2017 Mauro Veglio, Barolo DOCG, Piedmonte, Italy.
A more recent discovery for me the Mauro Veglio wines, offering a studied series of Barolo, from many highly regarded Cru sites, as well as a collection of Dolcetto and Barbera based reds, with this 2017 basic Barolo showing very nicely, making for an almost guilt free, well priced and easy to love pure Nebbiolo. Brightly ruby in the glass and with a charming nose of red fruits, a light earthiness and delicate rose petals on the nose that leads to a satiny medium to full bodied palate with a nice concentration of ripe black cherry, plum, mulberry and balsamic reduced strawberry fruits as well as grilled fennel, cedar, garden herbs and a hint of iron. The tannins are very supple, but still provide just about the right amount of youthful grip to let you this is in fact a Barolo and while compliant in nature there is a seriousness to this wine’s purpose. This Mauro Veglio Barolo, that comes from mostly the estate’s younger vines, opens up well and is quite delicious, especially with food, it is a wine that may not be the most thrilling or with the most potential in the cellar, but I wouldn’t be disappointed to find it in my glass and I think it is a fine effort and value.
The traditionally crafted Veglio Barolo comes from vineyards in the townships of La Morra and Monforte d’Alba, with this 2017 vintage being one of the hottest years in recent times making for softer tannins and smaller yields than is normally the case, which may have helped this bottling a little, even though it was not an easy year in the region. For clarity and purity, the Barolo normale saw a maceration on the skins in stainless steel tanks for between 10-15 days, before the grapes are pressed with fermentation in stainless tanks, lasting about 20 days, with its malolactic fermentation also taking place in the tanks with cool controlled temperatures to preserve aromatics and fresh detail. After fermentation the Barolo is aged in a combination of oak casks with a small percentage of new barrels being employed to add a luxurious taste, with a touch of toast and vanilla and texture to this wine to allow for earlier drinking pleasure, as this wine does. The Barolo was in mainly 80% used wood, aging for a full 24 months and then rested back in stainless after blending and then bottled unfined and unfiltered, which the winery believes helps keep every nuance in the wine. Veglio makes close to 2,000 cases of the regular Barolo, making it pretty easy to find and it is not too spendy for the quality, I look forward to seeing their single Cru versions in the future.
($40 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive