Barolo 2000

[Botafogo]

Mr. Suckling is completely off base in his assessment of the 2000 vintage which is even LESS classic and typical of great Barolo than the 1997 vintage. 1996 and 2001 are going to be the great vintages of recent times according to most growers with any integrity and almost all European critics and lovers of the Langhe.

Having said that, he liked the 2000 BECAUSE they were high in alcohol, fruit forward and not so tannic (in essence, more like Californian and Australian wines) and not structured like classic Barolo. This means you can drink them earlier (maybe 3-5 years from now would be a good time to start) but they will never have the incredible complexity of classic vintages.

This same thing happened with 89 vs 90 and 96 vs 97 with the earlier vintage being classic and the later of the pairs being very hot and overblown (and hyped by Suckling and Parker) and the comparison tastings being sone now really tell the tale.

Roberto

For a REALLY thorough discussion of this and more, check here:

http://fora.erobertparker.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/1/37181.html

[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 08-10-2004).]