Community Tasting Note

NoahCap wrote:

Saturday, November 21, 2020 - No matter the taste, this 53 year old Barbera is unusual and a very very interesting experience to drink. I have no idea how such a wine made it through those decades from a vineyard in the Piemonte all the way to me here in 2020, but I feel lucky to try it. While not the most delicious drink in the world, it did have its merits.

The evolution of this wine was so fun to follow. First of all, it is extremely fragile. The cork was a beast (nearly entirely soaked through, then broke in half, then sank into the bottle). But the instant that friggin' cork fell in, I caught a beautiful whiff of gorgeous red fruit and got excited. Might this actually be an amazing bottle?! Decanted off the sediment and the nose was absolutely gorgeous; soft, floral, potpourri, red fruits, lifted, and elegant. However, the taste did not live up- like soy sauce and vinegar mixed into generic red wine. But 30 mins or so in a narrow decanter and the wine had completely pulled itself together. It was in wonderful harmony. The nose continued to be amazingly fresh and the wine in the mouth was alive and vibrant. This is my only experience with old Barbera, but the flavor reminded me of an amazing nearly 30 yr old bottle of Frog's Leap zinfandel I had once that was full of red fruit and flowers. No tannins at all.

It hit an absolute peak about an hour in and then took a nosedive. The vinegar notes came back, generic weird too-old wine flavors returned, the nose became muted and sour. A great peak, but one that was short lived. Kind of sad to think of this wine waiting 53 years to be opened, and then flaring out in an hour. But what a flare while it lasted! Perhaps the one and only experience I will have with 50+ yr old Barbera; glad I had it.

Post a Comment / View NoahCap's profile
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue (367 views)