Before I dive into the actual topic of this article, Marengo Barolo 2019, I need to make one thing clear. I do not consider myself a wine critic. If we go by Wikipedia’s definition of the word, I guess I technically could be called a wine critic. But I’d rather consider myself a wine lover, on a mission to help people drink good wines. I try to tell stories. About the winemakers. About the wines. Yes, I do write tasting notes. But when I do, I try to accompany those notes with some background information and perhaps a few anecdotes. I do this to try and give you the bigger picture. Not just my subjective opinions about the wines.
Which brings me to another point. If I taste a wine that I don’t like, I don’t write about it. If, for whatever reason, I don’t like a wine, I leave it alone. And there could be many reasons why I don’t like a wine. Maybe it was a bad bottle. Maybe there was something wrong with the wine. Or maybe I just didn’t like it. It wasn’t for me. It could also be that the wine was bad. Because there are wines out there that are bad. But who am I to tell the world that? Now, I understand that it’s a wine critics job to critique wine. But when I was little I learned that “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” This is especially true if what you say can affect someone’s life. Someone’s livelihood.
Some friends of mine recently received a particularly bad review of some of their wines. I won’t spend much time on that, but when I read that review I knew I had to taste those wines for myself to see they really were as bad as they were made out to be. And spoiler alert, they absolutely were not! My friends, Jenny and Marco, make excellent wines, and the 2019 Barolo’s are no different. I was also happy to see that Jancis Robinsons agrees with me, in her Financial Times article.
Jenny and Marco Marengo
Jenny and Marco Marengo are warm and generous people, who are very passionate about their wines. Together with their son, Stefano, the three of them work enthusiastically together in the pursuit of excellent winemaking. Marco really is a nerd, in the modern, positive, definition of the word. The same way Bill Gates is often referred to as a nerd, an expert and enthusiast, and obsessed with intellectual pursuit of winemaking.
And without further ado, here are my tasting notes on the Marengo Barolo 2019:
Marengo Barolo 2019
The classic Barolo has an intense nose with aromas of red fruit, flowers, tobacco and a hint of spices. The tannins are smooth. Round in the mouth, with good balance and quite long finish.
Marengo Barolo Bricco Delle Viole 2019
Beautiful nose on the Bricco Delle Viole. More explosive than intense. A bit more floral and fruity than the classic Barolo. Bigger tannins, but still smooth. A balanced, beautiful wine.
Marengo Barolo Brunate 2019
The Brunate was, not surprisingly, a bit more complex than the other two. Beautiful nose with aromas of red fruit and spices, with a hint of floral notes. Bigger tannins, more structure, yet smooth. Good balance with a long finish.
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