Barolo 1964 Tasting

Barolo
‘64
the horizontal
ROBERSON WINE
Thursday 6th December 2012
barolo ‘64
history
Even though vines had been cultivated in Barolo and its surroundings for centuries (records regarding Alba and environs
between 1026-1511 feature many references to vine cultivation), it remained a marginal activity until the 19th Century.
Everything changed when a woman called Giulia Colbert married Carlo Tancredi Falletti in 1806. The Falletti family (a
banking dynasty) had bought Barolo, its castle and the surrounding land in 1250 from the municipal government of Alba
and she made it her mission to promote the wines of the area. It all started when the king of Savoy was visiting Turin
on holiday. He asked the marchioness why she had not yet offered him a glass of the famous wine, produced around the
castle of Barolo, of which he had heard so much. A few days later 325 barrels were sent to the court of king Carlo Alberto
by the marchioness, one for each day of the year minus forty for the days of Lent. Barolo was born. She sent it as gift to
reigning monarchs, served it to her guests and supplied it to her friends from all over.
The wine produced at this time was entirely different from the Barolo we know today - it was sweet, pink and lightly
frizzante. Itn those days, fermentation used to take place outdoors and, Nebbiolo being a late ripener, harvest didn’t
take place until late October. By November or December temperatures would drop so low that fermentation would stop
before all the sugars had been fermented out, leaving a significant amount of residual sugar in the wine. The marchioness
was a good friend of chap called Camillo Benso di Cavour, the Count of Cavour and owner of more than 200 hectares of
vines about 70km to the west of Barolo. Cavour would become united Italy’s first prime minister, but he was also a real
wine enthusiast and had recently replanted and reorganized most of his vineyards, including 5ha of Pinot Noir because
he loved the wines of Burgundy. In fact he enjoyed the wines of Burgundy so much that he decided to hire a French
oenologist called Louis Oudart to create modern wines in the Burgundian style. Juliette turned to her friend Cavour
to get the help of Oudart for her own wines and cellars, which is how the first example of dry Barolo was produced. By
implementing new winemaking techniques from France and improving cellar hygiene, Oudart allowed the wines of
Barolo to ferment to full dryness. He also introduced extended ageing of the wines in barrel, helping to soften the harsh
tannins of Nebbiolo.
All of this innovation happened during the mid-19th century, which was a turbulent time in Italian society. The social
unrest that led to unification of the various provinces was at its most violent in Piedmont, where King Charles Albert
had to cede control of his provinces in order to avoid all out war. The domestic struggles were followed by the arrival of
phylloxera, outbreaks of mildew and then two world wars, so it wasn’t really until the 1960s that the Piemontese had a
chance to turn their attention back to wine.
history
barolo ‘64
When the 1961 wines were released, it was to much fanfare, as it was in many regions of France. The 1958 vintage had
been an excellent one for Piedmont but ‘61 was even better. The problem was the size of the crop (it was the same in
Bordeaux), which was tiny, meaning that producers were forced to continue blending their production together. But
changes were afoot and, when the similarly excellent - but this time large - 1964 harvest arrived, some of the top estates
decided to bottle certain crus separately and market them as such. The vast majority of producers would take years to
catch on to this trend, but some (like Aldo Conterno) had the foresight to separate the production of their finest sites.
1964 was a very hot vintage, with near perfect conditions throughout the viticultural year. These were the days of relatively
high yields, partly because people were yet to catch on to the relationship between crop thinning and wine concentration,
partly because the economy was still trying to recover from the war and people were unlikely to prune away half of their
potential harvest, but also because vines in Barolo were relatively young at this time and therefore more productive. The
difference between ‘64 and, for example, the two poor vintages either side, was that the blissful conditions gave maximum
ripeness to the fruit and the quality was of a high and consistent standard across the region. These were the days when
good vintages were good and bad vintages were very, very bad.
It was around this time that Angelo Gaja (in neighbouring Barbaresco) was beginning trials with reduced yields in the
vineyard and French barriques (among other innovations) in the winery. During the 1970s a power struggle would
consume Barolo, with modernists like Elio Altare and Luca Sandrone challenging the traditional methods that had been
in place for 100 years. However, in 1964 there was no such conflict and production followed a simple formula - the
grapes would be picked and then fott-trodden before spending around 60 days macerating on the skins, pips and stems.
The super-tannic juice would then be moved into large Slovenian oak casks where it would age for years (4-10 or more
depending on the producer). The wines would then be bottled without fining or filtration, ready to spend many years in
the cellar before they would be ready to drink.
barolo ‘64
the wines
flight one: canelli
The first flight includes wines from two producers that, at the time of the ‘64 vintage, were quite ‘industrial’ in their
production. Based in the north Piemontese town of Canelli, both Luigi Bosca and Giuseppe Contratto were producers
of various wines from around the region, with a particular specialism in Moscato d’Asti.
In the 1990s Contratto was sold and the philosophy shifted to a much more quality focused, modern approach. Luigi
Bosca is nowadays far more famous as an Argetinian brand owned by the Arizu family in Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza. As far
as I can gather, there is no connection other than a shared name, and the original Bosca continues to churn out average
wines from their base in Canelli.
Vintage
Producer
Wine
Available
Price
1964
Luigi Bosca
Barolo ‘Riserva Speciale’
n/a
(£59.95)
1964
Giuseppe Contratto
Barolo
n/a
(£59.95)
flight two: canale & Alba
As with the first two producers, Nicolello are a large producer that are based in a town that is outside the main zone of
Barolo production. They make wines from vineyards across the Piedmont region and have vines in and around the village
of Novello. Today they still hold true to traditional methods, continuing to use large Slovenian casks (not to mention
yields of 50 hl/ha!).
Pio Cesare are a well known and highly respected name in Piemontese wine, producing red and white wines in a number
of styles from across the region, vinified at their winery in the town of Alba. In addition to owning 50 hectares, they act
as a negociant, buying in fruit from growers that they have long term relationships with. Founded in 1881, Cesare Pio
was one of the first people to believe in the quality of Barolo, Barbaresco and the other Piemontese wines. Today they are
quite a modern outfit, but back in ‘64 they were resolutely traditional.
Vintage
Producer
Wine
Available
Price
1964
Nicolello
Barolo ‘Riserva Speciale’
n/a
(£62.95)
1964
Pio Cesare
Barolo
n/a
(£74.95)
the wines
barolo ‘64
flight three: Serralunga d’alba & la morra
The family owned Villadoria shas 20 hecatre of vines in Serralunga d’Alba and supplements that with fruit from other
growers. Founded in 1959, they are known today for producing good value modern styled wines from across Piedmont.
Renato Ratti seems to bit a bit confused about when he got started making Barolo - in the same article he declares 1965
as the year he moved to the area and bought a Barolo vineyard, then a couple of paragraphs later he talks about his 1964
being the first wine he released. Either way, his ‘64 bottling of the Marcenasco cru was the first single vineyard Barolo
and this was only the first in a long line of innovations that Ratti would introduce over the years. A true pioneer, he was
widely mourned on his passing in 1988.
The Voerzio family are one of Barolo’s great names, having begun bottling their own wines since the 1950s. Back then it
was Giacomo who was in charge, with the domaine not splitting in two (between Gianni and Roberto) until the 1980s
when the brothers had a difference in opinion about how the wines should be made.
Vintage
Producer
Wine
Available
Price
1964
Villadoria
Barolo ‘Riserva Speciale’
n/a
(£59.95)
1964
Renato Ratti
Barolo ‘Abbazia Annunziata’
n/a
(£84.95)
1964
Voerzio
Barolo
n/a
(£84.95)
barolo ‘64
the wines
flight one: barolo & monforte d’alba
The original Barolo estate, where Oudart worked his magic all those years ago, is known as Marchesi di Barolo. The
estate changed hands in 1929, but until that point it was owned by the Faletti family. Nowadays it is a large scale modern
producer churning out decent, if not exciting wines. Back in the ‘60s they were in a bit of a qualitative lull, but they
remained one of the most important producers in the region.
We finish tonight’s tasting with a fascinating look at two of the greatest names in the world of wine. Giacomo Conterno
is the original family domaine that is to this day the arch-protector of traditional style Barolos. In 1961, Giacomo retired
and the domaine passed to the two brothers Giovanni and Aldo Conterno. While Giovanni was very much a stern and
traditional kind of man, his brother Aldo had spent much of the 1950s living in America and was a forward looking,
gregrious and open-minded guy. This led to a number of disagreements that culminated in Aldo leaving in 1969 (he
bought another estate, called Favot, and relocated there). Over the years Aldo would become progressively more modern,
to the point that the two estates were producing very different wines by the 1990s. The 1964, however, was made together
by the brothers with the help of their father - when they split in 1969 it was still in cask. Therefore, half the production
was bottled for Giovanni under the Giacomo label and half of it was bottled under Aldo’s label - what we will taste tonight
is the exact same wine, just from different bottles with different labels.
Vintage
Producer
Wine
Available
Price
1964
Marchesi di Barolo
Barolo
n/a
(£74.95)
1964
Aldo Conterno
Barolo
n/a
(£110)
1964
Giacomo Conterno
Barolo
n/a
(£195)
ROBERSON WINE
london