Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/101724
THE MESSAGE Whether THE TASTING PANEL goes to the brand execs or the brands call us, there is an abundance of news to report, from the latest releases to behind-the-scenes experiences with some of the world's most influential importers, winemakers, distillers . . . well, you name it. Brief Encounters We may not have enough pages in each issue to devote as much attention as we would like to each person whose path we cross, but please note that if it's in the publication, we deem it noteworthy —Meridith May, Publisher & Executive Editor Pietro Ratti: The Baron of Barolo is father would be so proud—the father, of course, being Renato Ratti, the founder of Renato Ratti Wines, and the son, Pietro Ratti, the current owner and winemaker, who picked up the reins where his father left off and continued the family tradition of making some of the inest Barolos in the world. PHOTO: ELIZABETH KATE Barolo Rocche from the Rocche vineyard in the Marcenasco area. A gorgeous, graceful wine with a fine nose of roses and licorice and a seductive palate of dried red cherries and cinnamon spice with velvety soft tannins. The wine can only be called "Barolo" if it is made from Nebbiolo grapes grown in the hillside vineyards of the towns surrounding the town of Barolo, including La Morra, Castiglione-Falleto and Serralunga d'Alba, to name a few. The soils of Castiglione-Falleto and Serralunga 16 / the tasting panel / january 2013 d'Alba are Helvetian and produce intense, fullbodied masculine wines with powerful tannins, which require years of bottle aging. The soils of Barolo and La Morra are Tortonian and produce structured wines that are soft, feminine, and aromatic but with a irm tannic backbone. The Barolos of Renato Ratti Wines are grown in La Morra. Renato Ratti bought his irst Barolo vineyard in 1965 in the historic zone of La Morra called Marcenasco and created his irst wine, the Marcenasco Barolo. With his nephew, Massimo Martinelli, Ratti Sr. perfected viniication and aging techniques to create wines of great elegance and longevity. They expanded production to other La Morra vineyards and truly made a name for Renato Ratti Wines. Renato Ratti's untimely death in 1988 left the family business to his son, budding enologist Pietro Ratti. "I never worked with my father," Pietro explains, "but I feel I have got- PHOTO: ELIZABETH KATE H ten to know him through his wines, his work and the people who worked with him." Pietro nimbly carried on his father's name and tradition of quality through expansion and restoration of the family's vineyards and continuing scientiic research on the soils and vines of the area. ─Elizabeth Kate