Community Tasting Note

Paul S wrote:

Wednesday, December 4, 2013 - 5 Decades of Aged Barolo with White Truffles (Absinthe, Boat Quay, Singapore): Pretty good, but not one of the great Gaja Barbaresci. This really stood out from the pack though. Served blind, there was no doubt that this was the lone Barbaresco amidst the bottles of Barolo. It just had a sweeter, softer nose, with ripe raspberries and red cherries, spice and liqured chocolate aromas, laced with a scent of ferrous mineral. Really attractive. The palate too was a change in gear. Pure and elegant on the attack, it showed clear flavours of dark cherries and blackberries – a rather darker fruited expression than on the nose I thought – along with some black tea and menthol notes. I really liked the clarity on the wine, but it was clearly not from the strongest vintage, showing a bit thinner, more austere on the midpalate, especially when some grippy but fine tannins started coming to the fore. Still though, this was a very charming wine, and together with the fresh acidity that it had, the tannins made it a great pairing with a lovely cut of Wagyu beef. I liked the finish too with its subtly complex notes of spice and smoke riding amidst a floral undercurrant. Nice, at least until the flowers faded and a grip of teethcoating tannins and menthol notes stepped it. This may well have needed more age to soften-up; however, I am not sure that the fruit would have lasted long enough for the structure to mellow much further. If you have any, I would say not is probably a good time to start drinking these.

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