A gang of us with spouses and partners converged for a dinner to celebrate birthdays of a couple of people who were born in 1958. Don’t ask me why this celebration was held in 2017. The theme pretty much dictated Barolo and Barbaresco because it was not a great year in most areas, and because nebbiolo of that age is obtainable and not priced in the stratosphere.
The takeaways for me were:
- Well stored Barolo from even so-so producers can live almost forever.
- Old doesn’t necessarily mean complex.
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It pays to be selective if you want something that is interesting for more than its longevity.
These conclusions I had reached already, but I happily reconfirmed them with fresh empirical data.
There wasn’t a bad or dead wine in the group (most of which were purchased from Chambers Street in recent years), but neither was there are any really great wine. Oh, well. Still a fun evening, not least because of a scrumptious veal roast cooked sous vide.
With the exception of the Fontanafredda, these were all decanted some hours ahead.
1958 Fontanafredda Barolo: When our host went to decant this, he discovered the cork floating in the bottle. Since this had been on its side until it was stood up earlier in the week, he assumed this happened recently – likely the day of the dinner. Otherwise there would have been seepage.
In any event, it didn’t seem to matter. The color was very good for a 59-year-old nebbiolo. While there was a faint scent of coffee, as old wines often have, it was not dominant at all. There were also good sour cherry aromas and some cinnamon and what someone pegged as bergamot or orange peel. In the mouth, this was very fresh, with a lovely sweetness that carried through to the finish.
A nice if not profound wine. I’d give it 87/88, and I couldn’t help wondering if it wouldn’t have been a lot better if it had had the benefit of several hours of decanting. Our host held off decanting because he was afraid the wine might have been fragile due to the loose cork. This and the 1974 De Forville were the best of the reds, I thought.
1958 Franco Fiorino Barolo: Aging scents of caramel and coffee on the nose – like a coffee candy bar. Wallpaper paste scent, someone said, and I agreed. Not bad, but unusual. Also a bit of madeirization and a bit of VA. In the mouth, this was more concentrated than the Fontanafredda, but it was sort of generic old nebbiolo. 84-ish for me. Sound, drinkable but not very interesting. I had a similar experience with another Fiorini from the 70s a year or so ago.
1958 Gaja Barbaresco: Floral scents and generally fresher on the nose than the other two. No signs of being tired … at first. But it deteriorates in the glass some and starts to feel older. Less dense on the palate; a little attenuated. Not terribly complex. 85-ish for me.
1974 De Forville Barbaresco: A step up from the last two, and my favorite of the reds. Nice floral scents. Medium body, good acid, and overall quite refined and youthful. Elegant. This is where you hope a good Barbaresco ends up. And maybe 43 years is about right. 88+ -ish on this one.
1978 Moscone Barolo: This was rather rustic and just plain tannic. “Tart, tannic” on the finish, I wrote. Someplace in the low 80s points-wise.
1980 Cordero di Montezemolo – Monfalleto: Jamie Wolfe at Chambers Street had recommended this to someone, saying the vintage was underrated. Judging by this wine, that may be true. This had a good amount of fruit. Unfortunately, as so often happens on evenings like this, my notes become, well, non-existent at this stage. Suffice it to say, it was sound but not profound.
1988 Ch. Rieussec: My, goodness, Sauterne can be good. Rich but not unctuous, with great botrytis and acid. It is in its moment. 92-ish.