TN: Bruno Giacosa Tribute Dinner

The late Bruno Giacosa was a reference and a standard-barer for great Piemontese wine, for both Barolo and Barbaresco. Few other makers of Nebbiolo are consistently put on as high pedestal by both fellow-winemakers and consumers, save perhaps for Giacomo Conterno, and maybe Angelo Gaja.

Yet while Conterno’s Barolo bottlings (especially the Monfortino) are storied, and Gaja’s Barbaresco offerings have won more acclaim than his Barolo, Giacosa has somehow managed to produce legendary wines from terroirs spanning vineyards in both regions. Several of his iconic famous “Red Label” Riserva bottlings of Santo Stefano and Rabaja from Babaresco, and Collina Rionda and Falletto from Barolo, regularly feature in wine-geek lists of the greatest wnes ever produced in Piedmont.

Born in Neive in 1929, Bruno has spent his entire life in wine, first working in the cellar with his father Mario and grandfather Carlo at the age of thirteen, and then becoming fully employed in the family business two years later. He thus learned through old-school apprencticeship, from his father and grandfather, rather than in enology school. And yet his talent for spotting good vines and vineyards became abundantly clear very early on. By 1960, he started his own company and soon became famous for both his palate and his ability to recognize and purchase grapes from the best vineyards in the Langhe.

Traditionally, Giacosa’s most famous wines - the Barabesco Santo Stefano from Neive, and the Barolo Collina Rionda - were made from purchased grapes. However, with the rise of estate-bottling, Giacosa decided to purchase his own vineyards, including choice plots in Rabajà in Barbaresco and Fellatto in Serralunga, and started producing absolute stunners from his own grapes. The last Barolo from Collina Rionda was in fact produced in 1993 because the grower he bought the grapes from began to make his own wine - the two Red Label Collina Riondas that we had on the night were therefore a very rare treat.

When I first visited Giacosa years back, I was surprised to see huge stainless steel tanks sitting in the front-yard of his cellar. We were told that he employed a long maceration time, with a two to three-week fermentation in stainless steel at moderate temperatures, followed by three to four years aging in French oak botti. A rather traditionalist approach then, but one not afraird to employ modern techonolgy with those giant temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Somehow though, whatever he did with his minimalist methods resulted in some magical alchemy, producing some absolute masterpieces over the years.

Tonight, we had a fantastic dinner convened by Yew Lin, covering nicely-aged bottles of both White and Red Labels from the best vineyards, covering a span of decades. Although I have known and loved Giacosa’s wines for many years, I was still gobsmacked at how consistently great the bottles were - some of them were amongst the very best wines I have drunk in a long time. Truly magnificent Nebbiolo wines, perfectly paired with truffles and bistecca, and topped up with great company - what more could one ask for to mark the passing of a truly iconic wine-maker.

WHITES TO WHET THE PALATE (INCLUDING A GIACOSA SPUMANTE!)

  • 1994 Bruno Giacosa Spumante Extra Brut - Italy, Lombardia, Lombardia Spumante
    Surprisingly really nice - the nose smelt like an old Champagne, with sweet notes of caramel and nuts and ripe stone fruit, all gently laced with a bit of spice. Really attractive. The palate was not quite as characterful as the nose, but was lovely in its own way too. Soft, mellow and melting, yet still with a good bit of freshness and just the remnant of a fine mousse, it unfolded gently in the mouth with a blush of yellow fruit, and then some mineral and spice towards the finish. There was a lovely transperancy and lightness to this that made it a delight to drink. Really nice. (92 pts.)
  • 1996 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
    Always lovely, this seems to just seems to grow and grow with time. Today, the nose exploded out of the glass with deep wafts of flinty mineral, smoky spice, and toasted almond nuts - all swirling around a core of creamy white fruit. The palate was still tingling with nervous energy, with bright 1996 acidity and a real spine of flinty, slakey minerality piercing through a rich core of ripe yellow fruit, and then just a touch of creamy butter on the sides, all tailing away into a long, bittersweet, almond-skin finish. A stunning wine, fleshy and delicious, yet packed with power and wonderfully structured, with a real sinewy feel to it. Superb, and still opening up. (94 pts.)
  • 1999 Gravner Breg - Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venezia Giulia IGT
    Idiosyncratic, but really quite good. It had a fascinating nose, not oxidised in spite of its orange colour, instead it was a dry, flinty bouquet, with clay and stone and neutral white fruit. Nice. The palate was lovely. Muscular and almost structured through skin contact, it coated the palate with full, powerful flavours of white fruit, pear and more spicy notes, all dovetailing into long, powerful, mineral finish. A really characterful wine that went beautifully with food. (93 pts.)

A PAIR OF COLLINA RIONDA RED LABELS

  • 1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Collina Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Wow. What a way to start. This was truly special wine. It had an entrancing nose - sweet red fruit laced with tarry, smoky spice and lifted herb - think mint and menthol - and then a beautiful fragrance of violet petals and attar of rose, with a sweet lilt that reminded me of a pomegranate-flavoured Turkish delight, all this weighted down with a deeper note of earth and leather. Wow, wow, and wow. It was just lovely on the palate too, maybe not as seductively attractive as the nose, but absolutely delicious. It was transparent and pure, with red fruited pomegranate and cherry fruit floating across the mouth on a bed a still firm acidity and fine tannins, with little flecks of spice and herb drifting away into an ethereal finish. Still fresh, still lively, but altogether completely mellow and mature. This almost brought tears to my eyes. A magnificent wine, drinking at a short window of absolute peak. It did start to tighten-up and shut down a little after awhile in glass, but when it was singing, it was strong, wild, powerful and savoury, yet all perfumed and elegant and ethereal. A special, special bottle - perhaps the best Nebbiolo I have ever had. (97 pts.)
  • 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Absolutely lovely wine, but this was a couple of steps behind the more mature and ready 1978 - I can well see it getting there and maybe even overtaking its older sister in the next decade or so though. What a nose this had. Little drifts of earth and truffles and broiled meat, melting roses, a core of sweet red fruit, just a bit of cream on the sides. Wonderful! This was a gobstoppingly good bouquet. The palate was every bit as strong as well - full and powerful, yet absolutely transparent and effortless, it floated through the mouth with wonderful flavours of cherries and mineral and spice. Deep, inexorable, yet so light on its feet at the same time. Already perfectly integrated and very whole, yet with so much more in reserve. This was such a special wine. (96 pts.)

TRIO FROM BARBARESCO

  • 1995 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    I enjoyed this tremendously. An obvious step or two down from the pair of truly great red label Collina Riondas one flight back, but it nevertheless did not seem out of place in such hallowed company. It had a lovely nose, much more floaty and feminine than the older wines, with bright red fruit, a bit of tar, some earthy aromas, and then a nice waft of florals alongside. The palate was still noticeably shaped by a nicely filigreed structure of fine tannins and bright acidity, this framing yummy flavours of cherries and haw flakes, a sprinkle of black pepper, and then some meat and earth and a bit of mint gliding into a long finish. There was still a slight tannic chew at the end, before the wine faded away with a lovely blush of spice and florals. Very enjoyable, and should continue to develop well a bit more over the next decade and beyond. (94 pts.)
  • 1997 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabajà - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Yet another very lovely wine. What a knockout Barbaresco nose it had - rose and cherry, earth and smoke and spice, a bit of tar, a kiss of herb, all unfolding in a sweet, seductive bouquet edged with a smoky, tarry lilt. Wow. The palate was lovely too, rich, delicious, with thick dark cherry flavours, and then nuances of spice, tar and earth - powerful and rich with 1997 ripeness, yet still balanced and lithe all the way into its long finish. We had such an amazing line-up tonight that this was probably one of the the poerer showings - it was just not quite as effortlessly elegant as some of the other wines on show, but nevertheless a lovely and delicious bottle in its own right. (93 pts.)
  • 2000 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabajà - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    A tad better than the already very good 1997 on the same flight - this was a seriously good Barbaresco. It had a lovely nose, starting with whiffs of mint and lifted menthol notes, and then a core of cherries and sweet dried flower aromas, all this patted down with a touch of dried earth - fragrant, sweet and lovely. The palate had a soft, palate-enveloping feel to it, with velvety tannins wrapped around juicy flavours of cherries and a snap of fresh berries. This was not a powerful blockbuster like the 1997. There was lots of juicy acidity that gave the wine a real sense of life and lightness, making it seem almost lighter-weighted; but concentrate a bit, and there comes a quiet profundity and depth that becomes obvious as one savours each sip. There was a nice infusion of spice as well, as the wine glided into a long, gentle finish. Such a charmer, and drinking beautifully now. (94 pts.)

PAIR OF 1996s

  • 1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Absolutely beautiful - a tremendous bottle of wine just coming into its own now. Like so many of the other wines on show this evening, this had a show-stopping nose. A hint of smoke and a drift of tar on entry, a sniff of earth, some violet petals, and then lovely wafts of fleshy cherry, all sweet loveliness greeting you from the moment you raise the glass. Wow. The palate was just beautiful. Still subtly sculpted with juicy aidity and a shadow of fine, powdery tannins tannins, there was a real sense of sinewy strength and power behind otherwise sweet tones of cherries and spice playing against an earthy backdrop, all this unfolding in the mouth in layers of with effortless power. Such a complete wine - intense, layered, sinewy, showing great depth and drive, yet always elegant and effortless as it wound its into a long, full finish kissed with more of that gentle spicine. Super. I have always liked the 1996 vintage in Piedmont for producing more elegant, classically shaped wines, and this was a prime example of just how good the very best bottles can get. While starting to drink beautifully, I have a sneaking feeling that it will be even better with over the next decade and beyond. Bravo - this was not far behind the red labels. (95 pts.)
  • 1996 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    One of a pair of superb 1996s, this was a softer, more feminine counterpoint to the monumental Falletto. The Barbaresco queen to the more powerful Barolo king. The nose had a far more lifted tone on this one, with hint of gingko nut, some lifted spice notes, a soupcon of earth, some dark cherries, and a hint of tar, all draped across a backdrop of sweet floral accents. Lovely stuff. The palate was a study in elegance - beautifully integrated and finely balanced, with filigreed tannins and a delicious juiciness and clarity to its cherry and wild berry flavours - really lovely, gentle, charming stuff. There was no lack of compleixty too, with more savoury notes of meat, spice and earth emerging on the midpalate and into a long, long finish that just lingered and lingered. A delicious wine, almost Burgundian in nature. Drinking very nicely now too, if just lacking the sheer sense of scale and impressiveness of its Barolo brother. (94 pts.)

1990 RED LABEL

  • 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Stunning. This was a mindbendingly good wine. It started out with a fantastic nose. Loam and soil, spice and earth, then black cherries and crushed violets - deep, dark and wonderful stuff. The palate was amazing as well. The archetypal iron fist in a velvet glove, it had lovely tones of violets and peppery spice and dark cherries, all showing a stunning purity of expression. There was such strength too, with an inexorable length on the finish, where rose petals, earth and dried spices just lingered and lingered on a bed of chewy, every so-slightly powdery tannins. Wow. This was such a complete wine. For all its power and depth, it was actually its purity that floored me. It had depth and power aplenty, yet without a semblance of heaviness. This was not thick and voluptuous like a Gaja, but a lot more filigreed and lacy and elegant - almost ethereal, with sweet florals and spice floating like a halo around a superbly integrated core of crystalline dark fruit - yet with a real grip and sinew deeply woven into a lithe, translucent frame. Beguiling stuff. Mindblowingly good, and it still has decades ahead of it yet. 96+ (96 pts.)
  • 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Talk about ending with a bang. This was Wow! One of a pair of 1990 red labels, this was a very diferent wine from the Babaresco Riserva Santo Stefano, yet it was every bit as beguiling. The nose deeper, maybe more savoury, with a hint of sous bois around its earthy, loamy aromas, and then a nice meatiness backing up higher-toned notes of dark berries and black cherries, tar and rose petals. Beautiful. The palate was breathtaking. Like the Santo Stefano, there was a wonderfully pure clarity to it, with a real sense of finesse and definition underlying its powerful black cherry, peppery spice and herby menthol flavours. On the midpalate, savoury notes of meat and truffles emerged, then tar and earth and mineral pulling away into a super-long, powerful finish, still showing a chew of teeth-coating tannins at the very end. If anything, there was a more naked sense of power, depth and structure to this wine than on the Barbaresco, so that it came across more meaty and muscular, yet with an elegant nobility to it - the regal king to the Santa Stefano’s queen if you will. Amazing. A really complete wine, very enjoyable even now, but clearly with decades still ahead of it. If my impressions are correct, this will probably need even more time than the Santa Stefano. (96 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Wow. Just fantastic.
I am a late-comer, relatively, to Giacosa and I just adore the wines.
We had the '96 Santo Stefano a couple months back and it was as you described. A beautiful wine.
Man, that '78 sounds heavenly.
Great lineup and notes here. Thanks!

Great tribute and great notes on wines from my all-time favorite producer - thanks a lot

Yes, thanks for the notes,

Like the Giacosa great stuff!

Paul
Fine notes, but I do have to ask. Everything in your description of the 1978 Collina screams 100 points and I looked at the score at the end, and it was only a 97. I have had the wine, and for me neck and neck with the ‘89 and ‘82 as the finest Barolos I have ever had. And I can’t argue with your descriptors, pretty bang on, so why the (relatively) low score?

Fair question Mark - I have not actually given any wine 100 before. 98 is about as high as I have ever gone, and then only for a handful of wines. All a bit arbitrary maybe, but 100 denotes perfection to me, and somehow even the very greatest wines I have tried not quite rang that bell yet.