2004 Francesco Rinaldi & Figli Barolo Cannubbio- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (8/27/2009)
Effusive, intoxicating, very fresh nose of fresh roses, red fruits, leather, tar, dust / limey earth. Utterly silky and flawless on the palate with tremendous balance and tremendous concentration. Perfectly on point acidity and a wave of elegant, ripe, sweet tannin. All of the structure and all of the fruit are so well balanced against each other that the result is a middleweight, effortless presentation that has great depth and haunting length. The third time I’ve tried this bottling and this wine is slowly closing in on itself with the structure becoming more prominent. This is one of the standouts of the vintage for my tastes and will be a stunning, stunning wine in 15-20 years. Either catch it soon or forget about it for a long while.
Josh, as a fan of '04 Barolo, I’m quite surprised this showed so well so young. The nose sounds spot on with what drew me to Barolo in the first place, and why I actually prefer young Barolo over some with more significant age on it…
I think that, contrary to a lot of opinions, Nebbiolo can show well young. Sure it has a lot of tannin and acid, but it can be a sappy, rich, intense wine young.
However, wait till you have a few more of the right aged Barolo/Barbaresco experiences before you write off them off!
Just like Cab or Syrah, it can vary from vintage to vintage, as well as producer to producer. Francesco Rinaldi is about as traditional as Barolo producers get. So the fact that his Barolo is drinking well young says something about 2004.
Ken, I agree that F Rinaldi is one of the most traditional producers remaining in Barolo. I have found, though, that the wines have an elegance and that the Cannubio particularly is more approachable young than the wines of G Rinaldi or B Mascarello, for instance.
I do think it varies by vintage - the '98 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo has drunk well right out of the gate, as has the Guiseppe Mascarello Monprivato from the same year, yet these are both very traditional producers where early accessibility is clearly not the norm.
The 95 F. Rinaldi Cannubbio also was pretty approachable at a similar age, which surprised me at the time given his reputation.
I suspect that changes in the winemaking across the board, including at the traditionalists, are producing quite a different and more approachable product from the wines of two decades ago. The 98s, 99s and 01s tended to be very fleshy, too. Was that all vintage character? I suspect not. I can’t imagine that the Cascina Francias of the 80s were anywhere nearly as luscious when they were released as the 2001 was.
But, hey, if they can make the wines so you don’t have to sit on for 30 years at a minimum (I’m thinking of the 78s), I guess that’s a good thing.