1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Collina Rionda

Community Tasting Notes (33) Avg Score: 95.8 points

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  2/16/2024 - paul195 wrote: 96 Points

  #3 of a 6 pack purchased on release in 1986. This was paired with a 1978 Giacosa Barbaresco Speciale Reserva Santa Sefano. Decanted at 3:00 served at 8:00
  
  The Colina Rionda had a brilliant deep garnet core with slightly aging rims. Remarkably fresh and youthful in every way. Perfect balance, amazing energy, layer upon layer of red fruit, laced with spice and rose petals. Elegant, complete and weightless.
  
  The Santa Stefano color showed slightly more maturity, but the nose exploded with layers of bright red fruit and spice. Rich silky texture, fine tannins, impressive finish. Where the Colina was more elegant and refined the Santa Stefano richer and more exotic.
  
  Both of these wines were remarkable youthful and should evolve further over the next 20 years. Each were impressive in their own right. Which was better is more more about ones personal taste rather than the wine itself.

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  2/16/2024 - shifter Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Jon's 50th Birthday Dinner: Opened for 4 hours. Nose is more subtle compared to the Barbaresco, but possesses more weight on the back end.

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  12/11/2022 - cadamson Likes this wine:

  Decanted 5 + hours, drank over a few hours after that. Dark and brooding, a powerhouse even after 44 years. Closed and reticent initially, opened up and became pretty spectacular. Youthful, overflowing with classic notes, especially red cherry fruit, tar, truffle, earth, balsamic, and a myriad of herbs. This is fantastic.

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  2/17/2021 - bill00 wrote: 93 Points

  Tar and roses. This bottle was a bit dark and grumpy and clearly not as great as this wine can be.

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  10/10/2019 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 92 Points

  A Study of Vigna Rionda (Racines, NYC): I had higher expectations for this wine, but as they say… no great wines, only great bottles…. The nose was dark and earthy, showing rich black cherry with moist fall leaves and hints of undergrowth. On the palate, I found soft textures, still lively through brisk acidity, as dark red fruits with hints of spice and inner earth tones filled the senses. The finish was medium in length, showing hints of light tannin, minerals and inner-floral tones. It was a very pretty and completely mature wine, yet I think we’ve all been trained to expect more from ‘78s. That said, I’d drink this any time it was offered to me.

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