The fresh pour nosed so terribly that I didn't want to go back. A ton of dirt, unclean wet earth, and no fruits whatsoever. With a ton of oxygenation it evolved and changed, which then started to pique my interest. The dirt had dissipated and revealed barley, sweet corn, cherry fruits, and opulent chocolate mint; none of which I had expected to smell in a wine like this. I drank it more out of curiosity rather than loving it. Wished it evolved further but then it didn't venture beyond that, which was rather disappointing. The 1978 Cicada I had last year was showing much better than this.
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Piedmont theme: Clearly modern and extracted, even more so than the Gajas to the point that it was overdone for me. Showed its pedigree beside the Manzone but not a wine that I could drink more than a glass of. Some mint on the finish that I found distracting.
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one of the most expensive bottles I've ever bought $250.00. Of the last 4 posts two were flawed and 1 was 84pts. If it's a 50% probability of the wine being bad, then the real cost would be twice. $250 x50% = $500. I've learned my lesson and will not be buying older expensive wines when it's a high probability of being bad.
1998 Barolo & Barbaresco – A 20-year retrospective (AI Fiori): It’s always a shame when a Granbussia is off, something that has happened to me too often in my time as a collector. The ‘98 was muddled, showing dark moist wood with balsamic spices, hints of mint, and sweet herbs. On the palate, I found a soft expression yet lacking focus, with fleshy cherry and sweet herbal tones. The finish was medium-long, resonating on bitter herbs, balsamics and hints of gruff tannin. Whether it was the bottle or the vintage is hard to determine here, as the wine is drinkable, simply not very enjoyable.
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The color is holding fast, still a dark garnet>ruby. Aromas start off with quite a bit of funk at first, but after 2-3 hours, most of this has blown off. Then comes the VA, there's a fair amount of it, but this too blows off with some active swirling of the glass. Finally, after 30 minutes in the glass, this begins to reveal beautiful Nebbiolo perfumes, that are both vibrant and expressly pure. By the last glass, this has morphed yet again, and all of those lovely perfumes of spice and floral have been replaced by various incarnations of chocolate - at first bitter/dark, and by the final sip, some milk chocolate. Based on tonight's showing, I'm not sure I'd wait on these - just be sure to give it a few hours of aeration in decanter, first. 14,5% abv., (resolved, the same for the most of the tannins). recommended
If I were sitting on a few, I'd start opening them soon; served non-blind.
https://italianwine.blog/
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This took nearly 2 hours in the decanter to open. Classic Barolo but with an interesting element of cassis. Dark fruits, a little spice, some forest floor, modest Oak, good food acidity and a finish that lasted 30+ seconds. This wine has at least 10+ more years ahead of it.
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Red brick color, we had to wait more than two hours to start to open up. , at the beginning little maidera than started the fruits , spicies , balsamic and menthol. Let's say a really complex nose , on the palate full bodied , powerful but quite balanced with soft tannins and nice acidity. Long finish
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Even after 2 hours in the decanter, this gave up very little on the nose but the palate was sublime. Super decadent plum, red fruit, roses and tar all wrapped in a perfected balanced glossy package. Plush and full in the mouth. A little acidity might have improved the freshness, but I am being picky. Love the flavor profile and seamless finish.
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Decanted 3+ hours. Very good Barolo with classic old world purity, balance and complexity. However seemed a bit tired and finished a bit short. The 1995 that we drank alongside this more vibrant with a much longer finish.
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Very fine. Better after a couple of hours being decanted. Then the nose is very interesting, it evolves into fine red fruit, but also chocolate, tobacco, but it remains very fruity, absolutely not drying. A little high in the alcohol (14,5%). On the palate very broad and long. Great complexity. Lovely.
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Ripe nose of red currants and sweet oak. Good balance, nice proportion and fruit sweet heart. It shows very well now and is a delicious drink but needs more time to develop some savoury personality as it feels very primary.
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PIEDMONT #2. From 750ml bottle. Tasted blind. The nose shows more age than PIEDMONT #1. Very floral, with loads of sweet red fruit. Incredible mouthfeel, with full coverage in the midpalate . Lots of juiciness, tannins in check but tingling the entire mouth. This is a delicious Barolo. Just amazing.
PIAMONTE #2. De botella de 750ml. Probado a ciegas. La nariz muestra más edad que el PIAMONTE # 1. Muy floral, con buena concentración de frutas rojas. En boca es estupendo! Cubre el paladar completamente. Es jugoso y sus taninos coquetean con cada papila gustativa del paladar. Este es un Barolo increible.
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Wines From Barolo and Barbaresco (Barolo): Ok, so the wine is mortal after all. Versus the 99 this wine holds its cards closer to its vest. Less overtly and exotically spiced, darker fruits, very floral, slight touch of mint here. The wine opens up slightly over the night to show darker forest floor and mossy notes. On the palate very similar to the 99 with an amazingly graceful, but firm acidic ascent into a slightly tighter midpalate… seamless transition into a flawless and moderately long, well integrated tannin finish. Great balance, moderate + length and complexity, decent intensity. Great finesse and texture… very clear expression of place. Not in a great place tonight… I imagine this will show greatness during many periods of time over what will be decades of life.
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Slightly coconutty oak and a sweet perfume of tar, earth, aniseed and meat. Not unattractive except that the oak dominates at the moment. There is a generous core of fruit/mineral based flavours and decent length. I found this wine appealing but a bit showy and found the oak characters a little heavy handed. There are other Barolo's around which transmit the terroir better than this does. Enjoyable but not the class of other producers.
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Kept getting better and better in the glass. Complex aromatics of smoked meats, dried flowers and earth. It has a strong, rigid spine but there are some lovely sweet and ethereal elements in the mouth. One is left with a wonderful savoury imprint once the wine is swallowed.
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(at The Modern – NYC) Sparkling ruby. Somewhat wild and ever changing nose that began with hints of leather and quickly moved to an overwhelming nose of Christmas pudding. Then came flowers and nutmeg. Medium body yet super intensity and depth. I see no problem drinking this wine now, but is should be delicious for many year to come. What I love about this wine is its complexity but seeming lightness. The finish lasts and lasts. Excellent. (18.5+)
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AIS tasting, 6 Barolos, 2005-10-14 Dark brick-red colour. Classic tar and roses, minerality, beautifully integrated oak, fresh earth, caramel/brandy-like, sweet fruit, slight mint/eucalyptus. Intense, persistent on nose and palate. Big, rich and full; smooth, round tannins, not astringent; roasted coffee, cacao in the flavour profile. Great length, complexity and finish. WOTN for me. Aldo Conterno is my Barolo guy!
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12/22/2023 - wineton.mee wrote: 91 Points
The fresh pour nosed so terribly that I didn't want to go back. A ton of dirt, unclean wet earth, and no fruits whatsoever. With a ton of oxygenation it evolved and changed, which then started to pique my interest. The dirt had dissipated and revealed barley, sweet corn, cherry fruits, and opulent chocolate mint; none of which I had expected to smell in a wine like this. I drank it more out of curiosity rather than loving it. Wished it evolved further but then it didn't venture beyond that, which was rather disappointing. The 1978 Cicada I had last year was showing much better than this.
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12/21/2023 - melvinyeowq wrote: 91 Points
Piedmont theme: Clearly modern and extracted, even more so than the Gajas to the point that it was overdone for me. Showed its pedigree beside the Manzone but not a wine that I could drink more than a glass of. Some mint on the finish that I found distracting.
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11/6/2020 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Older style, but time has worn the oak off.
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11/10/2019 - michigan dogs wrote: flawed
one of the most expensive bottles I've ever bought $250.00. Of the last 4 posts two were flawed and 1 was 84pts. If it's a 50% probability of the wine being bad, then the real cost would be twice. $250 x50% = $500. I've learned my lesson and will not be buying older expensive wines when it's a high probability of being bad.
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8/22/2018 - Aleks Che Likes this wine: 93 Points
CHE93
A little more simpler than previous bottle, but also very good
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3/28/2018 - Mlermontov wrote: flawed
1998 Barolo and Barbaresco Retrospective; 3/24/2018-3/31/2018 (Ai Fiori): ouch. sherry, mint, herb, sour cherry in mid. but clearly off. too bad.
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3/27/2018 - Eric Guido Does not like this wine: 84 Points
1998 Barolo & Barbaresco – A 20-year retrospective (AI Fiori): It’s always a shame when a Granbussia is off, something that has happened to me too often in my time as a collector. The ‘98 was muddled, showing dark moist wood with balsamic spices, hints of mint, and sweet herbs. On the palate, I found a soft expression yet lacking focus, with fleshy cherry and sweet herbal tones. The finish was medium-long, resonating on bitter herbs, balsamics and hints of gruff tannin. Whether it was the bottle or the vintage is hard to determine here, as the wine is drinkable, simply not very enjoyable.
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2/11/2018 - MauriceE wrote: flawed
Alas this wine was corked. Too bad, because a beautiful, fruity wine was shining through the awful cork-smell.
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11/4/2017 - Dehrmann Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bold fresh fruit great
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9/23/2017 - tcarter Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking wonderfully. But still quite young. Seems to have many years ahead of it still.
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9/20/2016 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
The color is holding fast, still a dark garnet>ruby. Aromas start off with quite a bit of funk at first, but after 2-3 hours, most of this has blown off. Then comes the VA, there's a fair amount of it, but this too blows off with some active swirling of the glass. Finally, after 30 minutes in the glass, this begins to reveal beautiful Nebbiolo perfumes, that are both vibrant and expressly pure. By the last glass, this has morphed yet again, and all of those lovely perfumes of spice and floral have been replaced by various incarnations of chocolate - at first bitter/dark, and by the final sip, some milk chocolate. Based on tonight's showing, I'm not sure I'd wait on these - just be sure to give it a few hours of aeration in decanter, first. 14,5% abv., (resolved, the same for the most of the tannins). recommended
If I were sitting on a few, I'd start opening them soon; served non-blind.
https://italianwine.blog/
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4/29/2016 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 94 Points
This took nearly 2 hours in the decanter to open. Classic Barolo but with an interesting element of cassis. Dark fruits, a little spice, some forest floor, modest Oak, good food acidity and a finish that lasted 30+ seconds. This wine has at least 10+ more years ahead of it.
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4/9/2016 - Gian wrote: 92 Points
Red brick color, we had to wait more than two hours to start to open up. , at the beginning little maidera than started the fruits , spicies , balsamic and menthol. Let's say a really complex nose , on the palate full bodied , powerful but quite balanced with soft tannins and nice acidity. Long finish
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11/26/2015 - mboyer wrote: flawed
corked
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9/21/2015 - johnh1001 wrote: 94 Points
Even after 2 hours in the decanter, this gave up very little on the nose but the palate was sublime. Super decadent plum, red fruit, roses and tar all wrapped in a perfected balanced glossy package. Plush and full in the mouth. A little acidity might have improved the freshness, but I am being picky. Love the flavor profile and seamless finish.
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3/4/2014 - Lype Likes this wine:
At first funky nose but with time in the glass the wine clears, overripe strawberries, forest floor, smoke and chocolate, sharp acidity.
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12/5/2013 - CamWheeler wrote: flawed
Chris's Birthday at The Bridge Room: Porty, with chocolate and floral notes, but VA got worse with time. Palate disjointed. :(
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2/2/2013 - Miceri Likes this wine: 97 Points
Medium red, brick red, slightly brownish; earthy flavours, figues, a bit smokey; sweet, intense; very inviting and very nice
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6/17/2012 - cardsandwine Likes this wine:
Decanted 3+ hours. Very good Barolo with classic old world purity, balance and complexity. However seemed a bit tired and finished a bit short. The 1995 that we drank alongside this more vibrant with a much longer finish.
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1/22/2011 - MauriceE wrote: 93 Points
Very fine. Better after a couple of hours being decanted. Then the nose is very interesting, it evolves into fine red fruit, but also chocolate, tobacco, but it remains very fruity, absolutely not drying. A little high in the alcohol (14,5%). On the palate very broad and long. Great complexity. Lovely.
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8/21/2010 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Ripe nose of red currants and sweet oak. Good balance, nice proportion and fruit sweet heart. It shows very well now and is a delicious drink but needs more time to develop some savoury personality as it feels very primary.
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8/3/2010 - hcampana wrote: 95 Points
PIEDMONT #2. From 750ml bottle. Tasted blind. The nose shows more age than PIEDMONT #1. Very floral, with loads of sweet red fruit. Incredible mouthfeel, with full coverage in the midpalate . Lots of juiciness, tannins in check but tingling the entire mouth. This is a delicious Barolo. Just amazing.
PIAMONTE #2. De botella de 750ml. Probado a ciegas. La nariz muestra más edad que el PIAMONTE # 1. Muy floral, con buena concentración de frutas rojas. En boca es estupendo! Cubre el paladar completamente. Es jugoso y sus taninos coquetean con cada papila gustativa del paladar. Este es un Barolo increible.
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9/18/2009 - markjanes wrote: 92 Points
Wines From Barolo and Barbaresco (Barolo): Ok, so the wine is mortal after all. Versus the 99 this wine holds its cards closer to its vest. Less overtly and exotically spiced, darker fruits, very floral, slight touch of mint here. The wine opens up slightly over the night to show darker forest floor and mossy notes. On the palate very similar to the 99 with an amazingly graceful, but firm acidic ascent into a slightly tighter midpalate… seamless transition into a flawless and moderately long, well integrated tannin finish. Great balance, moderate + length and complexity, decent intensity. Great finesse and texture… very clear expression of place. Not in a great place tonight… I imagine this will show greatness during many periods of time over what will be decades of life.
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7/13/2009 - AJ72 wrote: 88 Points
Slightly coconutty oak and a sweet perfume of tar, earth, aniseed and meat. Not unattractive except that the oak dominates at the moment. There is a generous core of fruit/mineral based flavours and decent length. I found this wine appealing but a bit showy and found the oak characters a little heavy handed. There are other Barolo's around which transmit the terroir better than this does. Enjoyable but not the class of other producers.
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2/28/2009 - jlemerond wrote: 93 Points
Still shows a little wood, but quite good typicity. Will be very good some 10 years from nowâ?¦
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7/23/2008 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Kept getting better and better in the glass. Complex aromatics of smoked meats, dried flowers and earth. It has a strong, rigid spine but there are some lovely sweet and ethereal elements in the mouth. One is left with a wonderful savoury imprint once the wine is swallowed.
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4/30/2007 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Young but approachable now.
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1/9/2007 - dbkitc wrote:
(at The Modern – NYC) Sparkling ruby. Somewhat wild and ever changing nose that began with hints of leather and quickly moved to an overwhelming nose of Christmas pudding. Then came flowers and nutmeg. Medium body yet super intensity and depth. I see no problem drinking this wine now, but is should be delicious for many year to come. What I love about this wine is its complexity but seeming lightness. The finish lasts and lasts. Excellent. (18.5+)
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6/6/2006 - Barbara B wrote: 96 Points
AIS tasting, 6 Barolos, 2005-10-14
Dark brick-red colour. Classic tar and roses, minerality, beautifully integrated oak, fresh earth, caramel/brandy-like, sweet fruit, slight mint/eucalyptus. Intense, persistent on nose and palate. Big, rich and full; smooth, round tannins, not astringent; roasted coffee, cacao in the flavour profile. Great length, complexity and finish. WOTN for me. Aldo Conterno is my Barolo guy!
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