Oddero, Barolo, Bussia Vigna Mondoca Riserva

Drinking very well with more time to go

Nice but not amazing. Heavy handed

Barolo 2010 - check-in on some top names, tasted blind : Dark garnet. Lots of dark fruit in the nose here, plum, rosemary. Quite polished tannins. Not the most complex but well made. Group rank 9/15

Barolo 2010 horizontal (Smith & Da Luma, Zurich) : Barolo 2010 horizontal of 15 wines, including 1 pirate (all served single-blind). Main observations: 1/ While early days for sure, with rather grainy tannin and bold structures, this appeared already more accessible than neighboring vintages. 2/ The wines fall more or less equally into two buckets: ripe and extracted (at times even cooked or showing early signs of oxidation) and fresh, lofty, cool red berry fruit. 3/ Present and firm, but …

Robe briquée. Acidité bien equilibre, les tanins sont fondus et font saliver un peu. Légère cassonade, cerise et autres fruits rouge. Un peu d’épices, de la rose. Un vin complexe qui a bien vieilli. A son apogée selon moi vu les signes de vielllissement apparente, mais encore du fruit pour nourrir le tout.

Slow oxed 8 hours and then decanted before dinner. Effusive nose of deep black cherry, yellow and white rose, with hints of tar, eucalyptus and sagebrush. Palate is open but less inviting. Medium plus bodied with red cherry, rose, and an herbal finish. Medium acid, tannins are very fine but prominent. Not at its peak yet but this was very enjoyable.

This bottle was underwhelming.

Enormously complex and intense, nice stuff today but it's obvious this will improve for another decade+ The nose is divine, so lifted and fresh, constantly changing, practically kaleidoscopic: red cherry (juicy flesh and almondy stone), strawberry candy, prune (a really beautiful prune, don't judge a dried plum just because it's a prune...), alpine breeze, balsam fir, rosemary, tar, perfect fresh roses, mint, cinnamon buns. Tannic and tart on the palate, full-bodied, layered and dense, incredible spicy and floral inner perfume, …

One of my most favorite Oddero wines of the past decade. Totally pedigreed, deeply rooted in the core of Bussia. The 2010 possesses poise, the site-typical thrust and a noble, compact tannic backbone. On the palate it expands to a wide fusion of wild berries, spice, cedar, violets and forest floor, never losing its energy or dimension. A deep and sublime Bussia Barolo. Love it.

During a Barolo/Piedmont tasting lunch, not blind. Very structured, too tannic for me, aromas are good though with red berries, tar, sweet spices.

Very deep, layered and complex, with notes of menthol, dark and dark red berries, also some tar, tobacco leaf, leather. It‘s pretty full-bodied, dense and authoritative, with excellent structure of high tannin that is very good quality, high acidity and long finish. Austere, classic and beautiful. This might gain even more with a few more years in bottle.

Decanted 90 minutes. Open bouquet of pretty red fruit and lavender. Concentrated and intense. Flavors were clean and bright but with real depth and nuance. Perfect match with risotto with duck confit and medium rare Iberico pork at Cafe Juanita.

Nez immédiatement ouvert et intense, complexe, sur des notes florales et d'herbes séchées. Bouche puissante, aux tanins bien intégrés. Ce vin semble tout à fait prêt à boire. Il a assez vite perdu en complexité le 3e jour, je n'attendrais donc pas trop.

Piedmont Trip, Day 5- Oddero, Vajra, Aldo Conterno (Barolo, Piemont, Italy) : Nose: The nose is just stunning and ethereal with violets, wild flowers, rose petals, truffles, spice tones, raspberries, dark red cherries, earth notes, tobacco, and crushed rocks. There is a ton of depth to the nose with everything favoring the upper register as well. Taste: Full bodied with high acidity and high tannins. The structure is extremely youthful and somewhat punishing. Beneath that structure does lie a lot …

This is an odd one. It has a lot of things going on, but seems disjointed and out of balance. Roses. Pine- nettle, olives, mentholatum. I like all these things in my Barolo, but it is not in harmony. Not sure what to think.