TN: Prunotto wines of the Colla era, part I

[Otto_Forsberg]

@DaVid_B2

Thanks for taking the time for this post, Otto. Not referencing Prunotto exclusively, I have drank many really old bottles of Barolo both in the US as well as while in Europe that have been well stored.

Same here. You can find probably 200-300 my TNs of old Barolos, Barbarescos and Alto Piemonte wines ranging from the 1980’s all the way to 1940’s on Cellartracker. And still more to come.

@DaVid_B2

I have had terrible bottles from highly regarded old guard producers in what were considered great vintages. I have had bottles from the same producers that were spectacular and were from really mediocre vintages.

Ditto. Although I’d say 1964 has been probably the most consistent “legendary” vintage. Not all bottles are great, but I’d say I’ve had a better success rate with that particular vintage than with any other old vintage.

@DaVid_B2

My non-scientific conclusion is that once you start drinking wines with 30, 40, 50+ years on them it is entirely a crap shoot.

Fully agreed.

@DaVid_B2

I have some drinking buddies who seemingly equate old with better - but the proof is in the glass, no matter the age of the wine or producer

Same here. If we ever score the wines after tasting the wines, there are some people who always rate the oldest wine highest, even if it is obviously flat, tired and oxidized to everyone else in the room!

@Yule_Kim

I will say that my failure rate with 70s and 80s Piemonte wines is a lot higher than 70s or 80s Bordeaux.

As for me, I’d go with 1970’s Piemonte rather than with 1970’s Bordeaux, and vice versa with the 1980’s. But that’s just based on my experience. And I’ve had a lot more Nebbiolos from the 1940’s to 1980’s than Bordeaux from these same decades, so that might skew things a little bit.

@John_Morris

(Were they imported to Finland on release, or years later?)

It’s quite cute for you to think anyone would import this kind of stuff to Finland! No, we just get most recent vintages of the lousy cheap stuff (but priced at ridiculously expensive prices). Nothing good ever comes our way - if we want something nice, we have to find it for ourselves!

These bottles were from the private cellar of a friend who had lived in Italy at some point. I think most of these wines were bought from old restaurant cellars and selections of Italian wine collectors some 15-20 years ago - the wines were originally purchased on release, moved into these cellars and had remained there until my friend brought them to Finland at some point. Some rare bottles are later purchases from wine shops in Italy, but with most of the wines the provenance is pretty impeccable.

This friend of mine is also quite vigilant with the old wines - when sourcing old wines, he always inspects every bottle with a flashlight and buys only when the wine looks clear and the color seems sound. With his vast selection of old Italian wines, I have to admit his track record with great old Italian wines is pretty darn impressive - I mean I have been to dozens and dozens of tastings on old Italian wines before I joined WB, so I’ve never written any reports on them. But, yeah, we’ve tasted a lot of old Italian wines - and not just Piedmont! Probably every imaginable spot in Italy has been tasted here. And the hit rate of these old bottles has been remarkably good - not perfect, but far from crapshoot.

[ChrisJames]

@Otto_Forsberg

I’d say 1964 has been probably the most consistent “legendary” vintage.

Strange to say, of the probably 20+ 1964s I’ve had over the years, I’ve never had a bad one.

@Otto_Forsberg

Nothing good ever comes our way

Especially from the East.

[Otto_Forsberg]

@ChrisJames

Especially from the East.

Lol yeah this indeed

@ChrisJames

Strange to say, of the probably 20+ 1964s I’ve had over the years, I’ve never had a bad one.

According to CT, at least 33 for me - although I’ve had some duds as well.

[Ken_V]

I’ve had some mixed experience with older Purnottos:

1967 Prunotto Barolo Riserva
5/28/2016 - I like this wine: 88 points
Aged Nebbiolo Table at BerserkerFest (Peking Duck House, 53rd St, NYC): [Double decanted around 3pm.] Smokey red fruit nose. Lovely and mellow. Going over the hill, but not gone yet. Drying tannins on the finish. The best wine so far, but drink up!

1967 Prunotto Barbaresco Riserva
11/17/2022 - I like this wine: 94 points
WCC Barolo and Barbaresco Dinner (The Chef’s Table at Cafe Capriccio, Albany, NY): [Double-decanted for 4 hours at 1pm.] Bright cherry nose with hints of something floral. Delicate, mature, complex. Long finish of cherries and mulch. Drinking well now.

1971 Prunotto Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà
4/27/2013 - I like this wine: 93 points
Gala Dinner at Antonio Galloni’s La Festa del Barolo (Del Posto Restaurant, NYC): From magnum. Carl K brought this by. Quite special. I did not know they made this. A lovely and delicate wine that is drinking quite well right now.

1978 Prunotto Barolo Riserva Cannubi
6/17/2010 - I wrote: 93 points (Edit)
Barolo at Pepolino (TriBeCa): Earth and black cherries in the nose. Classic Barolo with earth, tar, and cherries. Has a thickness in the mouth that is typical of 1978. Excellent length. Showing very nicely now. No reason to hold longer. Double decanted about 4pm. Drunk around 8pm.

1978 Prunotto Barolo Riserva Cannubi
5/26/2018 - I wrote: NR
Opened for dinner with John & Linda at Mio Posto. It opened up a bit, but then faded quickly. Too bad.

1989 Prunotto Barolo Bussia
10/21/2017 - I wrote: flawed
Some hint of what it was, but this bottle just has too much oxidation to show well.

1989 Prunotto Barolo Cannubi
1/15/2014 - I like this wine: 95 points
1989 Barolo and Barbaresco Single Blind (I Trulli Restaurant, NYC): [Double-decanted around 11am.] Stunning bright fruit. Medicinal in a good way. Complex and silky. A terrific wine at its peak. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening for me.

1989 Prunotto Barbaresco
4/18/2019 - I like this wine: 93 points
Neb Vinous Blind 1989 Barolo & Barbaresco Dinner (Buona Notte, NYC): [Double decanted around 11:45am.] Probably the biggest surprise of the evening. This was gorgeous with elegant, smoky sweet red fruit. Long finish. Fully mature with great purity. I thought this was the Pajé.

[DaVid_B2]

Ken - was the Rabajà from purchased fruit?

[Ken_V]

I don’t know. I would guess so since they don’t make it in recent years.

[Ian_Sutton]

@John_Morris

I remember visiting a fabulous basement in a store in Lucca circa 1997 with scores of Chianti and other wines, mostly Tuscan, going back to the 60s, but I was there in the summer and the temperatures even in the cellar were high. I wasn’t tempted to buy anything that had been held there.

I don’t visit Italy in summer (well not since my 1st visit in 1990), but even in Autumn, it was surprisingly warm in Enoteca Vanni’s cellar. Not hot, but it’s from memory more of a mezzanine cellar, a few steps, but not a whole floor underground, and so it wasn’t cellar cool like some.

[Joseph_Grassa]

Good write up! Happy to see someone talking about this. For me these can be some of the most undervalued wines around. But I have been fortunate to have never had a flawed bottle from Beppe Colla’s period. I have nearly a case left, hopefully I haven’t just jinxed it!

@Otto_Forsberg

1967 Prunotto Barolo Riserva Bussia di Monforte d’Alba

There’s something off here. Either the wine has just evolved too much, revealing some unpleasantly earthy tertiary notes without any fruit, or it is just suffering from a very mild case of TCA, making the wine lose any obvious fruit flavors, yet not feel obviously corked. Whatever the case, this didn’t feel like it was a sound bottle. A shame.

definitely a shame. From my experience this wine has plenty of life left. I have had it a couple of times in the past few years and still have 1 bottle resting. The first time I had it sbs with the 1967 Prunotto Barolo Riserva, and after about 9 hours of air (including some time in the glass) the wines were fairly close, but on day 2, it the Bussia blew away the regular Riserva bottling, which had begun declining slightly. I find that many of these wines need about 10 hours of air, but it varies with some declining more quickly than others. The Bussia di Monforte d’Alba consistently has needed the most air.

[Joseph_Grassa]

A few others details regarding Beppe Colla and this incredible period. Beppe was one of the very first to advocate for shorter maceration times in Barolo. In 1950 he convinced Bonardi to try an 18 day maceration, because he thought the wines could age on their acidity. Bonardi switched over entirely almost immediately after seeing the results.

He was also one of the first in Piedmont to push green harvesting, not only doing it himself, but advocating others to do so.

One of the most important names in Barolo history, and nearly forgotten because his name was never on the label, and then Antinori ruined the reputation of the winery.

[Ken_V]

He was also the first to bottle single-vineyard Barolo and Barbaresco in 1961.

Vietti also bottled a single-vineyard Barolo that year.

[Joseph_Grassa]

I have never had the 1961, but if you visit Poderi Colla, there is an empty bottle in the tasting room. I want one even if just for making a mini Museum!

[Marshall_Manning]

@Joseph_Grassa

I have never had the 1961, but if you visit Poderi Colla, there is an empty bottle in the tasting room. I want one even if just for making a mini Museum!

You mean that one?

[Joseph_Grassa]

That would be it! Can’t wait to get back there. Federica’s graciousness caused me to make an impromptu trip, and I am now well overdue for another!

[Otto_Forsberg]

@Marshall_Manning

You mean that one?

Or the one right there in my lineup picture?