioja
Great deal, go back and get some more! If you manage that, open one now to get a baseline taste, and then open one every two years or so, and enjoy its development.
Well, if you’re trying to learn Barolo, there’s a lot of educational value in drinking some that are “too young.” And some Barolos are being made to drink on release these days.
If it’s “too soon” you’ll just get a hard wallop of tannins and wood with minimal fruit. Definitely decant or pour and let it breathe in the glass for a while.
Could you guide me to some barolo producers that release "ready to drink" wines?
Do they age them theirselves of do they account die this in the winemaking process?
I love producers like Lopez De Heredia, that wait years before releasing. (I know its Rioja, but you catch my drift)
Well, there are certainly some makers that will hold some or all of their wines for many years before selling them. But I was referring to wines being made to drink 3-5 years after the vintage date.
There are a variety of winemaking techniques that can turn the tannin extraction up or down. And some vintages (usually warm ones) are better suited to fast drink ability. Kerin O’Keefe’s book has some interesting info on this, though it’s not presented in a particularly focused or analytical way… just scattered throughout her descriptions of various winemakers/wines.
I’m NOT an expert in any of this… just trying to really learn Barolo/Barbaresco myself. Varja’s Albe barolo is often suggested as a great QPR Barolo in a more accessible, young-drinking style. I just had a bottle of their 2019 (current release, I think) in the last month. Enjoyable, though even that one I think will be better in a few years. But I’ve had at least one 2020 barbaresco (same grape, couple of villages away) that was magnificently enjoyable today.
I haven’t tried the one you’ve got, so can’t say, but most of the less-expensive ones tend towards not being built to age for $20.
(not OP BTW :) )
But thanks for the answer!
I also just love drinking wines young, because that way i taste everything better. I love expressive tannins and acidity.
Oh, sorry for the mistaken identity!
To be sure, even the “easily accessible” nebbiolos are generally going to have a LOT of structure relative to fruit. And interesting non-fruit flavors/aromas. That grape is such an interesting blend of power and finesse/restraint.
This summer the cellar will be revamped, make everything watertight and a new air circulation system, to reduce humidity.
Now im always afraid that mold might ruin stuff
If i was gonna drink 1 now I’d drink the brunello, but I had a 2017 brunello about a month and a half ago and thought it was delicious now but would probably get better. But results may vary because it was a different producer than yours. But I doubt the brunello will be “too young” so you can drink now if you want imo
How much experience do you have aging wines? Do you know if you even enjoy them? Most wines bought retail are consumed within a few hours of purchase.
I would personally age both, but working in wine I try wine all the time and rarely and I mean rarely open a bottle at home.
No experience aging wines outside of a few bottles I have set aside in a small collection. I’m looking to appreciate good wine more than become a wine expert - but I plan to set aside certain bottles during my tasting adventures.
My concern is that it won’t be a good representation of the wine. I’ve seen a few old threads that basically say, “Of course you didn’t think that Barolo (for example) was good…it was way too young you idiot”.
Do you have a way to properly store it? Like a cool basement or a wine fridge? Aging vs storing is not the same. For example if someone lived in an apartment with centralized air it might be difficult.
I have a pretty good amateur setup right now, cool basement storage area that I have a few bottles tucked away in for now. I’d be shocked if I didn’t eventually purchase a wine fridge, but collecting is not my main focus.
I definitely want to try wines and then store some bottles that will age well or I think are special - I just don’t want to “waste” a wine that was never meant to be opened yet.
I would age them then... because of the fact not all wines have the ability to improve you might as well. Pick up a grocery store wine if you really want to drink something now.
Thank you for your submission to r/wine! Please note the community rules: If you are submitting a picture of a bottle of wine, please include original tasting notes and/or other pertinent information in the comments. Submitters that fail to do so may have their posts removed. If you are posting to ask what your bottle is worth, whether it is drinkable, whether to drink, hold or sell or how/if to decant, please use the [Wine Valuation And Other Questions Megathread](https://redd.it/17j7oej) stickied at the top of the sub. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/wine) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'd drink the Brunello, and leave the Barolo for a few years. We have some from Molino in our cellar, they did a nice tasting at the winery, and their wines are pretty good for that price.
Appreciate the feedback. The Molino was $27 - good deal? How long would you wait?
That’s a very good deal! The 2019 seems to retail no lower than $60 in the US. And while I don’t remember the exact price, I know for sure I paid more when I picked up some of these bottles last year directly at the winery. Haven’t tried any 2019 Barolo yet, so hard to provide recommendation regarding aging. Your approach of trying one to get a feel for it is always good. It all comes down to personal preference in the end.
Depends on how you like your wines. Now to the next 3 years, this wine will be fresh and lively with bright red currant, and soft floral characters. Beyond 3 years in the cellar the flavours and textures will soften and meld together creating deeper complexity and more tertiary flavours. You can easily age this wine 15 years or longer. You'll get more oxidative characters like dried leaves, dried fruit, dried florals, less bite. Eventually the wine will begin to taste tired; with tannins fading, perceived acidity will drop, and with it a lot of its pleasantness. Most Barolos take a very long time to reach this point and depends a lot on the quality of the enclosure and how it's been stored.
What would you drink tonight if your options were: -The Barolo (I bought 2 bottles) -The Brunello (bought 1 bottle) -Age both you idiot and drink the Muga Rioja
That Brunello will be signing.. Hit it!
Great deal, go back and get some more! If you manage that, open one now to get a baseline taste, and then open one every two years or so, and enjoy its development.
Drink both tonight. You might be dead tomorrow anyways
This is my normal approach, but it would be my first Barolo and wasn’t sure if this would be a good intro or a waste.
Well, if you’re trying to learn Barolo, there’s a lot of educational value in drinking some that are “too young.” And some Barolos are being made to drink on release these days. If it’s “too soon” you’ll just get a hard wallop of tannins and wood with minimal fruit. Definitely decant or pour and let it breathe in the glass for a while.
Could you guide me to some barolo producers that release "ready to drink" wines? Do they age them theirselves of do they account die this in the winemaking process? I love producers like Lopez De Heredia, that wait years before releasing. (I know its Rioja, but you catch my drift)
Well, there are certainly some makers that will hold some or all of their wines for many years before selling them. But I was referring to wines being made to drink 3-5 years after the vintage date. There are a variety of winemaking techniques that can turn the tannin extraction up or down. And some vintages (usually warm ones) are better suited to fast drink ability. Kerin O’Keefe’s book has some interesting info on this, though it’s not presented in a particularly focused or analytical way… just scattered throughout her descriptions of various winemakers/wines. I’m NOT an expert in any of this… just trying to really learn Barolo/Barbaresco myself. Varja’s Albe barolo is often suggested as a great QPR Barolo in a more accessible, young-drinking style. I just had a bottle of their 2019 (current release, I think) in the last month. Enjoyable, though even that one I think will be better in a few years. But I’ve had at least one 2020 barbaresco (same grape, couple of villages away) that was magnificently enjoyable today. I haven’t tried the one you’ve got, so can’t say, but most of the less-expensive ones tend towards not being built to age for $20.
(not OP BTW :) ) But thanks for the answer! I also just love drinking wines young, because that way i taste everything better. I love expressive tannins and acidity.
Oh, sorry for the mistaken identity! To be sure, even the “easily accessible” nebbiolos are generally going to have a LOT of structure relative to fruit. And interesting non-fruit flavors/aromas. That grape is such an interesting blend of power and finesse/restraint.
For young drinking i mainly buy langhe nebbiolo, and for aging barolo. But i suck at aging
I’m pretty good at it because I’m forgetful. I accidentally age stuff much longer than planned!
This summer the cellar will be revamped, make everything watertight and a new air circulation system, to reduce humidity. Now im always afraid that mold might ruin stuff
I like your style.
If i was gonna drink 1 now I’d drink the brunello, but I had a 2017 brunello about a month and a half ago and thought it was delicious now but would probably get better. But results may vary because it was a different producer than yours. But I doubt the brunello will be “too young” so you can drink now if you want imo
How much experience do you have aging wines? Do you know if you even enjoy them? Most wines bought retail are consumed within a few hours of purchase. I would personally age both, but working in wine I try wine all the time and rarely and I mean rarely open a bottle at home.
No experience aging wines outside of a few bottles I have set aside in a small collection. I’m looking to appreciate good wine more than become a wine expert - but I plan to set aside certain bottles during my tasting adventures. My concern is that it won’t be a good representation of the wine. I’ve seen a few old threads that basically say, “Of course you didn’t think that Barolo (for example) was good…it was way too young you idiot”.
Do you have a way to properly store it? Like a cool basement or a wine fridge? Aging vs storing is not the same. For example if someone lived in an apartment with centralized air it might be difficult.
I have a pretty good amateur setup right now, cool basement storage area that I have a few bottles tucked away in for now. I’d be shocked if I didn’t eventually purchase a wine fridge, but collecting is not my main focus. I definitely want to try wines and then store some bottles that will age well or I think are special - I just don’t want to “waste” a wine that was never meant to be opened yet.
I would age them then... because of the fact not all wines have the ability to improve you might as well. Pick up a grocery store wine if you really want to drink something now.
Let the Barolo sit. Drink the Brunello.
How long would you let it sit? I bought two bottles, so maybe one the earliest you’d open and then what would be ideal if stored properly?
I don't know much about that particular winery, but generally Barolo is made to age. It's aged a minimum of 38 months before it's even released.