Azienda Agricola Gabutti (Boasso)
Boasso is one of a number of high quality traditionalist producers in Barolo that just doesn't get much attention here in the US. Today you should pay attention, however, because we have two of their... Read More
Boasso is one of a number of high quality traditionalist producers in Barolo that just doesn't get much attention here in the US. Today you should pay attention, however, because we have two of their wines from the excellent 2006 vintage at current release prices.
Boasso is tiny. The family farms just 4.5 hectares of vines, all in Serralunga. They have bottled their own wines since the 1970s.
So let’s talk about Serralunga, one of the best known and most loved villages of Barolo. The key to understanding the village is limestone, for there is more here than anywhere else in Barolo. This helps to produce the area’s biggest and most long-lived wines.
But Serralunga is not monolithic, and Boasso provides us with a chance to explore its nuances by presenting two different single-cru wines from the village. Margheria is considered one of the village’s greatest. It is west-facing site in the heart of the village, producing Serralunga that is typically a little more forward than wines from elsewhere in the village. Gabutti, meanwhile, is Serralunga on steroids: high limestone intensity and a southeast exposition makes for very broad, long-lived wines. It’s a site that has become well-known thanks to its famous holder, Cappellano, whose vines are just below Boasso’s.
Boasso ages their wines only in large botti. When we tasted the wines, one of us did notice the slightest hint of oak, but this is not due to the use of barriques but rather because the winery acquired a new botto in 2003 — you do have to replace your casks from time to time and when you do you might get a few vintages that are slightly woodier than usual. One other thing to note about the wine-making is that the macerations here are on the shorter side for a traditionalist producer. It is their way to temper the naturally heavy structure of Serralunga’s wines.