TN: 1996 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia (Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo)

WINE TALK
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  • 1996 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (10/23/2014)
    Served via Coravin at Felidia in New York, so no decant time. This was a very burly, masculine Piedmont. The nose is mostly tar, licorice, menthol, and dark bitter fruit. In the mouth the tannin gives it a chewy texture and left me reaching for the water glass after swallowing, though it also nicely prolonged the slightly sour finish. All brawn and no elegance at this stage of its evolution–check back in a decade, unless extended aeration would help to smooth out the rough edges.

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I have my good '96s on deck for a 2031 drinking…

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Was this drunk with food or on its own, Dan? I’d expect this to be a tough cookie on its own.

By the way, what do they charge by the glass?

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With duck. Didn’t help much, though again, no aeration.

$38 for what was supposed to be a 3-ounce pour, but was basically a whole glass. The somm was very nice and feeling generous, I suppose.

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I disagree - I have had the '96 a couple of times and think it is fine to drink now even though it will undoubtedly last for a long time. But then again, I’m not a believer in the theory of “if it isn’t old it isn’t good.” YMMV.

Felidia is a great place to dine, and the new wine director is doing great things, particularly with the BTG program.

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Or had difficulties extracting a precise 3 ounces using Coravin.

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That’s a problem I have with the coravin. what do you do with a wine that needs to be aired for 4-6 hours? do you let it sit in the glass for that time?