Important Update From the Founder
Read message >
1995 Barolo with Usual Suspects
Tasted May 6, 2011 by antiwood with 790 views
Introduction
Wines opened in a.m. and double decanted at 4:00. Notes written on the train next day, forgot my tasting sheet so have omitted many details about particular flavors and focused on overall feel ...
Flight 1 (9 notes)
Red
1995 Prunotto Barolo Bussia
Vibrant fun aromas hinting at great energy .. plums, pomogranite. On the wild side with the energy on the nose followed through in the mouth, much fresh fruit, a bit all over the place, chunky tannins, Pleasant but dusty finish. A really nice start to the evening. Not the most complex or dense wine, but keeps you interested.
Red
1995 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina
Fragrant and perfumed nose, lovely spice, roses, peppy ... fruit liquor (cherry? pomogranite?). Great inner mouth perfume. The most burgundian of the wines tonite. Impeccable balance. Lighter weight but the type of complexity that draws you in, makes you focus, and there is always something new. Tannins are mellowing quite a bit. Lovely finish that almost tickles. Yum.
Red
1995 Elio Altare Barolo Brunate
Somewhat different nose .. dried fruits instead of concentrated fruit, herbal/thyme character , a bit of volatility. This wine did not have the elegance or fragrance of it's sibling. A bit all over the place and not together.
Red
1995 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia
I gorgeous, balanced, wine with great density that finishes beautifully. And I have not that much interest. Everything is hung off of an oaked, wood frame from the nose right through to the end. Lovely, but where's Piedmont? Mind you, this is not hit you over the head oak .. but still, everything is tasted in reference to that frame .. for some else, not I.
Red
1995 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne
Lovely, well made, not Barolo. Same notes as the A. Conterno Granbussia but less weight and depth. Consistent with every Sandrone I've ever had. Great winemaker. Belongs in a factory.
Red
1995 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia
After the well made but 'where i's Piedmont' modernity, this just exploded on us. Can anyone say tar and roses? Lotsa? The nose leaped from the glass and attacked us. Spices everywhere. Energizer bunny on the palate. Very tannic but boy, this works. Just beginning to mature.
Red
1995 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo
Holy moly. Vibrant, precise aromas .. not as explosive or spicy a nose as the G. Conterno but the high tones lend a freshness which is gorgeous and there is much complexity. The body .. that rocks. The perfect example of silken, molten steel. Narrow framed but oh my, the incredibly dense, deep. brooding fruit just rocks. Dense and firm but silken, smooth, elegant. It doesn't actually finish. Ever. Very dark stuff. My since was that this incredibly youthful but a couple of others thought it was getting on. They're wrong. :) Drink over next 30 years.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Red
1995 Cappellano Barolo Pie Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti)
Dark purple/violet color. A different character than the rest of the wines: a slightly grapier/purple fruits nose and body. As we started, lot's of fragrance: fairly simple fruit/tar/roses but very primary and not yet complex. Flavor profile again more fruit driven, extremely youthful, beginnings of Indian spices, how can this be 16 years old again? Chunky tannins. Finish, yes, goes on. 1 hour later in the glass, and the nose gained substantially more spice and balance and complexity and perhaps more than hinted as to where this wine will end up. Give it 5-10 years more, at least.
Red
1995 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
Classic barolo aroma tar and roses .. broader/looser. Body is slightly less precise and definitely not as deep as the G. Conterno, but balanced, fragrant, mouthfilling, and ripe. This is extremely pleasurable and surprisingly mild mannered. Fairly mature but no hurry, I'm sure.
Closing
Overall wines were in early maturity, as expected. 1995 has more fruit and less tannin than I expected. Not lush but also not imposing structurally, fairly nice balance. The modern wines of Sandrone and A. Conterno were beautifully made and not Barolo as I'm interested in. As soon as we turned the traditional corner back to the Francia, the character of the wines went through the roof.
Regarding treatment: the wines were open for business based upon this .. but there were signs, especially in the Cappellano that more time would have helped.