Old Barolo (and a gattinara) Throwdown
Coppia, Portland OR
Tasted Friday, June 22, 2012 by KeithAkers with 771 views
Introduction
Shane organized this with me coming into town. What a shocker, he'd know that I would want a bunch of 20+ year old barolo. This was a good chance for me to meet a bunch of new people and see travis again. I've always had a great time in Portland, so this wasn't to disappoint
Flight 1 (11 Notes)
Closing
Yea, this was a pretty damn awesome tasting. Nothing was dead, which isn't easy with the ages of many of the wines. Most of all, there was some seriously killer juice on display. A lot of bottles and a great group of people. The wines were absolutely awesome and that was all I could really ask for
1998 Gaja Langhe Rossj Bass 91 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
nose: very good nose with good depth and tones of quince, white fruits, vanilla beans, cream tones and some bits of meyer lemons. This was wide open nose right from the get go.
taste: Full bodied with medium acidity and balanced tones of white fruits, quince, creams and some lemon curd tones. Excellent depth with the tones being well rounded
overall: Four years on and this is still a beautiful wine. Showing some maturity, but comes off as still on the young side. There is a medium gold color but still youthful on the tones.
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2002 André Clouet Champagne Brut Millésimé 92 Points
France, Champagne
nose: clear and pristine nose with really good depth and tones of white fruits, acacia flowers, some berries and mineral tones.
taste: Medium/full bodied with good medium+ acidity and classy tones of acacia flowers, minerals, berries and white fruits
overall: this was a wonderful bubbly. Certainly on the youthful side, this was very drinkable with a great feel to it. This should develop even further with more age as it certainly has the stuffing to do so
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1976 Ferrando Gattinara Iurea 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
nose: quite lovely and quite alive with perfumed tones of white truffles, roasted herbs, leather, star anise, and some perfumes. Very good depth with a real lovely take to it and a hi-toned quality as well.
taste: medium bodied with a very silky take on the palate. Refined with a demure feel and medium acidity along with tones of white truffles, roasted herbs, leather and some bits of incense on the back end.
overall: A very pretty gattinara and showing off how they can age. I wasn't familiar with this producer at all and it showed a wonderful feminine quality to it as it danced across the palate.
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1983 Renato Ratti Barolo Rocche 89 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
nose: delicate and lovely right away with tones of white pepper, truffles, roasted herbs, tar and some rose petals with a touch of red fruits as well. Nice complexity, but lacking some depth
taste: very pretty medium feel with medium acidity and dusty tannins. There are lighter tones of rose petals, tar, red fruits, and truffles. The finish is a bit clipped.
overall: this was a very pretty wine. Wasn't sure what to expect from an 83 and knowing that Ratti's aren't always meant for the long haul, but this showed quite well. It did fall apart after a while, but it was lovely while it lasted.
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1990 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
nose: a bit tight at first, but unwound into tones of cinnamon spices, tar, roasted herbs, dark red cherries, berries and a touch of soy tones. There was a definite fruitful aspect to the wine while also having a savory quality as well.
taste: The tannins are still kicking on this with a really nice medium/full feel and medium/high acidity. Balanced with good fruited yet savory tones of dark red cherries, dark berries, roasted herbs, and cinnamon spice tones
overall: there is a nice red fruit base on this. Certainly had a fruit quality to it while having a real savory quality as well. The mascarello was after this and made it a rather unfair comparison in a way. This was enjoyable once it opened up and showed what it had.
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1990 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 97 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
nose: was tight at first, but opened up into waves of roasted herbs, red cherries, loads of roses, all sorts of wild flowers, perfumes, truffles, tar, and loads of dark red fruits with a touch of incense. Insanely complex and deep. It took several goes to get everything from it as it was a bit of a moving target
taste: Very polished and elegant. Smooth, but with noticeable medium/high acidity and some good tannins. Young, but showing off mature tones of incense, lots of red cherries and red fruits, tons of roses with truffles and tar tones as well. Great depth and a silky medium feel that seems to dance across the palate
overall: Um, yea. This was utterly awesome and my WOTY so far. While there is a lot of words from me, words don't fully do this justice. This was a completely on bottle and was a real treat.
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1982 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia Soprana 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
nose: it took a long while for this to want to come out and play. But, after a ton of coaxing and patience it was almost like a light switch was turned on with deep and savory tones of dark red fruits, all sorts of perfumes, roasted herbs, wild spices, berries, and bits of incense.
taste: Silky medium body with gripping tannins and medium/high acidity. There is some coarseness on the palate as this comes off like it's a baby. All of this is backed up by wonderful tones of dark red fruits, incense, berries, wild and roasted spices, roasted herbs, some tar and a touch of berries.
overall: this bad boy was shut down like no tomorrow at first. But, when it turned on, it showed gorgeously and seemed to envelope the glass. It was nearing the sublime, but it was then drunk all too fast. Such was it's fate on the night, but oh what a lovely wine in the end.
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1985 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
nose: was also very tight for a good while. It was slightly more forgiving than the bussia soprana but then opened up after about 2 1/2 hours with perfumed and elegant tones of white and black truffles, violets, lots of roses, dark red cherries, loads of tar, some roasted herbs and leather. Very deep, very complex and almost etheral
taste: deep with a wonderful medium/full feel. Medium/high acidity is still quite there along with firm and taught tannins. This was just loaded with tones of violets, truffles, dark red cherries, tar, and leather tones with a touch of roasted herbs.
overall: once this opened up, it was an utterly gorgeous and desirable wine. This had a lot more to give and really just suffered from not being opened long enough, or having too many people on it. While it took patience to come alive, once it did you could see the beauty behind it
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1961 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
nose: very different and yet still lovely with tones of roasted chestnuts, dried herbs and roses, some perfumes, dark red cherries and sadly an acetone component that was slightly off putting.
taste: medium bodied with nice dusty tannins and medium+ acidity that is still quite kicking. There was a lithe quality to it on the palate along with roasted chestnuts, dried roses, herbs and the acetone tones that were bothering me very slightly
overall: this was more than an intellectual exercise for me. It was certainly alive, but I just didn't know what to make of the acetone characteristic on both the nose and palate. Still to drink a barolo this old is a real treat and provided me with joy.
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1966 Luigi Calissano Barolo Riserva Speciale
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
nose: though alive, this bottle did seem like it was past it's prime. Had very advanced aromas of chestnuts, soy, bits of dried red fruits and roasted herbs. Not as much depth either.
taste: very nice and refined medium feel with medium+ acidity and some nice tannins. Still it was lacking on the mid palate and lacking on the finish while showing it's age. Nice tones of soy, roasted chestnuts and dried red fruits provide a nice base.
overall: it was utterly shocking how red it was compared to the 61. That's kind of where it ended though even though it was alive, it was past it's prime and didn't feel like a fully representative bottle
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1995 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
nose: beautiful and refined with real polish and balanced tones of roses, tar, roasted herbs, red cherries and all sorts of wild flowers. Very classic with an almost laid back take to it that really permeates the glass.
taste: silky and sexy medium body with tannins that still shred. The acidity is also still quite noticeable as it is medium/high and gives way to young, but polished tones of dark red cherries, tar, roasted herbs, loads of roses and bits of dark berries as well.
overall: this was clearly the baby of the bunch. While it was in my glass for a while, I never got to spend as much time with it as I would've liked. This had serious material to it and made me wish that I could just chill with a bottle over the course of a day. There is a real good amount of depth and perfume to this. Easily one of the best 95s I've had
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