Seattle Wine Group - Jan 2014 Tasting - Theme: Nebbiolo
Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue
Tasted Monday, January 20, 2014 by f22nickell with 543 views
Introduction
We met again in the Amaroso room, this time the theme was "Nebbiolo." Not suprisingly, we had all Barolos and Barbarescos. We had a wide range of vintages - from 1995 to 2007.
Flight 1 - Nebbiolo Wines (8 Notes)
Closing
This was a fantastic tasting. We all left with an increased appreciation for Piedmonte Nebbiolo wines.
1996 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne 90 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Bottle A of the Flight - Tasted Blind
APPEARANCE: Light, Garnet hue, ¼” to the Meniscus.
AROMA: a bit tight and unyielding at first, but it eventually opened up to roses, cranberry, sage, and lilac.
BODY: Dry Mouthfeel, a little harsh.
TASTE: Medium/high acidity right off the bat. The tannins not yet integrated, a bit harsh. Cranberry and oranges with hints of roasted herbs, roses and some other various floral tones.
FINSH: Finish was short, no mid-palate to speak of. Complexity was low.
OVERALL: Disappointed when I found out this was a 1996 Sandrone. I brought this bottle and had decanted it for 5+ hours before pouring it back into the bottle for the blind taste. Nice aroma and flavors, fairly balanced, but the acid was high and the finish was almost non existent.
SCORE: 90
RATING: 5th of 8 for me, 6th (tie) for group
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2005 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 87 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Bottle B – Tasted blind
APPEARANCE: Medium intensity, Ruby hue, 1/8” to the meniscus.
AROMA: Candied black cherry, a bit too sweet for me. Very modern nose with a healthy dose of oak.
BODY: Young, tight, very peppery in the mouth. Tannins not integrated.
TASTE: Rich tannins with a medium feel and a whole lot of oak as well as sour red fruits, dark black cherries and some bits of herbs. Good medium+ acidity, but the oak is very heavy.
FINSH: Finish was short, overwhelmed by the tannin and heat.
OVERALL: Way too much oak on this. Also, Tannins dominate the mid and finish, hard to tell what it will do with some time on it. The group as a whole really didn’t enjoy this wine.
SCORE: 87
RATING: 7th of 8 for me, 8th for group
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2007 Elvio Cogno Barolo Cascina Nuova 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Bottle C – Tasted blind
APPEARANCE: Medium intensity, brickish, orange hue, 1/4” to the meniscus.
AROMA: Classic tar and roses with a hint of licorice.
BODY: Smooth and velvety.
TASTE: Not a lot of fruit, just a hint of red berries, mainly cherry. Notes of brine and sandalwood add a lot of complexity, nicely woven together.
FINSH: Finish was long and complex, tannins were gentle.
OVERALL: Well balanced, nice mouthfeel. Extremely surprised to find out how young this wine is. A very elegant, classy wine with the acidity to go for years to come. The entire group thought this to be the oldest wine of lineup.
SCORE: 92
RATING: 2nd out of 8 for me, 1st for group
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2000 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Riserva Vürsù Vigneto Gallina 90 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Bottle D – Tasted blind
APPEARANCE: Cloudy, brickish, dark orange hue, 1/4” to the meniscus.
AROMA: Classic floral notes, lilacs and roses, slight tobacco.
BODY: A bit tight, dry astringent mouthfeel, some heat.
TASTE: Some darker fruits and leathery earth hints. dried fruits with nice tobacco flavors, spice hints add interest.
FINSH: Finish was long and complex, but some backward tannins a pretty high acidity.
OVERALL: Well integrated, but good balance throughout and structure that suggests many years ahead before maturity. Not overly complex, but very tasty and approachable at this stage
SCORE: 90
RATING: 4th out of 8 for me, 3rd for group
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2003 Eugenio Bocchino Barolo La Serra 87 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Bottle E – Tasted blind
APPEARANCE: Light, Garnet, 1/8” to the meniscus.
AROMA: Nose of black cherry, herbs, some black licorice and floral notes.
BODY: Incredibly tannic and astringent, almost unapproachable.
TASTE: Similar to the nose on the palate with a stewed red fruit mid palate and dry, tannic finish. Medium acid.
FINSH: Finish was short. tannic beast. No complexity or balance to speak of.
OVERALL: Pretty much a bust to me. Hard to get past the chewable tannins. This wine has a lot of filling out to do, and I’m not sure it has the stuffing to get there.
SCORE: 87
RATING: 8th out of 8 for me, 6th (tie) for group
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1999 Paolo Scavino Barolo Cannubi 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Bottle F – Tasted blind
APPEARANCE: Light, Garnet, 1/8” to the meniscus.
AROMA: Nose orange peel, mushrooms, roses, dried fruits, craisins … a real smorgasbord!
BODY: Cashmere-soft and velvety smooth.
TASTE: Lots of earthy notes and red fruit. A sweet undertone in the core adds to the density and layes on the palate. Very vibrant and alive, flavors morph as they compete for attention.
FINSH: Long, perfectly balanced finish. Very complex
OVERALL: This bottle was running on all cylinders. Great nose of Borolo goodness and a full spectrum of wonderful flavors all with a lightness of body that reminds me of GC Burgundy. Long sweet finish. Drinking well although will improve for many years. Truly excellent wine.
SCORE: 94
RATING:1st out of 8 for me, 2nd for group
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1995 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Cerequio 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Bottle G – Tasted blind
APPEARANCE: Light, clear orange 1/8” to the meniscus.
AROMA: An intriguing nose. Fresh asphalt and tar, balsam, truffle, with supple stony fruits.
BODY: A bit tart and dusty.
TASTE: Really muted, but what was there had more umami- savory secondary flavors with fruit and decaying leaves, truffle, leather, meat and olive.
FINSH: short and not very complex
OVERALL: Maybe this wine needed some more air time as it never seemed to unravel. Some sourness on the back end detracts; the finish here is a tad unpleasant which lowers the score. The tannins and acids here are outlasting the fruit. The group liked this one more than I did.
SCORE: 88
RATING: 6th out of 8 for me, 4th for group
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1996 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sorì Ginestra 91 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Bottle H – Tasted blind
APPEARANCE: Light, Ruby 1/16” to the meniscus.
AROMA: very pretty floral, tar, leather, and forest floor.
BODY: dense, large scaled, but a bit nondescript.
TASTE: Nice plum and red berry fruit with silky texture.
FINSH: The tannins kept it going, but the fruit and other flavors faded a bit too quickly for me. Dropped the score down for me in this one category.
OVERALL: This is a nice decent wine, well made, classic nebbiolo. However, everything was just a bit nondescript and nothing really stood out. I enjoyed this wine, but I would certainly wish for a longer finish. Maybe in time.
SCORE: 90
RATING: 3rd out of 8 for me, 5th for group
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