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The Wine Society announces bumper Barolo en primeur
Online retailer The Wine Society has announced that its upcoming 2021 vintage Barolo en primeur will be 50% bigger than the previous edition.
The Wine Society has revealed that the campaign, launching on Tuesday 14 January and concluding on Friday 31 January, will feature 61 wines from 27 producers.
Buyer Victoria Mason MW explained to db why the 2021 vintage of these Piemontese DOCG wines stands out: “They show great complexity, length, and structure – which nudge us towards a comparison with the 2016s and the 2019s, but the 2021s show an extra dimension, or layer, of fruit; a ripe, rich generosity which is supported by powerful yet wonderfully handled tannins and balanced by vibrant freshness – but to add or to clarify – effortless balance and real, transparent terroir expression.”
Mason described curating the selection from such a strong year, when ripening took place notably later than in 2020, as “the best kind of challenge”.
“Wines that didn’t stand out to me, even if they were good, and in some cases even very good, did not make it in as there were so many great options to choose from,” she shared. “There is, in some cases, more than one iteration of the same cru, as we’ll see when the offer is live, but where this is from a different producer, with a different interpretation, it is not duplication, and will appeal to a different drinker/collector.”
“Furthermore,” added Mason, “some wines are very small production and are always in demand, so I’ve aimed to provide ‘alternatives’. E.g. Luigi Baudana’s two crus are always so highly sought after, and teeny tiny production, but this year I have secured stock of their commune wine too, so will hopefully spread some of the demand – though this is also still a small production!”
The 2021 Luigi Baudana Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba will cost £103 per three bottles, with the drinking window expected to last between 2026 and 2038.
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Prices for The Wine Society’s 2021 Barolo en primeur offer will start at £105 for a case of six bottles of Ciabot Berton Barolo del Comune di La Morra in bond, and go up to £525 for six bottles of Barolo Cannubi from Chiara Boschis-owned E. Pira e Figli, a new addition to the offering.
“The most accessibly-priced wines come from producers we have long supported and worked with, so this is not a new phenomenon for The Wine Society’s Barolo offering,” said Mason, who also noted that Sebastian Payne MW played a crucial role in “hunting down these gems”.
The Wine Society will also be offering its ‘Explore the Communes of Barolo’ case of six, which Mason suggested offers “a combination of typicity and value”.
“My starting point was that I thought they really expressed characteristics that we see as ‘typical’ of their communes – so Ratti’s Marcenasco from La Morra is the best Marcenasco we have tasted. Openly fragrant and silkily-textured – as we would expect of La Morra; in this case, ready to drink on release.”
As well the Marcenasco from Renato Ratti, the case, which costs £170, also contains the following bottles: GD Vajra’s Barolo Albe (representing the commune of Barolo), Castello di Verduno (Verduno), Livia Fontana’s Barolo Fontanin (Castiglione Falletto), Massolino (Serralunga d’Alba) and Poderi Colla’s Barolo Bussia Dardi le Rose (from Monforte d’Alba).
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