Tuesday Lunch Bunch (12/09/14) - Barolo

WINE TALK
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We had another great Tuesday Lunch Bunch session yesterday [cheers.gif]! The theme this time was Barolo 15yo or older – trying to get a mix of fun stuff. The food was excellent with a Warm Mushroom Salad (potato gnocchi, grape tomatoes, arugula, and truffle oil), American Wagyu Short Ribs (parmesan risotto and giardiniera), and we finished with a very nice selection of artisan cheeses. Plenty of food! We voted at the end – each person giving one point for their 4th place wine, two points for their 3rd place wine, three points for their 2nd place wine, and four points for their 1st place wine.
American Wagyu Short Ribs.JPG
The wines served single blind – my blind notes are below:
FIRST FLIGHT

  1. Cherry balsamico with touches of chocolate – seemed to be the most evolved of this first flight of three. Nice acidic structure here – plenty of red berry fruit here – finishes with a nice vein of minerality and notes of tar. In the end this one got 13 points and 2nd place overall. This was the 2000 Paolo Scavino Barolo Cannubi.
  2. Good fruit here – a touch modern. Biggest structure it seemed with touches of roses and maybe a slight touch of VA – more menthol on the nose which developed more as it sat in the glass. An overall enjoyable bottle. This one got 8 points and 5th place overall. This was the 1998 Paolo Scavino Barolo Carobric.
  3. Darker, balsamic, tar and licorice undertones here. Sweet tannins that are well balanced for the most part. The finish is lacking here and seemed to be the driest of all the wines at the lunch – somewhat disappointing. This one got 3 points and 7th place overall. This was the 2000 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc.
    SECOND FLIGHT
  4. I liked this one – it came off as well balanced and savory. Elegant and “almost burgundian”…. Soft sweet tannins with medium+ structure – touches again of tar, floral aromatics, and savory earth. This one got 9 points overall and 4th place overall. This was the 2001 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis.
  5. Roses – very floral which was what everyone agreed to at the table. Tar laced earth driven aromas of dark cherry fruit and roses – seems to be the prototype classic Barolo here…. This one got 21 points and everyone seemed to like it – 1st place overall. This was the 2000 Luigi Einaudi Barolo Costa Grimaldi. LIKE!
  6. Touches of matchstick – reduction – grassy aromas – these seemed to get more integrated into the fruit/structure of the wine as it sat. Still somewhat tannic structure throughout and somewhat drying fruit. This one got ZERO point and last place. This was the 1996 Giacosa Barolo Falletto (white label).
    THIRD FLIGHT
  7. Touches of lactic “stuff” going on here to start (not bad really) – high toned tertiary aromas and flavors throughout. Leather spice, spiced apples, black tea. Nice mineral driven presence on the palate which pleases. This one got 11 points and 3rd place overall. This was the 1978 Giacomo Borgogno Barolo Riserva.
  8. Tar and sweaty leather- touches of burnt sugar – sweet tar – natural oxidation taking hold here in a good way. Tertiary for sure with lots of good stuff going on for the most part. This one got 4 points and 6th place overall. This was the 1978 Fontanafredda Barolo Vigna Gattinera.

To finish we had a nicely aged 1974 Kopke Colheita (bottled in 2012 I believe) - thx Bill. This was full of nuts, crème brulee, and toffee aromas with a lovely acid driven sweetness. Lovely to sip on while picking away at the cheeses.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful holiday season!! CHEERS

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I’m all in on older Barolo! Giacosa red label/monfortino dinner for one night in sf next year!?

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Me too Charlie…I’d be up for that. Thanks Jon for posting. My favorite was the Einaudi. I’ve been buying for years. I remember a 71 years ago that turned me on to them…Very traditional style. Really floral on the nose and exceptional balance. True old style barolo. The two 2000 P Scavino’s were similar. Not overly ‘modern’ in style. I liked them, but did not score like Galloni in the 95-96 range. THe 98 P Scavino was very ‘modern’ style to me…oak, ripe, lush. Delicious, but so different. I liked the Sandrone…a bit more towards ‘modern’ style. I was quite disappointed in the Giacosa…Just didn’t have the stuffing and a bit out of balance to me, …still good, but not what I would have expected. It was fun having the two 78’s. I preferred the Borgogno…Beautiful nose, fresh and long…To me the Fontanafredda had a bit too much oxidation…much less acid than the Borgognos…soft and lovely palate. The Colheita was a treat…my first. ( and won’t be my last) Thanks Bill for introducing me. Extremely enjoyable. Next month Puligny Montrachet Les Caillierets…going back to 99. Should be interesting. I’ve been collecting them…can’t wait.

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Love this idea guys :slight_smile:!

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Nice to be back in Tucson, where these lunch get-togethers is an occasion that I look forward to.
This was a departure from the Burgundy tastings which often take a priority, but very enjoyable to taste
some mature and maturing Barolos from excellent producers.

None of these wines would be turned away at any table I sit, and the differences between were quite small. Since I do not use points to discern the differences my subjective choices generally rested with style and personal preference, unless there was one or more attribute that didn’t agree with my palate.

My top four wines in order of finish were the '98 Paolo Scavino Barolo Carobric, ’78 Fontanafredda Gattinara, '01 Luciano Sandrone Cannubi Boschis, and the '78 Giacomo Borgogno Riserva. I really liked the character and finish of the older wines, mixing mature aromas and wonderful flavors.

Following on, my next choices were the ’96 Giacosa Falleto, '00 Einaudi Costa Grimaldi, '00 Paolo Scavino and the Paolo Scavino Bric del Fiasc. Interesting that three of these were from the 2000 vintage, a very dry and hot vintage that yielded forward and somewhat unsophisticated wines, according to some of the producers I visited a few years ago. The Einaudi Costa Grimaldi was round and full with a lot of black cherry fruit - fine attributes - but it didn’t show enough complexity and finish for my palate. The Scavino Bric de Fiasc ended with considerable dryness on the palate and wound up in last place on my ballot.

I very much liked the Giacosa Falleto, which was nicely balanced, featured a soft entry, with good fruit and finished well. It was edged out on my ballot by the two older wines, but it is a really fine Barolo. The Sandrone Cannubi Boschis exhibited penetrating sweet and slightly smoky aromas, followed by oodles of sweet fruit leading out to an extremely long finish. To be sure there were still some youthful tannins to resolve, but this is an outstanding wine which will be even better in five years and hold last for a couple of additional decades. It might have finished first on my ballot but still needs a few years for further evolution. My top choice by the narrowest of margins, the Scavino Carobric was due mainly to its drinkability now.

I believe our next session involves some white Burgundies and I am really looking forward to that.

Many thanks to Jon for his usual impeccable organization, and a special thanks to Bill for bringing the 1974 Kopke Colheita - a wonderful expression of tawny Port.

Hank [cheers.gif]

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15 years and older?
Half were younger!

Jibes aside, I reckon 2000s are well worth tasting/drinking now and as such would have been a great fit if the 15 year advice was there to get wines coming near to maturity. I didn’t read the notes as any of them being tannic and backward, though the 1996 reads that way, but with some concerns as well?

regards
Ian

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You guys should invite Ken V. He’d bring good Barolo and he could tutor you in math as well.

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champagne.gif

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I recently saw a list that showed Tucson as one of the 10 best places to retire. I was shocked that they did not mention wine lunches as the main reason.

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LoL :slight_smile:. 30 years or older would fit perfectly for good Barolo. Howard - you should visit us here. 75 degrees and sunny!

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The theme was actually 10+ year old Barolos ! Sorry to undermine the Picky Police Members, who, I suppose, were merely doing their job. [wink.gif]

Howard, retirement in Tucson involves the dreadful heat during the Summer months, only cooled down with the Monsoon rains in July, August and part of September. That’s why we spend 7 months in cooler climate conditions - Edmonton and Lake Winnipeg. The hardy residents who live here year round are able to adapt their lifestyle to the climate. [basic-smile.gif]

One other good reason, Howard, is basketball season with the Arizona Wildcats! ( Sorry, couldn’t resist. ) [dance-clap.gif]

Hank [cheers.gif]

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Thanks for the notes, Jon. And definitely count me in on this.

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Thanks again Jon for the organization and the notes. The most interesting aspect of the tasting for me was the relative advancement of the 2000 vintage( given this small sample) on the maturity curve. Thanks very much Hank for the comments about the growing season. I think I might look for more of these to drink sooner as the better vintages mature into something like those 78’s !!

Hat tip to Roy Hersh of FTLOP for pointing me to the availability of the Kopke. When in Portugal 3 yrs ago I was fortunate to do a side by side tasting of 8 conventional 10,20,30 ,40 Tawnys and closely related by vintage Colheita’s. With a few exceptions I found the Colheita’s to be superior, BYMMV.

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Agreed Bill! Man - I have a lot of different dessert wines and wish I could find more occasions to pop one. Just like champagne in my house - under utilized grouphug.