1998 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (12/23/2014)
Similar in color to the Conterno. Oooh, a nice dash o’ funk on the nose here! The nose here is less “precise”/focused than the Conterno, almost feral in a way, with the fruit in the background - a very interesting contrast to the first wine.
But for all the appeal of the nose, not as forthcoming on the palate as the Conterno was. Quite tannic, and the fruit here does not have that sweet & sour juxtaposition to provide “tension”.
This was also decanted about seven hours ago.
1998 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (12/23/2014)
Decanted almost seven hours ago. Translucent ruby at the core, brick at the rim. Nose of cherries, menthol, a little tar & underbrush.
Sweet and sour cherry fruit on the palate, framed by adequate acidity. Nice legs. This is very good right now, with plenty of life still ahead of it.
Thanks, Al - I was taking a vacation day, so I guess it was more like pre-Christmas Eve TNs as opposed to “any old Tuesday” TNs .
FWIW, my better half definitely preferred the Conterno, as her tolerance of funk is very low. But one thing that was obvious as we drank through both bottles was the fact that these wines still have a lot of time left for additional development (especially the Conterno).
I think '98s have largely entered a new gear just recently, though still agree there is a long life ahead of the good ones. We had a '98 Giacosa Santo Stefano Riserva a few nights ago that was in a more forthcoming place than another bottle from the case was earlier this year. Definitely glad we have more, but not at all sorry for opening now.
By chance we’re drinking a 98 tonight, albeit a Cantina del Pino Barbaresco Ovello.
My gut feel on it is that it has the stuffing to cellar for another 5-10 years with high hopes of improvement in that timescale.
Overall I like the 1998s. Not impossibly tight up to now, but with enough grip/acidity to offer good cellaring potential. Nor were they overly ‘glossy’.
I may open a few Pasi Robles or Napi tonight, depends on my mood.
Great wines, great notes. Glad you’re drinking so well. 98 has always been my favorite Piedmont vintage, or at least it’s been in the best place in the last 5 years or so among the vintages from which I had any meaningful number of Barolo and Barbaresco.
Chris, I actually think 2000 is a little better for current drinking, but '98 has always struck me as a more balanced “hot” year, if that makes any sense, and in the long run, I think that '98 will turn out to be a much better vintage than either '97 or 2000. My youngest daughter was born in '98, so I have a good selection from this year (although, surprisingly enough, at least for me, no Produttori - not sure why I did not purchase any). At this point, the only vintages I own more of are the 2001’s and 99’s, and of those three years, the '98 vintage is the only one right now that I regularly check out.
For current drinking '98 is my favorite post-1990 vintage. If I could choose any '98 to open tonite my top 3 would include both Bob’s Cascina Francia and Sarah’s Giacosa SSR as well as the Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falleto. All offering great pleasure right now, all with at least several more years of positive development looking forward.
…and still,still…not to forget the “modest” Monprivato,which has fared well for several years and will continue to do so.Due to this recent 98 talk,I have decided to open the Monprivato and 97 Bartolo for dinner…
Just opened last week a “$19.99” special bought years ago–1998 Stefano Farina–was quite impressed–lovely mellow tar and roses. Of course I’d rather raid your cellar
I’ve had good luck with drinking 1993 and lean toward keeping 1998 in the cellar. I’ve had no luck with 1997; every bottle, from Giacosa to lesser producers, has been ugly.
Hmm. Curious. We had '97 Cavallotto San Gieuseppe Riserva the other night and it was lovely. Gorgeous, classic and expressive nose right from opening, though the palate took some time. About 3 hours after popping the cork, with no decant, it was open for business.
Have also drunk through a case of very pleasing '97 Giacosa Barbaresco Asili (not Barolo, but still relevant) and recently reloaded based on consistently good experiences.
I had a small selection of '97 nebbiolo because I didn’t care for the vintage. My experiences aren’t necessarily representative. I’ve just had bad luck with the 10 to 12 bottles I’ve opened. The most recent was a '97 Giacosa Asili, in fact, and it went down the drain. Our group couldn’t pinpoint the fault, but something was very wrong. Heat damage was our best guess, although the bottle was visually pristine, purchased from a reputable source and then professionally stored. I can’t blame the vintage, but sometimes I have sufficiently bad luck with a vintage that I give up and look elsewhere. I just checked CT, and my only remaining '97 from Piedmont is a Giacosa Santo Stefano. Hopefully it will change my luck.
Hmmm.Agreed.Have been through 3/4 case each of 97 Asili and Rabaja,and it has been nothing but a pleasure drinking them side by side.
BTW,97 Bartolo is/has been drinking verrry well.
Kevin
Likewise I had 3 Aldo Conterno Cicalas from 97 and all were undrinkable - all very prematurely aged / muddy flavoured. Curious and frustrating. FWIW I have had decent 97s, but not a vintage I’ve enjoyed, or would consider buying again (except perhaps from Northern Piemonte, as they seemingly did wonders with 2003 vintage (from the wines I’ve drunk) so I’m more willing to take a chance on a hot vintage there.
regards
Ian
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
.
![[whistle.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/87d24eb81ec6dc01d84f3d6c19fa9a357e90218e.gif "whistle"){kind=small}