Chicago Wine Flock...Gary Opening Well Aged Barolo

Ada Street - Chicago IL
Tasted Monday, June 23, 2014 by Burgundy Al with 606 views

Introduction

Chicago Wine Flock continued focused tasted sponsored by one person with Gary's selection of (lucky) 13 bottles of well aged Barolo. Of course they weren't all perfect, but several were fascinating and exceptional. And even the less interesting wines were still very interesting in their own way.

Flight 1 - Something sparkling to Start (1 Note)

Flight 2 - Franco Fiorino (4 Notes)

  • 1947 Franco Fiorina Barolo 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open several hours before serving with a quick decant 30 minutes before poured. Perfued start with great spice and dried rose petals. Red cherry and berry aromas and flavors with great textural elements. Stayed consistently charming for the hour in glass. Wow.

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  • 1958 Franco Fiorina Barolo

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open several hours before serving, then decanted briefly before pouring. Truly one of the most bizarre wines I have ever experienced. This looked like a WHITE wine. Not rose, not the typical Barolo with expected lost pigmentation. White wine. This smelled like a white wine, in fact something like a charming old Rhone blend with perhaps some Sauvignon Blanc. It also tasted like a white wine. Everything about this wine was enjoyable, it just simply wasn't anything like what I would expect based on any expectation from the bottle and label.

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  • 1961 Franco Fiorina Barolo 87 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open several hours before serving with a quick decant shortly before pouring. Tea color with rose petal aromas. Subtle overall flavors with faint red fruit and lots of earth. Very classic with moderate intensity.

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  • 1964 Franco Fiorina Barolo 88 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open several hours before serving with a quick decant shortly before pouring. Lingering red fruit with floral hints. Good remaining flavors with some fairly robust acidity, giving an elegant character with nice style, even if not perfectly balanced.

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Flight 3 - Fontanafredda (4 Notes)

  • 1958 Fontanafredda Barolo 88 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open several hours before serving with some good time in decanter. Mature red fruit throughout with modest spice. Less complexity than some others in the flight/evening, with too much acid for everything else in this wine.

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  • 1961 Fontanafredda Barolo 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open and decanted several hours before serving. Third bottle I've had from the same case we purchased several years ago. Mature red cherry aromas with anise and rose petal. Red cherry with spice flavors along with plenty of earthy meatiness at finish. Long and very elegant.

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  • 1962 Fontanafredda Barolo 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open and decanted several hours before serving. Good power, concentration and even freshness. Slightly simpler or one-dimensional vs others in this flight, but well balanced and pleasurable. I liked this more than most others tonight.

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  • 1965 Fontanafredda Barolo 80 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open several hours before serving. My least favorite of the flight. Nice spice and floral elements on nose to start, but I found very little of interest on the palate with rather assertive acidity. Deteriorated over 30 minutes in glass.

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Flight 4 - Renato Ratti (2 Notes)

  • 1967 Renato Ratti Barolo 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open and decanted several hours before serving. From before Ratti produced single vineyard Barolo, I was told this is mostly/all from La Morra. I found both vintages of Ratti to showcase softer and elegant fruit, even if slightly firm and tannic. Good cross-section of red cherry with both tart and sweet character in the charming array of fruit.

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  • 1975 Renato Ratti Barolo 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open and decanted several hours before serving. Not quite as interesting as its 1967 counterpart. Nicely mature red fruit with good spice, mostly licorice and allspice. Firm throughout.

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Flight 5 - Vietti Riserva Villero (2 Notes)

  • 1982 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero 89 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open and decanted 3-4+ hours before serving. Equal amounts of red and black cherry, oddly compact and tight. Dense, seemingly backward with modest spice. Not as interesting as another bottle from 5+ years ago.

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  • 1989 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open and decanted 3-4+ hours before serving. Definite contender for WOTN. Red and black cherry with some berry hints with good spice throughout. Fresh, powerful, long and persistent. Yum.

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Flight 6 - Something with which to Finish (1 Note)

  • 1949 Enrico Serafino Barolo Riserva Speciale

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Open and decanted approx an hour before serving. Another very peculiar wine. Musty start that several people insisted was corked; but most of us didn't agree, particularly when that mustiness lessened (vs worsened). But this wine was also darkly intense for a 65 yo Barolo, completely uncharacteristic of old Nebbiolo. At first I wondered if much younger wine was added, but the age of the cork and condition of the capsule hinted that was unlikely. Group considered if this wasn't 100% Nebbiolo, which we considered reasonable. Regardless of why, this was an odd wine inconsistent with any reasonable expectation.

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