Decanted for an hour before enjoying at Carusso's Grocery. This needs a longer 2-3 hour decant to really show its true class.. I'll start with the last sip was definitely the best. Very tight and wound up for the first hour. Aromas of dark crushed rose petals, wet forest floor, and black cherries. As the night went on, the palate began to unfurl layers of dusty purple, dark cherries, sweet spices, and a smooth silky level of tar. The is an amazing Barolo built for the long haul. I can't wait to watch this develop over the next few decades next to some of the more highly acclaimed vintages, such as the '13 or '16. 95-96
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100% Nebbiolo. This Castiglione Falletto Barolo opens up immediately but this beauty shows its true colors after a 2 hour decant. Pale ruby color. Intense aromas of cherries, rose petals, violets. On the palate, full bodied, intense, elegant, very long lingering finish. Magical Barolo, it doesn't get much better than that! Drink or hold. 14% ABV
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On the nose, I found black cherry and red raspberry fruit, licorice, violets, menthol, fresh herbs, and a hint of fresh citrus. On the palate, the wine opened with juicy dark red fruit, with a good amount of power but lip puckering acidity contributing freshness and a sense of lightness. As it built towards the finish, finely textured but youthful tannin emerged, and the flavor profile transitioned into a bit of a darker fruit expression, ending on black fruit, spices, and salty minerality.
It's a brilliant wine. Compared to the '16 which I tasted yesterday, the fruit expression is a bit lighter, with some red fruit in the '14 mixing with the black cherry I found in both wines. The acidity level appears to be higher in the '14, or at least it sticks out more from the rest of the wine, and thus one could say it lacks a bit of the balance of the '16, where every aspect seems to be perfectly proportioned. It's a bit leaner on the palate as well, but not nearly to the degree of most '14 Barolo. In both wines there is a clear commonality in the vineyard characteristics but each also reflects the vintage characteristics.
This is an exceptional Barolo. It has a huge bouquet of flowers, sweet spices and truffles. The body has intense and vibrant macerated red fruits with huge yet round polished tannins. This wine is for the long haul but if you must, and we did, can be drunk now and enjoyed plenty. Un grande lavoro!
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Great perfume. Roses, balsam, truffle, tar and violets. you could smell this all day. Fresh and eep with darker nebbiolo fruit. This drinks with the ease of mineral water and has a great purity to its fruit and finishes with fine tannins. It is deep and yet carries itself with a sense of ease and grace. Impressive, and this may sound weird, but it is almost too pure and clean for me, and I get less of an emotional response to it. Wonderful wine nonetheless. I could see people going ballistic over this and I would not blame them. It is beautiful.
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La Festa Barolo (NYC): Not scoring due to extreme palate fatigue and note fatigue at this point. Felt that a lot was here, but it was a thinner, weaker, with more vanilla and dill than the top wines in the flight. Once I picked up dill, I kept thinking dill dill dill. Would need to give it another go, but in this setting I have a mental note of a 91, without much confidence my score would improve dramatically from here on a repeat. Regardless, at this price point, I am unlikely to try this again on my own dime.
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Intens på duft med parfymerte røde bær, stramme roser og med et pent tobakkspreg. Middels + fylde med et meget bra anslag. Kjølige kirsebær, bringebær, lett brent tjære, stilk og bitter karamell. Herlig smaksbilde. Dog er midtpartiet fortsatt noe hult og vinen viser tendenser til lette grønne toner. Tanninene er faste og syren er herlig på denne vinen som vil trenge mer tid en de øvrige Cru´ene for å finne den riktige balansen. Stort potensiale her.
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2018 Visit to Vietti (Castiglione Falletto): A huge step up in quality here. The best of the 2014s. An aromatic but serious nose of cherries and other largely red fruit and rocky and steely minerals. Also very serious on palate. Real substance, structure and intensity. Presently, actually, a bit of a beast. Our host said: “It’s not like a 2014 Barolo, it’s like a normal Rocche”. Superb. Not far behind the 2015 Rocche in quality. The 2014 will need 8-10+ years in the cellar.
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Having tasted the 2014 Rocche on two separate occasions and having had nearly identical experiences, I’m confident to say that it is currently my wine of the vintage. The nose was layered with mineral-infused cherry, dried roses, dusty soil tones, a mix of sweet and savory herbs, and crushed seashells. On the palate, I found a wine of intense focus with lean textures at first, which seemed to expand as they flowed effortlessly across the senses. Its dark red fruits were poised as tension built through a mix of brisk acids, minerals and youthfully austere tannins, with masses of inner floral tones that resonated throughout. The finish was long, displaying red berry fruits, spice, inner violet and rose notes, with fine mineral-laced tannin. The 2014 Rocche makes me think of the 1974 vintage of the same wine, a vintage I love, and I have to wonder if that ‘74 resembled the ‘18 in its youth.
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8/10/2023 - connorpksmith Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for an hour before enjoying at Carusso's Grocery. This needs a longer 2-3 hour decant to really show its true class.. I'll start with the last sip was definitely the best. Very tight and wound up for the first hour. Aromas of dark crushed rose petals, wet forest floor, and black cherries. As the night went on, the palate began to unfurl layers of dusty purple, dark cherries, sweet spices, and a smooth silky level of tar. The is an amazing Barolo built for the long haul. I can't wait to watch this develop over the next few decades next to some of the more highly acclaimed vintages, such as the '13 or '16. 95-96
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4/2/2023 - Nebbiolo75 Likes this wine: 97 Points
100% Nebbiolo. This Castiglione Falletto Barolo opens up immediately but this beauty shows its true colors after a 2 hour decant. Pale ruby color. Intense aromas of cherries, rose petals, violets. On the palate, full bodied, intense, elegant, very long lingering finish. Magical Barolo, it doesn't get much better than that! Drink or hold. 14% ABV
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6/29/2020 - Robmcl920 Likes this wine: 96 Points
On the nose, I found black cherry and red raspberry fruit, licorice, violets, menthol, fresh herbs, and a hint of fresh citrus. On the palate, the wine opened with juicy dark red fruit, with a good amount of power but lip puckering acidity contributing freshness and a sense of lightness. As it built towards the finish, finely textured but youthful tannin emerged, and the flavor profile transitioned into a bit of a darker fruit expression, ending on black fruit, spices, and salty minerality.
It's a brilliant wine. Compared to the '16 which I tasted yesterday, the fruit expression is a bit lighter, with some red fruit in the '14 mixing with the black cherry I found in both wines. The acidity level appears to be higher in the '14, or at least it sticks out more from the rest of the wine, and thus one could say it lacks a bit of the balance of the '16, where every aspect seems to be perfectly proportioned. It's a bit leaner on the palate as well, but not nearly to the degree of most '14 Barolo. In both wines there is a clear commonality in the vineyard characteristics but each also reflects the vintage characteristics.
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10/5/2019 - farinas Likes this wine: 97 Points
This is an exceptional Barolo. It has a huge bouquet of flowers, sweet spices and truffles. The body has intense and vibrant macerated red fruits with huge yet round polished tannins. This wine is for the long haul but if you must, and we did, can be drunk now and enjoyed plenty. Un grande lavoro!
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2/2/2019 - cct wrote: 94 Points
2014 Barolo at Festa dal Barolo (Del Posto, NYC): 2014 vintage tasting at 2019 Festa dal Barolo
Great perfume. Roses, balsam, truffle, tar and violets. you could smell this all day. Fresh and eep with darker nebbiolo fruit. This drinks with the ease of mineral water and has a great purity to its fruit and finishes with fine tannins. It is deep and yet carries itself with a sense of ease and grace. Impressive, and this may sound weird, but it is almost too pure and clean for me, and I get less of an emotional response to it. Wonderful wine nonetheless. I could see people going ballistic over this and I would not blame them. It is beautiful.
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2/2/2019 - SARED wrote:
La Festa Barolo (NYC): Not scoring due to extreme palate fatigue and note fatigue at this point. Felt that a lot was here, but it was a thinner, weaker, with more vanilla and dill than the top wines in the flight. Once I picked up dill, I kept thinking dill dill dill. Would need to give it another go, but in this setting I have a mental note of a 91, without much confidence my score would improve dramatically from here on a repeat. Regardless, at this price point, I am unlikely to try this again on my own dime.
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10/13/2018 - Andre Brattland wrote: 93 Points
Intens på duft med parfymerte røde bær, stramme roser og med et pent tobakkspreg. Middels + fylde med et meget bra anslag. Kjølige kirsebær, bringebær, lett brent tjære, stilk og bitter karamell. Herlig smaksbilde. Dog er midtpartiet fortsatt noe hult og vinen viser tendenser til lette grønne toner. Tanninene er faste og syren er herlig på denne vinen som vil trenge mer tid en de øvrige Cru´ene for å finne den riktige balansen. Stort potensiale her.
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10/10/2018 - HowardNZ Likes this wine:
2018 Visit to Vietti (Castiglione Falletto): A huge step up in quality here. The best of the 2014s. An aromatic but serious nose of cherries and other largely red fruit and rocky and steely minerals. Also very serious on palate. Real substance, structure and intensity. Presently, actually, a bit of a beast. Our host said: “It’s not like a 2014 Barolo, it’s like a normal Rocche”. Superb. Not far behind the 2015 Rocche in quality. The 2014 will need 8-10+ years in the cellar.
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9/26/2018 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 96 Points
Having tasted the 2014 Rocche on two separate occasions and having had nearly identical experiences, I’m confident to say that it is currently my wine of the vintage. The nose was layered with mineral-infused cherry, dried roses, dusty soil tones, a mix of sweet and savory herbs, and crushed seashells. On the palate, I found a wine of intense focus with lean textures at first, which seemed to expand as they flowed effortlessly across the senses. Its dark red fruits were poised as tension built through a mix of brisk acids, minerals and youthfully austere tannins, with masses of inner floral tones that resonated throughout. The finish was long, displaying red berry fruits, spice, inner violet and rose notes, with fine mineral-laced tannin. The 2014 Rocche makes me think of the 1974 vintage of the same wine, a vintage I love, and I have to wonder if that ‘74 resembled the ‘18 in its youth.
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