A higher fill and a darker color than my last bottle, but a more diffuse presence. Sometimes you just never know. Still a beauty and incredibly supple in texture, which some strange flavors like melon and mint and antique wood.
Lots more going on here than the Monsecco. The first sip smacks you with tar and orange peel and prepares you for something gritty, but actually it's remarkably suave. A complex, layered presence and finish with tobacco and lavendar. A Gattinara to educate the non-believers and better than most of the Baroli today.
Similar profile to the last one but put together a little better. Again, it starts out with an offputting oxidized scent that takes a little while to vanish. Richly fruited but incredibly supple, about as pampering as nebbiolo gets.
Young and primary. Deep concentation of fruit marked by oak. One presumes they used the barriques to give it some modern polish. But compare it to the traditionally made '90 Scarpa next to it. That wine is the essence of polish, while this is rough and rustic in texture. Isn't it ironic?
Everything that a Barolo should be and aspires to be. As mouthfilling as a Grand Cru Burgundy but spackled from top to bottom with Barolo tar. So much presence here that it doesn't even matter that there's still a whole lot of tannin.
Much better than my last taste of this wine. Doesn't smell like anything, but has a grand sense of dimension on the palate; this wine is built in veritable tiers. Quite tannic, but there's almost a maple-syrup sweetness to it which helps it go down easy. Elegant, sappy, and deliciously fruitless.
Probably the wine of the night today in terms of catching it at exactly the right moment, the structure and material in perfect balance. Rich and intense, but supple.
2007 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero
Better than everyday Arneis - the crunchy and angular texture nicely complements its brightness and purity.
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1957 Monsecco Gattinara Conte Ravizza 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
A higher fill and a darker color than my last bottle, but a more diffuse presence. Sometimes you just never know. Still a beauty and incredibly supple in texture, which some strange flavors like melon and mint and antique wood.
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1971 Travaglini Gattinara Selezione 97 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
Lots more going on here than the Monsecco. The first sip smacks you with tar and orange peel and prepares you for something gritty, but actually it's remarkably suave. A complex, layered presence and finish with tobacco and lavendar. A Gattinara to educate the non-believers and better than most of the Baroli today.
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1990 Scarpa Barolo Tettimorra 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Similar profile to the last one but put together a little better. Again, it starts out with an offputting oxidized scent that takes a little while to vanish. Richly fruited but incredibly supple, about as pampering as nebbiolo gets.
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1989 Conterno Fantino Barolo Vigna del Gris 82 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Young and primary. Deep concentation of fruit marked by oak. One presumes they used the barriques to give it some modern polish. But compare it to the traditionally made '90 Scarpa next to it. That wine is the essence of polish, while this is rough and rustic in texture. Isn't it ironic?
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1985 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Riserva Brunate 99 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Everything that a Barolo should be and aspires to be. As mouthfilling as a Grand Cru Burgundy but spackled from top to bottom with Barolo tar. So much presence here that it doesn't even matter that there's still a whole lot of tannin.
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1985 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Much better than my last taste of this wine. Doesn't smell like anything, but has a grand sense of dimension on the palate; this wine is built in veritable tiers. Quite tannic, but there's almost a maple-syrup sweetness to it which helps it go down easy. Elegant, sappy, and deliciously fruitless.
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1989 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato 89 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Like the Giacosa, this has a sweet core with almost a maple-syrup thing that makes it easier to drink than the tannin level should allow.
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1985 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato 91 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Benefited much from the extra four years of bottle age it has over the 1989. Much more piercing in its fruit presence with an almost bloody salinity.
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1999 Roagna Barbaresco Pajè Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Over-the-top V.A. contamination. Smells like paint thinner. Ick!
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1989 Braida (Giacomo Bologna) Barbera d'Asti Bricco della Bigotta 67 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti
Bad.
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1979 Roagna Barbaresco 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Probably the wine of the night today in terms of catching it at exactly the right moment, the structure and material in perfect balance. Rich and intense, but supple.
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