2008 Barolo, Riserva Runcot, Elio Grasso

2008 Barolo, Riserva Runcot, Elio Grasso

2008 Barolo, Riserva Runcot,
Elio Grasso

2008 Barolo, Riserva Runcot, Elio Grasso - £620 per 6 bottle case in bond
Gianluca Grasso’s Barolo Runcot is causing a stir in recent vintages and our offer of the 2016 sold out in record time, not that the 2015 or 2013 hung around! This offer affords you an opportunity to purchase a mature example at the best available price in the UK. The stock is already with us in our cellars at LCB Eton Park and is therefore available for immediate despatch.
 
Since taking over from his father Elio, Gianluca has worked tirelessly to bring about added refinement and consistency in the wines of Elio Grasso. I have been visiting the Grassos since the 2001 vintage and have known their wines from bottle since the 1996 vintage. In the last decade they have lifted the bar hugely. As with a number of other estates, they have benefited from an unprecedented run of high-quality vintages, dictated first and foremost by the weather during the growing season, but equally Gianluca’s deft hand in winemaking has brought about greater purity and nuance in the estate’s wines. Gianluca, and his father Elio, have always stressed that wine is made in the vineyard. Gianluca is obsessive about determining the perfect moment to harvest and appreciates sometimes you have to risk something to gain something if you want to allow Nebbiolo a longer hang-time than might be the case in certain vintages.

Runcot has always been Gianluca’s personal project. It comes from a south-facing sloping vineyard at 300-350 metres in altitude with a clayey, limestone base. The vines are on average 30 years old.  Unusually for Grasso, the wine is aged exclusively in French oak barriques. Critics were initially a little sceptical about the ageing; you can see pick that up in Galloni’s note from a decade ago. Given his comments on the recently released 2016, it seems he has come around to Gianluca’s way of thinking!
 
I have included the scores for all vintages since 2008 – it is worth noting that Runcot is not made in every vintage. I have also shown where the UK market starts for each vintage.

2020                    (95-98)                  not yet released
2019                     97                          not yet released             
2016                     100                        £1070 per 6
2015                     96                          £750 per 6
2013                     97+                        £1200 per 6
2010                     96+                        £725 per 6
2008                     95+                        £620 per 6

Here is Antonio Galloni’s full note, written in January 2014. He hasn’t retasted or rescored the wine since. I tasted late last year and would suggest that the wine has matured brilliantly – now a decade on since Galloni tasted, it has gained considerable complexity. The richness and dark fruits that it showed in its youth remain, but those balsamic notes have developed as well as notes of leather, autumnal leaf and more evident spice. This was always such an impressive wine; the time in barrique had really brought out the elegance and rounded the tannins. Today it is both a wine of undeniable richness but also superb elegance. Galloni used the plus sign to suggest the 2008 had the potential to improve – I think he was right. And relative to the other vintages of Runcot, which now trade for considerably more, this is a bargain.  


2008 Barolo, Riserva Runcot, Elio Grasso
£620 per 6 bottle case in bond
(12 cases available)

95+ points, Antonio Galloni - vinous.com - January 2014
Made from a 1.2-hectare parcel of vines planted in 1989. You seldom see Neirane noted as a Cru on a label as it invariably features in blends. Neirane is situated in Verduno on the border with La Morra. The wines of Verduno are championed as being amongst the most elegant in Barolo as the soils here comprise a notable proportion of sand as well as clay. It means Barolo from Verduno can be broached quite early as the tannins are not as prominent and bold as you will find in other communes such as Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba or Castiglione Falletto. Drink 2018-2038.

I have also included a slightly more recent tasting note from Monica Larner below.


Website offer bottle shots (29)
97 points, Monica Larner - The Wine Advocate - June 2015
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Rüncot is an exceptional wine that is only made in the best years. It was produced in 2008, 2010 and 2013. The wine undergoes a 40-day maceration time with four years in oak and one more year of bottle aging. The results are sublime and generous. Riserva Rüncot opens to a beautifully tempered and expressive bouquet that exhibits elements of wild berry, forest floor, candied fruit, licorice, cola and dried ginger. The balsamic signature is particularly beautiful and elegant. Smooth and silky tannins denote the mouthfeel and carry the wine forward over the palate. This is one of the top releases from Piedmont this year. Drink 2017-2040.

An offer for all those clients who regularly ask me for ready drinking Barolo!
 
Please let us know of your interest.
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