This will be an outstanding tasting of mature Barolo from 1998 – an excellent year.  Jancis Robinson wrote that the 1998 wines have more structure and potential than 1997 and some very fine, elegant wines.   Galloni wrote “The wines have always been perfumed and accessible, with an attractive softness to the fruit. Even better, the vast majority of the wines have never shut down to the extent that wines from cooler vintages often do. The 1998s are extremely consistent across the board, and that level of outstanding quality may very well end up being the vintage’s strongest attribute.”  Click here to sign up now, or read on…

We are featuring wines from both the Serralunga Valley and La Morra in the Central Valley. The greatest difference between these two divisions is the soil; while the Serralunga Valley has soils high in sand and limestone, the latter tends to be higher in clay. The sandy soils of Serralunga produce more intense wines that demand a longer aging period than the Central Valley Barolos, which are known for softer, fruitier expressions of the region. The commune of La Morra produces the most wine of the five communes.  You can have fun trying to pinpoint which is which.

Our line-up of producers is led by Ceretto, Marengo, and Ratti and we are also featuring Conterno, Pio Cesare, Rivetto, Revello, and Corino.    Here are a few tasting notes to give you an idea of what’s in store:

Marcenasco Rocche – Ratti (La Morra) 1998:  Medium red. Reticent aromas of cherry, plum, smoke and truffle. Sweet, vinous and tight; hints at the velvety texture to come but today the fruit is somewhat suppressed by the wine’s broad, sweet tannins. Still, this is a suave wine with a building, juicy finish.  91+ Tanzer, (2002)

Ginestra – Paolo Conterno (Monforte) 1998: Saturated dark red. Vibrant nose melds cherry, dried rose, smoke, camphor, tobacco and nutty oak. A step up in brightness and intensity; dense, concentrated and sharply delineated. Long, sweet and classy on the finish, with superb extract to support its ripe tannins. This is already delicious, but has the balance and material for a long life in bottle. 93 pts Tanzer (2002)

Here is the complete line-up

Barolo – Corino (La Morra) 1998
Barolo – Fratello Revello (La Morra) 1998
Barolo, Bricco Rocche Prapo – Ceretto (Serralunga) 1998
Barolo, Brunate – Marengo (La Morra) 1998
Barolo, Marcenasco – Ratti (La Morra) 1998
Barolo, Marcenasco Rocche – Ratti (La Morra) 1998
Barolo – Leon Rivetto (Serralunga) 1998
Barolo – Pio Cesare (Serralunga) 1998
Barolo, Ginestra – Paolo Conterno (Monforte) 1998

And to give you a little extra fun, we will also be pouring a Mystery wine, about which we will say no more!

We are excited to have Katherine Mellin as our speaker.  She left a law career for the world of wine to found and run a wine agency – Apparition Wines.  Her IWEG/WSET Levl II & III, Certified Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers speak to her oenoligical qualifications and the Piedmont Wine & Food Specialist Certification in Ian D’Agata’s 3iC Program speak to her love of Barolo.  She will be the perfect guide to lead us through the tasting.

The Location

The tasting will take place in the Burgundy Room, North York Memorial Hall (under the Library):
5110 Yonge St, at Shepherd
North York Centre Subway

The subway accesses the building directly.

This is a large and well-ventilated room.  We will be reviewing the table layout and seating to ensure suitable spacing in order to give the best COVID protection that we can to everyone.

Please do not drink and drive.

Calendar, Pricing & Sign-up Details

Date:   Wed Oct 26
Time:   6:45 pm
Cost:    $100 members;   $150 non-members
Sign-up: here

     La Morra

     Seralunga