2008 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Le Rocche del Falletto Riserva
A young pup indeed, but an extraordinary wine in the making. Quite bunched up, but knowing this needed time, I decanted it mid morning and tasted throughout the day, marveling at how slowly but beautifully it unfurled. All the markings of great Barolo, smoke and anise but highlighted by a gorgeous underpinning of rose petals. Finish long and layered.
I think Galloni was not a fan; not sure if he tasted an off bottle. This is serious stuff, and I am glad I have a few bottles which I hope I will be able to taste at maturity.
Galloni panned the 08s across the board iirc. Even when they were babies, I felt they were really good but in a different, more elegant and refined, kind of style that reflected more of Bruna than Bruno.
This sounds wonderful and I wouldn’t be surprised if the 08s are starting to put on some weight and come out of their cocoon.
The spectrum of opinions on Giacosa '08 and beyond has to be one of the widest out there for a well known producer. I haven’t had the '08s, but have tasted some more recent ones like the '14 and '16 Asili Riserva, '16 Rabaja, '16 Falletto, and '17 Asili. Based on those, I’m in the camp that believes quality at Giacosa went down dramatically at some point post '07. It would be nice to taste more though, including this very controversial '08. Galloni was very harsh on it at release (including tasting it at the winery), and at a dinner Galloni did with some others like Eric Guido back in 2016 I think, it was served blind and supposedly largely disliked. Then there are reports like this one. There’s either serious bottle variation or very different taste preferences.
Based on this bottle, I can only believe there is bottle variation, because I have absolutely no reservations about its quality. It did need to open up over several hours, but even the the initial tasting showed its quality.
Galloni operates on a wider taste continuum than I do, but the difference in our opinions suggests the bottle variation rather than taste differences.