Figli Luigi Oddero Barolo ‘Rocche Rivera’ 2010

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Luigi Oddero

Since 1878 the Oddero family has been synonymous with tradition and high quality Nebbiolo wines from the Langhe’s top vineyards, and it was in 1951 when brothers Giacomo and Luigi Oddero began bottling their family’s wines.

Like so many of the great estates of the world Luigi Oddero, although, born only recently, through a family divide, has an incredible history. Once a combined estate with Oddero, Luigi went his separate way, taking with him an incredible set of vineyards across 32 hectare of prime vineyards, including Castiglione Falletto’s Rocche dei Rivera & Serralunga d’Alba’s Vigna Rionda.

With Luigi’s loss in 2010, Lena Oddero (nata Gavrilova) is now managing the estate, aided by her faithful team of Francesco Versio ex-Giacosa  & Dante Scaglione still consulting to Bruno Giacosa. The wines are traditionally and respectfully made in stainless-steel & cement tanks, & then aged in large Gamba oak botti. Their fruit is grown in the villages of Treiso (for Barbaresco), La Morra, Barolo, Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d’Alba.

Below from top left clockwise: Harvest at Vigna Rionda, A bunch of Nebbiolo from Vigna Rionda, Unloading fruit, Aerative Pumpover of Rocche Rivera, Francesco Versio tasting a Botti, Rack, aeration and return of maturing Barolo in Botti.

Now with Luciano Botti, still looking after the vineyards, and, Francesco Versio and Dante Scaglione, alumni of Bruno Giacosa looking after the wine the new-old estate is going from strength to strength.

The two Cru wines available in Australia, an epic Riserva from Vigna Rionda and a Barbaresco from Treiso, the Rombone Cru. The Barolo Normale and Langhe Nebbiolo (declassified Cru Barolo) are excellent examples showing excellent stepwise quality to price value.

The 2016 Vintage in Barbaresco

Francesco explores the 2016 vintage in Barbaresco. I know it’s not Barolo! Worth a look, you start to get a feel for the maker, his wisdom levels, and, vineyard approach.

In the video below Francesco explores a few elements of his Nebbiolo from the San Cristoforo Cru. Take careful note of the small size of his Nebbiolo bunches and the light, almost translucent colour of the skins. You can’t see through the skins of varieties like Shiraz and Cabernet.

In the video below Francesco explores the Giacosa’s Falleto vineyard. I’ve included this as it explores aspects important to growing Nebbiolo.

The 2010 Vintage at Luigi Oddero

From Galloni:

The 2010 Barolos have all of the attributes of a cool, late-ripening vintage; expressive aromatics, chiseled fruit, plenty of site-specificity and the potential to develop beautifully for years and decades in bottle.  At the same time, the wines have gorgeous depth and richness, perhaps a result of the high temperatures in July. Next to the 2008s, which were generally brought in later, the 2010s have a bit less aromatic intensity, more tannic clout and greater overall structure. A number of growers mentioned that the berry size was small in 2010, which explains why the wines have the tannic presence they do. As always, there are a handful of underperforming wines, but they are the exception rather than the rule. In general terms, it is clear the Barolos are more successful than the 2010 Barbarescos, pointing out the need once again to consider each of these two areas individually. The 2010 Barolos are also several notches higher in quality and far more exciting than the 2009s.

Overall, 2010 can be characterized as a vintage with cooler than normal temperatures and a mid-October harvest for Nebbiolo. Total degree days were lower than both 2009 and 2011. Growers reported fairly normal conditions during fruit set, although for some estates rain in early May delayed flowering. June saw quite a bit of rain, but towards the end of the month, after flowering was completed. July was very dry with daytime temperatures at the high end of normal. Evenings were cool throughout the summer months, creating the diurnal temperature swings that are so favorable for gradual, even ripening. October brought with it high amounts of rain. Well-drained sites handled the rain well, but some vineyards were penalized. In a cool, rainy vintage, proper balance in the vineyards and reasonable crop loads were especially critical. Most estates harvested their Nebbiolos around the middle of October, which today is regarded as a normal time frame. By comparison, both 2008 and 2013 were quite a bit later, while 2007 and 2009 were earlier harvests.

Giuseppe Vajra has beautifully drawn the only vintage chart I’ve ever seen of any use.

Where in the World is Luigi Oddero?

Luigi Oddero is based in La Morra with additional holdings in Castgilione Falletto, Serralunga, including, Vigna Rionda recognised as one of the very best vineyards of the Commune of Serralunga and Barolo as a whole, and, Barbaresco.

If you have a Barolo MGA 360º subscription check out the Rocche Rivera parcel within the Scarrone Cru in exceptional detail.

This 3D flyover is Epic covering each of the communes you can see just how varied and extreme the aspect of each vineyard is and how in the space of a few metres just how dramatically the change.