- Totally Under the Radar in the States
- Starting to Get Traction in the UK
- That All Will Change in 2015...
2015 Tomaso Gianolio Barbaresco
- Nose: Beautiful, Pure Fresh Cherry, Licorice, Herbs, Smoke
- Palate: Dark Cherry, Spectacular Density
- Echoing Hints of Licorice
- Lovely Anise Internal Aromatics
- Absolute Special Occasion Wine for $29.99 (Case Pricing)
2015 Tomaso Gianolio Barbera d'Alba Superiore
- Amazing Year for Barbera
- A Wine of Terrific Palate Energy
- Incredible Traditional Barbera
- Wonderful Barbera Fruit
La Dolce Vita: 2015 Tomaso Gianolio Barolo Chinato
- I've Been Dying to Sell This Wine
- Just Buy A Bottle of This - The Month You Drink It After Dinner Will be the Happiest Month All Year
- The "Nose of 1,000 Things at Once"
- Can Last for Months after Opening
"An exceptional vintage thanks to healthy grapes and exceptioally regular bunches. A very cold winter with plenty of snow and a protracted cool and rainy spring replenished the water tables, much needed during a July that was the hottest ever on record. The vintage shows great promise, even if some grapes were relatively low in acidity." Jancis Robinson on 2015 in the Langhe
Everyone knows that Pablo Picasso is one of history's most famous artists. But, like most now famous artists, he struggled for many years before becoming famous. If one had to mark a turning
Tomaso Gianolio is, at present, about as under the radar as it gets. I absolutely adore his wines. He is the epitome of the Fass Selections style: integrated wood, acidic balance, aromatics, structure and juiciness. He made wonderful, possibly brilliant wines in a very difficult 2014 vintage. But in 2015 he was handed a great vintage and he hit ... it ... out ... of ... the ...ballpark. I'm not talking an opposite field dinger that snuck over the opposite field fence. I'm talking a full on Giancarlo Stanton 121 mph exit velocity bomb. He managed to combine his traditional balance and elegance with a dramatic intensity derived from the 2015 vintage. 2015 was a hot year and winemakers who know how to harvest were able to combine that ripe fruit with balance to create some of the best Langhe wines of the decade. We're talking close to the legendary 2010s.
The Prices
I just hooked up Davide with a UK distributor who was blown away by these wines. He carries Ceretto, Le Machioche and Egon Muller to name a few. He could not believe how great these wines were for almost no money. The guy has one of the top palates I know of and is a great taster.
Most importer retailers would, in their right minds, charge $49.99 for the Barbaresco and $29.99 for the Barbera and call it a bargain. And they'd be right. As I noted, Davide Gianolio is a laid back guy who'd rather work in the vineyards than tote a sample bag around Turin and Milan to increase sales. So I don't pay a lot for these wines. That's what happens when you have an undiscovered winery - the wines are cheap. Qualitatively, these are $60+ and $35+. Especially in this vintage, these are screaming values. If you want to look a gift horse in the mouth, you are free to do so. I can say without hesitation that these are both one off crazy values deserving case purchases.
La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita is, of course a brilliant and famous film by Fellini. But for me, it is also an approach to life that one can see if one spends enough time with Italians. I'm a serious guy. And I tend to take everything seriously. My wine, My food. My diet. My sneakers. My pictures of my sneakers. Sometimes, perhaps, I forget to sit and smell the roses. The beauty of a sunset. A great baguette. The simple things that are great and wonderful even if they are not complex. The Italians do this so well. They can enjoy a deliciously lactic mozzarella simply quartered and placed on a plate. A sweet fizzy Moscato that I would find boring. And today's third wine, Barolo Chinato. In some sense, the wine makes no sense. You take expensive Barolo and mix it with herbs that add to something already wonderful. But the Italians don't care. And they are right. It's amazing even if maybe it makes no sense. You sit, you sniff, you smile, you enjoy the sweet life. And sometimes, that's enough.
at this price is unheard of.
And Now, The Wines
And now for the main event, the 2015 Tomasso Gianolio Barbaresco for $31.99 each on a 4 pack purchase and a special case price of $29.99. This is maybe the most ridiculous Langhe value offer we will ever sell. Don't listen to your cheap-o-meter. This is 100% legit real deal classic Barbaresco that is as authentic and stunningly delicious as it gets. And in 2015 it is stunningly ridiculous. This is just a wow wine that is drinking really well now but will be incredible in 3-4 years. I know that it sounds borderline cheesy but you can taste the hand of the winemakers and the effort put into the bottle. It's almost got a Barolo-like vibe to it in 2015.
The nose just has that beautiful, pure fresh cherry, licorice thing going on. The fruit on the nose is almost sweet but not quite. It balances that line so perfectly. It's a whirling dervish or insane cherry fruit. Also lots of herbs and complex smoke aromas. Just insane aromas that really come together after an hour. Really really fine and aromatic. Such precision in the aroma. Superb, vivid and such profound aromas you are shocked this is a $30 Barbaresco. It is not possible. Like this is also enjoyable as a perfume aside from its value as a beverage. It is stunningly intoxicating and I really can't say enough about it.
The palate is really deep cherry fruit with absolutely perfect balancing acidity. The fruit in 2015 is so sweet, so dense and so deep. It's dark cherry and black cherry versus more red and sour cherries for the 2014. Epic. It's big and dense with an amazingly deep yet silken structure. Stunning purity and juiciness. Hint of licorice echoes to add even more complexity. The really great winemakers in the Langhe just do a great job of getting that razor's edge fruit/acid balance and with higher temperatures in the Langhe, let me assure you that this is not easy. Some serious, serious juiciness here with lovely anise internal aromatics. The internal floral and fruit aromas just assault your palate as you swish. Really, really elegant. The finish is fantastic. So persistent and mouth-coating. There is a terrific presence of lingering licorice. There are some serious silky tannins that provide the structure for at least 10-15 years of ageing. This tastes like if really good single vineyard 1er Cru Burgundy were made from Nebbiolo. Think one of the more elegant Gevrey 1er Cru's like Lavaux St. Jacques or Les Goulots: Just a wonderful, well made, terroir-driven, aromatic wine. Aged 20 months in large Slavonian oak casks. This is an absolute steal.
The second wine is the 2015 Tomasso Gianolio Barbera d'Alba Superiore for $19.99 on a 4 pack purchase. The newsflash of the year is that Barbaresco is "better" than the Barbera. But, like all more complex wines, it is not always the better wine to have with every dish or in every occasion. Winemakers have been trying to make more "serious" Barbera in recent years. Some of them are very good and some are just either oakier or just more serious. This Barbera is a beautiful example of what traditional Barbera should be. The wine is profoundly delicious and in 2015, Langhe Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto are some of the best I've tasted. Brilliant vintage for these wines. A wine that is gorgeously delicious and fruity and wonderful to have with simple fare like pizza or just to guzzle with close friends. It's a very, very good bottle of wine and really well made. The nose just has that leap out of the glass grapey Barbera freshness that just makes you almost cry with happiness almost like say, great entry level Riesling. Really, really bright but also complicated by spice and even a hint of oolong tea. The palate is just beautiful soft, sweet, delicious fruit with, of course, balancing Fass Selections acidity and juiciness. It has a much longer finish than it should have. You really need to watch how much you drink of this - it's that good. The finish is just delicious with the barest hint of bitterness that balances the fruit. While the wines have that fantastic Barbera fruit, there is an elegance that belies their simplicity. Everything is just in place. These are aged 12 months in large old casks.
Up next I have a wine I've been dying to sell. I mean dying to sell. I didn't know if we were allowed to sell it as it's more of a digestivo than a wine. But after going back and forth with the government for many months we are allowed to sell it. What is it? It's Barolo Chinato! Yes, and I think it's the best one made today. It also happens to be one of the more insane values we will ever sell. I am humbled and honored to offer the 2015 Tomasso Gianolio Barolo Chinato for $38.99 a bottle NET! I've had Cappelano's brilliant Chinato and I think this is better.
What is Barolo Chinato?
Basically it's a digestivo style after dinner drink or it can match with rich desserts (usually based on chocolate) and is made from many herbs and spices, aged Barolo wine and sweetened with a touch of sugar. Giuseppe Cappelano, who was a pharmacist, invented it in Serralunga d'Alba at the turn of the century. I'll be the first to say this is not for everybody. It's basically a fortified wine made with crazy spices and herbs that give off bittersweet flavors and the finish can be austere. It's an acquired taste that I happen to adore. They can be so special, hypnotizing, and for those that have an adventuresome spirit or go on the road less travelled this is for you.
Barolo Chinato starts with a base of neutral grain spirits. Then it is flavored judiciously with herbs, spices and botanicals. Sometimes quinine bark is in it which is China in Italian, thus the source of the name of the drink, Chinato. Other ingredients can be vanilla beans, rhubarb root, star anise, cinnamon, juniper, fennel, gentian, citrus peel and cardamon. There can be more as well but there is no set recipe and each producer has their own, which is a closely guarded secret.
Davide Gianolio's is super profound. It's very hard to describe. The nose has like 1,000 things going on at once and it's layered like the dreams in Inception. Peppermint, rhubarb, anise, bitter citrus and quinine are just so multidimensional you cannot believe it. There must be at least 25 distinct flavors that a better taster than I could identify on the nose. Each sip is an experience like no other. It's so profound and rich and cooling and sweet and bitter all at the same time. It's a glass that you will only have one of. If one needs three noses to adequately smell great Barolo then one needs six noses to smell great Chinato. The palate can is sweetish dryish, if that makes sense, with a transportive quality. If Christmas in the Langhe was liquified it would be this wine. Butter citrus, almost like tonic all wrapped in bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon, it changes so much so don't hold me to this. It's a very earthy expression as well. It's the craziest wine you've either had and need to have again or never had and need to have.
The Winery
There are two expressions in Italian that really can summarize my whole experience at the winery of Tomaso Gianolio in Fossano, Piedmont last August (2017).
The first one revolves around me not being that hungry at our appointment. It goes,"L'appetito vien mangiando" which means, "The appetite comes while you're eating." I can 100% confirm this is true as Davide's wife, Alessandria, made us one of the best meals I've ever had, filled with love, attention and detail. One of the most memorable meals of my life. Each wine was served with a different course. Each course was amazing. It was simple food, executed perfectly, with the freshest ingredients and matched perfectly with each wine. It's kind of the way one can describe the wines of Tomaso Gianolio. I still can't believe this tasting and meal happened. Perfect synergy.
The second expression is related to this meal and tasting as a personal experience for me and I'm sure you can all relate to as well. It goes "A tavola non si invecchia" which means you don't age while seated for a meal. I can confirm this is true. This tasting and meal was like I was transported in time to a place there there was no time. It was just food, wine and love existing in their own non linear temporal space. It was at a small table in the middle of his wine cellar. I truly felt like I was transported. Italy can do that do you. The wines all were extraordinary and there are a few that really stood out to me and I'll be chatting about them today. These are some of the most honest, authentic, traditional, delicious and soulful wines we sell.
There are thousands of producers in Piedmont and I hate to be the one to tell you there is an ocean or even two oceans of bad Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera and Dolcetto. The winemaking skills vary tremendously. This is why it took us a while to get our Italian book going. I had to taste a lot of coal to find these diamonds. Tomaso Gianolio is one of my proudest accomplishments as he has no single vineyards, his labels are almost indistinguishable from the other 70-80 estates that this one noteworthy Langhe artist does the labels for and his production is small but not terribly small. The wines are insane, ridiculous values. When you factor in an incredible vintage like 2015 the value cannot be overstated. This estate is a diamond.
2015 Tomaso Gianolio Barbaresco - $33.99
($127.96 4-pack, $359.88 12 bottle case
{$29.99 bottle!})
2015 Tomaso Gianolio Barbera d'Alba Superiore - $21.99
($79.96 4-pack)
2015 Tomaso Gianolio Barolo Chinato - $38.99 NET
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