Marco Marengo Barolo Brunate, 2004

I'm seriously considering buying a case of Marco Marengo Barolo Brunate, 2004. It's from a classic house in Piedmont; 2004 was a good year; Wine Advocate gives it a 95; I can drink it in 2011. It's $59.99/bottle.

If anyone out there has any opinions about the wisdom of this purchase, I'm all ears.

Can't give advice, but David, what in particular drove you to focus on this one maker or the year? Was it that it was Barolo and/or the pricing of it? Just curious.

FWIW, I'd like to hear what others say as well.

aschie30 wrote:Can't give advice, but David, what in particular drove you to focus on this one maker or the year? Was it that it was Barolo and/or the pricing of it? Just curious.

FWIW, I'd like to hear what others say as well.

I did a tasting of Barolos and Barbarescos last week; talked to a guy who runs Christie's wine sales, and he mentioned that 2004 was a particuarly good year. The pricing is not out of range (for a good Barolo), and Parker score is certainly influencing my decision.

Some knowledgeable wine guys with whom I had dinner last night concurred that 2004 was a terrific year for Borolo, and they'd all love to get there hands on whatever bottles they could. However, the consensus was that it would be foolish to plan to drink this wine in 2011. According to them, while it might be "drinkable" then, it will likely still be a little harsh (tannic and very high acid), and you should plan to wait until at least 2019 for it to round out. That's not something I'd ever have the patience/ lifestyle to do, so this isn't a purchase I'd make.

Kennyz wrote:According to them, while it might be "drinkable" then, it will likely still be a little harsh (tannic and very high acid), and you should plan to wait until at least 2019 for it to round out. That's not something I'd ever have the patience/ lifestyle to do, so this isn't a purchase I'd make.

One online wine source suggested "Drink: 2011-2014," though I suspect they meant one could drink it within that range.

Thanks for the input.

David Hammond wrote:

Kennyz wrote:According to them, while it might be "drinkable" then, it will likely still be a little harsh (tannic and very high acid), and you should plan to wait until at least 2019 for it to round out. That's not something I'd ever have the patience/ lifestyle to do, so this isn't a purchase I'd make.

One online wine source suggested "Drink: 2011-2014," though I suspect they meant one could drink it within that range.

Thanks for the input.

What I read online was 2011-2024 (but what do online "experts" know). Even at a reasonable (for that wine) $60/btl, I imagine it will be a special occasion wine, and the case will last you several years. Then again, maybe not. It would be interesting to see how it actually changes over time.

d4v3 wrote:It would be interesting to see how it actually changes over time.

You're absolutely right, but somehow, I can't see myself logging my responses over a period of 10+ years -- and how do I know it's the wine that's changing and not me?

I must say, my fascination with Barolo has much to do with the tasting I went to last week. I met several intense Masters of Wine there, including Jennifer Simonetti, whose tastebuds, I'm sure, are much more evolved (or at least abundant) than mine, because she was picking up stuff that I could not hope to imagine (violets, rosebuds, leather...lost on me).



I'm concluding that I need to get better wine, drink it more slowly, and make more noise when I do so. For starters.

A guy at Christie's turned me on to an online source: http://www.wineaccess.com/store/circleliquors

I just bought a half-case of Marco Marengo Barolo 2004 for $43.00/bottle, shipping included.

David Hammond wrote:A guy at Christie's turned me on to an online source: http://www.wineaccess.com/store/circleliquors

I just bought a half-case of Marco Marengo Barolo 2004 for $43.00/bottle, shipping included.

interesting, I thought we couldn't get wine shipped into Illinois from a retail outlet.

I'm not familiar with that producer but $43 certainly sounds like a good price for an acknowledged good Barolo from a good year.
There are, or have been in the last several decades, 2 distinct schools of Barolo making. Call them Old School (OS) and New School (NS). Traditional OS Barolo takes a very long time to come around and then lives for a very long time afterward. The NS guys set out to embrace more modern high-tech methods which would produce a more approachable, more quickly drinkable wine. They succeeded. Some of these, e.g. Ceretto, made some splendid wines in the great 80s vintages. I have seen it alleged that these NS style wines have not aged well, but I have never drunk an old one.
The OS wines, exemplified in my mind by Giacomo Conterno, really can't be touched for many years. But the Conterno Monfortino is, for me, the absolute be all and end all of Barolo.
I believe that the pendulum swung very much toward NS wines for at least a couple of decades and may now be swinging back a bit. Needless to say, market forces would push producers in the NS direction.
I'm not at all in close touch with current trends, so I defer to any of your pals from the tasting on any of these issues. These are only my subjective impressions.

I drank a '96 Parusso on Passover and it was clearly in its absolute infancy. It had been decanted and open for many hours, so there was some pleasure in it, but I regretted having opened it overall.
I had a tasting of '74s (an OK but not great year) around 1998 and they were all in fine, firm shape. Just to give you an idea of the Barolo life-span.

I have not been drinking as much Barolo as I would like since the dollar has been weak, so my impressions are largely based on 70s and 80s vintages. Of these some of the most luscious have been from Vietti, Giacosa, Prunotto (Barolo/Barbaresco), Gaja (Barbaresco), Produttori del Barbaresco, Renato Ratti, Marcarini, Sandrone, Scavino, Among others. I cannot speak to ownership or stylistic changes that may have occurred since then.

David Hammond wrote:

d4v3 wrote:
I must say, my fascination with Barolo has much to do with the tasting I went to last week. I met several intense Masters of Wine there, including Jennifer Simonetti, whose tastebuds, I'm sure, are much more evolved (or at least abundant) than mine, because she was picking up stuff that I could not hope to imagine (violets, rosebuds, leather...lost on me).

But how does she feel about stemless Riedel and the concept of terroir?