About this Event
On Saturday October 17th we will open the below six wines for tasting. This is a tasting for Five Way Cellars staff as much as it is for customers. In many cases, this will be our first look at some of these wines. If you’re intrigued to discover something new in Piemonte, please join us. The tasting will be casual but ticketed. Come any time between 1-3pm. Tickets are $55 and can be booked here or paid for on the door. This is what we’ll open:
Carlo Giacosa Barbaresco Montefico 2021
Elio Sandri Langhe Nebbiolo 2023
Elio Sandri Barolo Perno 2019
Flavio Roddolo Nebbiolo D'Alba 2015
Flavio Roddolo Barolo 2015
Vaira Aurelj Nebbiolo 'Fuorizona' 2023
Vintage is well and truly underway in Piemonte! I was there in mid-September and the villages of Barolo are alive with activity.
While many producers already had Barbera and Dolcetto in the shed, many were about to start picking Nebbiolo while I was there. Our source on the ground (my girlfriend Eleonora) is working vintage at Giuseppe Rinaldi and is sharing regular updates. Rinaldi picked Nebbiolo across three separate Barolo sites between September 21-28.
Initial reports suggest that Rinaldi and others have been surprised and relieved at the quality of fruit coming through the door despite the hot and dry season. The resilience of the vine is strong… Time will tell how these wines turn out but perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised once we finally see the end results.
Pictures here are mainly from Rinaldi’s site in Bussia which has been the most challenging to pick due to the gradient of the slope but also the most rewarding and beautiful. Here the vines share their microclimate with wild mint and rocket. It is a picturesque amphitheatre. Known as one of the benchmark producers of the region, Eleonora was nonetheless amazed at the attention to detail in the vineyard and the level of knowledge possessed by sisters Carlotta and Marta Rinaldi. Vineyards are not assessed and treated row by row, they’re treated on a plant by plant basis.
One of many benefits of spending a month in Barolo as Eleonora is, is getting a bit of local insight into the wine market: which producers other winemakers look up to, which wines these people reach for at the end of the day, who is up and coming and a name to watch. A few names have come onto our radar for the very first time and we share them with you here…
Around the winery at Giuseppe Rinaldi, a producer that is spoken of quite highly is Elio Sandri. Based in Monforte, the vineyards are farmed organically and the wines made in a no-frills manner and raised in a slow and traditional method.
The other name that has popped up is Flavio Roddolo. Apparently these can even be hard to find in Piemonte, so having never heard of the producer myself, I started to understand why. Despite the scarcity, a small quality-focused Melbourne importer has these wines in his portfolio, so we are able to offer them to customers.
The third producer I’ll mention was more of a discovery of our own. Before flying home, Eleonora and I had lunch at Ristorante Antica Torre right in the heart of Barbaresco. Keen to find a producer on the list we were not familiar with, we landed on a bottle of Carlo Giacosa Barbaresco Montefico 2021. A few things drew us in: the great vintage, the reputable cru and the famous surname (family ties go back to the fame Bruno Giacosa estate) all suggested that this wine was worth a try. We were thrilled with what we tasted.
Finally, Vaira Aurelj is a name that keeps appearing on the ‘one to watch’ list. They are not to be confused with their close (and much larger) neighbours Vajra located in the same village.
Please get in touch to receive our full offer on the wines from these producers.
Event venue & nearby stays
Five Way Cellars, 4 Heeley Street, Paddington, Australia
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