1975 Poggio alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino – when I first got into wine to the extent that I established a ‘cellar” (at the time, a cupboard in the basement) I bought this wine and then consumed it by the early 1980s, so it was like old times to see it show up from someone else’s cellar. The wine was showing its age, ambering and having lost fruit and all tannin, but it wasn’t unpleasant ad the acidity had kept is at least a bit interesting. About what I would have expected.
1971 Guido Porro Barolo – getting fairly pale at this age and with a very slight mustiness to the nose, this wine has some dark fruit and was fairly well balanced and elegant, finishing with medium length. Held up well in the glass.
1989 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato – out of my cellar, and the first bottle from a half case that I have opened. Nice tarry earthy leathery nose, good colour with little fading at the rim, full bodied and sweet in the mouth, very good and at peak, I would think. I decanted this about 4 hours ahead.
1989 Ch. Beychevelle – served along side of the Pio Cesare. Good claret nose with elements of plum and tobacco, a smooth presence on palate with a medium long sweet finish. Perfect now and will hold awhile.
2009 Donnafugata Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé – medium brown bright colour, a very sweet nose that followed through on palate. Seemed to me to be almost cloyingly sweet despite close to searing acidity, although others liked this more than I did, Imagine orange apricot toffee in a glass……
Bill, I don’t think these age as well as you might think they do. After having a couple of them, I feel they are best in the first few years after release when they have such immediate freshness and richness tied to the acidity.
So you feel that the 2009 would be showing the signs of age, to its detriment?
Could well be. I neither cellar nor drink the wine frequently, so am quite prepared to believe you!
Interesting, Markus - I still have a few bottles of the '11 & '12. I definitely liked them young, and automatically assumed that they would age. I will have to try one soon.
I’ve had this 3 vintages of this at different ages and each time I preferred the younger one. I love the profile of intense orange but if I buy it again in the future I’ll try to have them by their 4th or 5th year to enjoy the intensity of youth.