Monumental Barolo dinner - Monfortino, Giacosa, Taurasi and La Romanee

Tom organized a monumental Barolo dinner at Fleet Street Kitchen in Baltimore to honor Gregory dal Piaz's visit. As usual the dishes were exceptional and the service was perfect! As usual Tom was incredibly generous and brought the 78, 82 and 85 Monfortino. It was only six of us so we were able to go revisit all the wines.

The 96 Salon is really singing lately. It lost the perfection precision of the youth but more generous and perhaps more complete although that can be easily argued.

• 1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 98 Points

  France, Champagne

  Another stunning showing. This particular bottle combines the precision showed on its youth and the decadent sweet fruits of the recent bottles. Delicate yet decadent nose displaying white fruits, apple and citrus, strong presence of white flowers and wet stone, white pepper, anise and honey. As usual, exceptional concentration, decadent citrus and apple driven palate impression, bright acidity and lovely long sweet yet very precise and clean finish. Quite youthful, decadent yet very precise bottle. I prefer this to the Krug at the moment. I am yearning for another flirting with perfection kind of bottle. Very close but not quite.

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• 1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Warm and round version once again but not quite precise. Vinous nose, tarte tartin, slightly hint of oxidative note, yellow and red fruits, apple peel, red currant, honey, brioche, smoke and sweet spices. Fine mousse, nicely layered fruits, warm and round, sweet yellow fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and love sweet finish. As usual it gets fresher with air. Very much ready to go but as the vintage Krug goes, that can change, ie become precise and a bit tighter once again. Very enjoyable but not as good as the Salon in the occasion.

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THe 78 Rionda was incredible. The Bussia opened up beautifully. Unfortunately the 55 Rinaldi was a bit tired and never recovered.

• 1955 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Upon opening, delicate red fruits, a hint of sherry and strong VA note. We hope it will gain a bit of fruit to counter balance VA. Unfortunately oxidative note gets stronger and VA as well. Too bad as it seems like a pretty wine.

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• 1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Collina Rionda 99 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Thanks to Tom M’s generosity, I drank this monumental wine twice previously. This time, it was Henry who generously brought the bottle. Incredibly youthful and expressive nose displaying red and black fruits, dry cherry and blackberry, cherry liqueur, rose, lavender, tar, stem, sap, black spices, strong presence of mineral via rusty nail and wet limestone and strong earthy note. Incredibly youthful palate, exceptional concentration, quite chewy, decadent dry red fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and still noticeable tannin presence. Tom mentions he thought the 78 was going down the hill a couple years ago. He also mentions how each bottle expresses differently, some are quite youthful and others are more ready and hedonistic. This is an incredibly youthful example. With air, it displays more iron but remains incredibly youthful. Monumental wine.

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• 1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Bussia di Monforte 96 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Pop and pour, delicate dry red fruits, red cherries, strawberry, caramel, tree bark and earth. Warm, soft and round palate, delicate sweet red fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and fully resolved tannins. It gains weight with air, strawberry, raspberry and cherry, a hint of iron, cappuccino, cedar, leather and earth. The palate remains warm and round, sweeter red fruits, good acidity and lovely long red fruit driven finish. Compare to the Rionda, this is a lot softer and mature. Really enjoyable wine that you can savor all night. Paul informs that it is the smallest production of the 78 Giacosa red labels.

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All I can say is... Tom... Thank you!

• 1978 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale 96 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Very youthful nose, starts with a hint of VA then strong pine needle/eucalyptus note, black cherries, licorice, petrol, raisin, dark spices and earth. Incredibly youthful palate, cool yet decadent dark fruits, clean and focused palate, bright acidity and lovely long clean finish. The pine resin/eucalyptus note remains very noticeable and the overall impression don’t change significantly. Quite cool and youthful, I would have love to find a bit more balsamico and a bit less pine needle. Nevertheless, this is a great wine with a long life a head and still time to improve based on this bottle.

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• 1982 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 98 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  How lucky can I be to say that the 82 is the biggest of the flight “AS EXPECTED”. Expressive decadent nose of intensely sweet and slightly dry red and black fruits, red and black cherries, cherry liqueur, fruit cake, strong presence of balsamico, licorice, dark flowers, cedar, mineral via a hint or iron, grilled rare steak, dark flowers and tar. Incredible concentration, intense decadent dark fruit driven palate impression, unctuous, strong presence of acidity and nicely integrated tannins. The finish is extremely long and ends with very sweet and decadent note. I actually prefer the decadence and power of the 82 to the youthful and precise 78 and the 85 pure and red fruit driven but they are all incredible and I can’t really say one is better, just depend on your mood. A long life ahead.

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• 1985 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 97 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  So interesting to compare these. Beguiling delicate and pure nose displaying fresh sweet red fruits, strawberry, raspberry and only a hint of cherry, beautifully floral, rose, just the right amount of mint and cedar, white truffle and tar. The least concentration of the flight but perhaps the most pure and energetic. Medium concentration, vibrant, pure delicate yet energetic red fruit, bright acidity and love long clean sweet finish. Incredibly enjoyable in dare I say very Burgundian way!

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And didn't disappoint though started a bit shy.

• 1962 Maison Leroy La Romanée 99 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Romanée Grand Cru

  It starts really soft and delicate, a hit of red fruits, raspberry, caramel and black truffle. Very delicate palate, strawberry/raspberry infused water, caramel, just right amount of acidity, fully integrated tannins and lovely soft yet long lingering finish. With air, it blossoms, the nose becomes more expressive and the palate gains weight. Essence of raspberry, decadent light caramel, a hint of cedar and vosne spices emerge. Delicate yet decadent and energetic palate with the perfect balance and unbelievably long finish for such a delicate wine. It starts like Catherine Deneuve at her late 40s, still beautiful and graceful and ends in her late 30s still vibrant, classy, energetic and incredibly beautiful. Starts as 95 pts but quickly got to 98 and the last drop was flirting with perfection.

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John Gotti wine. You have to respect the man’s palate.

• 1968 Mastroberardino Taurasi Riserva 97 Points

  Italy, Campania, Taurasi DOCG

  It may be hard to believe but I drank at least a few bottles as my pizza/pasta wine as I had no clue about the 68 Taurasi. I thought they were incredibly good. I also drank the 77s as my house wine. The color is still opaque. Expressive nose that closely resembles Barolo, mostly dry dark fruit, black cherry, cherry liqueur, dry figs, fruitcake, roasted nut, charred steak and dark spices. Exceptional concentration, dark roasted fruit driven palate impression, good acidity and an incredible long finish. The wine remains incredibly expressive. It is really like a great Barolo but more ash and a hint of roasted fruit. My last bottle but this will last for another fifty years. Both hedonistic and intellectual.

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As usual, kinky and hedonistic.

• 1995 Romano Dal Forno Nettare 96 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT

  I am thinking 50/50 version of SQN sweet in unctuosity and airy texture and 19 century Madeira in piercing acidity and ripe slightly dry yellow fruits. Intense nose displaying slightly dry tropical fruits, apricot jam, peach jam, dry mango and clove. Despite chewy and unctuous palate, it remains quite airy, precise and beautifully balance due to the acidity or perhaps Dal Forno magic. Incredibly intense and hedonistic wine.

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I don’t often explicitly mention an individual’s generosity but Tom has been so incredibly generous that I must express my gratitude. He once again outdone himself by providing three incredible bottles of Monfortino. The others also were incredibly generous. This was a truly monumental dinner. The great time was had by all!