April 12, 2024 - Pale, light rim, pure red.
Gentle red berry and tar spice fragrance, refined, lovely floral notes.
Delicate up front, beautifully refined, sweet red and black berries with dark spice and floral elements all perfectly integrated. Tannins are fine and silky but leave a furry impression, overall structure is light but recognisably Barolo. Not really marked by earthy notes, driven by sweet fruit and spice, delicious drinking.
July 30, 2023 - Quite a pale colour. vibrant red.
Ripe, vibrant nose, bright red fruits, tar spice.
Has a beautiful delicacy that is unusual for Barolo. Silky refined tannins. Fruit is sweet, dark cherry and raspberry, gentle earthy notes sit more in the background. Drinking beautifully, has structure to last five more at least.
January 2, 2023 - 3 Hour Decant - stood no chance against the '13 Bartolo Mascarello
Clearly young but dense a with nose of dark black and red fruit, tar, earth and flowers. Powerful and bold, with a full body, tight core and very young tannins. Likely upside from here
January 13, 2022 - Very tight to begin with. Cracks open in a wide bowled glass after about an hour to reveal notes of dried flowers, iron, cranberry, cherry and brown spices. There's so much perfume that builds and ample structure under all of the wine's pretty façade. Great balance and drive and whilst it is far too young there is pleasure to be had.
October 29, 2021 - I won't rip on this too much, but at nearly 200 bucks a bottle, it does deserve a chuckle. Charming aged appearance with great clarity, the wine looks ready to go! The nose is absent, but the mid weight wine delivers Barolo with the tug and pull that you would expect from any good Barolo. The finish was initially explosive and long, but it pulls into a cheap woody direction. As the wine relaxed and we got into the second and third pours, the nuances of used wood started emerging and wine went softer as expected. The only thing I can hope for is that father time is kind to this wine, but judging by this showing, I would drink up!
I actually poured this blind for a couple of friends, one of them a great fan of Giacosa wines and he was very appalled and poured the remainder out of his glass and onto the dirt. Me, I was less un-enthused, but totally relate to his lack of enthusiasm. The difference between me and him was that I paid for the wine, so I sallowed :-) I took the other 1/2 of the bottle to the next party of the night, where others who did not know wine drank it, without notice. One guy dug it enough to comment....
January 31, 2021 - 2 hour decant
Clearly young but classic Barolo nose of tar, wet leaves, tobacco, faint blackberries and a layer of meatiness. Body is young tight and highly coiled but I don’t think this has the bones for long term aging. Finish is nice but moderate with tight tannins. Classic Barolo flavors, aromas and structure but better to drink young than old I would guess. Wait 3-5 years for drinking window. Not such a great qpr however.
August 6, 2020 - Loan gave to Dominique
October 29, 2019 - Giacosa tasting at Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe (Northbrook, IL): Nice to be able to check in on this wine without having to open one of my own. From a great vintage, but just not very expressive at this point (which in all fairness is probably correct -- no one should be opening 6-year-old high end Barolo). The palate is a bit thin, but it feels like there is some good material here (or at least I hope so). Best to let this one rest in the cellar.
October 12, 2019 - Very light for a Barolo but smooth and drinking well. Drank with a steak and it held up well
September 16, 2018 - Not sure what happened here... disjointed. Thin and astringent. Worrisome.