Corino: a special family in the heart of Barolo

The last stage of the press tour Pellegrini was at Barolo, from the company Corino. When you think of a 'family' winery, you think of a reality exactly like this one! But its winemaking history began with previous generations, when in 1952 Celeste Corino moved with his wife and children to Annunziata di La Morra to work as a sharecropper on a number of farmsteads in the area. His son Giovanni inherited his passion for the land and founded the current company. In the beginning, as often happens, most of the grapes produced were destined for sale. In the 1980s, Giovanni's son Giuliano joined the winery at a very young age and the very first hectolitres of Barolo began to be bottled. In 1987 a new path was taken for the time: thinning out in the vineyard to improve quality, short fermentations at a controlled temperature and ageing in small French oak barrels. Today the company cultivates 9 hectares of vineyards in the commune of La Morra and produces around 50,000 bottles a year. His wife Stefania and children Veronica and Andrea collaborate with Giuliano in running the company.

After the tasting and visit to the winery, we stopped for lunch at Corino's and I must say that we ate really divinely! A few carefully chosen things, and the raw materials were of the highest quality, as they should be. The knife-beaten fassona was exceptional, delicious! I count it among the best I have ever eaten! I also loved the Russian salad and the vitello tonnato. 

I also discovered a sweet that stole my heart: the lamorrese with barolo by Giovanni Cogno! How delicious! I've promised myself that for 21 days I won't eat chocolate... but after that I'd like to eat at least one so I need to find out how to get them back!!! I have just a 10 year old Porto Kopke that would go really well with it... 😍

Corino: my tastings

"Barolo del comune di la morra" 2015, barolo DOCG - corino

[from 31€].

100% nebbiolo. Maceration takes place in a rotofermenter at a controlled temperature of between 25°C and 30°C and lasts 5 to 7 days. After racking, it is racked into steel tanks for the precipitation of the bottoms, where it remains until the end of the sugar fermentation and malolactic fermentation. It is then racked into small used French oak barrels, where it remains for 24 months. Finally, it is assembled in steel where it remains for about 6 months, after which it is bottled and left to refine for about a year before release.

👁 Transparent ruby red. Consistent.

👃 Intense and elegant with notes of chocolate, morello cherry, black pepper and a barely noticeable clove finish. On the second passage through the nose, leather and a hint of rare meat emerges strongly, then fades into a slight mineral accent and a mentholated finish.

👄 It enters impetuously, with that 'something' I call peasant wine but developed in an extremely pleasant way. It has a very 'masculine' cut. Great structure, tannins a little astringent but overall amalgamated. Well balanced between softness and hardness, long finish

🔥 Outstanding value for money.

"Barolo giachini" 2015, barolo DOCG - corino

[from 48€].

100% nebbiolo. Maceration takes place in a rotofermenter at a controlled temperature of between 25°C and 30°C and lasts 5 to 7 days. After racking, it is racked into steel tanks to precipitate the sediment, where it remains until the end of sugar fermentation and malolactic fermentation. Maturation in new and used small French oak 35% and 65% casks, where it remains for 24 months. It is then assembled in steel, where it remains for 6 months, after which it is bottled and left to refine for approximately one year before release.

👁 Transparent ruby red. Consistent.

👃 Aromas of violets, pipe tobacco, bitter cocoa, cherries in spirit, black pepper, vanilla, almonds intertwine.

👄 Very intense and elegant. It has softer tannins and is overall more ready. Great freshness, but still pleasantly soft. It has a less masculine edge and is different as you would expect from the nose, not because it is not consistent, on the contrary, but you expect a less ready wine. Discreetly long toasty finish.

🔥 The nose is more elegant and less intense than La Morra. 

"Barolo bricco manescotto 2015, barolo DOCG - corino

[from 48€].

100% nebbiolo. Maceration takes place in a rotofermenter at a controlled temperature of between 25°C and 30°C and lasts 5 to 7 days. After racking, it is decanted into steel vats for the precipitation of the bottoms, where it remains until the end of sugar fermentation and malolactic fermentation. Matured in small French oak casks 35% new and 65% used, where it remains for 24 months. It is then assembled in steel where it remains for 6 months, after which it is bottled and left to refine for about a year before release.

👁 Intense, concentrated ruby red, transparent. Consistent.

👃 Completely different from the first two, because it is more focused on fruit, both fresh and under spirit. More mineral notes, with a very pleasant accent of graphite. On the nose porcini mushroom, blackberry, chocolate, very intense almond that fade into a slight vegetal scent.

👄 Broader than the other two, with more imposing but not aggressive tannin, great structure and very good balance. Less ready, long finish.

🔥 It has great ageing potential!

"Barolo arborina" 2015, barolo DOCG - corino

[from 52€]

100% nebbiolo. The vineyard is only 300 metres from the Giachini vineyard, but is on the other side and enjoys a different exposure and a more calcareous soil. Maceration takes place in a rotofermenter at a controlled temperature between 25°C and 30°C and lasts 5 to 7 days. After racking, it is decanted into steel vats for the precipitation of the bottoms, where it remains until the end of sugar fermentation and malolactic fermentation. Matured in small French oak casks 35% new and 65% used, where it remains for 24 months. It is then assembled in steel where it remains for 6 months, after which it is bottled and left to refine for about a year before release.

👁 Transparent ruby red, very concentrated. Consistent.

👃 Particularly fruity, intense and elegant. Strawberry yoghurt, fresh strawberries and brown sugar, blood orange, white pepper, raspberry, white chocolate, marjoram blossom, peppermint, mineral accent fading into a well-defined almond.

👄Coerent, extremely elegant, very soft but also fresh and slightly savoury. The tannin is well present and well amalgamated. In the mouth, I sensed a taste of oysters. Structured but not powerful, ample. Long, very fruity finish.

🔥 Of all the Barolos tasted, this is the one that stole my heart. To buy and buy again, drink and keep, without a second thought!

"Barolo riserva 2013, barolo DOCG - corino

[from 88€].

100% nebbiolo from a 66-year-old vineyard. Maceration takes place in a rotofermenter at a controlled temperature of between 25°C and 30°C and lasts 5 to 7 days. After racking, it is decanted into steel vats for the precipitation of the bottoms, where it remains until the end of sugar fermentation and malolactic fermentation. Matured in new and used 50% small French oak barrels, where it remains for 24 months. It is then assembled in steel where it remains for 6 months, after which it is bottled and left to refine for approximately 30 months before release.

👁 Intense ruby red very concentrated and transparent with a garnet reflection at the edges. Consistent.

👃 Intense and elegant with notes that immediately turn to jam. Very fruity, one recognises strawberry jam, blackberry jam, black pepper, dried flowers, cinnamon, nutmeg, strawberry sorbet, caramel, chestnut honey, undergrowth and a slight medicinal nuance.

👄 Ample, very elegant, very well balanced and confirms its fruity and medicinal aftertaste. Tannin still a little green, still needs time to reach its climax, but not too much. Great persistence.

🔥 I really enjoyed it, especially the nose. I hope Corino will be pleased to let me taste it again in 2023, the year I am sure it will reach its peak.

I spent two wonderful days in Piedmont and tasted wines of the highest level. I had a great time at all three of the wineries we visited and the hospitality was also exceptional. But I am human, and I must say that I had a preference. Corino is a small place, sure, it is not the spectacular winery of Bruno Rocca, but the view is splendid and I saw the castle of Serralunga from its vineyards. The wines tasted were all of a high standard, but here the quality-price ratio really has an edge. Corino is an example of a winery where you can drink really well without spending 'out of reach'. And I'm not just saying that because I have a soft spot for Barolo! I really liked all the wines and it's great drinking starting with Dolcetto! So congratulations to this delightful family and many thanks to Pietro Pellegrini for introducing me to them!

Cheers🍷😍

 Chiara