- An Incredible But Modest Winemaker
- The Winery Is Off the Beaten Path (Obviously the Vineyards Are Not)
- Doesn't Get Much Attention
- Stunningly Underpriced for the Quality
2017 Tomaso Gianolio Barolo
- This Should be $50-$60 Dollar Wine
- Gorgeous Big Cherry
- Some Mild Cassis Fruit
- Tar, Roses, Spice and Mineral
- Licorice. Cherry Flower
- A Very Expensive Barolo Nose for $29.99
- So Authoritative
- Big, Incredibly Juicy
- A Wonderful Density
- Littered with Minerals, Flowers and Spices
- So Deep and So Fruity
- Everyone Who Can Needs to Buy a Case
- Drink this While Some of Your 16's Slumber
- Case Pricing
2016 Tomaso Gianolio Alta Langa Spumante Metodo Classico Extra Brut
- One of Our Top Sparkling Wines Values from Anywhere
- Basically - Vintage Champagne Made in Italy for Under $33
- Aged 80 MONTHS on the Yeasts Before Release
- Nose: Powerfully Minerally-Driven
- Precise and Incredibly Clean
- Lemon, Lime, Bread, Yeast and Herbal Notes
- Gorgeous and Complex
- Dried Fruits and Honey
- Elite Level Elegance
- Palate: Complex, Deep and Terrific Concentration
- So Clean and Delicious
- Champagne Geeks - You Have, Have, Have To Own This!
- Springing This on Champagne Geeks Blind Is So Much Fun
2020 Tomaso Gianolio Barbera d'Alba Superiore
- A Beautiful Example of What Traditional Barbera Should Be
- Brilliant Vintage for Barbera
- Nose: Leap out of the Glass Grapey Barbera Freshness
- Complicated by Spice and even a hint of Oolong Tea
- Beautiful Soft, Sweet, Delicious Fruit
Among the Best Values in My Book - Bar None
- JJ Girard in Burgundy is one.
- Jurgen Von Der Mark in Germany is another.
But arguably the craziest values of all are the wines of Tomaso Gianolio. Honestly, I don't even recall how
I found this guy. We had a clandestine meeting at VinItaly as he didn't buy a ticket to display his wines. He's very modest, almost to a fault. But the wines are consistently fantastic and some of the most ridiculous values I sell. His production is small but not terribly small.
I found this guy. We had a clandestine meeting at VinItaly as he didn't buy a ticket to display his wines. He's very modest, almost to a fault. But the wines are consistently fantastic and some of the most ridiculous values I sell. His production is small but not terribly small.
Today, I am selling
- His most popular wine, the Barolo, for under $30 which drinks like $60 Barolo.
- His Vintage sparkler which drinks like at least least $60 Champagne.
- His Barbera Superiore which is spectacular and you will want to have as it's a pure joy to drink. And it ages.
The 2017 Vintage
2017 Barolo brings the accessibility and succulence and more importantly the fruit. The fruit quality is astonishing. These are thrilling young wines. Think 2013/2015 Barolo married for a comparable vintage assessment. It is a vintage that has that bit of extra in the fruit and succulence aspect of the wines. Fruit, They are terrific wines if you know where to look and given that Davide made a genius 15 he even topped himself with his stunning 17.
The Wines
The 2017 Tomaso Gianolio Barolo can be had for $32.99 on a 4-pack and $29.99 on a case purchase. This is absolutely a case purchase as this should be $50-$60 dollar wine. No questions.
Superb aromas that really make me understand the expression that it takes two noses to truly take in the perfume of a great Barolo. Just gorgeous big cherry and even some mild cassis fruit, tar, roses, spice and mineral. It's like a bazaar and potpourri emporium on a freshly paved road on a hot day. The nose is so utterly refined and classic. It's just stunning. There is a subtlety to Nebbiolo aromas I can't get over. It's so nuanced and wild yet so refined. It makes me get why there is a cult surrounding Nebbiolo. After air the nose of gorgeous vivid roses, insane dried roses and wow this has opened up. Just a sick sick Barolo nose. Licorice. Cherry flower. For $30 you really pause.
The palate is just plain awesome. I easily drank a glass with a lunch that this was served with which was a traditional Piedmontese boiled beef that kind of reminded me of brisket but way better. The palate is just authoritative. It's big, incredibly juicy and shows perfectly ripe and healthy Nebbiolo from exalted terroir. It has such a wonderful density to its fruit, yet also is littered with minerals, flowers and spices. It has incredible freshness due to the harmonious and wonderfully ripe acids. It's so deep and so fruity and so ripe one cannot stop drinking this. It's also refined and elegant and has wonderful subtlety. The finish pumps out fruit and is just explosive and lasts minutes. The wine is really, really, really impressive and I never say this but everyone who can needs to buy a case. You'll be very happy you did. Drink this while the 16s slumber.
Next up I have one of the most unique and delicious wines I've had since I have been wine hunting. I pride myself on the fact that I've heard of almost everything in the wine world. I can at least say the fabulously innocuous "I've heard the name," which means absolutely nothing when I've in fact heard the name but after that my knowledge is a big fat zero.
Today I am super exited to offer new to me and most likely new to you, the 2016 Tomaso Gianolio Alta Langa Spumante Metodo Classico Extra Brut for $32.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. Until Davide popped the bottle of the 2009 I'd never heard of the DOCG Alta Langhe, which is only Sparkling wine and was only named DOCG in 2011.
"Piedmontese Champagne"
Many of you may remember and the ones who have not please read my article on Italian Sparkling Wines. Essentially this is "Piedmontese Champagne." Here are the rules. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are minimum 90% of the blend with 10% other varietals allowed. Every wine is vintage dated and the soils are limestone clay-marl and those soils only are allowed in the appellation. All of the allowed vineyards are only hillside as well. This is aged 80 MONTHS, yes 80 MONTHS on the yeasts before release. The color is profound and bright brass yellow.
The Nose
Powerfully mineral-driven yet precise and incredibly clean and pure aromas. Just so clean. Lemon, lime, bread, yeast and herbal notes as well. Gorgeous and complex nose. Dried fruits and honey dominate. Like a vinous trail mix without the nuts on the nose and gorgeous minerality. Really intense and powerful aromas yet refined and elegant. The mousse is so fine and elegant. Gorgeous mousse and very mineral palate with tons of energy and tension. Complex, deep and terrific concentration and sap. Very long. Brilliant bottle. The fruit is explosively citrus with a slight yeastiness and bread-like quality as well. The balance is exquisite as is the purity. Sappy finish that echoes with delicate almonds. This is just achingly beautiful and revelatory. This is very limited as well. He only made around 300 bottles and this is first offer in over 4 years.
The third wine is the 2020 Tomaso Gianolio Barbera d'Alba Superiore for $19.99 on a 4 pack purchase. The newsflash of the year is that Barolo is "better" than the Barbera. But, like all more complex wines, the Barolo 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 2020 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. This wine is one of the best mid term agers we offer.
The Winery
Tomaso Gianolio is a really small winery. I mean really small. They make 3,300 cases per year split among 9 bottlings. So under 400 cases per wine per year. The more I do this, the more I realize that these small production bottlings allow the winemaker to really focus on making wine that is highly respectful of its terroir. The winery was founded in 1930 by the winemaker's grandfather. The brothers took over from their father Tomaso. They are a micro-negociant and work very closely with the growers to ensure the best crops (reducing yields when necessary) and carefully monitoring ripeness to pick at the right time. This producer is going to be a very important core producer for us.
2017 Tomaso Gianolio Barolo - $34.99
($131.96 4-pack, $359.88 12 bottle case)
2016 Tomaso Gianolio Alta Langa Spumante Metodo Classico Extra Brut - $34.99 ($131.96 4-Pack)
2020 Tomaso Gianolio Barbera d'Alba - $21.99 ($79.96 4-Pack)
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