This is the first one from almost 2 years ago. I was motivated to write up my notes and post photos due the announcement of the next one this April.
GALA DINNER OF LA FESTA DEL BAROLO - Del Posto Restaurant, NYC (3/26/2011)
This is the evening portion of this wonderful event put on by Antonio Galloni with a lot of hard word by his lovely wife Marzia. The afternoon was tasting of current release Barolos. You can find my notes on that tasting here.
At this dinner, each group of attendees was matched with one Barolo winery and seated at a table with the owner/winemaker who attended. By our request, my group was seated with Giuseppe Rinaldi and his daughter Marta. My friend Greg dal Piaz sat 2 seats away from me and next to Giuseppe. Since he speaks fluent Italian, I asked him to ask Giuseppe a simple question: What was the first vintage of Giuseppe Rinaldi wine? They chatted away intensely for 10 minutes, so I asked Greg if he had gotten an answer. He said not yet. Then after 20 minutes, then an hour, finally I gave up. Greg had a great time and learned much, but never got an answer to my question.
I too had a great time. As you will see below, the list of great wines I got to taste was enormous. Thus my notes are quite brief. Obviously wines like these are best appreciated in a small group with lots of time to spend with each wine. But this is a different kind of event and a different kind of pleasure. The next La Festa del Barolo will be in April 2013, and I can assure you that I will be there.
There are photos, food, and more commentary on my website:
http://www.finewinegeek.com/tn/2011-03-26_BB_LaFestaBarolo_2/
Flight 1: Getting Started
-
2002 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon - France, Champagne
Complex, yeasty, fresh, tart, lovely. Very young and hard to judge at this point. 92-95 points. (93 pts.) -
1990 Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru - France, Champagne
[Very big bottle, 6L?] Yeasty, sour. Not much. (86 pts.)
Flight 2: Warming Up
-
1961 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Sherry. Gone. NR (flawed) -
1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Magnum. Brought by me.] Just decanted. Still tight. Needs time to open, but is still riveting.
Open in decanter for 2-3 hours: Gorgeous, expansive, exquisite. Clearly one of the WOTN. Jay McInerney said it was his WOTN (but picked a different wine in his Wall Street Journal column). A brilliant wine. (98 pts.)
Flight 3: Around the Salad
-
1989 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A great Barolo. Even if it falls a little short of of the Rionda, it is still a great wine in its own right. Great body and complex flavors of minerals and flowers with a hint of truffle. (96 pts.) -
1986 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Elegant, floral, ethereal. (92 pts.) -
1993 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Magnum. Expansive, ethereal nose. Balanced, juicy, tannic, still young. Some cherry fruit. A lovely wine that should improve for a few more years. (93 pts.) -
1978 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Don’t think this was decanted long. Very tight. Dark black fruit. Great length. Showing only potential at this point. 96-99 points. (97 pts.) -
1999 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco - Italy, Umbria, Montefalco, Sagrantino di Montefalco
3L bottle from Rob Klafter. Rich, exotic, complex. A stunning wine with great potential. (96 pts.) -
1982 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Tart cherries. Very hard to judge at this stage. Should have been decanted for a long time. (95 pts.) -
1971 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Rocche di Castiglione Falletto - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From Chris Cottrell. OMG. An ethereal, stunning wine. I wish I could spend the evening with this wine. (98 pts.)
Flight 4: With the Pasta Courses
-
1964 Cantina Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A 1.9L bottle brought by Jamie Wolff. Not much nose, but such a long exquisite finish. Still needs a little time! (95 pts.) -
1997 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Ca d’Morissio Riserva Monprivato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From Antonio Galloni. Expansive, expressive nose. Backward, tannic, but lovely black fruit. A terrific young wine with enormous potential. 95-97 points. (96 pts.) -
1978 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Riserva Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A 3L bottle. A group of us at our table had bid on this very bottle at auction, but lost to another group who just happened to be sitting at the next table and shared it with us! An amazing wine. Dark black fruit. From this 3L bottle, this wine has many, many years ahead. (97 pts.) -
1971 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Collina Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From Carl Kapper. Cloudy. Hints of tar and licorice in the nose. Elegant, sweet, super long finish. (95 pts.) -
1989 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
OMFG! As great as ever. Fantastic. IMO simply the greatest wine ever made (among those I’ve had). Very happy to have tasted this many times. (100 pts.) -
1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Collina Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
I am overwhelmed by the greatness of these wines and am starting to get loopy. Still, I can tell how great this is. (98 pts.)
Flight 5: With the Meat Course
-
2000 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From Antonio Galloni. A sweet and sexy young Barolo. Should improve for a decade or more, but provides a lot of pleasure right now. (95 pts.) -
1982 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Magnum. Brought by Joe Gagliano. Still young, a beautiful tarry wine still holding back a bit. (95 pts.) -
1998 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Magnum. Brought by Giuseppe and Marta Rinaldi. Gorgeous, sweet, young, tannic. Surely one of the wines of the vintage. 93-95 points. (94 pts.) -
1989 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Riserva Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Double decanted at 10am. Drunk around 10pm. Brought by Greg dal Piaz. Wow! Backward, tannic, exquisite. A great wine. I wish I could get some. (97 pts.) -
1982 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by Dan Tisch. Vibrant, riveting. A very special wine. Beefier than other vintages of Rionda. (97 pts.) -
1989 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
I think Greg brought this too. God, 1989 was a great year, especially for traditional producers with great vineyards. (96 pts.) -
1990 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A very good wine, but pales a bit after all these great wines. (92 pts.)
Flight 6: The End.
-
2004 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Magnum brought by Bruna Giacosa. I tried this when I wandered over to her table. Oh boy is this a great wine! The nose of full of flamboyant red and black fruit and iron shavings. Exquisite in the mouth. A young wine of great balance and harmony. OMFG! 99-100 points. (99 pts.) -
1985 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Burgundy-esque. A bit oaky and waxy, but delicate and ethereal as well. (95 pts.) -
1974 Giacomo Conterno Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Magnum. Brought by Dan Tisch. Last G. Conterno Barolo from purchased grapes. Tarry and beautiful, but I’m really reaching my limit. (94 pts.) -
1971 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Oenothèque - France, Champagne
OMFG! What a way to finish this amazing evening. I can’t recall who brought this by, but thank you. A revelation. The best Champagne I’ve ever had. Ungodly good. (99 pts.)
An amazing evening of great wine, great company, and great fun. The food at Del Posto was excellent, but it took too long for red-wine-friendly dishes to come out. My only complaint on an otherwise perfect event.
Posted from CellarTracker