2009 Barolo, Gramolere, Fratelli Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy

2009 Barolo, Gramolere, Fratelli Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy

Product: 20091314351
 
2009 Barolo, Gramolere, Fratelli Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy

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Description

Jumping from the village of Verduno to Monforte d’Alba is akin to comparing Santenay with Gevrey! The impression made starker by the warmth of the vintage and the age of the 53 year old vines, giving a bold, mentholated wine. Gramolere sits high above Bussia, steep west facing on sandy, potassium rich soils, giving a hedonistic, balsamic, black fig, almost Brunate-esque presence intensified by the afternoon sun, complete with molten tannins. Emphatic. 
David Berry Green

wine at a glance

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate94/100
The 2009 Barolo Gramolere comes from a vineyard in Monforte dAlba located at 400 meters above sea level and offers the greatest purity of fruit in this warm vintage. Again, balsam notes of dried rosemary and cola give the wine a very clean and lively bouquet that lifts straight from the glass. Lively tones of candied cherry and exotic spice appear at the rear. The end results speak of a complex and confident Barolo. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026.
Monica Larner - 28/06/2013 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17.5/20
Mid ruby. Very mineral nose and then lots of ripe fruit on the nose. Very chewy finish and really masses of structure rather than fruit on the palate. Flattering in sweet mode.
Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com, 9 Sep 2013 Read more
Robert Parker
The 2009 Barolo Gramolere comes from a vineyard in Monforte d’Alba located at 400 meters above sea level and offers the greatest purity of fruit in this warm vintage. Again, balsam notes of dried rosemary and cola give the wine a very clean and lively bouquet that lifts straight from the glass. Lively tones of candied cherry and exotic spice appear at the rear. The end results speak of a complex and confident Barolo.
Monica Larner – erobertparker.com – June 2013 Read more

About this WINE

Fratelli Alessandria

Fratelli Alessandria

A moment’s reflection is required before understanding the wines of Fratelli Alessandria: all the estate’s vines (except their cru Gramolere) are in the commune of Verduno. Not usually bracketed with familiar and renowned communes, the village sits on the north-eastern border of the region. It’s almost more of an extension of neighbouring Roero, with sandier soils and a moderating influence from the Tanaro river. All this adds up to a lighter, more delicate and perfumed style of Barolo – of which Fratelli Alessandria are brilliant exponents.

Today, Vittore Alessandria runs the traditional cellar, while his brother Ale tends 15 hectares of vineyards. Their first vintage was in 1978, and Fratelli Alessandria was the first producer to put Monvigliero on a label. 2001 saw the first Gramolere and 1997 was their first vintage of San Lorenzo, which is only produced in their best vintages – of course, there is a 2019!

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Barolo

Barolo

Located due south of Alba and the River Tanaro, Barolo is Piedmont's most famous wine DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), renowned for producing Italy's  finest red wines from 100 percent Nebbiolo

Its red wines were originally sweet, but in 1840 the then extant Italian monarchy, the House of Savoy, ordered them to be altered to a dry style. This project was realised by French oenologist Louis Oudart, whose experience with Pinot Noir had convinced him of Nebbiolo's potential. The Barolo appellation was formalised in 1966 at around 1,700 hectares – only a tenth of the size of Burgundy, but almost three times as big as neighbouring Barbaresco.

Upgraded to DOCG status in 1980, Barolo comprises two distinct soil types: the first is a Tortonian sandy marl that produces a more feminine style of wine and can be found in the villages of Barolo, La Morra, Cherasco, Verduno, Novello, Roddi and parts of Castiglione Falletto. The second is the older Helvetian sandstone clay that bestows the wines with a more muscular style. This can be found in Monforte d'Alba, Serralunga d'Alba, Diano d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour and the other parts of Castiglione Falletto. Made today from the Nebbiolo clones Lampia, Michet and Rosé, Barolo has an exceptional terroir with almost every village perched on its own hill. The climate is continental, with an extended summer and autumn enabling the fickle Nebbiolo to achieve perfect ripeness.

Inspired by the success of modernists such as Elio Altare, there has been pressure in recent years to reduce the ageing requirements for Barolo; this has mostly been driven by new producers to the region, often with no Piedmontese viticultural heritage and armed with their roto-fermenters and barriques, intent on making a fruitier, more modern style of wine.

This modern style arguably appeals more to the important American market and its scribes, but the traditionalists continue to argue in favour of making Barolo in the classic way. They make the wine in a mix of epoxy-lined cement or stainless-steel cuves, followed by extended ageing in 25-hectoliter Slavonian botte (barrels) to gently soften and integrate the tannins. However, even amongst the traditionalists there has been a move, since the mid-1990s, towards using physiologically (rather than polyphenolically) riper fruit, aided by global warming. Both modernist and traditional schools can produce exceptional or disappointing wines.

Recommended traditionalist producers:
Giacomo Borgogno, Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, Elio Grasso, Marcarini, Bartolo Mascarello and Giuseppe Mascarello.

Recommended nmdernist producers:
Azelia, Aldo Conterno, Luciano Sandrone, Paolo Scavino and Roberto Voerzio

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Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo is the grape behind the Barolo and Barbaresco wines and is hardly ever seen outside the confines of Piedmont. It takes its name from "nebbia" which is Italian for fog, a frequent phenomenon in the region.

A notoriously pernickety grape, it requires sheltered south-facing sites and performs best on the well-drained calcareous marls to the north and south of Alba in the DOCG zones of Barbaresco and Barolo.

Langhe Nebbiolo is effectively the ‘second wine’ of Piedmont’s great Barolo & Barbarescos. This DOC is the only way Langhe producers can declassify their Barolo or Barbaresco fruit or wines to make an early-drinking style. Unlike Nebbiolo d’Alba, Langhe Nebbiolo can be cut with 15% other red indigenous varieties, such as Barbera or Dolcetto.

Nebbiolo flowers early and ripens late, so a long hang time, producing high levels of sugar, acidity and tannins; the challenge being to harvest the fruit with these three elements ripe and in balance. The best Barolos and Barbarescos are perfumed with aromas of tar, rose, mint, chocolate, liquorice and truffles. They age brilliantly and the very best need ten years to show at their best.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.