The first barbera I ever had with any age on it was the 90 Conce Tre Pile over dinner at the Ristorante Belvedere in La Morra in 1996. It made an impression. Two years ago, I had some no-name 99 barbera at Tomasso’s in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, that was smooth and pleasing, if a bit simple.
So when Chambers St. got in five or six cases of the 88 Conce Tre Pile, I had to try it.
It was a disappointment: A dull rust/brick hue. Some raisined/oxidized scents, and a hint of old socks; others got prunes. In the mouth, quite tart, with raisin/oxidized flavors. It seemed to flesh out a tiny bit with air, but this is just too lean and over the hill to be pleasant.
I’d hoped this would prove to be the exception that proves the rule that you shouldn’t age barbera too long. No such luck. Pointswise: 80-ish.
FYI, the cork was in extraordinarily good condition – so good I couldn’t believe it when I pulled off the capsule. I believe this was freshly imported from a source in Europe. All the bottles were entirely pristine.
The 1988 Barbera is “over the hill” far to old. Not to sound like a school teacher but enjoy your Barbera within 5-6 years, unless it is Voerzio, or there will be lack of fruit.
I don’t agree in general about aging Barbera. It matters a lot which wine and which vintages. Personally, I think many Barolos from 1988 are OTH.
In the last few years I have had a 1987 Altare Larigi and a 1985 Bricco dell’Uccellone which were gorgeous. A very different animal than young Barbera, but mature, complex, and delicious.
Yeah, I agree with Ken that '88 can be a tricky vintage (and at least in my experience, many wines are also characterized by a lot of bottle variation - I have no idea why that might be). I’ve even had a Giacosa Santo Stefano Barbaresco Riserva from '88 that was less than pristine, so it’s not just Barbera that runs the risk of being on the downslope at this point.
In general, I like my Barbera young. That said, and in part prompted by TNs that Henry Kahn has posted on older Barbera, I did spring for 6 mags of the 2004 Giacomo Conterno Barbera, under the assumption that if any Barbera is going to survive some age, Conterno in large format would have to be a pretty good bet.
That is perhaps the most notorious Giacosa wine for bottle variation. I have had glorious bottles (though not lately), ok bottles, and bad bottles of that wine. Some of it may have had to do with shipping problems, but I have also heard of some problems in Europe as well.
Birger – I figured that the two Conternos’ barberas are the best candidates for aging, and I thought that the fact Chambers brought it in spoke well for the wine. But 21 years was plainly too long for this particular bottle. Perhaps other bottles are better, and perhaps a riper year like 90 would have yielded a Conce Tre Pile that survived with more fruit.
As for 88 Baroli and Barbaresco, the Aldo Conterno Bussia Soprana and a Giacosa Gallina drank beautifully in 2004 and were not in any way on their last legs.
Anyone try the 2001 Cascina Francia barbera recently? I have a couple of bottles stashed away and am wondering if I should pull one out.