Barolo Tasting
Los Angeles
Tasted Sunday, March 13, 2011 by aagrawal with 518 views
Introduction
I was in LA to take an exam, and Kent (from one of the wine boards) kindly invited me to a wine and dinner event. Since Kent is a fan of Paolo Scavino barolo, I mailed him two of my bottles and he put together a larger flight.
He ended up putting together a blind flight of six wines: 5 barolo and 1 barbaresco. All the barolo was from Paolo Scavino, and two of the bottles were the same (99 Cannubi). One Cannubi was slow-oxed from 8am, and one was popped and poured just before the tasting. The rest of the barolo was slow-oxed. The goals of that flight was to first pick the barbaresco from the group of six, then to see if we could pick the two wines that were the same, and lastly whether we could say which one was slow-oxed.
Flight 1 - Champagne (2 Notes)
Some delicious champagne to start. I only started liking champagne after Kent introduced me to Jacques Selosse's Initiale the last time I was in LA, so I was interested in seeing what he was going to serve this time. I loved the 96 Jacquesson because of it's purity of flavor and lovely tart finish. I appreciated the Jean Milan but thought that one still had room to grow and develop. Maybe I like the more oxidized style of Champagne?
Flight 2 - Barolo (6 Notes)
A large proportion of us (about half from a group of 7-8) were able to pick out the Giuseppe Barbaresco. Honestly, I think the nose reminded me exactly of a california cab and so it stood out pretty strongly against the red/floral/perfumed nose of the barolo. I think that the barbaresco would have been better appreciated served in a flight of different wines... it just didn't jive with the theme of the tasting. Some mentioned that maybe the wine had some brett and funk, but I think it was just a lot of oak and black fruit.
I believe that I was the only one to pick the pair of wines that were both the Cannubi, but I switched the one that had been slow-oxed with the one that was popped and poured.
My two favorites (picked blind) from this flight was the 97 and the 2000 Carobric! They both had such an intoxicating nose that they stood out in the flight and I really enjoyed both of them.
Overall, the major lesson to be learned from this flight is that ALL of these wines need at least another 5-10 years. They were all enjoyable now, but had strong tannins that needed to integrate a little better.
Flight 3 - Sweet (1 Note)
Some of the other guests at the dinner brought a lovely selection of Indian desserts (which means very, very sweet). They were tasty and enjoyable, but I definitely preferred the Donnhoff. My first Donnhoff! It definitely lived up to its reputation.
Closing
This was a great night of not only wines and food (Kent can be quite the chef), but also spectacular company. I was very proud that I was able to pick out the barbaresco as well as the two cannubi from the lineup, and it shows that maybe my wine tasting efforts have been a success. To think that just 18 months ago I didn't know anything about wine! These tastings are also very educational: I now know that perhaps slow-ox doesn't make a difference for me with younger wines, I realized that I really like Carobric, and I also got my first taste of Donnhoff. Thanks again Kent!
1996 Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Brut Millésimé 92 Points
France, Champagne
Yeasty nose, nice balanced palate with a tart green apple finish. Mouth-watering. I tend to like a little bit of the oxidized style.
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2002 Jean Milan Champagne Grand Cru Terres de Noel Blanc de Blancs Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Nice and balanced. Yeasty but not overwhelming. Fresh, bit of tartness. Less oxidized, more crisp minerality. A very subtle wine, may open with time. Has potential to improve. 90+
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