Date of visit: June 16, 2024
Every time we taste with Mario we learn something new. During our most recent visit, we learned that Mario’s family has been making wine in Castiglione Falletto since the 1600s. This news is the result of recent research conducted, which we think is pretty amazing. We spoke a bit about the changing climate conditions, and how it's impacted farming. Mario explained that over the years he’s opted to conduct less canopy management than in the past to help provide the grapes with shade, and protect them from burning. Vineyard rows have always been spaced one meter apart, and he continues to do so to encourage the roots to dig down deep into the soil.
For more information about this amazing producer, please refer back to our previous visits here: 2022, 2021, as well as Cascina Fontana’s website and Grand Cru Selections’s website.
Tasting notes:
2023 Langhe Nebbiolo (from barrel): Harvested October 14th. Very fresh and extremely expressive on the nose; candied red cherries and strawberries, new leather, and raspberries. The palate is very fresh, approachable, and juicy, filled with notes of candied red cherries, cherry juice, and hints of lilac, with fresh acidity, and very fine tannins. Fruit forward, and incredibly enjoyable now.
2023 Barolo (from barrel): Made from parcels in Villero (Castiglione Falletto), Giachini (La Morra), Mariondino (Castiglione Falletto), and Valletti (Castiglione Falletto), all of which are vinified separately. Elegant aromas of leather, balsamic, crushed cherries, beets, raspberries, crushed red fruits, cooked strawberries, and a faint hint of tar. The nose is somewhat reminiscent of the Langhe Nebbiolo, but more concentrated. The palate is structured and serious, with plenty of fresh fruit and acidity, and forward yet surprisingly approachable tannins. Fantastic balance.
2023 Barolo Castiglione Falletto (from barrel): Made exclusively from Nebbiolo grown in Villero and Mariondino. Sweet dried cherries, tar, licorice, balsamic, beets, and prunes on the nose. The palate is elegant and nearly weightless, with notes of wild strawberries, rose petals, and cherry juice, with silky fine tannins which linger on. This is more structured than the Barolo tasted previously, though it’s still shockingly approachable. Very direct and precise, with a persistent finish.
2023 Barolo Monforte d’Alba (from barrel): The first vintage of this wine was 2019, which we tasted during our previous visit. Mario explained that the soil in this parcel is brick red in color. They used to think this was clay, but it’s actually oxidized limestone. The soil yields a wine which tends to be richer, with more notes of iron, and a bloodiness to it. The wine undergoes an extremely unique aging process; after aging in cement and botti, it’s transferred to demijohns, and ages in the attic of a house under a clay roof for one year, where it’s exposed to warm and cool temperatures. The 2023 vintage hadn’t yet undergone this process yet when we tasted it. Aromas of crushed fresh and dried cherries, new leather, and anise. The palate is juicy, and filled with fine, but very much present, teeth coating tannins, fresh acidity, and an abundance of meaty, juicy, red fruit flavors. The tannins are larger than the previous two Barolo, and the overall profile is richer. This is seriously structured, and will reward those who wait. An outstanding Barolo.
2020 Barolo Classico: This wine was bottled just one month ago, and the bottle we tasted was opened a few days ago. An abundance of roses immediately leaps out of the glass, along with raspberries, black currants, ripe red cherries, and new leather. The palate is juicy, very fresh, clean, and approachable today, filled with lively acidity, fine tannins, and a persistent finish.
Thank You
Grazie mille Luisa and Mario, and the entire team at Cascina Fontana for sharing your amazing wines with us, and inviting us back once again. We absolutely love your wines, and hope to see you again very soon. A presto!
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