Cork was depressed almost half an inch and slightly damp on top, and at the first touch with a cork screw it slid down into the bottle whole. Nevertheless, the wine was beautiful. I left it the decanter for an hour and then put it into a different bottle for a few more hours. However, it was good to go almost from the start. Very pale rose-like appearance with browning at the edges, but a considerable amount of red, mentholated fruit on both the nose and the palate. This was set against a background of “old wine” flavors, mostly old leather and forest floor. Good acidity holding it all together. Quite light but with nice intensity. Fun.
Thanks for the note, Elliot. Assuming PdB did Riservas then under the same rules as they do now, this is quite a showing from a relatively modestly priced wine.
Patrick–I think i recall reading somewhere that '67 was around the time when they first started bottling the riservas, which led me to worry that the normale might be fairly weak. But whatver the case, this bottle surprised to the upside. I’d certainly love to try some riservas from the era.
It sure has been in my experience. I’ve had three wines, all '64 Piedmont, all in great shape. Two were <$100. The real test will come next year when we open the '65s
