TN: Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate Vertical

WINE TALK
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NEB VINOUS GIUSEPPE RINALDI BRUNATE - Hearth, East Village, NYC (10/28/2025)

A group of Neb Heads (most of them from the Nebbiolo group formed through the Vinous forum) met to check out 10 Barolos from Giuseppe Rinaldi.
Photos and more details can be found on my website.

Flight 1.

CHICORY SALAD with sesame-spiced pecans, orchard fruits.

  • 2015 Giuseppe Rinaldi Namaste Vino Rosso - Italy, Piedmont, Vino da Tavola
    [Pop and pour.] Lovely, exotic nose of dried fruits and Asian spices. Rich and complex. Tasty wine! Definitely has some resemblance to Nebbiolo and Freisa. Fascinating. (92 points)
  • 1996 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted at 10am.] Dark black color. Muted nose of black fruit, tar and licorice. Gorgeous and expansive in the mouth, but still holding back.
    Left in the glass for 2 hours, it is really showing much more open now. I should have given it a longer decant. A truly classic 1996 Barolo. Needs another decade or a long decant. Wow! 96-98 (96 points)
  • 1998 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted at 1pm.] Lovely red fruit nose. Rich and juicy, but less body than other vintages. Elegant. If you got 'em, I would start drinking these. (92 points)

Flight 2.

LINE-CAUGHT TUNA CRUDO: Tuna nduja in honeynut squash broth.

  • 2000 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted at 12:20pm.] Lovely bouquet of red and black fruits and tar. Tart with aggressive tannins and acid. Not sure if this has enough fruit to continue aging. NR
  • 2003 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted for 3.5 hours at 2pm.] Another lovely floral nose of black fruits. Tart and juicy, but balanced. Lovely now. (92 points)
  • 2006 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted for a half hour at 8am.] Bright red fruit nose. Juicy and very appealing with a good long finish. (93 points)

Flight 3.

CAMPANELLE in a mushroom ragu with marsala and goat cheese crumb.

  • 2007 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted at 2:20pm.] Muted nose of black plums and minerals. Tart and juicy. Seems a bit young still. Somewhat austere for at 2007. (92 points)
  • 2008 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted at 4:15pm.] Beautiful nose of rich black fruits. Silky in the mouth. Harmonious, expansive. 2008 is still underrated. WOTN so far. Gorgeous. (95 points)
  • 2009 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted at 12pm.] Red fruit and spice in the nose. Smooth. Showing well now. No need to wait on this. (92 points)

Flight 4.

AMERICAN WAGYU BAVETTE with grilled chicories, anchovy vinaigrette, fried potatoes.

The 2010 Tre Tine was a mistake on my part. It was supposed to be the 2010 Brunate.

  • 2010 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted for one hour at 10am.] Gorgeous nose of black fruit. Bright red fruit in the mouth. A beautiful wine, more delicate in style than the Brunates. (94 points)
  • 2013 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    [Double-decanted at 11am.] Dark black fruit in the nose. Huge in the mouth. Expansive, complex. A stunning wine with a super long finish. Fantastic! WOTN (97 points)

Dessert
OLIVE OIL CAKE with poached quince, vanilla crème fraiche, black pepper candy.

Conclusion
Excellent wines, but I thought a few more would be really dazzling. Still, another enjoyable dinner with this group.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Looks like a great tasting and interesting to compare your notes with my recollections of a wonderful Rinaldi vertical several years ago organized by @Nathan_V and Jamie Wolff. My two favorites of a lineup that ran from 1982 to 2008 (though with many omitted vintages) were the 2007 and 2008. I had the 1996 and 1998 on about the same level and liked both very much, but can easily imagine that their paths have diverged over the past several years. The 2000 was my least favorite of the tasting by a decent margin and your note suggests that we didn’t just have an off bottle.

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Thanks Ken,

Sounds like a great night. The food looks particularly good and terrific pairings.

Glad to see the 08 and 13 show so well.

Best,

T

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Epic. We had the 2010 Brunate at a tasting locally in summer 2024. I know it wasn’t in your lineup but it definitely needed some time.

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I promised the group that I would try my 2010 Brunate and send them a TN to make up for my mistake. It didn’t seem that they appreciated my generosity. :grin:

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I’m impressed with your recall! My strongest memories from that evening were chatting with Jamie!

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For the wine comments, I’m relying on brief notes and ratings I put in Delectable, which I find is an indispensable memory assistant. Most of my memories of that night are mostly of visiting with the people, particularly you, Nathan, and Jamie. My other vivid memory, curiously enough, is of how good the hazelnuts were on one of the dishes and Nathan letting me know that they came from Gustiamo’s.

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Thanks for these notes!

I have one last bottle of the 96 and was wondering when I would dare to open this last bottle. Seems like finally it has become accessible again.

I have a single magnum of the 1998 that Giuseppe only gave to me because it is the birthyear of my son. Still resting in my cellar. He made me promise however that I would bring back the bottle, as it was one reused from his Grandfather. Giuseppe is no more, but I will bring back that bottle…

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Exciting reading, thank you.

Pairing with nduja sounds brave when drinking Nebbiolo. At least it would be if prepared by my southern Italian friends.

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As does the chicory salad

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The tuna was quite good with the wines. The salad, not so much.

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Thanks for the notes Ken, much appreciated! I’ve still got some of these in the cellar and was happy to see you mistakenly bring the '10 Tre Tine. Iv’e got that in Magnum and it’s good to see it’s still got plenty of time!

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Great tasting! No or just one off bottle… which is amazing for a Rinaldi tasting where the off (or oxidized) bottle ratio is usually closer to 50%, in my experience.

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I have 70 TNs on CT for Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolos. I count 7 off bottles. That’s 10%, which some say is typical for wine in general.