I’m debating opening a bottle of 1996 Scavino Bric del Fiasc to enjoy with dinner tonight. Any advice on when to open and/or decant it for optimal drinking?
By coincidence, I opened an '89 Bric del Fiasc in magnum earlier today, to take to a dinner tonight.
I suggest opening the wine in the middle of the day (which may mean now, depending on where you are), doing a quick double-decant to remove sediment and for aeration, and then let the wine sit in the uncorked bottle for the rest of the day. About a half hour before pouring, I like to re-cork it and put in back in the wine fridge to be able to serve a little cooler than room temperature.
Benjamin,
Thanks very much. That’s more or less what I was thinking anyway. I hope you enjoy the magnum!
He will - that '89 BdF is a very good wine 
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I generally give all my Barolos at least 12 hours of airtime, with very good success.
Thanks. The previous magnum of '89 Bric dël Fiasc from the same lot was great, so I have high hopes. Today, it was a bit tight on opening, though - surprising for a 26 year old wine from a so-called modernist producer (though this is mostly before the modernist era).
Do you decant or double-decant at some point?
20 year old Barolo is not particularly old as Barolo goes, and 1996 is often not really ready to go yet. I generally agree with Benjamin’s advice, although I don’t think single vs. double decanting matters much (unless you are traveling to a restaurant). I’d decant at least 6 hours before drinking, although I often find that prime-age Barolo is best between 8-12 hours from opening. Even that is over-generalizing; occasionally it’s even better the next day. I’ve literally never had a well stored, high quality Barolo from the better vintages of the past 37 years that started declining within 12 hours of opening.
Given the time of your post, I hope you opened your bottle immediately thereafter or are having a very late dinner.
I find that the 12 hours of simple airtime lets the bottle stink blow off, and softens the wine just a little. If I get a chance to retaste the bottle a few hours before dinner, I make a judgment call on (double-)decanting then. Oftentimes, I don’t think it’s necessary.
I’m not a Barolo expert but I really agree with doing something to eliminate or at least tame the sediment in old btls. I’ve seen more that a few btls show up at off lines with lots of sediment in suspension which I think impacts the flavor as much as the aesthetics. At the very least, stand the btl on its side a day or so ahead and let the sediment settle on the bottom side by the back label away from the pour direction.
And I must say - the wine was lovely!
Magnums and big groups are always so festive
Interesting the diversity of tastes run in different places. In Piedmont a 15 to 20 year old Barolo is definitely ready to drink, but here many feel they aren’t. My best Barolo experience was with a 1961, but my friend in Italy is horrified that I would prefer something so old. Go figure.
I´m no specialist for Barolos, but 1996 seems to be a vintage more tannic and in need of time than 1997. Last year I opened a ´96 Giacosa Rocche del Falletto - and it was hard as nails …
I would open it in the morning, slow oxing for 8-10 h, then decant for another 2-4 h …
Bill, you might be right. I often hear the same observation made about the French and at what age they drink Burgundy and Bordeaux. That said, I think most vintages of Barolo are “mature” at 20 years old. I just don’t think they have a lot of life left (i.e. are “not particularly old”) and should not be treated like they are over-the-hill or about to fall apart. In fact – and maybe this is the diversity of tastes – I think many wines from particularly strong vintages of Barolo still have lots of room for improvement at age 20.
With respect to 1996, it’s something of a special case. I’ve only had a few bottles, but my experience jibes with the advice of many who have far more of it: 1996 is a particularly tough vintage and is only beginning to open up and soften, and only for some of the wines. In fact, pretty much every vintage after 1996 (except maybe 2006?) is more approachable today.
Thanks for all the advice.
I did stand the bottle up for 24h prior to opening, then ended up double-decanting and leaving in the bottle overnight. Decanted around 1pm the following day and enjoyed an hour or two later with a lunch of dijon-rosemary lamb chops and grilled polenta. I would agree that this was ferociously tannic upon opening, and needed a good twenty-four hours to come into its own and display secondary earth and balsamic traits.
Arv, it was great seeing you again. Come back to NYC soon!
I agree that the Scavino showed very well during the dinner, but I was concerned earlier in the day (even after double-decanting and 3 hours of air in the bottle). Not only was the wine very tight, but it had taken on a substantially brownish tinge. Four or five hours later, though, the wine had regained a deep red color and had opened considerably. Has anyone else noticed this kind of color change (from red to brown and then back to red) as a bottle sits open? Now I’m wondering if it was a trick of the lighting at home vs. the restaurant.
I’ve seen this happen a few times with older Barolo [most recently a few weeks ago with a '73 Marcarini Brunate], and I see tasting notes describe this phenomenon as well. I have no idea what is happening from a chemistry standpoint.