TN: 1996 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste

Robert_Love · December 1, 2015, 4:29pm

1996 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste

The mature, gorgeous nose exposes truffle, rose, iron, and balsamic notes. On the palate, a perfect balance of acidity, alcohol, and smooth tannins, with dark fruit, earth, and iron flavors. The finish lasts 60+ seconds, although the fruit is slightly bitter. A reference traditional Barolo. While this wine is unlikely to significantly improve, it has many years left. Drink through 2025 at least. > (95 pts.)

I enjoyed this at Locanda dell’Arco in Cissone, Piemonte on the recommendation of Marta Rinaldi. Somehow she forgot to mention the incredible selection of her own wines. Most Piemonte restaurants, surprising to me, focus on breadth—they have recent vintages of nearly every Barolo producer—while old bottles, particularly stored well, are harder to find. Locanda dell’Arco broke the mold, with an incredible wine list. Unfortunately they were out of the 1989 Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste, so I had to “settle” for the 1996. It cost 150€!

The wine was gorgeous, with initial notes of truffle giving way to floral, ferrous, and balsamic notes. Great balance. I note the bitter fruit on the finish in my TN, but that could have been from sediment, as the bottle presumably wasn’t standing up prior to my arrival.

Locanda dell’Arco is off the beaten path, about 20 minutes south of Monforte d’Alba, and didn’t show up on anyone’s recommendations in my pre-trip research (not to be confused with Osteria dell Arco in Alba). I highly recommend it for the deep Barolo menu, the food, and the gorgeous mountain-perched town of Cissone.

Posted from CellarTracker

Benjamin_Goldberg · December 2, 2015, 1:36am

Thanks for the tasting note and the beautiful photo. I’m glad you found the wine so enjoyable, but I’d be shocked if the 1996 Rinaldi Brunate-Le Coste doesn’t get better and better over the coming years. Galloni, in a review last month, guessed that it will hit maturity in another decade.

Robert_Love · December 2, 2015, 2:14pm

I hope that is the case! My thinking when I wrote the TN is that the tannins were mostly resolved, the wine is already so perfectly balanced, and secondary notes already dominate the fruit. It definitely has years left, but at least with this bottle, I wasn’t sure where it would evolve. Admittedly this could be my lack of experience. I hope to have the pleasure to try this again.

Michael_S_Monie · December 2, 2015, 2:49pm

You do take excellent pictures. The one with the Monfortino was great also.

Bill_Klapp_deactivated · December 2, 2015, 3:26pm

Robert Love:

1996 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste

The mature, gorgeous nose exposes truffle, rose, iron, and balsamic notes. On the palate, a perfect balance of acidity, alcohol, and smooth tannins, with dark fruit, earth, and iron flavors. The finish lasts 60+ seconds, although the fruit is slightly bitter. A reference traditional Barolo. While this wine is unlikely to significantly improve, it has many years left. Drink through 2025 at least. > (95 pts.)

I enjoyed this at Locanda dell’Arco in Cissone, Piemonte on the recommendation of Marta Rinaldi. Somehow she forgot to mention the incredible selection of her own wines. Most Piemonte restaurants, surprising to me, focus on breadth—they have recent vintages of nearly every Barolo producer—while old bottles, particularly stored well, are harder to find. Locanda dell’Arco broke the mold, with an incredible wine list. Unfortunately they were out of the 1989 Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste, so I had to “settle” for the 1996. It cost 150€!

The wine was gorgeous, with initial notes of truffle giving way to floral, ferrous, and balsamic notes. Great balance. I note the bitter fruit on the finish in my TN, but that could have been from sediment, as the bottle presumably wasn’t standing up prior to my arrival.

Locanda dell’Arco is off the beaten path, about 20 minutes south of Monforte d’Alba, and didn’t show up on anyone’s recommendations in my pre-trip research (not to be confused with Osteria dell Arco in Alba). I highly recommend it for the deep Barolo menu, the food, and the gorgeous mountain-perched town of Cissone.

Posted from CellarTracker

Great note, Robert. Now please change the name and address of the ristorante so that there will be something for you to drink on your next trip!

Seriously, the sediment would seem the most likely suspect for the bitterness (but at that point in Beppe Rinaldi’s career, something in the winemaking would not be out of the question), and a bit of a shame, but it is impossible for all the bottles to be standing in a cantina of the size and scope of Arco’s. Without an up-to-date, online wine list, it is also difficult for anyone but locals to request advance standing, decanting and aeration (and I doubt that many of them do). That said, it seems that you were able to struggle through quite nicely! Well done…

Robert_Love · December 2, 2015, 4:28pm

Thank you, Bill. Apologies for spilling the beans on Arco — it truly is a special place.

I agree sediment is the most likely cause of the bitterness. Still, as you note, we struggled through.

Ken_V · December 3, 2015, 1:24am

Robert Love:

Bill Klapp:

Great note, Robert. Now please change the name and address of the ristorante so that there will be something for you to drink on your next trip!

Seriously, the sediment would seem the most likely suspect for the bitterness (but at that point in Beppe Rinaldi’s career, something in the winemaking would not be out of the question), and a bit of a shame, but it is impossible for all the bottles to be standing in a cantina of the size and scope of Arco’s. Without an up-to-date, online wine list, it is also difficult for anyone but locals to request advance standing, decanting and aeration (and I doubt that many of them do). That said, it seems that you were able to struggle through quite nicely! Well done…

Thank you, Bill. Apologies for spilling the beans on Arco — it truly is a special place.

I agree sediment is the most likely cause of the bitterness. Still, as you note, we struggled through.

Now change the name of the wine too.

Benjamin_Goldberg · December 3, 2015, 3:02am

Is there something about the Rinaldi label that makes it so beautiful to photograph? It addition to Robert’s lovely photograph on this thread, Eric Guido posted a great picture of a lineup Rinaldi Barolo on his blog, The VIP table. The image is here: http://bit.ly/1Sy4iZ9.

Bill_Klapp_deactivated · December 3, 2015, 8:03am

Ken V:

Robert Love:

Bill Klapp:

Great note, Robert. Now please change the name and address of the ristorante so that there will be something for you to drink on your next trip!

Seriously, the sediment would seem the most likely suspect for the bitterness (but at that point in Beppe Rinaldi’s career, something in the winemaking would not be out of the question), and a bit of a shame, but it is impossible for all the bottles to be standing in a cantina of the size and scope of Arco’s. Without an up-to-date, online wine list, it is also difficult for anyone but locals to request advance standing, decanting and aeration (and I doubt that many of them do). That said, it seems that you were able to struggle through quite nicely! Well done…

Thank you, Bill. Apologies for spilling the beans on Arco — it truly is a special place.

I agree sediment is the most likely cause of the bitterness. Still, as you note, we struggled through.

Now change the name of the wine too.

Photoshop the name “Francesco” over the “Rinaldi”?

Ian_Sutton · December 3, 2015, 10:15pm

I recall my 1st impression of old Piemontese labels was “they look a bit dated don’t they”, but very quickly they grew on me, such that I’m sad if any are ‘modernised’. Vallana’s are pretty special.