2007 Barolo and one Barbaresco in Tucson
Ciabot Tucker
Tasted December 3, 2022 by cct with 139 views
Introduction
TM decided to out to visit Arizona for some warm weather, sunshine, and to drink some nebbiolo. The wether wasn't entirely agreeable to the plan but the wines were. 6 of us got together to take a look at a vintage that has been getting a lot of discussion recently. It seems like a good time to take a dive and see what we think. To boot, the Nebbia made a rare appearance in Tucson to accompany our nebbiolo.
For all the bottle prep fans: The wines had been upright for a couple weeks. They probably didn't need that much as very few of them had much sediment. I double decanted them in theearly AM, then revisited them a few hours later. I then formally decanted wines I feel that needed it for an hour or two, then rebottled them uncorked and put them in the cellar for dinner.
The AM started inauspiciously with first bottles of both Cascina Francia and Brunate le Coste being corked. They were replaced, but we didn't notice the Monprivato's TCA until it was too late to adjust plans.
So here we go:
Flight 1 (1 note)
Served with truffle potato chips and good company
Flight 2 (2 notes)
Served with Anthony Bourdain's mushroom soup with white truffle salt being added in lieu of sherry
A beautiful ripe but not overripe nose with terrific purity of fruit and florals. Cherry, rose, some Giacosa like hard candy and balsam notes. Effusively perfumed on the palate with beautiful fruit and florals. It's forward and bordering on Baroque but with terrific balance. This grew over a few hours being open. A forward wine that has the requisite balance to not only be immensely passively pleasurable, but also give you things to think about. Luca does very well in warm years. Better than the last bottle I had last year. Youthfully at peak. 94
A beautiful cooler profiled nose than the Roagna Paje served next to it. Tar, darker cooler fruit, medicinal mountain herbs, tar, and violets more than rose florals. The nose was terrific and continued to expand over several hours. On the palate there's terrific depth, a sense of sap and a simultaneously expansive yet graceful palate presence. More of the same fruit, some licorice, more balsam mountain herbs like Ricola. What was the best part for me was the sense of cohesion and its singular expression among the wine tonight. Long herbal balsam licorice and florals on the finish. Outstanding. Kept getting better all night. Youthful peak and a terrific success for the vintage.
Flight 3 (3 notes)
Served with Anthony Bourdain's mushroom soup with white truffle salt being added in lieu of sherry
A little VA that distracts a bit on the nose but not as much on the palate: tar, roses, savory notes and some early falling leaves. On the palate it has good density with a sense of ease and harmony. More savory notes, tar, cured meats, and good fruit. The one wine that showed a sense of age. This got worse with air and by then end of the night while still outstanding, was clearly the least good wine tonight. This is likely not an ideal bottle. TM said he had a terrific bottle a couple weeks ago.
Roses and red fruit: raspberry as much as cherry on the nose. Really lovely florals. This is supple and giving on the palate, with lovely inner mouth perfume, more florals, and a lovely sense of balance. Nothing really sticks out here, it just works. Grace and depth with lovely focus. Finishes with fine firm tannins on the back end. This one grew over the hours we drank it. Drinking at a youthful peak.
Flight 4 (2 notes)
Transitioning from the mushroom soup to the main course of braised short ribs served over polenta
Balsam, roses and tar on the nose. A deep beautifully perfumed nose. Structured and deep, expansive, powerful, and beautifully balanced. This wine walks up to the line up ripeness for me, but stays just behind it. The only wine for me this night that the fruit showed noticeable heat, but that softened and became more integrated over the few hours we drank it. Fantastic inner mouth perfume, a wonderful expression of Seralungs. In time, it fans out growing in breadth and depth. Great perfume. A little relatively coarser and less detailed than the Franco served with it. This is the slightly more overt, less refined brother of the Pie Franco, and that is not throwing shade. Terrific youthful wine. It and the Cascina Francia were the two most youthful wines of the night. 95
Terrific lung filling perfume. Roses tar, some Giacosa like hard candy. Archetypal Serralunga. This is simultaneously expansive, yet drinks with an ease of mineral water. Effortless, poised, finer, and more graceful than the Rupestris. The nose is to die for and the palate merely terrific. It's like you took the Rupestris and sent it to finishing school. Wonderful wine and for me the wine of the vintage.
Flight 5 (1 note)
Served with braised short ribs served over polenta
A touch of VA that blows off. This is ripe almost heady on the nose at first, but doesn't walk over the line to overripe. Dark fruit, nettles, balsam and black licorice on the nose. Mid to full bodied but with outstanding balance. More of the same dark fruit and medicinal herbal notes on the palate, with a subtle savory ferrous backbone. Finishes with beautiful mountain medicinal herbal notes. Youthful peak. 93
Flight 6 - Served with braised short ribs served over polenta (3 notes)
A compelling nose. Dark fruited, with balsam, licorice, and violet more than rose to start. It's full bodied, rich, and deep. This was the wine with the most gravitas tonight. Structured and vertical, expansive yet beautifully balanced on the palate. There was more of the same dark fruits, florals, mountain medicinal herbs, nettle, and savory notes, all coming together into a seamless whole. This has a terrific sense of inner calm and Zen like harmony. Over several hours it became more perfumed, fanning out on the palate with the perfume growing to more roses and balsam. Finishes long on the back end. A terrific success for '07 and the only wine tonight that I think will improve over the next 5-10 years. 96
Flight 7 (1 note)
We finished with a walnut torte with fresh whipped cream and Pariani cherries prior's to the bubbles night cap
Closing
It was great to be able to sit around a table with good friends from near and far. Something I took too much for granted before 2020.
Overall these wines showed better than expected. Granted our selection skewed toward producers I would expect to excel and are not representative of the entirely of the Langhe. Maybe it was good provenance. I suspect it had something to with with producer selection. Most of these wines are at youthful peak. They are delicious wines that offer both passive pleasure and are complicated enough to keep your attention. They were mostly just joyful to drink. I did not get any browning of the fruit or fig notes in any of the wines aside for the Brunate le Coste.
I do not fear any of these wine are going to fall apart anytime in the next 10 plus years, and expect a lifespan more than that, but most of them were giving as much of their potential now that I don't see any reason to purposely wait to start drinking them. I think the Cascina Francia and to a lesser degree the Rupestris are the only wines I think will get better than they are. That said, all of these wines except the Brunate le Coste got better with the extended air. That bottle was also not likely correct as TM said he had a terrific bottle of it a couple weeks earlier. I will revisit that wine some time soon. All in all, it was a great night with great friends, solid food if I may say so myself, and delicious wines.