Well only one actually, the 89 Giacosa. Yet what a difference 24 hours of slow-ox can make! The original plan was for 3 hours, then plenty of time in the glass, with an assist from a correct meal. You would think I’d know better by now, that these kinds of rookie mistakes would be behind a veteran who has been at the game for a few decades plus. Anyway, I got what I deserved last nite–little on the nose save a scary trace of brett, thin and hard on the palate. No grace, no pleasure, no Giacosa. I will confess that, even recognizing the aeration problem, I was half convinced that I might have a Gallina problem as well. Frankly, it has always been my least favorite Giacosa Barbaresco, seemingly having “less of everything” compared to the others. Well tonite I had no problems at all. Unmistakable mature, intoxicating Nebbiolo perfume followed by sweet, delicate fruit with the expected 89 acidity but more that adequate texture. In other words an elegant, balanced bottle of Giacosa Gallina di Nieve, low key, small scale, just right.
Me want! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Nice reminder,Carl.
Never give up on a Nebbiolo…from 89…from Giacosa.
What was the correct meal?
Hi Bill. Thick cut pork chop medium rare under a stew of mushrooms, mildly sweet sausage, potatoes, peppers. Think Giambotta but no acid; works well with lighter Nebbiolo with some age.
Carl, what you’ve described sounds exactly like Giambotta to me - when you say “no acid”, what ingredient is missing?
Bob, I’m leaving out onions and tomatoes which make it into some–though not all–Giambotta.
Can you folks find fresh porcinis (cepes) over there if you are willing to pay the freight? As much fuss as is made over the white truffle (and not undeserved when they are great), I am increasingly convinced that the perfect pairing for old or lighter bodied Nebboli is slices of porcini dipped in egg, rolled in bread crumbs to achieve a light coating and then fried in EVOO with a chunk of really good French demi-sel butter to add flavor and an extra hint of richness. There is nothing like something from the floor of a forest to pair with a wine that smells (and often tastes) like the floor of a forest!
Sounds correct to me,Carl 
…but maybe with,as you mentioned,a few onions…
Yes and you are…correct.
On the other hand, I can also choke down a great Giacosa riserva from the 60s or 70s with a plate of scrambled eggs from the signora next door, swimming in the same demi-sel and completely covered under a mound of shaved tartufi bianchi…for breakfast…
Great note Carl 
!
OK, you suck! ![[worship.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/9/99a8907a1d5b3c023582052741dc72dc9823c044.gif "worship"){kind=small}
Dude, I keep telling you: you, too, can live the dream! If you have kids, disown them. Drive a 15-year-old car and learn how to repair it yourself. Do what you have to do to make that 401(k) max out! Seriously, I understand that everyone’s life circumstances are different, and I will confess to having made a lot of my own luck with a property that I bought here 13 years ago. However, it is no longer difficult to find affordable housing here and elsewhere in Europe, to rent especially but also to buy, even with the $1.35/1 Euro situation. Without going into a larger analysis of my resources (which, of course, includes the 20 or so cases of old Giacosas that now have a street value of $184 million, more or less), I can tell you that I took Social Security at the earliest possible moment to the tune of a little over $21,000 a year, and if I take another $29,000 a year from my IRA (and I can make more than that every year from high-dividend stocks), I can have $50,000 a year to spend, with a net Italian/American tax liability of about $3,200 at 2012 U.S. rates. As I understand it, that income level is probably below the poverty line in America these days, so all that I am really saying is that I can live comfortably on that amount without touching principal, as they used to say in the old days. The intangibles are the beautiful thing. Italian residents pay damn near no property taxes, and get breaks on things like electricity bills and train tickets not available to tourists. While Italy can tax an IRA “pot” at a 0.15% level ($1,500 per MILLION, eh?), it cannot tax distributions as Uncle Sam can, and it can tax gains on investments, but usually at capped, quite favorable rates, while the Tax treaty saves you from double taxation. I should write a book on this…
However, I digress. The short response to your comment is, “Yes, I DO suck.” The point that I am trying to make, however, is that YOU, TOO, can suck!
Bill, I’d buy that book.
In Boston, we rarely get porcinis. Except for the dried stuff which is ubiquitous, we occasionally get frozen cepes in the Italian groceries. I’ve never seen fresh. Sadly. My wife went out of her way to surprise me with a black winter truffle this weekend - quite unfortunate, as its not winter truffle season anywhere, not even Australia. It was as mute as that Giacosa, a dried up husk of no account fungus.
Btw, had the same experience with a thoroughly ungiving '90 Gallina recently (a 90 Felsina Berardenga Rancia CC Riserva also was totally mute): Wine list assist? '96 BDXs vs B. Giacosa various vintages - REPORTING BACK: YIKES, ROOT NIGHT? - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
I wish I’d had the immediate insight to cork 'em to bring home for the next night, but I was all jacked up for the Giacosa. And the Felsina.
So with all this talk of lucky guys choking down Signora’s tartuffi for breakfast, and unlucky guys forced to drink Greg’s awful 01s, I ran into a perfect storm at lunch today–some early white truffles shaved over a fried egg and polenta, accompanied by a glass of 01 Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Riserva Vigna d’la Roul. Truffles good, authentic, but in truth I’m looking forward to November. As for the Manzoni, perfectly sound, no struggle to find its Baroloness, just unexciting. Certainly nothing there to scare me away from the vintage.
By the way, having thouroughly explored the acid content of Giambotta as well as the tax and other advantages of taking up residence in Piemonte, just curious–anyone have any recent encounters with the 89 Giacosa Barbaresco Gallina de Nieve?