Community Tasting Note

NoahCap wrote:

Friday, January 22, 2021 - Just lovely...my God, I love aged Nebbiolo. This is exactly what I look for in an aged wine. It has preserved youthful and lively red fruit and floral flavors balanced with subtle but deep delicious tertiary notes. Age has smoothed out the tannins to the point that they are like lace: undeniably present but transparent and beautiful. The acid is present, but mellowed to the point of providing a solid lip puckering through-line without any of the harshness that can be found in younger wines. The red fruit and flowers (rose especially) dominate, subtler earth, all integrated and smoothed out over the decades into a wonderful contiguous whole.

Many people describe Nebbiolo generally, and Barolo in particular, as a big muscular wine, probably because of the aggressive tannins and harsh acidity in youth. I never found that to be the case; to me, these wines ride the line between big/beefy and pretty/refined. Now that this wine has age on it, the experience it provides is one of subtle transparency; I couldn't help but think of Vermeer. This was a perfect pairing with wild mushroom risotto finished with a shower of Pecorino on the plate. If Napa Cabs are Kate Upton, this aged Barolo is Audrey Hepburn: both spectacular but in very different ways.

Finally, I think this wine is drinking at absolute peak, at least for my tastes. I've had 50+ year old Barolo that are fantastic; not sure this will be as good in another 15-20 years.

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