Enjoyable, but the bottle I had was past its peak—
This wine has a lot of structure still. And that structure may outlive the fruit—at least that was my impression.
The nose showed sweet cherry and roses with some coaxing—also fresh soil and mushrooms. It improved with air, but seemed to plateau after a few hours, settling with a not-quite-identifiable floral sweetness.
The tannic base seemed to control the palate. Again, there’s some cherry around the edges, but not enough to balance the tannin.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
[Decanted around 6pm. Notes taken around 9pm.] Opened as a birth year wine for Eli whose birthday is next week. A bit tight and tannic at first, but the perfume is fabulous and the tannins fade with dry-aged ribeyes. Gorgeous nose of cherries, plums, tar, roses, and licorice. In the mouth there's an expansive richness and complexity. This is, for me, the epitome of Rabajà.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The '89 Rabaja was an enjoyable wine, but fell short of what I would expect given the pedigree of the vineyard and vintage. There were dark red fruits and earth on the nose, while on the palate I got red fruit, licorice, and black truffle / earthy flavors. The tannins and structure remained a bit firmer than the '90 Rabaja that this was tasted alongside.
Compared to the '90 Rabaja, the '89 was more red fruit than black fruit, and instead of 'darker' secondary aromas like espresso and balsamic, in this case there was truffle/earth aromas behind the fruit.
Given the pedigree of the wine and the tannin/structure of this compared to the '90, I'm tempted to say it just needs more time, but I didn't get the sense there is enough stuffing there in terms of the fruit/flavor profile to assume that this will get better in the future.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1989 Barolo Retrospective - Single Blind (Buona Notte, NYC): Not the start to our ‘89 Barolo and Barbaresco vertical that we were hoping for; unfortunately the ‘89 Rabaja has seen better days, and as much as I’d like to hope it was just the bottle, the only thing that seemed to really be wrong was that the wine was on the decline. Here I found a display of dark moist soil tones, animal muskiness, minerals, and black cherry with a hint of decay. On the palate, soft textures gave way to black cherry fruits and earthy minerals, as an odd herbal tone developed, along with hints of old barrel. The finish was long with staining red fruit, rusty minerality and earth.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Riesling Freaks lazy afternoon lunch (Chez Hugo - Baltimore): En magnum. The most refined wine of the flight. Beautiful fully mature nose display subtle dry red fruit, dry cherries, strawberry jam, strong iron, tar, caramel, cinnamon, leather, anise and earth. Fully integrated palate, finely layered dry cherry, lean, fluid and precise, bright acidity, steely mineral and a seamless long dry cherry driven finish with a hint of iron and anise at the end. Tom generously provided the same Produttori flight in August, 2017 and this was my WOTF. My favorite once again.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Youthful pure deep nebbiolo fruit nose. Roses, perfumed, tar and balsam. Deep and powerful yet refined on the palate with more tar, roses, and balsamic notes. Very long. Outstanding. 95+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The Kirsch Italian Extravaganza (677 Prime, Albany, NY): [From a magnum double-decanted around 2pm.] Huge red and black fruit nose. Complex, roses, violets, anise. Still a really big wine. Just stunning. I wish I could sit with this all evening.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
All magnum Produttori dinner at Aromes (Aromes Restaurant, Baltimore): En magnum, pretty similar to the other two 89s. Mature but energetic nose displaying subtle dry red fruits, rose, caramel, tar, strongest iron of the flight, cinnamon, limestone, leather and earth. Fully integrated palate, subtle dry red fruit, silky and polished, strong iron, bright acidity, still a hint of coarse tannins and a medium to long subtle red fruit and iron driven finish. Strong iron and mineral expression makes this the most masculine of the flight. My favorite and excellent showing. Certainly at the peak but will not decline anytime soon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This bottle was not as advanced as some of the other tasting notes suggest. Suspect good storage. Anyway the bottle was great. Powerful but classic barbaresco. Off the Cavallo Point wine list.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Just lovely. This is just starting to break down structurally and unwind. Raspberry fruit on the palate. Cohesive. Lovely. Light on the palate but packs many layers of flavor. With air, the nose is soaring. Light spice. Dark fruit. Palate shows red cherry, middle eastern bazaar spice notes, lovely body, meaty notes, yet elegant on the finish. Really enjoyed this. Milling Room with GdP, David S and Dan T.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner with Ed Zimmerman, Chris Thile, and Other Cool Folks (White Street Restaurant, NYC): From magnum. Brought by me from Chambers Street. Double decanted at 1pm. Served around 10pm. Something is off in the nose initially, but blows off after 15 minutes in the glass. Still youthful nose of bright cherries. More mature in the mouth. Appealing sour cherry. This would have gone quite well in front of the two 1989 Barolos to show the very typical difference between Barolo and Barbaresco. This is gorgeous in its own right, but doesn't have quite the power of those 2 Barolos.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1989 Produttori del Barbaresco with Chambers Street Wines (Maialino, NYC): Blood ruby, bricking. This has a big, billowing nose, albeit a little oxidized; red apple skins, café latte, and stony-dusty petrichor. Palate has a big hit of leather, quite tannic leather, recently tanned; bitter chocolate, Christmas spices (lots of those, everything you can think of); balsamic, adding a little volatility to the oxidation on the nose. Good+ length. Ready to go, at least from this bottle. Delicious, but good to go.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From magnum at the wine club. Unfortunately got the end of the bottle, so there was a fair amount of sediment in the glass. Browning disc, leathery, earthy. Lean and wiry Nebbiolo. Rustic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
An exceptional wine. In the running for wine of the year. I walked into the private room for Ron and Serge's birthday parties and my eyes were immediately drawn to a magnum of this on one of the tables. I had an older version of this wine from Ken V at a Berserkerfest that I rated 98, so just seeing this bottle on the table let me know that there was great wine available. Popped and poured, which did not do it justice, but the wine certainly did not disappoint. Mushrooms, forest floor, bright black and red fruit. Cherry, plum and blackberry. A very noticeable cedar component that went along with the forest floor. Earthy power on the back of the palate to complement the sweetness of the fruit on the front. There was no creosote/road tar. A great effort.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
6/5/2023 - Oberunter-5 Likes this wine: 87 Points
Enjoyable, but the bottle I had was past its peak—
This wine has a lot of structure still. And that structure may outlive the fruit—at least that was my impression.
The nose showed sweet cherry and roses with some coaxing—also fresh soil and mushrooms. It improved with air, but seemed to plateau after a few hours, settling with a not-quite-identifiable floral sweetness.
The tannic base seemed to control the palate. Again, there’s some cherry around the edges, but not enough to balance the tannin.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2023 - kenv Likes this wine: 96 Points
[Decanted around 6pm. Notes taken around 9pm.] Opened as a birth year wine for Eli whose birthday is next week. A bit tight and tannic at first, but the perfume is fabulous and the tannins fade with dry-aged ribeyes. Gorgeous nose of cherries, plums, tar, roses, and licorice. In the mouth there's an expansive richness and complexity. This is, for me, the epitome of Rabajà.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2019 - Robmcl920 Likes this wine: 92 Points
The '89 Rabaja was an enjoyable wine, but fell short of what I would expect given the pedigree of the vineyard and vintage. There were dark red fruits and earth on the nose, while on the palate I got red fruit, licorice, and black truffle / earthy flavors. The tannins and structure remained a bit firmer than the '90 Rabaja that this was tasted alongside.
Compared to the '90 Rabaja, the '89 was more red fruit than black fruit, and instead of 'darker' secondary aromas like espresso and balsamic, in this case there was truffle/earth aromas behind the fruit.
Given the pedigree of the wine and the tannin/structure of this compared to the '90, I'm tempted to say it just needs more time, but I didn't get the sense there is enough stuffing there in terms of the fruit/flavor profile to assume that this will get better in the future.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/18/2019 - kenv wrote: flawed
Neb Vinous Blind 1989 Barolo & Barbaresco Dinner (Buona Notte, NYC): [Double decanted around 10am.] Mulchy nose. Tannic with restrained dried red fruit. Juicy, tarry red fruit. 89 points, but I don't think this is a sound bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/18/2019 - Eric Guido wrote: 87 Points
1989 Barolo Retrospective - Single Blind (Buona Notte, NYC): Not the start to our ‘89 Barolo and Barbaresco vertical that we were hoping for; unfortunately the ‘89 Rabaja has seen better days, and as much as I’d like to hope it was just the bottle, the only thing that seemed to really be wrong was that the wine was on the decline. Here I found a display of dark moist soil tones, animal muskiness, minerals, and black cherry with a hint of decay. On the palate, soft textures gave way to black cherry fruits and earthy minerals, as an odd herbal tone developed, along with hints of old barrel. The finish was long with staining red fruit, rusty minerality and earth.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/10/2019 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Riesling Freaks lazy afternoon lunch (Chez Hugo - Baltimore): En magnum. The most refined wine of the flight. Beautiful fully mature nose display subtle dry red fruit, dry cherries, strawberry jam, strong iron, tar, caramel, cinnamon, leather, anise and earth. Fully integrated palate, finely layered dry cherry, lean, fluid and precise, bright acidity, steely mineral and a seamless long dry cherry driven finish with a hint of iron and anise at the end. Tom generously provided the same Produttori flight in August, 2017 and this was my WOTF. My favorite once again.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/2/2019 - cct wrote: 95 Points
1989 Piedmont Retrospective (New York): 2019 Alt Festa night 2
'89 Barolo and Barbaresco
Youthful pure deep nebbiolo fruit nose. Roses, perfumed, tar and balsam. Deep and powerful yet refined on the palate with more tar, roses, and balsamic notes. Very long. Outstanding. 95+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/14/2018 - kenv Likes this wine: 97 Points
The Kirsch Italian Extravaganza (677 Prime, Albany, NY): [From a magnum double-decanted around 2pm.] Huge red and black fruit nose. Complex, roses, violets, anise. Still a really big wine. Just stunning. I wish I could sit with this all evening.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/4/2017 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
All magnum Produttori dinner at Aromes (Aromes Restaurant, Baltimore): En magnum, pretty similar to the other two 89s. Mature but energetic nose displaying subtle dry red fruits, rose, caramel, tar, strongest iron of the flight, cinnamon, limestone, leather and earth. Fully integrated palate, subtle dry red fruit, silky and polished, strong iron, bright acidity, still a hint of coarse tannins and a medium to long subtle red fruit and iron driven finish. Strong iron and mineral expression makes this the most masculine of the flight. My favorite and excellent showing. Certainly at the peak but will not decline anytime soon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/19/2017 - bconly Likes this wine: 93 Points
This bottle was not as advanced as some of the other tasting notes suggest. Suspect good storage. Anyway the bottle was great. Powerful but classic barbaresco. Off the Cavallo Point wine list.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/3/2015 - Pknut wrote:
Just lovely. This is just starting to break down structurally and unwind. Raspberry fruit on the palate. Cohesive. Lovely. Light on the palate but packs many layers of flavor. With air, the nose is soaring. Light spice. Dark fruit. Palate shows red cherry, middle eastern bazaar spice notes, lovely body, meaty notes, yet elegant on the finish. Really enjoyed this. Milling Room with GdP, David S and Dan T.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/8/2015 - kenv Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dinner with Ed Zimmerman, Chris Thile, and Other Cool Folks (White Street Restaurant, NYC): From magnum. Brought by me from Chambers Street. Double decanted at 1pm. Served around 10pm. Something is off in the nose initially, but blows off after 15 minutes in the glass. Still youthful nose of bright cherries. More mature in the mouth. Appealing sour cherry. This would have gone quite well in front of the two 1989 Barolos to show the very typical difference between Barolo and Barbaresco. This is gorgeous in its own right, but doesn't have quite the power of those 2 Barolos.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/27/2014 - Matt Neel Likes this wine:
1989 Produttori del Barbaresco with Chambers Street Wines (Maialino, NYC): Blood ruby, bricking. This has a big, billowing nose, albeit a little oxidized; red apple skins, café latte, and stony-dusty petrichor. Palate has a big hit of leather, quite tannic leather, recently tanned; bitter chocolate, Christmas spices (lots of those, everything you can think of); balsamic, adding a little volatility to the oxidation on the nose. Good+ length. Ready to go, at least from this bottle. Delicious, but good to go.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2012 - englishman's claret wrote:
From magnum at the wine club. Unfortunately got the end of the bottle, so there was a fair amount of sediment in the glass. Browning disc, leathery, earthy. Lean and wiry Nebbiolo. Rustic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2012 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 97 Points
An exceptional wine. In the running for wine of the year. I walked into the private room for Ron and Serge's birthday parties and my eyes were immediately drawn to a magnum of this on one of the tables. I had an older version of this wine from Ken V at a Berserkerfest that I rated 98, so just seeing this bottle on the table let me know that there was great wine available. Popped and poured, which did not do it justice, but the wine certainly did not disappoint. Mushrooms, forest floor, bright black and red fruit. Cherry, plum and blackberry. A very noticeable cedar component that went along with the forest floor. Earthy power on the back of the palate to complement the sweetness of the fruit on the front. There was no creosote/road tar. A great effort.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/9/2012 - kenv Likes this wine: 97 Points
Produttori Dinner with Aldo Vacca and Rare Wine Co. (Del Posto Restaurant, NYC): From Magnum. Earth, mushroom, and black fruit nose. The first wine to have any real tertiary notes. Monumental in the mouth. Another great 89. This is especially stunning from magnum.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment