NV Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Chinato Vino Aromatizzato

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 90.2 points

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  4/20/2024 - Madera16 Likes this wine:

  Excellent, very nice tannin, balanced spices, this was hard to stop drinking. Favorite chinato to date.

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  9/24/2022 - forceberry wrote: 94 Points

  The wine is based on two portions of Barolo; in one portion 46 different herbs, spices and other aromatic elements - including bark from two different varieties of Cinchona tree - are steeped over a period of time ranging from 35 to 70 days. Afterwards the spiced wine solution is filtered and left to settle for a few months. The other portion is sweetened with the addition of white sugar and burnt sugar. After the spiced infusion is blended with the sweetened Barolo, the concoction is fortified to 16% and left to age in concrete tanks. The wine is filtered prior to bottling. I have no idea how old this bottle is, but its lot number is L17515, so probably it was bottled in 2017 or 2015 or based on either of those vintages. 16% alcohol.
  
  Luminous, quite translucent and somewhat evolved pomegranate color. Wonderfully fragrant and herbal nose with aromas of red Vermouth, cherry marmalade, some cool notes of peppermint, a little bit of peppery spice, light strawberry tones, a hint of bilberry jam and a touch of medicinal herbs. The wine feels rich, sweet and textural on the palate with a moderately full body and complex flavors of quite pronounced medicinal herb bitterness and cherry marmalade followed by more subtle nuances of strawberries, some peppermint, a little bit of vanilla and other sweet spices, light bilberry tones, a hint of sour cherry and a touch of cranberry juice. Although the wine feels quite viscous on the palate, the rather high acidity and subtly grippy tannins lend it good sense of firmness, structure and balance. The finish is sweet, rich and gently grippy with a remarkably persistent aftertaste of cherry marmalade and blueberry, rather pronounced herbal bitterness, some strawberry jam tones, a little bit of peppery spice, light cooling green notes of peppermint, hints of medicinal herbs and Vermouth and a sweeter touch of exotic spices.
  
  A fantastic, wonderfully complex and very characterful wine - this feels like a red Vermouth, but instead of feeling something you'd want to base a cocktail on, this is a complete drink on its own! This is not unlike a blend of red Vermouth and Fernet Branca flavored with late-harvested Nebbiolo. I'd really love to see how these fantastic concoctions age - although admittedly they are pretty darn delicious even in their youth! I can understand people who can't enjoy these wines, but this combination of sweetness, quite pronounced quinine bitterness and aromatic herby tones is really in my wheelhouse! At 32,30€ for a half-liter bottle, this was a great purchase.

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  7/2/2016 - kenv Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Dinner at Ezio & Raffaella's (Turin, Italy): Served with Chinato gelato. Lovely. Not to heavily spiced for me. I rather like it. But wait, there is still some 1983 Yquem left!

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  12/31/2015 - Zorg wrote: 91 Points

  Was a perfect match with chocolate mousse.

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  12/31/2014 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Old bottle. A bit sweet but the herbal nuances are quite enjoyable.

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