Important Update From the Founder
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The goal: Traditionally produced profound Barolo in classic vintages
My House (Portland, OR)
Tasted August 8, 2015 by David Paris (dbp) with 647 views
Introduction
It had been far too long since I had a gathering of friends over to contemplate some serious wines, and with the visit of my friend Karl, I thought it the perfect opportunity. We landed on each person's interpretation of: Traditionally produced profound Barolo in classic vintages. So yes, you could bring a 2010 or a 1971... both qualify. What did not qualify is things like Elio Altare or Paolo Scavino. We chose to keep the group small so as to be quite focused. What wound up showing up though was quite a bit more quantity than expected for six people, which was rather lovely. I really appreciate everyone and their generosity with what they brought! Two champagnes, one to start, and one to finish with, as well. Everyone arrived promptly at 7pm but as there was so much to get through most didn't leave until 1am. I can only speak for myself, but I truly had a fantastic time, primarily for the company. Sure, the wines were not half bad either!
Flight 1 (15 notes)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée
93 points
Wow, this was absolutely gorgeous tonight. You could smell the texture. The palate was so soft and pretty; elegant. Pure and succulent texture offer vibrant fruits and a grace that's nearly unparalleled. Again, incredible vibrancy and purity on the finish. This is one of the most complete Champagne's for me. There was one glass that was left out overnight and the next day, about 24 hours after opening, I consumed this 1oz or so and it was equally as compelling and unique. I love this wine... hard to argue it's not worth the money.
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Red
2010 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo Le Brunate
90 points
Strangely, a bit brownish in color. The aromas offered lovely fresh fruit and some spice notes, including pepper. Strange mineral laced fruit note as well that I couldn't quite place. The palate enters with soft, ripe acidic tartness and ripe fruit. Spicy and tart. Things are quite mellow in the mouth and lightly fruited, but those mellow fruits are fairly pretty and red. As the wine is held in the mouth it builds a woody, gritty tannic sensation. Tart, ripe acid on the finish leaves your mouth really puckered. Flavors are of light red fruit, leather, slight tar, and a hint of alcohol as well. I was able to try this wine on day two where it was more disintegrated and on day three where it was the most linear and complete of the days.
Red
2008 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
92 points
This was decanted for 2-3 hours before we dove in. The aromas are vibrant and fresh, though quite forward. Smells quite fine, with tons of glazed strawberries. While showing some brightness, the aromas are quite luscious. Rich and ripe fruit enter on the palate, and this offers an elegant, sexy soft texture. Fine grained tannins are prevalent, but not much in the way of the purity of fruit. Very pretty and intensely acidic. Lots of elegance on the finish as well, showing notes of strawberry lingering beautifully. Tons of tannins dial in at the end and this is now coming across much more closed. This wine too drank well over three days tried. As is often the case, the Monprivato was perhaps the prettiest wine in the lineup and a wonderful wine to stick away.
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Comments (1)
Red
2008 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia
This wine received a 4 hour decant prior to the event. Immediately upon smelling this wine many of us detected Ethyl acetate and not much else on the nose. Much was discussed as others who have had this wine recently don't recall this fault. There was no doubt it was here, though, making the aromas not very enjoyable. The palate was seemingly rather shut as well, and while soft in texture and offering some pretty fruit as well, still felt a little awkward and out of balance. Puckering and hugely acidic (in a good way) on the finish, but then again developing quite a bit of awkwardness. This is my first time with this vintage so I'm unsure if this is common or not. If I were to score this as is, it'd be 89.
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Comments (1)
Red
2007 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala
92 points
This bad boy dials in at 15% alcohol on the label! I wonder what it really is... This and the other Aldo were the only wines that were popped and poured at tasting. The aromas here are quite soft and vibrant, but massive and darkly complected. Very thick aromas, like chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting on top. One taster joked, "Damn, this is the finest Zinfandel I've had!" While it may not have been that massive, it's definitely up there for a Barolo. While pretty, it just feels atypically heavily and darkly fruited for Barolo. On the palate, the entry is soft and offers candied fruit. Quite vibrant and chewy. Really rich and heavy on the puckering acidic finish. Massive fruit again, but the tannins that linger really rip your face off too. While this was good on day one, it most certainly improved as it remained open to the air, and on day three I found it much more in balance and enjoyable. I still wonder if these are long term agers or not. While they have the tannic and acidic structure for that, and the three day progression is promising, the heavy alcohol and darkly complected fruit are things that I find get in the way of aging Barolo. As I have some of these in the cellar myself, I guess I'll see...
Red
2006 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Romirasco
92 points
Aromas are softer here than the '07 Cicala, and thankfully more traditional and balanced. The fruit notes are more red in tone, offering a nice balance of berries and graphite. Quite elegant and balanced. Very rich on palate entry, which is soft and elegant in texture. Rich tartness pucker the mouth and it actually comes off comparatively lean vs. the other Aldo. Lovely balance of acid, tannin, and sweet fruit. But wow, on the finish this wine is even more tannic and acidic! Also leaves nice, pure red fruits lingering on the finish for some nice depth. It certainly eats your face with tannin, though.
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Red
2005 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba
90 points
Decanted for 2-3 hours prior, this wine pours thin and red in color. Soft and mellow aroma, with tart ripe fruit the primary note. Fairly quiet, but pretty nevertheless. The palate is soft and really smooth. Quite rich in texture, which is very enjoyable. Ripe fruit throughout, but not much depth beyond that. Pretty simple. It's tannins in the mouth are comparatively light, and this odd thin texture allows the alcohol to blare through on the palate. The finish offers really rich acidic tartness. Certainly ripe here too and no depth. I was stunned how this wine absolutely died on the finish and offered one of the shortest lengths of any Barolo I've had as of late. Very surprisingly one dimensional here. The tannins are more present on the finish and linger for some time, but again the flavors are just gone. This wine didn't track all that well over the few days open, either. This was probably the surprise of the tasting.
Red
2000 Giacomo Grimaldi Barolo Le Coste
91 points
This wine offered very nice, pleasant, balanced aromas, including some tart earthiness and soft puckering fruit. Really rich and soft on the palate, and actually quite pure and elegant. Puckering and tart acid are throughout, but it's very smooth and integrated with the fruit. Puckering on the finish as well and showing off more of that elegant fruit. Tart rich acid here too, and the finish is a bit more lean than the other wines thus far. I'd say this is the first wine of the lineup that's actually ready to drink today. In fact, the next day the wine had died.
Red
1978 Azienda Bricco Rocche (Ceretto) Barolo Prapò
92 points
Soft, dusty aromas are experienced on the nose, along with some sweet bell pepper aroma. The aromas had me slightly worried, but the palate was quite lovely, showing tons of pure, pretty fruit. Texture was quite soft and the flavors were tart, soft and ripe. Mellow acid and sweet fruit were the primary experiences and this was quite together structurally. Tons of acid on the tart and rich finish, here too showing some ripe fruit. Quite pretty and harmonious. On day two this wine had fallen apart, as expected.
Red
1982 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva
91 points
Poured blind. The aromas are softly fruited and while this does have some notes of its implied age it was primarily the fruit noted. Soft and elegant palate entry, offering tart puckering fruit and soft acid. Surprisingly ripe fruit here too. Puckering acidity dial in on the tart, softer mellowed finish. Pretty nice.
Red
1964 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva
93 points
This smells like a Burgundy... very pretty and beautiful, showing spicy tart fruit. Impressive elegance on the aromatic profile. Soft, amazing palate. Beautiful acidity balance wonderfully elegant, delicious red fruits in a gorgeous way. The palate is very pure and soft. The red fruit is so intense it almost tastes like gummy bears. This is really a yummy wine. Beautifully soft finish. Really elegant with beautiful acidic tartness lingering on a vibrant finish. The wine still has tannins and tons of bright acid that linger a long time on the finish. The wine of the night.
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Red
1952 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva
92 points
Some interesting asparagus note and spicy notion on the nose. Very unique. The palate is soft and spicy, showing nice tartness and ripe fruit. It is richly fruited as well, but perhaps not as deep as the '64. The finish was unique, offering fresh fig notes, tons of red fruit, and generally quite delicious and soft. Rich and tart, and a bit leaner than the previous wines, this was certainly the second best of the Borgognos.
Red
1958 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva
90 points
The most brown of the bunch. The aromas are soft, with some light pretty fruit noted. The palate is also incredibly soft in texture and is rich and pretty. The finish has some metallic, darker fruit noted and it has mellowed quite a lot. Not offering near the structure of the others, this wine does feel like it's on the decline unlike the other Borgognos that I bet will continue to hold. Mark noted that this bottle wasn't drinking as well as previous bottles he's had.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Cuvée Prestige Blanc de Blancs
88 points
Amazing how much this wine just smells like fresh apples to me. The palate offers similar amounts of vibrant green apple skins and zippy freshness. The minerality on this wine is rather intense, and nearly comes across as metallic to me. Vibrant and tart on the finish and quite clean. Again, perhaps some metallic notes here too, with very rich acid and cutting minerality.
Red - Fortified
N.V. Damilano Barolo Chinato
91 points
I love these wines. There is no point in going through and delineating all the wonderful herbs and spices I detect in this wine. Suffices to say, there are many. Generally though, the aromas are primarily just spice, woodsy stemminess, and perhaps a bit of alcoholic tincture like burn (the wine's 16.5% alcohol). The palate is rich and soft, with lots of nice acidity dialing up. Interestingly, the herbs and spices retreat on the palate as you're primarily experiencing the fruit and richness of the wine. Very enjoyable, and only with big hits of aeration do you begin to get some of the quinine. Wow though, I love how the second you swallow a massive richness of herbs and spices overtakes the whole mouth. It is an absolutely wonderful, unique experience to Chinato. Wine this wine has nothing on the Cappellano rendition, it's still very nice.
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Closing
Again, all told, a lovely evening. Being the massive fan of Barolo that I am, I must admit to being a little disappointed that none of these wines were revolutionary, though. Many good wines, but no great wines. We certainly had the opportunity, though. Maybe I'll just blame it on the Biodynamic calendar, and the fact that it was a root day. ;-) Anyway, again gents, this was a wonderful time, and while I couldn't really drink alcohol for a week afterwards, certainly something we need to do more often!