Sipping on History: A Review and Tasting of the 2011 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Villero
Giacomo Fenocchio’s 2011 Barolo Villero has already taken the first step toward a wonderful evolution: the tannins have calmed down and opened up into a thousand flavors of earth, hazelnuts, and roots.
But what is surprising is its elegance, the subtlety of the stroke, and the incredible phrasing between an austere fruit, tickling sapidity, and an ethereal elegance that permeates the wine from top to bottom.
You will drink it naturally. It is a wine that makes you thirsty and prepares you for the next sip. It caresses your palate and gives pleasure in the mouth; it is pulpy but velvety despite being light-years away from muscularity and cooked fruit.
Mature and complex, yes, but always flawless.
How is it done?
The methods used to produce Giacomo Fenocchio’s Barolo Villero 2011 are the traditional ones: extended maceration, vinification in steel, and 30 months of aging in large barrels.
There are no barriques, vanilla, or steroids in the wine. Instead, it ages slowly and gets oxygen slowly, which lets it develop a crazy amount of aroma. It is still full and vigorous, but already in the background, there is a note of tar, licorice extract, and fruit in alcohol while not hinting at any silly marmalade.
Considering the price tag, it is a candidate as one of the best Barolos for value for money.
The bouquet
Elegant and ethereal on the nose, with balsamic notes of alpine herbs and cinchona, rocks, plums, rhubarb, and cocoa. It is expressive, but with tact, deep, but a certain severity keeps the fruit in check. The finish is pungent, long, and charming—pure elegance.
The taste
In the mouth, it is savory with the right tannic touch, but now its tannins, while still showing determination, are crunchy, elegant, sculpted, and tasty. The salt is perceptible and amplifies the length of the sip, which you wish would never end.
The balance is terrific: it is harmonious and clean, and it moves without hesitation with an elegant structure and a plush step.
Where was Giacomo Fenocchio’s Barolo Villero 2011 born?
Castiglione Falletto is one of the most renowned areas for structured wines in Barolo. When you consider that the Villero cru is one of the richest in clay and limestone, which restore full-bodied and structured wines, you can see how this wine was born with a significant legacy.
Despite this, the wine is good, with structure and, most importantly, drinkability. It’s not a standard wine, it doesn’t go on a vanilla track, but it tells a story.
Claudio Fenocchio (5th generation) doesn’t use any invasive methods in the cellar, and the yeasts are the ones that grow naturally on the grape skins.
Price
40-44 euros: one of the best value Barolo.
Food Pairings
BBQ recipes, tacos, black truffle risotto, passatelli with Parmigiano fondue and truffle, bucatini all’amatriciana, roast beef, hamburger.