A Masterpiece!

Product information

Figli Luigi Oddero ‘Vigna Rionda’ Riserva Barolo 2013

Nebbiolo from Serralunga d'Alba, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy

$370

$360ea in any 3+
$350ea in any 6+
Closure: Cork
For a long time I have wondered whether Barolo could reach the same heights as Burgundy. This wine is part of the answer!

Description

Devouring this over a couple of hours didn’t do it justice. A stunning wine this would be in my Top 5 Neb’s consumed this year. Listening to Matt Large who’s heading off to work his 3rd vintage with at Luigi Oddero with Francesco Versio and Dante Scaglione I learnt so much about Vigna Rionda. Like Burgundy and Cannubi, there’s Vigna Rionda and then there’s Vigna Rionda! Oddero is the original. South South-East facing on lean helvetian soils high in mineral content and at elevation have offered up divine fruit.

Although there is often talk of the structure of Serralunga, I have no doubt the fruit has the potential to make structured wine, the hand of the maker, or lack thereof is clear. The fermentation technique is all about gentle infusion of whole berries into the juice to allow perfume, elegance and a supple mouthfeel.

Luciano Botti, viticulturalist for the estate must be hailed for the quality of fruit produced. Francesco and Dante for maintaining the purity and expression of the wine. Their combined experience, much of it running Bruno Giacosa’s winery shows.

Incredible intensity, depth, layering, harmony, and, a generosity that built in the glass fanning out across my back palate. An incredible complexity to this wine. Seamless, perfumed, high levels of magnesium offering a savoury, salty touch.

Talking with Matt about the maceration, time the wine remains in contact with skins, he highlighted Francesco’s fluid nature, striving to make the best wine, not apply a formula. When the year offers thin skinned fruit the macerations are shorter, when phenolic ripeness is achieved and the skins more robust, thicker, the macerations will last much longer.

Just as we looked for a pencil shaving character in macerating Cabernet varietals as a sign it was time to press, Francesco looks for a ‘marcy’ character, the smell of pressed skins. For him this indicates the wine may be losing freshness, vitality, energy.

Pressing follows a similar philosophy with free run drained from the fermenters and pressing typically being kept separate and declassified.

All of this contributing to the supple, pure nature of the wine.

36 months in botti has given us something exceptional. It’s interesting to note they’ve had botti built to spec to ensure they have a full botti of around 3,500L for their tiny parcel of Vigna Rionda. Most of the others are 8,500L.

For a long time I have wondered whether Barolo could reach the same heights as Burgundy. I’d seen a few that inspired, fewer that made my heart race and more bad wines than I thought possible for prices that made the mind boggle. There has been alot of same, same, but, different. We’ve been trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.

With Luigi Oddero’s Vigna Rionda I have found a Barolo that is playing at the higher end of the Burgundy spectum. Like the wines of Giuseppe Rinaldi and Bartolo Mascarello when they get it right they make something that can make the heart race.

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Check out all of the wines by Figli Luigi Oddero

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.

View from Rocche dei Rivera in Castiglione Falletto with Serralunga in the distance

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 2013 Vintage in Barolo

The 2013 Vintage really needs no introduction. Particularly for the release of Riserva 2 years later than the ‘standard’ Cru Baroli. The perfect, long ripening conditions have given us something special. Most importantly exceptional depth, length, layering of flavours and tannins. The mouthfeel here is exceptional. This long slow ripening has offered up on of the most import facets of exceptional Barolo, beautiful tannins.

We’ll undoubtedly be looking at the best 2013’s as sitting amongst the best Baroli.

Where in the World is Vigna Rionda?

Vigna Rionda is recognised as one of the very best vineyards of the Commune of Serralunga and Barolo as a whole. Serralunga runs along much of the east boundary of Barolo with Vigna Rionda, a tiny Cru just to the west of the township of Serralunga.

Click to enlarge🔎

If you have a Barolo MGA 360º subscription check out the Vigna Rionda Cru in exceptional detail.

Click to go to the Vigna Rionda Cru on Barolo MGA 360º

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.

Where in the world does the magic happen?

Vigneti Oddero Luigi & Figli, La Morra, Province of Cuneo, Italy

Barolo
Serralunga d'Alba
Piedmont
Italy