TN: 1964 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis (Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo)

WINE TALK
#1
  • 1964 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (9/21/2014)
    Sat upright for at least a couple months in the on deck circle. Double decanted for sediment the night before, recorked, then pop and poured, drunk over a couple hours

An autumnal nose on first opening, but overnight it awoke from its long slumber. The nose opened and broadened. It started more in the truffle- mushroom and undergrowth mode and unfurled to roses, meaty broth, tar, and even some menthol. This grew more youthful with more air time. Layers of flavor all rolled beautifully together. Beautifully balanced, a wine with power married to poise. Singing tonight. Beautiful. 95 pts (95 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

#2

Hi Todd, sounds great. Do not drink them very often but love old Barolo. Cavallotto is a personal favourite too.

I am guessing you did not buy this on release? Get older Barolo in top condition can be tricky…

cheers Brodie

#3

Granted, I don’t have a lot of experience with 50 year old wines, but I find it very surprising that double decanting the day before was the optimal regimen for a wine this old. I would have feared that it would lose a lot before it was consumed.

#4

I have not had the 64 but I have had the 71 and the 78. My impression closely mirrors Todd’s. They are surprisingly youthful.

Posted from CellarTracker

#5

assuming one was not alive back then to purchase on release… what’s a good place to procure these 1964 examples?

#6

Chamber’s Street has said multiple times in their “we have old Barolo” emails that old Barolo needs lots of air. This note seems to reinforce that opinion.

#7

1964 Fratelli Carema Rosotto Nebbiolo
5/24/2014 90 Points

Deep caramel with ruby center. The cork did its primary job admirably for nearly 50 years, but ended up on the inside; the bottom was way more stuck to the sides than the disintegrating top, clarified through a coffee filter. The nose is old but alive, leather, old wood, black fruits and a little smoke. The palate is spicy and brighter, almost shocking tartness at first, plums and brambleberries through a barely tannic veneer of ashy campfire. It settled down in the mouth and with a little food (even just a bite of white chicken), the finish is fresher and tart again, more tannic and quite long.

Amazingly noticeably fruitier and calmer after a few hours, these old nebbiolos really benefit from a lot of air.



I, too, was surprised, however in the last year or so I have had by CT count 33 bottles of nebbiolo from vintages 1961-1974, and I am no longer surprised. At first I treated the delicately, decanting gently just a bit before serving or even simply opening and letting stand for a couple of hours. I now typically double decant 2-8 hours ahead, and they Still are often at their best very late in the evening or even the next day!

Exposure to air is apparently a necessity to revive their fruit and freshness, no matter how counterintuitive it may seem. I have now also found this to be the case with some 20+ year-old riesling I have:
1990 Fürst Löwenstein Riesling Auslese Weißsilber trocken Riesling

9/20/2014 - 92 Points

Evidently from a period when the estate was run by Schloss Vollrads. Lightly orange 18K gold. Yet another old white wine which really needed some airtime to shine. The first day it was a little cloudy, with no nose and not much palate except citrus tart.

A day later, nice nose of pineapple, overripe tart peach, honey, and flower buds. The palate is full and has a soft texture, tropical and honeyed, very ripe but almost vanishingly sweet, and bracingly mouthwatering. The finish is a powerful extension of the palate, more mineral and just barely short of too tart. A fascinating style, old-fashioned, very ripe riesling vinified to near-dryness and very mature. I don’t have enough experience with contemporary dry German wines to compare.

#8

Very enlightening, Steve. I guess my thinking that old Nebiolo should be handled like old Burgundy is not accurate. Thanks for the info.

#9

Assuming you have a good bottle, good Nebbiolo from a vintage like 1964 will normally require a lot of air (not just Barolo, but great wines from Gattinara, Valtellina and similar appellations). They literally need that air to blossom. On opening, or, generally, if not sufficiently aired, they will often taste dead or, at the very least, diluted and devoid of substance. Given enough air, the fruit erupts from some hidden place in the wine and fills it out. Always a fascinating experience.

#10

Never experienced it myself, but it would be totally fascinating. To me implies that a wine of any age should erupt with more fruit, but it’s not true. This variable is definitely part of what I find interesting about this hobby.

#11

I’ve heard very divergent views on aeration of old Barolo. I’ve also experienced wonderful results with different regimens as well. It’s only made me more confused and my take home lesson is that different wines react differently.

#12

Having had a ample sampling of 61s, 64s & 67s there just isn’t an algorithm.

Uncork, taste and assess.

I do think weeks upright in preparation is important.

60s Cavalotto, yummm…

#13

Thanks for reading everyone.

Brodie, I wasn’t quite able to buy this one release :slight_smile:

Kevin, I would love to try the '71. One of my favorite producers esp with bottle age. Tom and or Henry with you then?

Tvrtko,

Assuming you have a good bottle, good Nebbiolo from a vintage like 1964 will normally require a lot of air (not just Barolo, but great wines from Gattinara, Valtellina and similar appellations). They literally need that air to blossom. On opening, or, generally, if not sufficiently aired, they will often taste dead or, at the very least, diluted and devoid of substance. Given enough air, the fruit erupts from some hidden place in the wine and fills it out. Always a fascinating experience.

+1


Michael,

I learned variations of this from people with logarithmically more experience with older Nebbiolo than I. I drink a fair amount of older B+B and feel I can say from repeated observations that this, on first glance, counterintuitive technique works. As said by others, there are many ways to skin a cat. I have tried P+P, slow ox, regular decanting, etc. I have had my overall best/most consistent success with a double decant of sediment many hours ahead (in this instance the preceding night mostly due to logistical reasons). I fear extended air much less for older nebbiolo than for other varieties. I don’t fear this method of extended air with older Nebbiolo, especially from top makers in good condition from excellent vintages. I’ve had too many times where the last glass has been the best to not have faith.

Glenn, Very much agree with you with regards to the upright sediment settling. It was a bottle that was destined for a different dinner earlier in the summer, and plans changed. It had been left upright in the cellar for come to think of it more like 4 months. I was only describing that length of time, not recommending such and extreme period of time. That said, I feel strongly that 2-4 weeks for older B+B really helps the fine sediment settle to the bottom. That stuff I do feel negatively impacts the wine’s showing.


Thanks again everyone.

#14

Always a fascinating experience, indeed. I have had a lot of experience with old reds and whites that showed rather creaky upon opening that blossomed with air. Nebbiolo is a prime example, though I have seen this happen in many other old wines from top regions.

#15

can be tricky

The 1964 Cavallotto (Riserva, I think?) was my first “aha moment” for Barolo. Just absolutely spectacular. Bought every bottle I could find over the next year or two. Even shipped a few direct from Italy. Think there was a “Riserva Speciale” somewhere in the mix, too, with a drippy reddish wax capsule, maybe a seal debossed into the top. Probably 6 or 7 bottles all told… None of them ever hit the same high again! Most weren’t even close.

[cry.gif]

#16

Todd, Kevin – the 78 that Kevin graded a bit higher was indeed a beautiful bottle. I do have a bottle of 64 Riserva Speciale that we should drink sometime when you are back east, and will try to get Kevin to join us then,

#17

Henry, did you buy the '64 on release? neener

#18

Sounds great Henry. I poured a corked 64 riserva speciale for Tom when he was out here. Would be great to see a clean blle. The stuff under the Tca was beautiful.

#19

I absolutely agree. I think any tips on decanting/aereation/bottle preparation are necessarily extrapolations and informed (hopefully :slight_smile: ) opinions.

#20

Chae, it was a bar mitzvah present but my parents locked it up until I turned 21 :slight_smile:

Todd, will hold for you.

The neck label says 1964 Riserva Speciale, but we all suspect that Specialie was more a marketing designation than a term of art…