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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 86.7 pts. and median of 86 pts. in 9 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 9/2/2023: Opened a bit early and then decanted for sediment and rebottled. I had higher hopes for this. From the really great producers I've almost always truly loved the '58s. This one was alright but given the line-up of '58s we had it didn't really stand out and it was prob 3x the price of the others. Good learning. Perhaps didn't prep it exactly right and so next time will decant for sediment immediately and then give it a bit of time to come into it's own. (595 views) | | | Tasted by cct on 2/4/2017 & rated 86 points: Post Festa Dinner at Hearth
Soy and tertiary. Autumnal, redder fruited, with decaying leaves, dried porcini, and a fading gracefulness. My necro palate has a soft spot for this phase of life, but this is hanging on by its fingernails. 86 (3319 views) | | | Tasted by kenv on 2/5/2016 & rated 97 points: Gala Dinner at Antonio Galloni's La Festa del Barolo (Four Seasons Restaurant, NYC): [A pour from a bottle brought by Daniel M.] Wow! I think the best bottle I have ever had of this wine. Stunningly complex in the nose and mouth. Has that great sweetness and purity of fruit that I've had in the best bottles of 1958 Cantina Mascarello Barolo. Still has some tannin on the super long finish. (5050 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 8/30/2013 & rated 86 points: Very mature, overly mature red fruit aromas with charming earthy spice. Lots of earth throughout, this is a bottle more interesting than tasty. (5163 views) | | | Tasted by Dave Dalluge on 8/23/2011: Burgundy and Barolo at Heidi's: Double decanted about four hours before serving. The cork came out largely intact, immediately producing shocking aromas of VA/nail polish. There was close to an inch of sludge on the bottom of the bottle. Once the wine was safely back in the rinsed bottle I corked it and sucked the air out to minimize oxygen exposure. When poured at the restaurant it had a shocking light orange color, more reminiscent of rose than Barolo. The nose still showed some prominent VA/nail polish but also developed some beautiful aromas of grand mariner and brown sugar. This was much better on the palate. Obviously lacking some of the stuffing that had precipitated out, but what was left had a special smooth and silky texture. Great old-wine flavors of orange rind and tar. Long, enjoyable finish. While not in the same league as the otherworldly '58 Monfortino this proved to be most enjoyable and memorable. (6553 views) | | | Tasted by dant on 4/8/2008 & rated 94 points: While light in color, very aromatic with full flavor. Well aged but not over the hill (6611 views) | | | Tasted by Gregory Dal Piaz on 7/2/2007 & rated 73 points: Dinner with the Astorettes as we bid good bye to Acky (EU): This is a much lighter colored wine than only a few months ago having dropped much of it's solids leaving a pale onion skin colored wine that did rosy up a bit with air. The nose is sweaty sock at first with notes of sweet anise, tar, soy, cocoa, and earth adding some complexity. In the mouth the attack is round and soft but the palate is dominated by spiky acidity, the core of earthy fruit still has an echo or two of berries but the burning acidity quickly clears them away, the finish is decidedly earthy closer to wheat beer and apple cider than wine. An intellectual exercize. (5308 views) | | | Tasted by Gregory Dal Piaz on 3/11/2007 & rated 78 points: 19 bottles of barolo or how I drank my Monfortini; 3/10/2007-3/11/2007 (6h): This is consistant with other bottles from thiis lot. I was going to do a slow oxegenation experiment with two bottles of this but there was no point as this was wildly volatile apon opening around 2 pm and at 7 pm had barely improved showing a nose that was pure tootsie roll and madeira. The mouthfeel was fresh and crisp but the flavor profile here was just another set of over the hill flavors. Too bad. (4055 views) | | | Tasted by Gregory Dal Piaz on 3/11/2007 & rated 93 points: 19 bottles of barolo or how I drank my Monfortini; 3/10/2007-3/11/2007 (6h): This was popped and poured much later in the evening. Antonio brought this, a purchase made in Italy. The bottle is almost identical to mine, pretty pristine labels. Same bottle. This is in complete contrast to the volatile and maderized mess of those bottles. Fresh with herb, tar, gunpowder and mineral notes on the nose over a solid foundation of fruit. In the mouth this is clean and youthful with great balance. My notes were getting pretty sloppy at this point but a very fine bottle. (5046 views) |
| Giacomo Conterno Producer website
Ken Vastola's fabulous guide to G. Conterno labels
Praelum: “Arguably the King of Barolo. No wine journey is complete without the tasting of one of the great Conternos. ‘Only premium quality can bring prestige to the Langhe.’ Giovanni Conterno taught his two sons Giacomo and Roberto after World War I to ferment and age wines in Bottis with prolonged maceration and ageing. The brothers split in 1969 and Giacomo started investing in his own vineyards since 1974. The wines of Cascina Francia, Monfortino and recently, Ceretta from Serralunga d’Alba are amongst the finest expressions of Nebbiolo that the wine world has ever seen. 4-6 years ageing usually.”NebbioloNebbiolo is a red grape indigenous to the Piedmont region of Italy in the Northwest. The grape can also be found in other parts of the world, though they are not as respected.
Nebbiolo is often considered the "king of red wines," as it is the grape of the famed wines of Barolo DOCG, Barbaresco DOCG, and Roero DOCG. It is known for high tannins and acidity, but with a distinct finesse. When grown on clay, Nebbiolo can be very powerful, tannic, and require long aging periods to reach its full potential. When grown on sand, the grape exhibits a more approachable body with more elegant fruit and less tannins, but still has high aging potential.
"Nebbiolo" is named for the Italian word, "nebbia", which means "fog", in Italian and rightfully so since there is generally a lot of fog in the foothills of Piedmont during harvest.
Nebbiolo is a late-ripening variety that does best in a continental climate that boasts moderate summers and long autumns. In Piedmont, Nebbiolo is normally harvested in October.
More links:
Varietal character (Appellation America) | Nebbiolo on CellarTrackerItaly Italian Wines (ItalianMade.com, The Italian Trade Commission) | Italian Wine Guide on the WineDoctorPiedmont Vignaioli Piemontesi (Italian only)
On weinlagen-infoLanghe Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Roero | Union of Producers of Albese Wines (Albeisa)BaroloRegional History:
The wines of Piedmont are noted as far back as Pliny's Natural History. Due to geographic and political isolation, Piedmont was without a natural port for most of its history, which made exportation treacherous and expensive. This left the Piedmontese with little incentive to expand production. Sixteenth-century records show a mere 14% of the Bassa Langa under vine -- most of that low-lying and farmed polyculturally. In the nineteenth century the Marchesa Falletti, a frenchwoman by birth, brought eonologist Louis Oudart from Champagne to create the first dry wines in Piemonte. Along with work in experimental vineyards at Castello Grinzane conducted by Camilo Cavour -- later Conte di Cavour, leader of the Risorgimento and first Prime Minister of Italy -- this was the birth of modern wine in the Piedmont. At the heart of the region and her reputation are Alba and the Langhe Hills. This series of weathered outcroppings south of the Tanaro River is of maritime origin and composed mainly of limestone, sand and clay, known as terra bianca. In these soils -located mainly around the towns of Barolo and Barbaresco -- the ancient allobrogica, now Nebbiolo, achieves its renowned fineness and power.
map of Barolo DOCG
An interesting thread on Traditional vs. Modern Barolo producers:
https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106291 |
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