November 6, 2023 - Tasted at Castello Di Casole, this wine had a very deep red center with orange/tawny right at the rims. I gave this one 10 hours of air and afterwards the medium intensity nose offered up plum, roasted chestnuts, tar, minerals, and a hint of camphor.
In the mouth, this wine was fruity with an attractive structure of light rounded tannins and good acidity. The tannins were light and silky and the wine was subtly long.
It got better and better with air. This is great now with food and will continue to age well for decades. However, don’t expect a blockbuster.
July 12, 2023 - Piemonte - mature Barolo & Barbaresco (at my home): very good to excellent - a great elegant Barolo
April 30, 2023 - Spectacular with two hour decant
January 28, 2023 - This has a serious plum and black cherry nose with intense violets, asphalt, smoke, and toasted herbs. Ripe, rich fruit is still pure and fresh. Tannins are gritty but not out of proportion with the fruit - so it all hangs together. Young and not yet at peak, though this provides plenty of pleasure on a snowy winter evening. While 2005 is the tail end of Giacosa’s heyday, this wine is comfortably dialed in to the silky and pure house style.
December 31, 2022 - Major deductions for wpr - definitely not worth the money. Drinking well. Decanted for 2-3 hours. Cola, a smidge of forest floor. Really not impressed.
December 28, 2022 - Mature color with a brown hue already. Still has a good acidity structure, but flavor is clearly evolved with some caramel notes. Drink up now.
April 2, 2022 - Everything that makes you appreciate cellared Barolo and Bruno Giacosa's talents. Impeccable balance, bright red fruits, fine tannins, dried roses, delicate but structured. Just seamless. Fine wine, better than the last bottle from a year ago.
January 27, 2022 - This was heavy and kirsch-like, a very masculine version of a Barolo which I didn’t like. Decanting for an hour plus an hour in the glass didn’t improve it by much, nor was it better the next day.
December 18, 2021 - Drinking absolutely beautiful, really improved since last taste.
December 6, 2021 - It needs time to open. Once there, tannins are high but integrated well into the wine. Delicious