2017 Oddero Barolo
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Tasting notes
The Oddero 2017 Barolo draws its fruit from three sites: Bricco Chiesa and Capalot, both in La Morra and Fiasco in Castiglione Falletto. I always admire the purity and elegance inherent to these wines from Oddero and am happy to report that the 2017 vintage delivers on those same promises. The wine pours from the bottle with a brilliant ruby hue, and it offers aromas of wild cherry, blue flower and tarry smoke. There are virtually no signs of the vintage heat, save for a little more tannic power and concentration that you perceive in the mouth. I'd suggest a longish drinking window as a result.
Critic scores
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A firm, layered Barolo with plum, tar and licorice character. Medium body and an attractive center palate with tannins that are nicely resolved. Fine and flavorful at the end. Drinkable now, but better after 2023.
The 2017 Barolo is a very pretty, elegant wine and one of the few straight Barolos in this vintage that is truly finessed. Translucent and so expressive, the Oddero Barolo is wonderfully expressive right out of the gate. Crushed flowers, sweet red berry, mint and cinnamon all grace this super-expressive Barolo.
A blend of three vineyards, Bricco Chiesa, Capalot and Bricco del Fiasco, which has been maintained throughout the years to guarantee consistent quality in the wine year after year. 'We are always asked why we do not make single crus instead of this blend. As a family, we have had the good fortune that previous generations had – the vision to buy sites in important vineyards throughout Barolo. At the same time, this classic Barolo is our business card. Because of that, we want to have historically important vineyards in this wine in order to produce high quality.' Plots are fermented separately in large oak only. The grapes from Bricco Chiesa were fermented in two vats of which one was new. After this new vat had finished the alcoholic fermentation it was transferred to stainless steel where it stayed on the skins for 45 days ( cappello sommerso ), 'to mitigate the oak notes'. The other two tanks stayed on the skins for 23 days. The three different vineyards are fermented and aged separately for a year. After a year they are blended and aged in 120-hl Stockinger cask of Austrian oak, followed by circa five months in oak before bottling. Healthy mid ruby. A nose right now marked by lees, but there is brooding and quite pure cherry fruit with a hint of liquorice and a flattering note of new oak. Same purity of fruit on the palate with sappy integrated acidity and with a load of grainy, but well-behaved tannins. Long and supple and then quite firmly structured on the finish, but backed up by plenty of fruit. (WS)