Fresh, ripe, juicy red berry fruit only beginning to show a touch of rustic and distinctly Italian spice. Primary. Round on the palate and actually fairly soft. Pretty.

I also had this wine last summer out of magnum and neglected to take a good note. This is a similar but fresher example with a good nose of dark berry fruits and leathers. Intriguing black and green olives, fennel and rosemary, dried roses. Palate is terrific with secondary leathery red berry fruit, very pleasant acid. Great balance. Very flavorful and long. Soulful and expressive. Really enjoyed this one.

This strikes me as very advanced with oxidization and sour cherry on the nose. Some redeeming licorice. Not much on the palate, very dark. Moving in waves and is now completely closed. Hard to get a read on, came back to this and it is youthful and dark. Baking spice. Better on the palate now.

Similar to the ‘90 at first: dark, vegetal, unpleasant. Coming back there is some freshness over dark black and red fruit. Still difficult to get a good read on.

Also similar to the ‘89 and ‘90, but much fresher and more smoky. Took some time and context but this came around much better than the younger two. On the plate this has more lively fruit and sweetness than the ‘89. With the exception of the emergency ‘96 ordered off the list, this is the best of a relatively bad bunch.

Fresh and sweet red berry fruit, youthful and lively. Showing totally different than the '90, ‘89 and ‘85. Palate is excellent with vibrant red cherry upfront. Pastels and florals. Lovely, still relatively youthful but with intriguing development beginning nicely.

Unlike the Conterno Cascina Francias this far ('90, '89, '85), this is actually quite pretty and expressive. Subtle smoke, dried roses, and leathery red berry fruit. Also a lot of ripeness and mild maderization beginning. Relative to Conterno Cascina Francias this far this is lighter and zippy. Enjoyed this one quite a bit.

This smells like the lobby of the Cosmopolitan in Vegas: a little floral and a little smoky, quite nice but could be the context. Moderately expressive and probably the best ‘89 of the program.

This is a highly expressive nose, very sweet and floral, pastels and roses, very beautiful. Easily the best bouquet of the night so far. This also has a cleanliness and purity that deviates from the rest of the wines tonight. This palate is also ripe and round and delicious up front. Texturally soft. Finally, Barolo night kicks into gear with this bottle outstanding form the pack.

Drying red berry fruit, leathery and smoky. A swirl gives a slightly fresher glimpse of dried flowers. Actually this is opening quite nicely. Coming back to this the nose here is excellent, highly expressive and intricate with great dried roses.

Matute and tertiary nose, dusty, badly thinning out and fading. This nose is really coming and going and is now showing some more lively red berry. Volatile. Palate is more consistent and is soft and elegant. Difficult to get a good read on tonight.

This is a dynamic and intriguing nose that is much different than the Rocce del Falletto with smoky reduction that is hard to place on an old Nebbiolo, dried leathery berry, and dry earth. I find this more musty than most. I also find the palate thinner than most, although quite nice in the broader context of these wines tonight.

This Monfortino flight is stylistically very different from any of the Giacosas. Dark and intense but nicely perfumed. The ‘99 to ‘90 all smell remarkably similar with a polished black cherry. Overall I find this young and not particularly intriguing.

This Monfortino flight is stylistically very different from any of the Giacosas. Dark and intense but nicely perfumed. The ‘99 to ‘90 all smell remarkably similar with a polished black cherry. Overall I find this young and not particularly intriguing.

The ‘97 has some more interesting spice and menthol on the nose. Pine and lavender above the black berry. Also chocolatey and rich. Delicious dense palate. A much riper iteration than the '99, '98, and '93, but I find that works in favour of the wine at this particular age. Still polished and youthful overall, but more interesting than the two preceding vintages.

This Monfortino flight is stylistically very different from any of the Giacosas. Dark and intense but nicely perfumed. The ‘99 to ‘90 all smell remarkably similar with a polished black cherry. Overall I find this young and not particularly intriguing.

The ‘90 is quite plump and also very perfumed. Fairly elegant and intricate. Every bit as youthful as each of the younger vintages at dinner with that consistent polished black cherry but with greater beauty and expression. The '90 and the '97 were the stand out vintages of the '99 - '90 flight.