Our Young Langhe Genius - 2 Single Cru Barbarescos (Ovello, Cole) That I Had to Sell Today Before They're Gone - INSANE DTC VALUES - IMPORTANT

Danilo Quazzolo
 - If I Could Make Wine and Had Land In Barbaresco, I'd Make Wines Like This
 - 70, 80 Year Old Vines
 - The Added Density from Hand Selection
 - As Dense as Grand Cru Burgundy Made from Nebbiolo
 - Stunning Fruit Yet Incredible Balance
 - Incredible Acidity from Very Northern Vines
 - The Mad Genius of An Artist Winemaker
 - There Is Nothing Like These Wines in the Langhe.  Nothing.
 - A Teeny 2 Hectares of Pure Mad Genius
 - I'm So Early on This, It's Not Even Funny
 - Easily Top 20 in Barbaresco, Maybe Top 10 or Higher

2016 Vintage
 - Jancis Robinson Calls It a Game Changer (See Quote Below)
 - Stunning Transparency
 - These Wines Are Insane DTC (Direct To Consumer) Values

2016 Quazzolo Barbaresco Ovello
 - I Had the 2014 Produttori Ovello and This Beats It Silly
 - Only 48 Bottles Left/Maybe More If I Beg
 - Unlike Any Wine I've Had from Piedmont
 - Should Cost $100+ - It Will Some Day
 - One of The Coolest Sites in Barbaresco
 - At a Minimum this Will be Amazing  
 - For $37.99 on a Case, This Is the Steal of the Year from Piedmont

2016 Quazzolo Barbaresco Cole
 - Only 60 Bottles Left/Maybe More If I Beg
 - I Had It Young, The Upside on this Wine is Elite Langhe
 - Nose: Dark Cherries, Some Spice (Still Young)
 - Palate: the Denisty on this Wine is Utterly Insane
 - Cherries and Chocolcate As if Made by Maison du Chocolat
 - Pure Hints of Cherry Pit and Cherry Liquor
 - Spice Is Untterly Explosive (More Spice than the Ovello)
 - Internal Aromatics are Simply Palate Filling and Almost Head Spinning
 - For $37.99 on a Case, This Is the Steal of the Year from Piedmont

"With the 2016 vintage, Barbaresco has catapulted itself to the very top of Italian fine wine. A conclusion that forcefully pressed itself upon me, and which came as a total surprise, after having tasted 122 wines earlier this month. The vintage has turned out an almost embarrassing number of great wines, not unlike 2010 and 2013, but the 2016s are potentially greater. It is my firm belief that 2016 could be a total game-changer for the region, ...There's a transparency that gives a clear indication of what Barbaresco is stylistically about and one that can no longer be ignored, especially by Barbaresco producers themselves.. " Walter Speller, Jancis Robinson

So I was going to sell these in December but the winemaker let me know that there were only 9 cases left for me so I had to move it up. This is what I thought was my little secret in Barbaresco ... I guess not so much. The discovery to sold out cycle is getting really short these days.

These wines we so good that I had to taste them standing up because I got ants in my pants from the crazy dense fruit. These are not to be missed although, sadly, most of you will be given small allocations. But I can beg for more. I have honed my begging and am really good at it now.

The House Style
I'd like to give a reference point for these wines but, they are like nothing else in the Langhe. Think Grand Cru Burgundy but Nebbiolo made in in Richebourg or Romanee St. Vivant. Previously these grapes went into the Riserva blend, which was psychotic, but I think that the single vineyards are even better. 

The Wines
The first wine is the 2016 Quazzolo Barbaresco Ovello for $39.99 a bottle on a 4 pack purchase

and $37.99 on a 12 bottle case.  This is simply stunning and unlike anything I've had in Piedmont. It comes from one of the coolest sites in Barbaresco. It has the density of Grand Cru Burgundy - it is NOT a wine with big jammy fruit like a Shiraz. It was still closed so I didn't get much on the nose at first. After coaxing the wine and singing to it I got a classic nose of rose, tar, chestnuts and spice.  Soaring spice and cherries. Cigar, mint, tobacco and menthol leaf, white pepper and mint soar out of the glass after the appropriate amount of time. Cherry flower as well and gorgeous licorice. But in 10 years this nose will sing to me and the not the other way around.

The palate is an absolute show stopper. About as dense as any wine I've  ever had. Cherry fruit, cherry licorice on the palate. The density and intensity of the cherries is really off the charts. Terrific spice up the absolute yin yang. Remarkable acidity and fresh fruit juiciness. Some terrific chocolate intertwines with the cherries.  Terrific juiciness and inner mouth aromas and intense sweetness and voluminous fruit yet with all that this is so so fresh. Incredible mid palate and insane crushing fruit and velvety tannins. The finish is this incredibly intense spice; long, long, long.  Wow.  The wine is absolutely brooding.  It's a joy to drink young and it is incredible today. But I think that in 2-3 years this wine is going to absolutely blow people away. It's almost brooding today. Like it knows it is only showing you a tenth of what it's got and it's almost laughing at you. Thanos with two rings. The palate impact is almost like someone put cherry licorice and fired it into your mouth with a high pressure hose - it absolutely stains the palate beyond belief. Aged in tonneaux. The price is what he charges plus my standard markup.  This is a steal at $100 and a federal felony at $39.99. It's that good and that unique.

The second wine is the 2016 Quazzolo Barbaresco "Cole" for $39.99 a bottle each on a 4 pack and $37.99 on a 12 bottle case. I'll be honest, this was bottled 1 month before I tried it. It was very, very good. The upside on this wine is elite Langhe and it is an absolute leap over the Mocagatta  version (2016 is $55-$72).  I'm putting it second because I have even less of it. The nose was dark and brooding but it was winking at me when I tried it. Hints of dark cherries and some spice. Graphite and dense dark cherries. Some smoke and leather. Obviously, the wine was still closed from bottling and youth an did not give as much as I would have liked. But this site is known for it's stern muscular character  The palate though was wide open.  The density on this wine is utterly insane.  Basically, cherries and chocolate is if it was made by Maison du Chocolat, for my money the best chocolatier in the world.  Delicious, pure hints of cherry pit and cherry liquor.  The spice on this is utterly explosive. And on top of the pure, dense palate, the internal aromatics are simply palate filling and almost head spinning.  Cherry, cherry liquor, chocolate, cherry licorice.  Again - this vineyard is in the North of Barbaresco and has terrific acidity so despite the density and powerful fruit, it's incredibly well balanced and juicy.

And this wine was not even a baby when I had it.  When this opens up, I think that it could be an epic wine to compete with the best wines of this style in the Langhe.

The Winery

The winemaker is Danilo Quazzolo. His grandfather started the estate and his uncle continued his work. Danilo learned at his feet and took over in 2013. He used the same traditional techniques as his grandfather and uncle but changed things a bit. Danilo is an actual visual artist whose favorite painter is Jackson Pollock. He uses a squiggle to make his art, much like the pointalists used dots. His labels, which are very cool, all have this squiggle motif.

2016 Quazzolo Barbaresco "Cole" - $41.99

 ($159.96 4-pack, $455.88 12 bottle case {$37.99!}) 

2016 Qauzzolo Barbaresco "Ovello" - 

$41.99 ($159.96 4-pack, $455.88 12 bottle case {$37.99!})