This was opened and shared for about 12 people, so only really a glass to evaluate. The nose is mature and balanced with poached pears, red apples, toast, vanilla beans, brioche, hazelnuts, almond paste, biscuits, and custard. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and a bit honeyed with well-integrated, high acidity. Looking at the notes of others, this really confirms my suspicions when I had the wine that it was a bit advanced for what it should be. This is fun and balanced, but it lacks an extra gear that would really add in layers of intrigue and complexity.

This was a real contrast to the champagne and was a perfect palate cleanser before the Nebbiolos. There is a real lively and fresh quality to the nose with tones of limes, lemon peels, green apples, white flowers, saline, crushed rocks, and some white fruits. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and on the leaner/lighter side with racy, high acidity. This is a fun and fresh Arneis that plays more in the white-fruited realm, though it lacks some depth.

This had seen a good bit of air before dinner. That air really opened this up beautifully with flowing tones of strawberries, red cherries, raspberries, roasted herbs, rose petals, crushed rocks, savory spices, violets, licorice, and loads of perfumes. There is so much depth and poise that really draws you in with loads of layering at this time. The Full bodied feel has a light-heavyweight fighter quality to it with deep tones that are backed up with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins that have been resolving. The structure has peeled back a good bit and has fully revealed a gorgeous Giacosa that is fully in flight.

This is a wine that for me needs absolutely zero introduction. It's one that I've been quite lucky to repeatedly drink over the years, though there was a famously corked bottle for a birthday dinner. Seeing as how this was for year 42 and the corked bottle was for year 32, this provided a nice bookend. This bottle was absolutely gorgeous and in full flight with deep and layered tones of licorice, red cherries, strawberries, violets, spices, crushed rocks, red berries, leather, and sweet tobacco notes. The Full bodied feel is deep and refined with silky, high tannins and crisp, high acidity. The feel is mature, refined, and poised with all sorts of balance and length to the finish. This is just wonderful and pretty much everything I could ask for from it.

DOA and not the first time with this wine. /sigh

The nose is expressive and lifted with pretty tones of red berries, earth notes, crushed rocks, violets, roasted herbs, strawberries, and a bowl full of bright red cherries. There is a lot of elegance and poise here as it keeps adding more layers with air. The Full bodied feel is balanced and polished with fine-grained, high tannins and crisp, high acidity. This feels like it's beginning to enter a more open and giving period. There is still a very primary nature to the fruit, but it is seamless and elegant. There is plenty of life ahead of this and there does seem to be some room for improvement.

This saw 7+ hours of air and it really hadn't budged too much from pop and pour earlier. It takes a bit to get much, but what is there is very pretty with red cherries, earth notes, crushed rocks, carob, violets, rose petals, and fresh picked strawberries. The Full bodied feel is well balanced and deep with chewy, high tannins and tart, high acidity. I don't feel like a rating is completely appropriate here. There is clearly a gorgeous wine that will emerge, but it's just too tight at the moment.

DOA...........

The nose is open and balanced with velvety tones of red cherries, raspberries, strawberries, licorice, tar, roasted herbs, tobacco, and some earth notes. There is good depth as well right now with everything working together in harmony. The Medium/full bodied feel is balanced and polished with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins. This is drinking perfectly right now. It does lack another gear compared to the big hitters in the lineup, but it's a lovely and mature Barolo that is a real joy to drink.

The nose is fresh and well put together with red cherries, strawberries, raspberries, licorice, spice notes, tobacco, currants, and some roses. There is decent depth, but it lacks a little bit with a perfumed take. The Medium/full bodied feel is well balanced and silky with crisp, high acidity and refined, high tannins. The structure is integrating beautifully right now and is in a more supporting than dominating role. This is pretty much ready to drink right now as I can't see it getting all that much better.

From the first smell, this is clearly mature. Yet there is good balance and aged tones of dust, cranberries, herbs, some old books, dried red cherries, dried raspberries, earth notes, and a touch of licorice. The Medium boded feel is balanced with drying, high acidity and somewhat bitter, medium+ tannins. This was pretty while it was open, but it did drop off after about an hour-ish. This is certainly fully mature and is more likely on the downslope. This was lovely while it was open and I'm glad I experienced it.

The nose is balanced, but lacks some expression with spices, cinnamon sticks, sour red cherries, cranberries, mint, woodsy notes, licorice, leather, earth, and some violets. The Medium/full bodied feel carries through the balance of the nose, but it's also a bit four-square with tart, high acidity and chewy, high tannins. The structure still shows some youth and it's a bit overpowering. This bottle could've used air or maybe it just never wanted to come out and really play. I expected a bit more, but what can you do?

I'm not sure if this is flawed, but it really has a noticeable soy/balsamico note along with earth tones, licorice, tobacco, sour red cherries, dust, violets, and dried raspberries. The Medium/full bodied feel shows off the soy/balsamico note with tart, high acidity and drying, high tannins. This is probably the best bottle of 01 Vignolo that I've had and it still feels off. My friend and I got from the same distributor years ago, so yea.

This is a much more powerful bottle than I've previously had. There is a bit of VA going that is just distracting enough. Even with that, there is excellent depth and expressive tones of sour red cherries, strawberries, roses, sour red fruits, vanilla beans, morning dew, truffles, earth, and leather notes. The Full bodied feel carries through the power the nose shows along with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins. The VA on the nose and a bit on the palate takes this down a slight bit compared to the bottle I had in 19. Still, it's a wonderful wine even when it's not fully up to its normal level.

This had seen the better part of 6+ hours of air. It was doubled decanted with the bottle being cleaned. The nose was just drop-dead gorgeous, deep, and layered with crushed rocks, roasted herbs, red cherries, raspberries, violets, strawberries, juniper berries, rose petals, and pipe tobacco. There is so much depth and class to the nose. I just got lost in it as it envelops the glass with an understated power. The Full bodied feel is layered and balanced with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. This is the second bottle I've had in a few months and I really need to lay off the rest of what I have. This is an absolute banger and there is plenty of life ahead of it.

This is one of the most aromatic and perfumed noses so far. It is lifted, and fresh with loads of strawberries, bright red cherries, fresh picked berries, morning dew, balsamico notes, roasted herbs, earth, potpourri, licorice, spices, and wild flowers with a bit of VA that pokes in and out. The Medium/full bodied feel is beautifully balanced and deep with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. The feel seemed to glide across the palate with a finish that won't seem to quit. The VA from the nose is also just a bit present on the palate as well. Even with that bit of VA, this is a gorgeous Barolo that just ticked off all the boxes for me. Bottles of this have been varied, but when they're on, they're on.

This was decanted in the morning and was open for over 8 hours before dinner. The nose was intensely perfumed, filling the glass with wild flowers, roasted herbs, red cherries, spices, crushed rocks, fresh picked strawberries, earth, truffles, violets, and potpourri. There was so much layering and depth that it was fun to get lost in the glass. The Full bodied feel is perfectly balanced and elegant with great depth that is backed up by silky, high tannins and crisp, high acidity. This was firing on all cylinders and acting like Monprivato in all of the ways I love. The perfume to this is an absolute delight while the feel still has some youth, but is long and refined. This does need some air to get going at this point and it does feel like it has a very long life ahead of it.

This likely does suffer from being right after a flight of killer traditional Barolos. At the same time it's a stark contrast and not necessarily in a good way. The oak hasn't really come close to integrating and it forms a very noticeable backdrop with richer tones of black currants, black cherries, black raspberries, licorice, wood spices, tobacco leaf, some pencil lead, violets, and some creamy vanilla tones. The Full bodied feel has some rough edges with tart, medium+ acidity with woody and stiffer, high tannins. I would like to try this again and maybe in a more solo setting. This bottle is extremely modern, but it also lacks some charm and the oak overpowers too much. I'm not sure this will improve much from here.

Where the Conterno-Fantino was heavy handed, this showed a quiet power that was very inviting with tones of sour red cherries, raspberries, tobacco notes, violets, roasted herbs, spices, licorice, crushed rocks, leather, and earth notes. The nose is expressive, balanced, and layered with a lot of upper register aromatics and a sour red-fruited take. The Full bodied feel shows off the balance and layering of the nose with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. This is right in its pomp. The understated power to the wine really draws you in while it also shows off a lot of sour red-fruits. This really grew with air and I can see it showing even better in a smaller setting.

The nose is wide open and expressive with balanced tones of mint, herbs, dark red cherries, raspberries, crushed rocks, licorice, spice tones, tobacco, currants, roses, and tart red fruits. The Full bodied feel is plush and balanced with crisp, high acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The feel is poised and with excellent layering along with a silky and lengthy finish. This is really in its zone right now and I would've loved to have had this more on its own because more time was needed to be spent with it. There is plenty of life ahead of it and its bringing a lot of joy at the moment.

The nose is unique, expressive, and deep as it fills the glass with sour red cherries, crushed rocks, currants, herbs, licorice, spices, roses, chocolate flakes, toast, woody notes, cinnamon, and tar. The Full bodied feel is deep and balanced with tart, medium+ acidity and silky, high tannins. This is a major win given the vintage. It does show off a harder edge and there is a darker take to the fruit, but it is still expressive and in a great place.

The nose here is very perfumed and deep with strawberries, bright red cherries, dusty notes, licorice, spices, toasty notes, vanilla beans, crushed rocks, currants, pencil lead, and some tobacco leaf. This is wide open with the fruits showing more in the red spectrum compared to the 2003. The Full bodied feel has some weight and stature to it that doesn't show too large. The structure is resolving and has pulled back with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. This is right at the beginning of its window. This isn't for die hard traditionalists, but it is a wonderful wine that I can easily appreciate.