(G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste) Barolo Vertical Dear Friends, After the 2001 G. Rinaldi offer earlier in the week, many of the replies asked for older wine from this producer - how about a 12 vintage vertical directly from the source? An offer like this makes all the solitary days of running around on your behalf worth it - Barolo is one of the most difficult wines to acquire in a vertical series as most producers hold little of their production back due to the high cost of keeping stock (rather, by selling it right away the high intake of cash is more of an allure). With most producers, you can easily piece together a vertical from a multitude of sources but original cellar stock? That's rare. I would consider this one of our first really major offers of the season because it took the most cajoling (and effort) to make it happen. I know this isn't a price-point most of us trade in but it's very special to me nonetheless. I'm also sure you can find this cheaper on an individual bottle basis (if you purchase the bottles one at time from the cheapest source) but the conditions will all be different and the real intent of this is to open the entire lot on the same night at a Barolo event or to take possession with known provenance/history and then open them one-by-one over the course of a few months (to get an ideal vintage comparison in a relatively short period of time) - I think you will be very surprised at the results. Maybe it's a bit clinical of me to think the provenance is that important but this vertical insures the same history on each wine and the same conditions for all 12 bottles (albeit, of different ages) - that is a rarity in our industry and even rarer with Barolo - it is the main reason why I jumped at the chance to showcase the relatively unheralded glory of this producer that should (in time) be looked at in the same league as Giacomo Conterno, Giacosa and Mascarello (who is Rinaldi's cousin). In a blind tasting, I have no doubt that a number of wines below would equal or surpass that of the preceding three great names: This vertical contains one case of wine (12 bottles) - all original cellar stock. Don't poo-poo the 1994, Beppe Rinaldi now considers it to be a bigger success than the 1995 (that's why you don't see the 1995) and he insisted on including it to show that great terroir can win out over vintage (there's almost no 1994 available at the winery and quite a bit of 1995 so it's not like he's trying to dump the 1994). You can look up reviews on this set if you need to (Tanzer has especially gifted things to say about the 2004s) but I feel strongly that this collection should be enjoyed without the pressure to live up to reviews - sometimes it's better to just let the wine do the talking: G. Rinaldi Barolo Vertical 1993 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 1994 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 1996 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 1997 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 1998 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 1999 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 2000 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 2001 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 2004 G. Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste 2000 G. Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi Ravera (San Lorenzo) 2001 G. Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi Ravera (San Lorenzo) 2004 G. Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi Ravera (San Lorenzo) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy7611
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By Richard Jennings
(Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste) Bricking dark red violet color; gorgeous, rich, roasted black fruit, dried berry, fig paste nose; tasty, tart dried berry, anise, fig, blackberry, iodine, incipient ginger cake palate; long finish1/16/2012, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 96 points