Our 2003 Barolo tasting was last week and the results were honestly a mixed bag. Unfortunately, the 2003 G. Mascarello Monprivato could not make it to the tasting. However, there was a decent representation of wines.
What struck us the most, was how there were good wines and bad wines, but nothing really fell onto middle ground. I doubt anyone on this forum will be surprised to here that the Roagna Vigna Rionda was one of the best wines of the night. The bottles were all opened at 3pm and the tasting started about 7:30pm.
For the full write-up: The V.I.P. Table (There are also tasting notes below.)
I’d like to thank Paprika Restaurant for another amazing night. I’ll soon have an in-depth review of their restaurant published at another website I write for. However, what I will say is that it’s Nothern Italian with an Austrian flair and the food is nothing short of GREAT!. If you’re in NYC, you must visit Paprika Restaurant at 110 St. Mark’s Place.
On to the wines:
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2003 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (11/1/2011)
The nose showed rich, dark black cherry with roses, cinnamon and clove. On the palate, I found intense raspberry fruit balanced by a full and luxurious body with menthol, earth and sweet spices which lingered through the long finish. The ’03 Bric del Fiasc may not be a wine for the ages, but it has many more years of enjoyment ahead of it. It’s a dark, appealing… sexy wine. (93 pts.) -
2003 Roagna Barolo Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (11/1/2011)
The nose of the Roagna was classic in every way as a bouquet of cherries and earth with tar, roses and undergrowth wafted up from the glass. On the palate, it was, at first, very tight and focused with sweet cherry. With time in the glass it began to take on weight and show darker red fruit with earthy minerals and cedar. The finish was structured, yet long and truly showed this wine’s youth. From all the 2003s I’ve tasted, it showed the most classic and will benefit from further aging. (93 pts.) -
2003 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (11/1/2011)
The nose showed sweet red berries with spicy clove, roses and crushed fall leaves. On the palate, it was soft and juicy with red fruit and earth. The finish was long and pleasant. This isn’t what you’d expect from Barolo, yet it’s enjoyable all the same and should improve slightly over the next few years. (92 pts.) -
2003 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (11/1/2011)
The nose showed tart cherry and blackberry with a note of waxy lipstick. On the palate, the fruit was intense, even overripe with blue and blackberry jam. The structure quickly overwhelmed the palate with harsh, drying tannin that coated the mouth through the finish. It’s hard to imagine that this wine will ever balance out. (88 pts.) -
2003 Poderi Aldo Conterno Langhe Nebbiolo Il Favot - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (11/1/2011)
The nose was dark with overripe plum and crushed berries. It was almost confectionary at times, yet it had an appealing note of black olives. On the palate, I found sour cherry with clove, yet the fruit was flabby and lacked balance. The finish was long, however cloying with a lingering note of hard candies. (88 pts.) -
2003 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (11/1/2011)
The 2003 Pio Cesare Ornato was hard to understand. I kept hoping the nose would improve with time, but upon tasting this wine, I had to wonder if it was simply flawed. The nose showed bread crust and a rusty note, with cherry fruit lurking beneath it all. On the palate, I found sweet cherry, yet the acidity in this wine burned, literally, into the finish. (83 pts.)