Team C&J
Italy may have over 2,000 native grapes, but only one is called “the King of Wines”. Piedmont’s earthy, complex, and powerful Barolo wines are a favorite among wine lovers everywhere, and this 2019 Oddero Barolo is a prime example of why.
Barolos are known for their cellar-worthiness, with some examples taking decades to soften the stringent tannins that Nebbiolo grapes can produce. This wine is different though. Revered for having a palate that is at once elegant and intense, the juice in the bottle is unique in that it is garnering mid-to-high scores in the 90s straight out of the bottle with just five years of age on it.
In the wine world, the name ‘Oddero’ is one that commands respect. This family-owned winery dates back seven-generations in Italy’s Piedmont region, and their wines have garnered a loyal following around the world.
Compared to some other well known producers, Oddero has an “if you know, you know” air about it. While the winery is one of the oldest in Piedmont, records show the family has been growing and producing Nebbiolo wine as far back as the 1700s, much of the distribution has remained in Italy where it is quickly snapped up by restaurants and thousands of adoring fans.
The winery’s modern-day success is often credited to Giacomo Oddero, who started the process of refining the winemaking techniques, updating the estate’s grounds, and elevating the quality of the Oddero wines in the 1950s. Under his guidance, and later through his daughter, Mariacristina, who is the current winemaker, Poderi e Cantine Oddero, is one of the most acclaimed wineries in Barolo.
Winemaker Mariacristina entered the family business in 1997 after studying viticulture at the University of Turin. While Mariacristina easily entered the wine business by way of her family’s brand, from there, the journey was anything but easy.
In the late 1990s, her father, Giacomo, shared the business with his brother Luigi. When returned from school and began assisting with the family business, tensions flared. It’s unclear what caused the fissure, but ultimately, after several years of butting heads, Oddero’s 60 hectares of vineyard holdings were split in two, with Luigi taking half, and Mariacristina taking the other half.
In the twenty or so years that Cristina has been in charge of the Oddero family winery, she continues to look for new ways to bring the most out of the special “cru level” vineyards. When the hills of the Langhe became a UNESCO World Heritage, honey bees were added to the vineyards (you can purchase estate bottle honey, along with the coveted wines if you visit for tasting). Cristina also pioneered the use of netting on the vines to protect the grapes from seasonal hail storms. The practice is now used throughout Barolo.
The grapes for the Oddero Barolo DOCG, are sourced from three winery-owned vineyards: Bricco Chiesa and Capalot in La Morra, Fiasco in Castiglione Falletto and Monvigliero in Verduno. Like all of the estate’s 35 hectares of vines, these sites are organically farmed.
After the Nebbiolo grapes are manually picked, they are fermented separately (depending on the vineyard site) in stainless steel for 20 days. Each selection of grapes is then aged separately in Slavonian and Austrian oak barrels for 30 months, followed by being blended together and aged in bottle for an additional 6 months.
The 2019 Oddero Barolo has all of the qualities of a classic Barolo. Thin-skinned Nebbiolo creates a wine that is a pale garnet in the glass. The nose is still developing, but the intensity is pronounced, and exhibits all of the tar, earth, smoke, and light red fruit you’d expect. Given that some of the grapes are sourced from La Morra, we already had an inkling that this bottle was going to have an elegant profile, and we were not disappointed.
Muted cherry and red plum, candied orange, and that same tar, smoke, and earthy quality present on the nose were reflected in the palate. We also picked up weighty balsamic. The palate is perfectly packaged, and delivers on all of Barolos best features: balanced tannins, a full-body, and moderating acidity.
Prepare to fall in love with this bottle when you open it, because the 2019 Oddero Barolo is that kind of wine. Try serving this wine with woodsy dishes like creamy risotto with mushrooms, game meats, or anything with a truffle element. Barolo goes great with truffles. For maximum enjoyment, we recommend decanting the wine for an hour or so to help mellow out those tannins.
Italy
Barolo
Nebbiolo
14
Mariacristina Oddero
62–68°F / 16–20°C
Large Bordeaux
1 Hour
Now to 2040
Oddero
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