1968 Camerano Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (2/21/2024)
This birth year wine was purchased at auction in 2021 for $51. The label was pristine and display-worthy, a consolation in the event the wine was undrinkable. It was opened tonight because I scored a great deal on black truffles. Tasted with some friends and paired with pasta in a black truffle/butter/parmesan sauce.
The bottle had been standing up for several months, so I wouldn’t have to worry about sediment when the time came. The foil was in very good condition. The top of the cork was clean, with no mold or discolorations. The short cork easily came out with a Westmark prong-style opener. The cork was in great shape; not spongy at all, but rather somewhat dried out. The bottom of the cork had split across in three places.
The cork was pulled at 11am and slow-oxed for 8 hours. It was decanted just before serving. There was at about 1 inch of sediment in the bottom; in the sink it looked like a huge wad of loose chewing tobacco.
The color was clear and precise, somewhere between deep pink and pale ruby. On the nose, there was an immediate whiff of smoke, damp faded tobacco leaves, and some wet sawdust. The palate was surprisingly full of citrus, especially lime and grapefruit. Seriously, on the first sip, the tip of my tongue felt like I had licked a lime.
The mouthfeel leaned toward a light tawny port, but there remained a citrusy ebb and flow, especially a grapefruit bite on the finish. Tannins were nonexistent. It was as if the typical Nebbiolo rose petal and tar characteristics were completely filtered out, and this was what remained.
We spent about an hour trying to calibrate our palates to meet the wine. This included adding a pinch of salt to the black truffle pasta. The salt tempered the citrus notes and unified the front, middle, and finish. At the end of the meal, we broke out some dark chocolate, which made the wine taste like an orange-infused tawny port.
This was obviously an old wine, but it was not dead. There were no off-putting smells, prunes or vinegar notes. We felt like it was still alive and making an effort to recapture its youth, like a spry grandmother getting ready for her 56th high school reunion.
Posted from CellarTracker