TN: 2004 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba

WINE TALK
#1
  • 2004 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/29/2015)
    I wanted to try a bottle first to see how good this really is and also to check on a new retailer from Europe. Wow outstanding. Served with Roasted Slagel Farm Chicken and white asparagus. Deep rich fruit. Dark and full in the mouth with great balance. Touch of anise and just a hint of tar. You know when you drink a wine and it has that extra dimension ? This one got it. Going to be unbelievable some day. A future legend.

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#2

Nice note. I have almost completely stopped buying Barolo with the 2001 vintage (age thing). But gosh I get itchy to grab some later vintages when I read notes like this. I have resolved the issue, I think.

#3

Nice note on a great wine. Unlike my young friend Kelly, I even bought mags of this!

#4

I did the same as Kelly - 2001 is really the last vintage I focused on in Barolo. FWIW, I do have the '01 Le Rocche in mag [cheers.gif] .

So I guess even though I’m basically the same age as Ken, I am less confident of my ultimate longevity.

Although I do have some '04, '06 and '10 Brunello, so I can’t say that I’ve held the line everywhere.

#5

I do have to admit that I would never think to pair a young Le Rocche with roasted chicken - how was the bird prepared?

#6

A great note on what must be a great wine. I had the 04 Croera a while back and loaded up a second case after tasting it, it was that good. Looks like Il Maestro killed it in 04.

#7

Ken, I love ya man but don’t be testing my will neener

#8

That’s good to hear. I haven’t tried it since release, but I know they were not happy with it. They sold that parcel in 2012. I own a case as well. It sounds like I should try a bottle soon.

#9

Interesting, Ken. Do you know why they weren’t happy with it? Not up to scratch in comparison with the other wines? The Croera was only made once…

#10

I’m a bit surprised that this showed so well at this age (for this vintage) but glad for you that it did! I’m not willing to dip into my stash until at least another 9 years!
How did you serve - pnp, slow ox, double decant in the am…?

#11

Nice note, sitting on a single btl. Will probably wait until my deathbed before opening it.

#12

For purely selfish reasons it is better to consume it before that point… [wink.gif]

I have 3 Red bottles. I will leave them along for the time being and just concentrate on the standard Falletto.

#13

I think this may be the only >$100 wine that I bought a case of, on release. Mags, too. :slight_smile:

Thanks for trying one, Nick. Sounds very promising! I’ve not even tried my almost-red label 1999’s.

#14

Thanks for the update. I also have so little of this, the price jump from the '01s knocked me out, probably a huge mistake.

#15

Be forewarned that there is no more “affordable back-filling”:

http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=114888

#16

I hope the '07 is just as good! [cheers.gif]

#17

Interesting about the Croera. On release it was a 90-pointer from a bunch of reviewers (AG, Tanzer, WS). In this latest AG 2004 update, he drops his score to 88 for Croera and says it is aging quickly. That seems quite inconsistent with those who have posted reviews on CT in the last few years. Most of them seem to indicate years to go yet, with several reviews over 90, including Richard Jennings at 94 on this wine.

Maybe AG’s bottle just didn’t show well?

I am also in the case club on this wine, but have yet to open one. I got a great deal on these, so I’ll be fine if it shows as a wine worthy of a 90ish score.

Cheers,
Blair

#18

My note from January on the Croera (sorry for the thread drift): Bottle 3036 of 7060. “You either like Giacosa, or you’re wrong.” A unique, if not that rare, bottling, so goes my understanding. I imagine that the only way you get better than this is moving up the Giacosa cuvees. An extremely pretty nose of sweet red fruit and roses, with a good bit of dustiness bringing up the rear, I knew right from the get-go that this was going to be a great bottle of Barolo – scratch that – wine. Without a doubt this is tight at the moment, and not giving up very much, but the exquisitely pretty red fruit has a real presence (which I think will be able to persist for many, many years). A slight tinge of sweetness as well, but the thing that really hits you are the tannins. They’re big. This will be awesomer in 10 years (or tomorrow?). The fruit will certainly last that long, and the tannins will soften. A real dark horse in the Giacosa lineup. This is just as good the next day, and has opened up considerably. The tannins have indeed softened, and the stereotypical rose and tar aromas have strengthened in comparison to the bright red fruit. This shows a lot of promise and if I hadn’t already drained the rest of the bottle, I’m pretty comfortable in saying it’d be doing just fine on the third day as well.

#19

True, but if were to backfill, this is the wine I’d buy. I remember tasting this at the winery. My note read something like, “more exclamation points than a teenage girl’s diary.” But by the time the 04s came out I was also cutting back. Now, I’m starting to think my Giacosa holdings are too limited. Ah well.

#20

I’m also an optimist. I have 2 mags. My family can use them to toast my memory at my funeral LOL