1994 Azienda Agricola Barbacarlo di Lino Maga Barbacarlo

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 92.4 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View paintinginacave's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/17/2022 - paintinginacave Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Restaurant purchase at Einsunternull, Berlin. Decanted and drank over four hours. The sommelier informed me of the sad news of the recent passing of Lino Maga at the age of 90 when I ordered the wine. A cloudy, unfiltered medium ruby core fading to a pale ruby outer edge. Exhibiting a number of the traits found in the best Barolo only with a wilder, untamed, more virile nature. Tar, cola, an array of red fruits and berries, campfire smoke, slightly decayed red and purple flowers, and the sweetness of crushed Alpine strawberries unfurl in the glass upon opening. With time darker fruits such as black cherry and boysenberry emerge with a feint spiced and fermented character that I cannot quite discern - leading to deeper, heady, more complex and intriguing aromas. There’s an incredible lustre as the palate brilliantly combines and retains the joys of youth with the upside of bottle age to deliver more mature, nuanced characteristics along side such vitality and radiance. This is absolute dynamite. While he’s no longer with us - the legend lives on in the bottle.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/14/2020 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  A blend of Croatina, Uva Rara, Ughetta (Vespolina) and Barbera sourced from the Barbacarlo Cru, all the fruit harvested simultaneously when Croatina is ready. Made in a very hands-off fashion: made with organically farmed fruit, fermented spontaneously in old oak casks, no temperature control, no additions, bottled unfiltered in the spring following the harvest with a small dose of SO2. 12,6% alcohol, 0,3 g/l residual sugar, 5,5 g/l acidity, pH 3,5 and 35 mg/l total SO2. Tasted in a Lino Maga 2015-1979 vertical.
  
  Deep, evolved and only somewhat translucent reddish-maroon color with a dark, syrupy core. Restrained and rather savory nose with fine-tuned and quite tertiary aromas of leather, some dry old fruit tones, a little bit of phenolic spice and light smoky tones, a hint of ripe black cherry and a touch of dried herbs. The wine is complex, quite tertiary and medium-bodied on the palate with tertiary flavors of sour cherry bitterness, some crunchy cranberry, a little bit of leathery funk, light sanguine notes of iron, a phenolic hint of smoke and a salty touch of soy sauce. The structure relies more on the quite high acidity than on the resolved, silky medium tannins. The harmonious finish is long, somewhat grippy and quite tertiary with savory flavors of gamey meat, some smoky tones, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light bretty notes of old leather and a hint of crunchy cranberry.
  
  A very developed, complex and enjoyably savory vintage of Barbacarlo at its peak. Shows the classic combination of rustic finesse, bright savory fruit and balanced structure typical of the best Lino Maga wines. Most likely won't benefit from further aging, but will keep for many more years. Drink or keep. Recommended.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View kingkanu's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/8/2020 - kingkanu wrote:

  Decanted off plenty of sediment. Lovely bright colour. Quite floral and high toned nose, violets, a little VA, the palate has a little spritz, so give the decanter a little whirl to dissipate that, red fruits and young leather, decent acid, got better over a couple of hours

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Gunakadeit's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/16/2019 - Gunakadeit wrote: flawed

  Corked. Chambers st buy. Sigh.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View MAOC's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/4/2019 - MAOC wrote:

  Slightly funky on opening but blew off with a decent. Still surprisingly backwards, ripe red cherry but quite tough leather and earthiness. ***(*)

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 8 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.