It was a fight between the King (Barolo) and the Queen (Barbaresco) of Piedmonte. The competition was keen, and the score was tied Two-All before the nail biting last round decided the winner of the contest. The contest was so close that in two of the rounds, only one vote separated the winner from the loser.
In the end, it was a narrow 3 - 2 victory for the Barbaresco Team in the Nebiolo shoot-out held on the 19th October. Made from the same grapes, there was no much to separate the King from the Queen of Piemonte. There are generally two winemaking schools here, the modern (spearheaded by Angelo Gaja) and the traditional school (now increasing in the minority). However each school would make their Barolos and Barbarescoes in the same style. Only a few things separate the two wines. Barbaresco lies in the more northerly position, so the grapes are therefore grown in a cooler climate, and this shows in the wine being less fruit driven - having a softer, greener more elegant style. The other difference is in the barrel aging before release. Barolos are kept for 3 years, whilst Barbarescoes are kept only for two. The similarities between the two wines therefore made the contest a very close one.
We had 5 flights of wines - one each of Barolo and Barbaresco - and we voted which was the better immediately after each round. Here are the results:
THE OVERALL FAVOURITE (MOST VOTES)
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco DCOG 1999
THE OTHER WINNING WINES
Gaja Gromis (Barolo) 1999
FontanaFredda Barolo 2000
Salvano Barbaresco DCOG 1998
Terredavino Barbaresco La Casa in Callina 2001
LOSERS
Dezzani Barbaresco 1999
Bava Barbaresco 1998
Bava Barolo 1995
Deltetto Bussia Barolo 1997
Badarina Bersano Barolo 1997