1971 Mastroberardino Taurasi Riserva

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 92 points

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  4/7/2024 - thesternowl wrote: 92 Points

  I opened this bottle of the 1971 Taurasi Riserva with a Durand and, to be honest, I don’t know how the cork could have been extracted, intact without it. The cork was fully saturated and super gnarly looking. I poured a small taste to check color and see what was happening on the nose. It came across a little lethargic and funky so I poured the bottle into a ship’s decanter, careful to manage the sediment, and allowed it to stretch its legs for about four hours prior to dinner. The process of decanting filled the room with a wonderful perfume; this was a good sign! It turns out, it needed all of that air because it transformed into quite the darling.
  
  In the glass, the 1971 showed remarkable color for being over half a century old. It presents a rudy, garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated cherries, Balsamico, dried leaf tobacco, leather, Mexican birria, and volcanic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins (all integrated) and medium+ acid which is keeping this very much alive. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and has a saline finish. This bottle ended up being a very lovely experience and a fine compliment to a simple dinner of filets prepared in cast-iron and some spaghetti carbonara that I made with some pancetta made by my brother-in-law. After looking at the label a little closer, I realized that this was back when Taurasi had only achieved DOC status. In fact, they had only just received that status the year before in 1970! Taurasi has since been awarded DOCG (1993). Drink now and enjoy!

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