(excruciatingly long/more boring than Tom Hill on his worst day)
Yes, Hell HAS frozen over, and Klapp is ice-skating on it by posting a tasting note. I saw a tasting note on another board that categorically stated that this wine, long thought to be on the short list for the best Nebbiolo that Bruno Giacosa ever made, was open for business, and so, like the thief in “Dirty Harry”, staring down the barrel of the .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, I had to ask myself: “Do I feel lucky? Well, do I, punk?” Well, actually, Dirty Harry said that. MY line is, “Hey! I gots to know!” Did Il Maestro fire five shots or six with the 1996 Falletto Riserva? I gots to know.
A bit of background: I have probably gone through the better part of a case of this wine since its release, both from cantina and in ristoranti. Until today, it has been one of the most perfectly balanced wines that I have ever tasted, not to mention one of the most consistent, bottle to bottle. The historical profile has always been the same: dark, opaque color, more akin to Cabernet than Nebbiolo; huge, luscious fruit framed by perfect acidity, but hiding an equally huge but superfine tannic structure which appeared only in the aftertaste; and as close to no nose as any wine of this quality has ever exhibited. (Well, NOT exhibited is this case.) No amount of air, shaking, dancing naked around the slow-o-ing bottle (me, Ken V., Parker, Dr. Big Jay, God knows that we have all tried), silent prayer or anything else would coax this wine out of its shell. Today’s bottle was taken out of its original wood from my cantina in Italy, where it has rested unmolested since release in a typical, coldish European passive cellar, and stood upright for 2 months, give or take. (Ken V., every last bit of the gold ink has faded from the label.)
Opened at 10AM: I decanted, poured a little into a glass (Riedel Vinum burgundy at this juncture) and allowed the funk to blow off for a few minutes. Cork in perfect shape. The wine was, yet again, the color of a recent release of Dunn Howell Mountain, completely opaque when held up to the sunlight! Judging from what was left in the filter after decanting, it looks like the sediment clumped nicely and the wine is likely clear. (I am wondering if there is any chance that it will do the young-wine thing and LIGHTEN in color with extended air.) And, once again, I experienced the delightful total absence of any discernible nose. I took a sip. UH-OH! The huge fruit was now taking the back seat to the huge but still extremely fine and well-integrated tannins, which had the effect of making the acidity more pronounced. The bottle was not corked or otherwise flawed…it was just not anything that I would want to drink anytime soon!
Hour 2 in open decanter: Gave the glass a swirl, and got a brief but nasty whiff of VA! I did not taste the wine this time, instead choosing to sink into a mild depression.
Hour 5 in open decanter: Another quick swirl, and what to my wondering nose should appear but…A NOSE! Very floral, very delicate, more bouquet than a single flower, but with rose dominating. No tar with these roses, and frankly, for a bruiser like this wine, the delicacy is shocking. The VA is gone. On the palate, the tannin and the acid have both retreated and the wine is once again in balance, but the once-dominant fruit has yet to emerge.
Hour 8 in open decanter: Ecco! The wine has LIGHTENED to a dark but now translucent ruby. (I have never observed the lightening phenomenon in a Nebbiolo that is pushing 20 years old.) The fruit has shown up and overtaken the tannic spine (but not by much…the tannins are going nowhere, even as the wine becomes more drinkable). Tannin, acid and fruit is now in perfect balance, and the nose has continued to evolve, now showing a hint of tar with the flowers, as well as some distant, darker aromas, including sotto bosco (sous bois, but with Italian dirt and leaves) and tobacco, maybe a little menthol, but also black cherry as the fruit begins to emerge. No truffle in that mix, however. It is beginning to resemble its younger sibling which I had some days ago, the 1998 Le Rocche normale, with the difference being that the 1998 had more of a sour cherry thing going on, due to lingering acidity, while the current wine is, so far, more in the black cherry/dark fruits register. That could change, however, as this wine is continuing to evolve.
Enough for now. I will pick this up after the wine gets to experience a non-Flannery’s steak tonight, as well as tomorrow and as long as I can keep from drinking it. At hour 5, I thought that would be days. At hour 8, I am no longer so sure…
Well, I can see why you space your TNs out. But I still wish you’d do it more. This is a fantastic description of what happened to the wine for you on night 1. Looking forward to the sequel!![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
