19 bottles of barolo or how I drank my Monfortini

What a sight to wake to. This morning, with only minor pouding in my head, I rounded the corner into the dining room to be greeted by a sight that Ken will have to add to this thread. Evidently the 10 of us spent a good portion of last night drinking the better part of 19 bottles of barolo, not to mention the 2 bottles of Donnhoff that the ladies looked after. I say better part of these 19 bottles since there were a few damaged bottles. In fact two of the older bottles were corked. Or were they? Just a bit on these bottles, both had a funkiness that seemed to be TCA when i first opened the bottles. I returned to the bottles later and neither seemed to have any trace of TCA. Well that established the pattern for the night. The wines on occassion seemed to be corked but the TCA, when noticable, never got more intense. The wines were open for ten hours and at the end of the night there was still debate as to whether or not they were corked. I've only had this experience once before, with a 61 Monfortino coincidentally. Perhaps old nebbiolo has a great ability to compensate for TCA, perhaps it developes an aromtitic compound that we mistake for TCA. I don't know for sure but what I can say is that these bottles, if corked, were still capable of providing a great drinking experience. I know this runs counter to all of our experience but so it went. I will provide notes for these wines as they were when not exhibiting any defect.

With these wines I served some light antipasti that served as agood foil for their delicate, acid driven flavors.

• 1955 Cappellano Barolo 89 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  Apon opening at around 2 pm - good color and depth with lots of bronze notes, very driect nose of prosciutto, salami, smoke, and rose. The entry is downright opulent for a wine this old and is rich with orange tinged strawberry fruit, very structured still and a bit tight. The finish is quite long with subtle notes of smoke and mint to the earthy core. At around 7 pm the wine showd a touch of corkiness on the nose but when that was not obtrusive there was some minerality and a touch of faded cinnamon spice. This resolved well as the mouthfeel is crisp and layered with well integrated acidity. Lovely fading strawbery fruit and some calcerous notes adding contrast. One of the corked bottles of the night and even so a good showing for a wine coming to the end of its drinking plateau but still a beautiful old lady.

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• 1958 Giacomo Conterno Barolo 78 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  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.

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• 1958 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale 83 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  This was the second of two bottles opened. The first was a flat out fake. Yet the bottle, labels, capsule all were perfectly correct and appropriat. On closer inspection the cork had puncture marks on both the top and bottom which explains why this vivid purple wine had notes of bouillion and caramel in it slick and sweetly fruited palate. I will ttrace the history back with this bottle and try to find the little bastard who added this to the world. Che sera sera. So we move on. Now if any bottle should have been a fake it would have been this one. Pristine lables, perfect in everyway, however the wine certainly could be 58 Monfortino. Apon opening aroun 2 pm the wine was dark brown and caramelly. Sweet in the mouth with a bit ofhorsey barnyard and a sprig of herb. Old but still structured, not much fruit. Simple and high toned VA, the finish shows some nice appeal with cocoa, spices, and an echo of strawberry. At around 7 pm this had not improved. the nose is spicier with some mint and a sense of serralunga medicinal notes over the nutty, veal reduction core of maderization. In the mouth the wine ha put on some weight and rounded out a bit but there is not much fruit here and what flavor interest there is , is obscured by the drying tannins on the finish. This was an expensive lesson on not chasing ones dreams, the only perfect wine i every had was a bottle of this.

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• 1970 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva 89 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  I was going to open this earlier in the day but forgot to so this was opened for maybe 2 hours when we got to it around 8 pm. The nose shows a touch of maderization, lots of mint, funky, earthy, boiled pigs feet then cocoa. Good freshness and acidity with good flavors and intensity though predominantly towards the bouillion and cocoa end of the spectrum, the finish is lovely with a bright, clean limestone vein. delicious though at the end of it's plateau. Drink em if you got em.

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I served risotto al barolo con teleggio with this flight hoping the richness of the dish would accentuate the intense flavors of the wines and it worked pretty well except for the fact that I added too much cheese to the dish making it almost to rich to eat, but it did make the wines taste terrific.

• 1970 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  opened around 1:30 pm - just a shade lighter and more amber than the 71 but fantastic color - a volatile nose with a braised vegetable base, lots of prosciutto fat, game, spice, and licorice - more resolved in the mouth, good balance, less flavor intensity and inner mouth perfume than the 71. Very mineral driven with balsam and citrus top notes to the fainter amarena cherry fruit. The tannins really grow here. At around 7 pm this is another of the wines that people alternately call corked. I notce the tca notes at times but for the most part the nose here is expressively sharp and bright with mineral and mint tones. This has gained flavor intensity yet remains deliciously austere in the mouth with an intense tarry vein and black spices dominating the palate. Firmly at peak and the right time to be drinking these if you have them.

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• 1971 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale 97 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  opened around 1:30 when this showed a great bronze color with a ruby core. the nose is intense, dark, gamy, spicy and very salty. In the mouth this is tough and tannic with a huge espresso and earth entry, finishes short and astringent with subdued fruit under some curry like spiciness that leads to a long, medicinal finish. Aound 8 pm the nose has gained intensity and has an almost jammy blackberry liquor note with smoky nuances that recall matchstick and gunpowder, earthy and layered, curing tobacco notes - In the mouth there is succulence here, with intense, deep fruit, superb structure, pefect balance, immense power with exceptional fruit/mineralbalance. wow this is dense and chewy and just a joy to drink, too bad this is my last bottle but at absolute peak.

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• 1961 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  Opened around 1:30 pm when the wine showed a very pale bronze color with no red left - exhibiting a very soft nose of bouilion, spice, earth, and porcini - faint in the mouth with good and intact strucutre, no sense of damage just seems very faded with echoing strawberry fruit and a mineral core - arund 8 pm this has filled out well. the nose remains subtle with a base of tarry minerality and some sandy nuances as well as a sappy herb note. In the mouth this is showing beautifull with superb integration, just shy of velvetty with lovely sour cherry fruit over limestone. Finishes a bit short at first but really gains length with time, reallyresonant, the nose gains a big tobacco note too but also begins to reveal a bit of bandaid as well. This gave all it had this evening, at peak and just a great bottle.

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• 1968 Mastroberardino Taurasi Riserva 88 Points

  Italy, Campania, Taurasi DOCG

  (3/11/2007)

  Joe's blind wine - smoky earthy nose has a slight menthol top note a bit of caramel, a bit calcerous - in the mouth this is opulent and soft with good length. An excellent wine though in this crowd it does get lost.

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This flight accompanied venison and polenta and the match, for me, is a perfect one. The light astringency of the polenta works with the strucutre of the wines while the game flavor of the venison is a erfect foil for the wild berry fruits of the wines.

• 1987 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 96 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  Apon opening around 1 pm this showed a gorgeous brnished red color. Exhibits a faint nose of iron, blood, and roasted stock bones. Some upfront sweetness in the mouth, dense and compact with great structure and a core of slightly confiture strawberry fruit with some leather and herbs on the long finish, a superb early showing.
  
  At around 8 pm the nose here is and endless pool of menthol tinged, minerally spicy dark berry, wild strawberry fruit - rich and dense in the mouth yet still very linear and tight. Retains the vibrancy of youth, full of soft tannins, floral and bitter cocoa top notes emerge. A very compelling bottle of wine that is just beginning to drink at peak.

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• 1974 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale 97 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  opened aroun 1 pm when this showed quite some auburn coloring with a gentle rouge core - the nose is tight, leaning towards leather and herbs with a gamey edge and just a touch of maderization creeping in. In the mouth the wine is very large scaled, tight but packed with flavor, great acidity, menthol and cherry fruit, tannins really clamp down on the finish. the finish returns both savory and succulent. At aroun 8 pm this has only started to explode with intense menthol, limestone, beef jerky, smoked meats nose that is very layered, scortched earth. Wow this is great in the mouth, bright acidity, tannins have integrated exceptionally well, not sign of the maderization i noticed earlier, sour cherry fruits that really gain sweetness over the course of the evening, another 74 that shows great sweetness in spite of it's austerity. Great flavor complexity with a gamy berry streak running through to the finish which shows a bit of wet animal and fig towards the end of the evening. I wish I had a case of this wine. Certainly can go another 10-15 years.

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• 1989 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Riserva 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  This was opened only a few hours before e got to it around 8 pm. The nose is great with caperberry and sour berry fruit, menthol and meaty, some subtle and subdued oakky spice, lingonberry, very slightly roasted jamminess, some petroleum based lip balm - the mouth shows great integration, it is not surprisingly still rich and densely youthfull with chewy fruit, rigid strucutre, lots of chocolate here, some frying wood tannin yet to be integrated on the finish. this is a bit softer with lower acidity than the other arch traditional wines tonight but is maturingly very well and offers compelling proof that there is more than one way to make Barolo.

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Served with the cheese couse these wines were a perfect match for large blocks of dairy fat.

• 1982 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  Around 5 pm we found that some of the bottles were subpar so we began to replace them. I opened the normale 82 from Altare as well which showed a beuatifil menthol nose but was tight on the palate even though one could sense great balance in a more delicate model. Alas when we finally got to it aroun 10 pm it was corked. This on the other hand was not. This $3 wine, that is what i paid for it 20 years ago, long story, had a lovely perfumey nose with some notes of bouillion and bones but more derict jammy fruit with a rich poppy seed element. Rich and chewy in the mouth this was still very youthful, great strucutre, a tenderness to the tannins, with the chees course this turned downright decadent with it's plush mouthfeel.

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• 1999 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 97 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  This was opened aroun 5 pm but it was about 9 pm by the time we got to it. At first the nose is balsam tinged strawberry fruit before exploding with hints of menthol, tar, boysenberry, muskmelon, so perfumed and intense but it fails to prepare one for the intensity in the mouth, outrageous concentration of intensely sweet and sapid fruit, after the subtlties of the older wines this is overstimulation. It's like getting a hand job without lubricant from, as Ken adds, an old farmer, if you like that sort of thing of course. Like I said overstimulation. This is just a monster, It'll probably shut down soon but is worth trying if you've got enough as it is like Barolo concentrate. Bravo!

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• 1958 Giacomo Conterno Barolo 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  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.

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• 1971 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  Antonio brought this over as well so it must have been after 10 pm when this was popped and poured - the nose is exceptionally perfumed filled with spicy hightoned fruit- another wine whose chewy and dense natures belies it's age. Tons of sweet fruit, lots of sottobosco inner mouth perfume and dried pine cones, bags of acidity, fabulous density of red fruits. A hit all around and another delisous 71.

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• 1970 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato 96 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  This was popped and poured close to 11pm as we were running out of wine. We were all blown away by how dark this wine was, intense colot concentration though showing appropriate age. The nose is deep and intensely layered, not as profound as some of the other wines but I got a sense that this would have really unfolded and reevealed so much more had i planned ahead. In the mouth there ids an austere attack which is followed by a dense, tightly wound core that revealed itself oh so slowly, one layer at a time flavors of tobacco, licorice, dark berry fruit, and some roasted herb revealed themselves. the finish reveals a strong licorice vein that tied the poalate together. What a great iwne, can't wait for the nxt bottle.

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• 1970 Cantina Mascarello Barolo 97 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/11/2007)

  Ok so now we're going on 11:30 and need another bottle so this is popped and poured. A first a lovely nose with oysershells and cherry pits, warn wood, then building a sweetness on the nose. Structurally fairly resolved though absolute mouthfilling with a richness yet such balance that the wine remains silky in the mouth. great depth of fruit with a lovely bitter nuance offering contrast. really adds swetness in the mouth as well. This is perhaps the most espressive wine of the evening and the one wine that we caught at precisely the right time to drink this bottle. Exceptionally transparent and continuously evolving in the glass moving from strength to strength. fabulous.

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Well that wraps up a great evening. 10 of us drank most of 21 bottles of some great bottles. The conversation was fun, the evening a fantastic way to spend time with some friends. What more can I add. nothing.