3.1.10. This is my first visit to the Corino farm in Annunziata, at the recommendation of Silvia Altare. I’ve had wines from both this branch of the family (Giuliano Corino) and from brother Renato Corino’s label, but prefer this one of the two (more on why later). The original estate, founded by their father Giovanni, was divided after the 2001 vintage between the two brothers (Giuliano and Renato), with Giuliano keeping the original label and name. The wines here come from the La Morra hill and the cru sites are in Arborina and Giachini – both excellent spots.
The bottlings show the stylistic influence of Elio Altare, who mentored a group of younger winemakers, especially from the village of La Morra (others include Marco Marengo, Mauro Veglio and Renato Corino). Macerations are short and cool – 4 to 5 days at 24-25 centigrade – in rotofermentors, then separated from the solids and the wine finishes fermentation in steel tanks. The Barolo are all aged for 24 months in barrique of varying age, depending on the wine. Vineyard practices are consistent with Altare’s as well. The results are excellent: the wines here have the softness and perfume of La Morra fruit, but with the tannic backbone from the wood. These wines have plenty of acid and tannin to sit for long periods in good vintages.
The total production of the cantina is about 45000 bottles – not big. Unfortunately, they are not exported across the entire US market; it takes some digging to find them. Efforts to find the wines will be well-rewarded.
This visit, Giuliano was out of town (I met up with him another night, look for a future post about that debauched evening) so his wife Stefania took us around. The cantina, though compact and crowded, is clean. Steel shimmers, and wood barriques are stacked in every corner. We ended up in a cozy tasting room, going through the current lineup and tasting through a few older vintages.
2007 Dolcetto. Licorice, pencil lead, slight hint of reduction, some mineral and plum elements. In the mouth, very round and full, hint of reduction. This is delightful in the mouth, rich, round, soft. Drink in the next 3-4 years. 2.0
2008 Barbera. Sees 3 months in used barrels, good berries and smoky plums, pencil lead, hints of roundness from the 3 months in wood. In the mouth, very sweet fruit and surprisingly round at this age. There is a hint of tannin, good acids and lovely fruit. Drink now-2015 2.5+
2007 Barbera Ciabot du Re. 18 month in wood, half new. Sweet wood vanilla and blueberry/blackberry aromas. Milk chocolate perfume; a modern wine but quite lovely nose. In the mouth, rich flavors of berries, chocolate and vanilla – but with acid and considerable tannins. Lovely blueberries on the finish – goes on a long time. Very young and will benefit from a few years of age. This has pretty strong wood on the finish but should come around with a few years of patience. This is quite nice. 3.0+. The mouthfeel is really lovely. The finish is still a bit hard and tight but this doesn’t worry me. Very nice effort. Drink 2012-2016
2008 Nebbiolo Langhe. Aged in inox only. Bright strawberry cola aromas. Very rose petal and bright fruit. Simple and blocky, but lovely nose. Fresh fruit and earth, simple and direct, delicious, with nice ripe tannins at the end. Drink now-2014. 2.5
2005 Barolo. Aged in used barrique for 24 months. Cinnamon, marzipan black berry and black cherry nose. Some earth and rose elemets, hints of vanilla and chocolate. Nice nose! In the mouth, very good balance, lovely flavors, deep fruit, some wood, chocolate, and berries, but has something lacking in the mid-palate. I see that this is well-constructed but something seems missing. The nose is lovely but this could be going through a closed phase – there just doesn’t seem to be very much going on in the mouth. Retry in a few years and see if it has improved. Drink 2015-2022. 2.5+, but deserves re-tasting.
2005 Barolo Giachini. (Revello and Silvio Grasso also make wine from Giachini, Grasso’s is labeled Bricco Luciani.) Big nose, very open, shows hints of oxidation (open since yesterday). Lots of fruit, cherries smoke, cassis and rose. Quite a nice nose with lots of vanilla and chocolate, hints of espresso bean. On the palate, this is gorgeous and the tannins are very ripe but need time. Lots of black fruits, strawberry jam, milk chocolate, nuts, rose petals … and very tight and big wood tannins. This needs at least 3-5 years and then should open up – lovely and modern but well worth the effort to find. Drink 2016-2025. 3.5
2005 Barolo Aborina. Shows the deep cherry cola of Arborina. Big cherries and lots of licorice, with some tarry mushroom and violets. Lovely nose. In the mouth, gorgeous, and surprisingly light on the tannins – these are super-ripe, still tight, but much less prominent than in the Giachini. I suspect there is just more stuffing here to absorb the wood than in the other wine. Interestingly, the Corino Arborino 2006 is the only winery bottling Arborina that year, as all the other producers’ vines were destroyed by the spring hail. The nose is super-expressive and perfumed, and the mouthfeel is smooth, lovely and with fewer hard edges – a really great wine. Drink 2016-2025. 4.0+ bravo!
The cru wines of Giachini and Arborina are made exactly the same way – the only difference is the soil and locale. Both cru wines see 50% new barrique. In the vineyards and the cellar the wines are brought up exactly the same way –the only difference between them is the microgeology of the two sites: the Giachini has a white calcareous substrate, and the Arborina has more calcareous sand. Only a few hundred meters separate these two cru, and even the altitude of the vines is almost the same. The Arborina is light, perfumed, expressive; the Giachini is tight, hard, forbidding. Vive la Difference!
1999 Vecchie Vigne di Giachini. Planted 57 years ago. Licorice root, root beer and violets like crazy. Very extracted, and without any annoying French oak overtones, even though this sees 80% new oak for 24 months … the wood has been completely absorbed. Cola nut and black cherry liqueur. Really intense nose and hints of the truffle and mushroom coming through. In the mouth, still tannic and tight but the tannins are softening compared to the younger wines. Still massive in the mouth, with attractive fruit and midpalate depth, this is still young and hard, needing at least 5-7 years more age to soften up. There is still tremendously great fruit going on here and I think this will evolve into a beautiful wine. Lovely. Drink 2017-2025. 4.0+ ... will be great.
2004 Vecchie Vigne di Giachini. Very tight, hard and closed, but hey, it’s a 2004. Shows the gorgeous black cherry perfume of such a superb vintage. The nose is forward and round, with black berries and cherries, some dark chocolate and surprisingly little vanilla and oak – it just soaked up the wood – Giuliano always uses 80% new barrique on the Vecchie Vigne bottling. I suspect this will last 25 years, easy. It has good balance for such a modern wine and shows ripe fruit effects everywhere, even if the tannins are tight as heck and will need lots of patience. The finish goes on for half a minute. Tobacco and violets as well on the nose. Beautifully ripe and sweet fruit on the palate, just loads of minerals and black pencil lead, hard and ungiving but shows great potential. Still young and with primary fruit galore, no secondary characteristics coming through yet. Lovely. Drink 2016-2030. 4.0+
Compared to his brother’s wines, Giuliano’s wines, to me, show better balance: the wood is better integrated with the fruit and tannins, the acids are balanced and the overall effect is of ripeness, definition and focus. The Barolo that I have consumed from the Renato Corino label, to me, are somehow rustically modern: they have both overwhelming levels of oak that are not balanced by the fruit, and some vintages have had an unappealing funkiness. So I’d recommend Giovanni’s wines before those of his brother.
Dinner at Il Posto, just outside Monforte. This place deserves every good review and mention it gets - just a lovely place, clean, traditional cooking executed at a high level, and a well-chosen wine list that has some lovely hidden gems from older vintages.
Full moon on the road to La Posta.
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