1990 Barolo: Modern vs. Traditional
private home
Tasted Saturday, October 9, 2010 by kenv with 2,195 views
Introduction
The group got together to taste 1990 Barolo, focusing on a comparison of so-called modern producers vs. so-called traditional producers. All wines were tasted single blind. That is, we had discussed what each of us was bringing ahead of time, but we had no idea which wines were which.
More details and photos can be found on my website: http://www.finewinegeek.com/tn/2010-10-09_NK_1990-Barolo/
Flight 1 (22 Notes)
The wines were served in pairs in the beginning, but over time there were all kinds of patterns and wines were saved over time where possible and interesting. So I have lumped these wines into one flight. The order is the order of original service.
Closing
A few bad bottles did create some disappointment (notably the Bartolo and the Cascina Francia), but the best bottles were glorious. There were clearly great bottles of both types: traditional and modern.
1990 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Classic nose. Quite mature. Very traditional and very good.
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1990 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Cloudy appearance. Muted nose, but expansive the mouth. This is a terrific classic Barolo!
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1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero di Castiglione Falletto 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Funky nose. Light and sour in the mouth. Very tannic. Needs time. After 1 hour, starting to open up. Incredibly backward compared to the other wines so far. 92-94 points.
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1990 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Monprivato Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Tight bitter corky
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1990 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc 91 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Gorgeous nose of red fruit. Lots of sour cherry in the mouth. Quite youthful, but still showing to much oak at this point. Try again in 5 years.
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1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 98 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From magnum. Mind-blowing nose that makes my head swim. Huge in the mouth with loads of tannin. An exquisite sense of balance. Expansive. A great wine. Far and away the best wine so far. With poached egg and white truffle, this is orgasmic!
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1990 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate 95 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From magnum. Heavenly, complex nose. Tight and thick in the mouth. Needs to open up. Long and expansive. Clearly modern in style with a great sense of harmony and balance. Superb.
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1990 Elio Altare Langhe Vigna Arborina 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Oak and nebbiolo nose. Tannic but simple. Sour cherry. Clearly modern, but not a good example.
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1990 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Much more expansive nose. Delicious cherries. Expansive. Great potential. Modern, but so much better than the last one. [1990 Vigna Arborina!]
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1990 Giovanni Corino Barolo Vigneto Rocche Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Gorgeous black cherry nose, but the palate is ruined by some corkiness. Sad.
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1990 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Way too mature. Oxidized. Sad, again. Especially once I knew which wine it was. :(
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1990 Giovanni Manzone Barolo Le Gramolere Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Distinctive celery nose. Nasty in the mouth.
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1990 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Lovely nose of tar and licorice. Sour cherry in the mouth. Nice.
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1990 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Riserva Brunate 95 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Nose of black cherries and orange peel. Seriously tannic. Classic structure. A terrific traditional Barolo. Great length.
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1990 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Riserva Vigna d'la Roul 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Ethereal nose. Complex. Very tannic.
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1990 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Tarry chocolate and ammonia. :(
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1990 Gaja Barolo Sperss 98 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Gorgeous clean nose of black cherries. Ethereal, heavenly nose. Thick rich, a great, fairly modern style. Wow!
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2006 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Delicate, ethereal. Wow! Incredibly complex. Amazing length. Very young. [A ringer that had been open for a while.]
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1990 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Very tannic yet sweet. Tarry, long, weird. Interesting, but I really don't know what to make of it. Maybe it's still too young?
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1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva 96 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Exquisitely delicate. What a treat. Such lightness and harmony. Terrific! Archetypal Barbaresco!
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1990 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti)
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[I was told this was only "Franco" grapes, but it does not say so on the label.] Amazing nose of balsam, soy, black cherries. Rich balanced. A stunning wine of great complexity. Amazing length. A great, great wine!No points given by request of the winemaker. See http://www.finewinegeek.com/cappellano/#noscores
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NV Cantina Mascarello Barolo Chinato
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo Chinato
Intensely herbaceous in the nose and mouth. Not for me.
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