La Festa del Barolo

WINE TALK
1

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I am going and want to know if there are any co-conspirators who will be there. Antonio is a class act, and I finally have a venue for a double Magnum of 1999 Paolo Bea

2

I am going and I will happily stop by and taste your DM of 1999 Bea, scoff that it is way too young, and then ask for another pour.

3

So other than Ken, if i show with a double mag of paolo bea, anyone in?

beuller? beuller?

4

There will a load of people at this event, maybe 100 or so. I’m guessing at least half will want some. Certainly everyone at my table!

5

Sure wish I lived closer to NYC - you guys are going to have fun it seems! CHEERS

6

We popped a bottle of the '99 Paolo Bea a few weeks ago, it was really special… never stopped changing throughout the 3 hours we followed it, and the one thing I remember was… wishing it was a mag!

7

This was a great event. Very well organized with lots of great wine and great people. A really nice panel and tasting of recent releases.

There were also several CA winemakers there including Thomas Rivers Brown, Morgan Twain-Peterson, Jamie Kutch, and a nice guy named Mike who used to work with TRB.

A short list of my favorite wines from dinner included:

90 Giacosa SSR mag
99 Paolo Bea 3L (yes, Rob’s Bea!)
71 Giacosa Rocche Ris
64 Bartolo 1.9L
97 Mascarello Ca
78 G. Rinaldi Brunate Ris 3L
89 Rionda Riserva
00 Giacosa Rocche Ris
98 G. Rinaldi Brunate Ris mag
89 G. Rinaldi Brunate Ris mag
82 Giacosa Rionda Ris
04 Giaocsa Rocche Ris mag
90 La Tache
91 La Tache
85 La Mouline
71 DP Oenoteque

8

Ken, More details please. How was the tasting? and how’d the Baroli handle those last 4 party crashers?

RT

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The tasting was great. It’ll take me a little while to sort through and post all my notes and pix. Not sure what you mean by “last 4 party crashers”?

10

Thanks Ken. Looking forward to it. I was referencing the last 4 non-Barolos on your favorite wines at dinner list.

RT

11

They showed quite well. When reasonably mature, Burgundy and Barolo have a lot in common. The Cote Rotie was a bit more of a surprise.

BTW a particular delight for me was meeting one of my favorite novelists, Jay McInerney, who it turns out wanted to meet me because the mag of 1990 Giacosa SSR I brought was his WOTN. He had gotten a taste from Jamie Kutch who was at his table! The reason I mention this here was that part of his rave review was that the SSR was so “Burgundian”.

Here’s Jay and me (photo by Jamie Kutch):

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Thanks for the photo credit… Great time and really good seeing you once again Ken!

Good seeing you too Rob… It had been some time and I am grateful for the kind things you said.

13

This looks to be the place that was happening last weekend.
Thanks for the sneak peek.

14

I think I might still be hung over.

It was a great evening no doubt but alot of the ‘best’ wines, almost all in fact, were not double decanted and were not given enough air.

There were plenty of killer bottles floating around but with few exceptions they really didn’t wow me. My faorites of the night all came out of mags

1989 Rinaldi brunate
1989 Mascarello monprivato
1964 Bartolo
1982 Bartolo
1990 Giacosa SSR

We should get together next weekend with just these just to confirm.

15

What a night! I can now define “not pacing” myself as the inability to recollect drinking 90 and 91 La Tache side by side. Earlier in the evening, while still fully conscious, I was able to appreciate once again that when they are “on” Giacosa’s Collina Riondas from the best vintages are just impossible to beat. We drank the 71, 78 and 89 and both individually and as a group they were indeed “on” and fantastic. Loved drinking the 78 Rinaldi, the 89 Monprivato, the 85 Monfortino (showing best now in a flight that included the young as usual 78) and many others–too many others–but at the end of the day (or night) I found myself coming back to the CRs. If I had to live with just one on that particular night it would have been the 89–great now, limitless upside. Bruna preferred the 71.

Great job Antonio, and thanks.

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So many good wines and such great time. Feel very lucky to have been a part of it. Thank you everyone for sharing your treasures, the generosity is always nice to see at these events.

Special thanks to you Carl, I now truly understand the heights that Giacosa can reach and why you have a deep love for the wines. The 71 Red Label we brought was smoking and very Burgundian but the Collinas I tried were intoxicating and sublime. Thank you!!

Other top wine highlights for me

89 Monprivato Mag - this was awesome
68 Mastrobaradino Taurasi
71 Conterno Montfortino - started out a bit tired but then opened up in the glass and turned into something pretty special. Still, overall I think I am a Giacosa man now.
88 Giacosa SSR mag
71 DP oeno
59 Krug - not a perfect bottle according to the lumbers but still really really good.

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Carl,

Many thanks to you for all the great wines you and your table shared with us. It was great finally meeting you!

From my list of favorites, I think these came from your table:

71 Giacosa Rocche Ris
78 G. Rinaldi Brunate Ris 3L
89 Rionda Riserva
90 La Tache
91 La Tache
85 La Mouline
71 DP Oenoteque

[worship.gif]

18

Ken, it was great meeting you, and hopefully a prelude to getting together again soon to share great wines. Just a note–that terrific mag of 71Rocche Ris was being generously poured by Bobby and Chris from Crush.

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As I used to have as my signature: “Have Barolo – Will Travel”!

The 71 Rocche Ris I had was from a 750. One without a vintage tag.

20

The '71 probably came from through our table to you but it was brought by Nicole Ruvo who works for LVMH.