Neb-fest: Nebbiolo & Truffle Dinner

Chicago, IL
Tasted Friday, November 18, 2016 by Nanda with 523 views

Introduction

An epic night of Nebbiolo, white truffles, traditional Italian fare and good friends.

Flight 1 - Welcome Whites (3 Notes)

Flight 2 - Aged Dom + Duck liver mousse on brioche (2 Notes)

Flight 3 - Older Nebbiolo + Sformato of peas with asparagus and fontina fonduta (3 Notes)

  • 1974 E. Pira & Figli (Chiara Boschis) Barolo 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Decanted for ~12 hours. A really pretty bottle of aged Nebbiolo. Medium nose is layered with dried black fruit, tar and earth notes. Mid weight palate has refined fruit and good fresh acids. Tannins are fine and largely integrated. Elegant Barolo.

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  • 1974 Prunotto Barolo Riserva 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Second bottle over the past few weeks. Showed consistently. Decanted for a couple of hours. Full nose has loads of tar and earth. Palate is still full bodied with grippy, tarry, black cherry fruit. Well balanced. Good length. This will continue to hold for years.

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  • 1975 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Gattinara 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara

    Pop n pour with a 30-45 minute decant. The nose had a distracting funk note, I suspect a longer decant would have helped to clear the bottle funk. Palate was medium-to-full bodied with good layering and textures.

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Flight 4 - Mid-agers + Ouvo in raviolo with brown butter (4 Notes)

  • 1988 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    This saw a long (6-8 hour) double decant. Showed a little shy and un-evolved aromatically. Palate was more giving and complex with very typical flavors (fresh cherry, roses, tar).

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  • 1995 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Neirane 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    My favorite in this flight. Full, bright nose has a lot going on with many layers. Palate is elegant with pure, lifted fruit. Elegantly styled with excellent complexity. This should age effortlessly for many years.

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  • 1995 Giacomo Brezza e Figli Barolo Castellero 89 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Very good but not exceptional Barolo. Very typical notes in a traditional style. Drinks very well now and should age. Just didn't stand out amongst a varied and exciting lineup.

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  • 1998 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Second bottle in as many weeks. This bottle was not as exciting as the earlier one. Nose had a sharp, high toned aroma that was distracting. Palate was more enjoyable with tarry, concentrated red cherry fruit. Certainly has the stuffing to get better. I suspect the nose will smooth out with time or more air given the much better bottle I had last week.

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Flight 5 - 2000s + Tagliatelle alla Bolognese tartufata (4 Notes)

  • 2000 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    This saw several hours of air (6-8, if i recall correctly). In a flight with two Serralunga Barolos and a Gaja, you have to really pay attention or this more elegantly styled and nuanced Barolo can get lost. There is so much depth and layering to this wine but it's not obvious or overt. Beautiful subtle tar and leather notes. Well balanced in a restrained style. Needs a lot of time and this has several points of upside from here.

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  • 2000 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Very showy and upfront already. Mature red cherry, earth and leather aromas. Generous, richly fruited palate with medium acids and grippy tannin. In a very good spot now though it should hold.

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  • 2000 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 98 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    An epic wine on the earlier side of it's ideal drinking window. A great combination of power/intensity and elegance. So much flavor complexity with an array or red and black fruits, florals, spice, and earth tones. Long, fulfilling finish.

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  • 2000 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì San Lorenzo 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

    This is a rich, flavor-bomb of a Barbaresco. Powerful full nose has loads of black fruit, earth oak spice. Palate follows suit with slutty, rich fruit. Certainly has plenty of structure and stuffing to age, but not sure it gets better. Delicious now in a modern style.

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Flight 6 - Aldo & 01s + Roast rainbow trout with Brussels sprout leaves (3 Notes)

Flight 7 - Youngsters + Berkshire pork loin in Marsala cream with potato puree (4 Notes)

Flight 8 - Chinato + Parfait of truffled sponge with truffle honey caramel (1 Note)

  • NV Cappellano Barolo Chinato 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo Chinato

    The capstone to a great night of Nebbiolo. Intense aromatics with an array of spices, toasted herbs melded to sweet black cherry fruit and licorice. Intense and bright on the palate. Sweet with good balancing acids.

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