1999 Piedmont Retrospective

Eight good friends got together in Brooklyn to take a look at the ’99 vintage in Barolo and Barbaresco and pair them with Alba white truffles and some terrific home cooking by the local home chef JW. All of the Nebbiolo wines were double decanted earlier in the day and drunk over several hours with great food. We took pretty light pours at first and were able to return to the bottles later in the night to see how they had evolved. Almost all of them showed improvement with the increased time open.

We started with some light snacks and bubbles.

• 1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 98 Points

  France, Champagne

  1999 Retrospective in Brooklyn
  
  For starters:
  
  A fantastic, lifted nose with a touch of honey, white flowers, apple and lemon. Laser cut and a little chalky on the palate. Brilliant and gossamer having a weightless structure.. Filigree fine, effortlessly beautiful, precise, weightless graceful wine of incredibly beauty. One of the best Champagnes I have had. Drinking wonderfully. Wow

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with lentils, maiatake mushrooms, corn, braised greens with a yogurt, robiola sauce. This was simple and terrific.

• 1999 Lorenzo Accomasso Barolo Vigneto Rocchette 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  1999 Retrospective in Brooklyn
  
  Double decanted in the AM. Drunk over several hours.
  
  Predominantly balsamic, more medicine cabinet on the nose, with ripe cherry fruit, rose perfume, much like the 89 but a little less profound on the nose. There was a little VA that blows off then roses, tar, all, with a richness and forwardness to the nose and on the palate, rich and ripe, yet holding it together very well. This is painted in a broader stroke than most of the producers tonight, and has little wildness to it, but it works and adds complexity to me. More cherry fruit with sap and breadth, but with excellent acidity to balance it all. Expansive, rich, forward and powerful, could have easily been poured along the Serralunga wines. Improve quite a bit over the night gaining focus. Delicious.

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• 1999 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 96 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  1999 Retrospective in Brooklyn
  
  Double decanted in the AM. Drunk over several hours
  
  More elegant and floral on the nose than the Accomasso. More red fruited and graceful as well. Archetypal Barolo nose, with nothing standing out. Everything just seems to blend together into a complete wine here. Wonderful, graceful, mid weighted, elegant Barolo. Lovely florals on the nose and palate with depth and a sense of power without weight. Finishes with firm nebbiolo tannins. A Graceful, complicated, effortlessly beautiful wine without artifice. Drinking at early peak with plenty fo time in hand.

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With Tajarin and fresh Alba truffles

• 1999 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 97 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  1999 retrospective, Brooklyn
  
  Double decanted in the AM. Drunk over of several hours.
  
  A fantastic nose. Hugley perfumed with chery fruit, roses, and tar. A truly classic, profound nose. On the palate, sap and power with terrific balance. Power coupled with grace. Rich, yet fresh with terrific inner mouth perfume. Very long on the finish with balsamic notes added to the whole. Fantastic youthful Barolo.

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• 1999 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  1999 Retrospective, Brooklyn
  
  Double decanted int he AM. Drunk over several hours
  
  The nose is more balsamic and richer than the Beppe Brunate, with a warmer feel to it and some VA that blows off with time. On the palate, it's broader and richer, yet lacking the lift and balance of the Beppe. More balsamic notes, power and richness. This is a terrific expression of Serralunga fruit. Rich and deep and very well done in a slightly coarser, less precise mode than the Beppe which was just about everything I could ask for a semi young Barolo. This improved quite a bit with air. Drinking well with time in hand.

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With perfectly grilled leg of lamb, roasted potatoes, grilled squash and braised greens.

• 1999 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  1999 Retrospective, Brooklyn
  
  Double decanted in the AM, drunk over several hours.
  
  A promising, initially reluctant, yet beautiful nose perfumed with cherry, roses and balsamic notes. On the palate, it was the most youthful and compact wine of the night. There is great depth and structure, and everything seems to be beautifully balanced, but it just seems to need time. Thereis a gracefulness to this opposed to the Granbussia which is youthful, but more overly structured and firm. Improves with air. Beautiful and I will hold my remaining bottles for at least 5 years before checking in again. 95++

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• 1999 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  1999 Retrospective, Brooklyn
  
  Celery seed, a ton of VA. Flawed. Bummer

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Still enjoying the perfectly grilled leg of lamb, roasted potatoes, grilled squash and braised greens.

• 1999 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  1999 Retrospective, Brooklyn
  
  Double decanted in the AM, drunk over several hours
  
  This was the surprise of the night. I am not fan of this era of Aldo Conterno’s wines, but this showed very well. Good perfume, with nettles, tar, ferrous and savory notes, with much darker fruit than any of the other wines tonight. Muscular and broad shouldered, but very well balanced, and only a little wood evidence. Quite long and the most structured wine of the night.Youthful. 94

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• 1999 Vietti Barolo Rocche 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  1999 Retrospective, Brooklyn
  
  Double decanted earlier in the day. Drunk over a couple hours.
  
  Magnum
  
  Roses and red fruited, some wood spice, all coming across pretty, but a little polished on the nose and again on the palate. Floral with some wood spice that for me not enjoyable, but it was well done in the mode. There was good depth and balanced, but it seemed to be lacking an extra gear and lacked nuance. Good balance and depth and still a solid bottle of wine, but paled in the company, and due to personal preferences. If you do not mind noticeable wood in Nebbiolo, you would like it significantly more.

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With a terrific cheese board.

• 1985 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Beerenauslese Flawed

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  1999 Retrospective, Brooklyn
  
  Sadly corked. Unfortunate, as the wine beneath the TCA was pretty terrific.

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Overall, this was a great night. It was what food and wine can be. Good friends talking over a long meal at a great table. The food was terrific and achieved the difficult balance of being delicious, yet still acting as a supporting actor the wine. That is, at least for me, a sign of real talent. The wines for the most part showed quite well, with nearly all of them on the young side. The wines do not reach the heights of the previous evening's '89s, but I don't think we should expect them to do so. The Rinaldi and Bartolo were best in class for me. I think the Giacosa Rocche will shine in time, but on this night, it was still pretty closed. The Accomasso showed a powerful side of that privileged spot in La Morra/ Annunziata. The Granbussia was a pleasant surprise for sure. After getting a nice cross section of traditional '99s this night, I am happy to have these in the cellar. Also, I was glad that I could continue my string of supplying underperforming or flawed German dessert wines for TM.

Anyway, this evening was really special, and was about as ideal a way to bring my 50th birthday celebration to it’s finale. I really couldn’t ask for more.

Thanks for reading.