First vintage for this, and I understand that Bruno liked it enough to consider it as a possible reserve.
Last bottle I had was very hard, so decanted it at 2:00 pm for dinner. It needed every minute, and probably would have benefitted from an early morning decant. But by the end of the meal, it was really glorious, with that dusky fruit, roses and tar flavors of great Nebbiolo. The finish was sensational, long, drawn out and fully layered. This is a great Giacosa, and I think very definitely a suitable candidate for Red label.
I plan to taste the Asili Riserva 1996 on Friday, and it will be interesting to compare the two.