VN (94)
The 2021 Barbaresco Giacone Lorens is a dark, sensual wine that beautifully captures the mystery of Treiso. Black cherry, plum, rose petal, lavender and coffee open gradually, revealing a layered, resonant Barbaresco of tremendous class and personality. The 2021 spent 30 days on the skins, including submerged cap maceration followed by two years in cask.
- By Antonio Galloni on September 2024
I have seldom seen a transformation as dramatic as what has taken place at Lodali over the last few years. In the 1990s, Walter Lodali made dark, potent, heavily extracted wines that were not particularly distinguished for the time. Ten years ago, tired of wines made by consultants, Lodali decided to focus solely on wine. “At the time, I ran two restaurants, and I made wine, all of which I did poorly,” Lodali says. His first decision was to delegate operations of his outside businesses to others in order to devote all his attention to the vineyards and cellar. Changes started in earnest in 2017 and then developed gradually over time. The results are nothing short of stunning. Today’s wines embody the essence of finesse.
Lodali farms 18 hectares of estate vineyards and purchases some outside fruit. The winery is modern, clean and outfitted with quality barrels. Readers will note the addition of several new wines in the range, including vineyard-designate offerings that are the result of Lodali’s desire to highlight the qualities of his sites. There are essentially three lines. The ‘classic’ wines (Barbaresco Rocche dei 7 Fratelli, Barolo Bricco Ambrogio) are fermented in cement, without submerged cap maceration and are aged in cask. The Lorens line is a selection of older vineyards. These wines are fermented in cement, with submerged cap maceration, and aged in cement. The flagship Barbaresco Riserva Rocche Massalupo is vinified in neutral tonneaux, with submerged cap maceration, some stem inclusion and manual punchdowns. It spends three years in cask with minimal racking. The Riserva emerges from a sector in Barbaresco that has never been as highly regarded as others. Perhaps that is about to change. Readers who have not tasted these wines in some years owe it to themselves to do so, as they are truly special.
