Planning on popping one tonight. 12 hour slow O followed by a double decant ?
I would not go for 12,rather I would plan for 4 hours,no more, and see what you have…then act accordingly.
But allow more time in case you need it, which I take it is what Bill means by “act accordingly” (unless he has some sort of dancing naked under a full moon biodynamic ritual in mind). Formulas do not work, as too many old Nebbiolo tastings have proven, but old, great-vintage Nebbiolo (not your bottle, which I have had several times) can on occasion take 24-48 hours to reach perfect drinkability (for example, the 1964 Monfortino). Also, there is no magic to double decanting, unless one assumes that to mean that the second decanting is back into the bottle. If you are not doing that, and you use a very fine filter for decanting, a second decanting is unlikely to do anything that the first did not, other than slosh the wine around…
Thank you,Bill,for that image…but dancing naked at night need not be restricted to full moons,and 71 Arione,any Arione IMO is much lighter than any,and especially 64,Monfortino,and in my experience,limited though it may be, therefore has never needed nor could stand prolonged decantation…or if you must, incantation.
So how was it?
I’m planning now on an 8 hour slow ox with a decant before serving. We will be dining at midnight on egg fettuccine with parm and butter…oh an ounce of white truffles also. I poured off a little snort to test for myself. So far it’s evolving nicely.
Nice, Nick. Happy New Year 
Nick, you are a lucky guy. I had the chance to try this wine just over a year ago at a white truffle dinner (thanks to Gary W) and it was spectacular. I hope yours is as special a bottle as the one that I tried. Kept improving for hours, even after a slow ox of quite a few hours as I recall, so no rush… Glorious example of a great aged Barolo (though still vibrant - if memory serves, it showed younger than the 1974 Giacosa Riserva that we had next to it). Please post your notes!
71 Giacosa Barolo Arione-- had standing in the cellar for several months. Popped at 4:00 and decanted at 12:30am. Served with egg fettuccine, parm, butter and bite truffles. Wine was clear with brown and red hues. I tried to filter the dregs but the sediment was to fine. Wine started very linear with red fruit and tons of mirerality. Slowly expanded and opened as time went on. Profile didn’t really change just broadened out over time. Delicious.
Here you go guys. It was excellent but really needs time to open.