2012 Italy

Food match: roast rack of lamb

This delicious Brunello comes from one of the region’s best producers, Il Poggione. Bold and rich, it's undeniably Sangiovese, full of cherry fruit. Complexity comes in the form of a damson stone edge, sweet spice and balsam. The palate is plushly textured with plenty of refreshing acidity balancing the tannins. While this wine has many years ahead of it, it is excellent now with red meat, and even better with time in a decanter.

The Isola et Olena Estate, run by Paolo de Marchi, is a property that has seen a dramatic rise in quality over the last few decades. Paolo's family, originally from Piedmont, purchased the estate in the 1960s. His attention to detail in both the vineyard and the winery was the driving force that turned quality around.

The wines have Cepparello at their head, a barrique-aged Sangiovese classified as an IGT - because at the time of its creation in the 1980s a wine comprising 100% Sangiovese could not legally be labelled as Chianti. This is a fabulous Super Tuscan at an incredibly good price and a wine that can age 10 – 15 years if one so wishes.

Isole e Olena’s Sangiovese Super-Tuscan Sangiovese never fails to please. Beautiful ripe Sangiovese nose of black cherries intermingled with hints of spice. Big and rich on the palate with savoury black cherries, grilled meats and loganberry notes, framed by crisp acidity, fine tannins and a lick of warmth from the alcohol. A very impressive Super-Tuscan which could be drunk now, but would reward 5-10 years in the cellar for the components to knit together and gain complexity. A great lesson in what great Sangiovese from Chianti Classico is capable of producing.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager

Vibrant fruit, reminiscent of ripe strawberries with assam tea, entice on the nose. The attack is toned and there is phenomenal focus across the palate. Mineral and scented on the finish. Drink from 2023+.
Katherine Dart MW, Wine Buyer 

Dried flowers, red fruit and oolong are evident on the nose and palate. The attack is expansive and alludes to the immense concentration this elegant barbaresco offers. Combined with glorious freshness and a fine phenolic form, this is a detailed and precise wine. Drink from 2023+.
Katherine Dart MW, Wine Buyer 

Cooler on the nose than many previous vintages, with polished toasty sweet oak and dark cherry behind. Plenty of concentration on the palate, ripe red and black fruit, some glossy, spicy oak notes, crisp acidity and some fine-grained tannins rounding it out. Definitely one for the cellar, this will reward patience and will be at its best from around 2020.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager

The 2012, is a classic Bordeaux blend, as Ornellaia has always been, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot making up the lion’s share of the cepage and Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot adding complexity. Cabernet Franc is becoming recognised as one of the most successful varieties for Bolgheri and the quantity in the blend of all the major wines in the region seems to be increasing. It may well be that Bolgheri is one of the world’s best sites for this often overlooked variety.

As it is every year, the 2012 Flaccianello della Pieve represents a selection of the best fruit from the best vineyards (excluding, of course, Vigna del Sorbo that is dedicated to its own wine). The five parcels span various soils types and exposures, and the youngest vines are 20 years old. Because the fruit selection process is so detailed, the darkest and smallest clusters are carefully chosen.

As a result, the fruit is rich in polyphenols, thick extract and extra aromatic intensity. The 2012 vintage saw yields reduced by as much as 20%, meaning that fruit selection was even more severe in this vintage. This beautiful wine shows abundant richness and generosity with toned mineral nuances that are wrapped within bold flavors of dark fruit and spice. The wine is rich and velvety in texture.
Drink 2016-2030
94/100 points Monica Larner, eRobertParker.com #221 Oct 2015  

Fantastic aromas of lavender, rosemary, violets and currants. Full body, a wonderful concentration of fruit yet tense and taunt energy. The new wood is exposed now but will become integrated and polished. Give it three or four years together. The pure merlot magic is there. The 2011 was a perfect wine, and this is very close indeed. Drink in 2019.
99/100 James Suckling, Wine Advocate

Masseto, produced by Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, is among the world’s most sought after Merlots. It comes from one of Italy’s most celebrated 7 hectare plots of Merlot in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast where the vines grow on an outcrop of pliocene clay (ideal for Merlot and not found elsewhere in Bolgheri). Its first full release was 1987, although there was a partial release in 1986, and it quickly became a cult wine revered by collectors. The 2012 vintage is a year that has produced many outstanding wines in the Super Tuscan arena and Masseto looks sure to continue that trend

Made in tiny quantities.  Despite having only debuted back in 1986, Masseto has almost taken on the mystique we see with the likes of Ch. Petrus – rare, expensive, ground breaking and much sought after. Total production is circa. 2500 cases

Tasting the wine from barrel on Friday 7th March, I was struck, not by any particular aroma or flavour, but by the elegant shape of the wine. Pale red/ruby in colour, the nose is reassuringly self-effacing; it’s understated, composed and cultured, delicately perfumed with mulberry, a hint of menthol and cool clove. The palate is remarkable for its serenity, Maserati-line and persistence. Barely discernible are the layers of tight, sweet-berried fruit and spice, framed by the finest tannins, racy with cleansing acidity. Compared with vintage 2011, Vigna Rionda 2012 is more classical, with cooler, delicate aromatics; aromatics that become fragrant on the palate. Proper wine. Only 1,457 litres have been made, and are being sold as ‘futures’ to be released in bottle spring 2016. 
David Berry Green, Italy Buyer.

We are once again fortunate to be able to offer the opportunity to buy three of Roberto's top Baroli. This year we are featuring the 2012 vintage and we are offering the wines in a mixed 12 bottle case.

This case contains:

5 x 75cl 2012 Barolo Rocche dell’ Annunziata
5 x 75cl 2012 Barolo Cerequio  
2 x 75cl 2012 Barolo Brunate

The stony, chalky minerals of this renowned site in Serralunga d’Alba come through on the nose and palate, adding to the precision lent by defined tannins and clean acidity. Layers of crunchy red fruit, smoky spice and rich plums hint at the complexity to come with time in bottle. 

“There is only one Bruno Giacosa. No one will ever make wines like these. It's as simple as that.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

This gloriously feminine expression of Nebbiolo exudes purity and clarity. The nose is reminiscent of crushed dried petals, crunchy redcurrant and cranberry, layered with savoury undertones. The acidity is bright and finely balanced with the toned tannins. More approachable in its youth than Rabajà and Asili, it will still age with grace. Drink 2018-2024. 

Deep ruby. Grilled herbs and coffee complicate ripe, smoky black fruits on the nose and palate. Soft and fleshy in the mouth, showing a high-pH mouth feel. The youthfully chewy, long finish features smoky tannins. One of the more successful Guado al Tassos of recent memory.
Ian D'Agata, vinous.com December 2014

Yields were down 20 percent at Bartolo Mascarello in 2012 due to a hail storm that hit the Rocche dell’Annunziata vineyard. This, combined with a comparatively short maceration of 20 days and minimal racking, have contrived to make Mascarello’s 2012 Barolo one of the most delicate, ethereal and Pinot-like in recent years. With air, this rose-petal Barolo is timid, creeping slowly out into the limelight. Maria Teresa aged the wine partly in the two new 50hl garbellotto botti, giving it a sandalwood edge to the rose, coal tar and orange-skin notes. There’s great finesse on the palate, with cool, red-berry crunch and sapid, svelte lines: this is racy yet served on a cushion of sweet red fruit. Such lift!

Along with Brunate and Cerequio, La Morra’s Rocche dell’Annunziata must rank as one of its “Grand Cru” vineyards, with the Oberto family’s plot in the heart of it (albeit a tiny part!). Notably more precise and more intense than the Barolo, with the finest of raspberry perfume, this is the product of 27 days on its skin before being aged in tonneaux and barriques due to the small yield. The sensation on the palate is one of the purest raspberry and strawberry essence, a levelling whiff of earth and of succulence and refinement. It brings to mind Charmes-Chambertin, but needs time.

This remains a very traditional expression of the elevated La Serra vineyard in La Morra. Compared to the Brunate, La Serra is always more perfumed, breezy and ethereal, with incense and notes of dried grass. The 2012 vintage is especially discreet, scented with distinct notes of cassis, hay and tea-tree. This is slender on the palate, sylph-like even, with delicate notes of quinine, spices, kirsch and cassis. This will come round earlier than the Brunate.

Thanks to Alessandria’s sensitive winemaking, one can greatly appreciate the styles that differentiate the two villages of Verduno and Monforte. Where Verduno’s Baroli are cool and laced with limestone, here the brambly, Bonnes Mares-esque fullness is expressed by Monforte’s Gramolere vineyard, with its red sandstone and west-facing aspect which overlooks Bussia below. It’s a darker hue than the Monvigliero, rich with eucalypt, cologne and wild mint aromatic lift. Fuller, fleshier and meatier, there’s a gorgeous, brambly, rosemary roll, backed by an iron spine and molten tannins. 

Davide followed up his delicious 2011 Barolo, Serralunga d’Alba with this more classically shaped 2012. This vintage is slightly darker in hue, with more clove and Alpine herbs to accompany the cordial-like intensity of the red fruit. The sweet, ripe core is lovely, with its molten fruit tannins, flowing red fruit and sapid finish. This is far, far beyond benchmark Barolo Serralunga.

Ripeness and refinement define this Cannubi and its complexity is already evident – sour black cherry and ripe plum are interwoven with tar and more savoury, herbal notes. There is no denying the concentration and weight of phenolic matter across the palate: this is long and powerful.