There is no one right answer to this. My suggestion is to stand it up for at least a week. Then plan a long slow evening with friends who might enjoy such a wine. Decant it around 4pm, then taste it over many hours.
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2018 La Palazzina Bramattera - This was quite nice, still quite primary fruit with a little menthol/anise. Tannins well integrated and at a price below a lot of Langhe Nebbiolo it definitely scratches the simpler Nebbiolo itch.
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Excited to announce that Iāve finally had some old(ish) Nebbiolo!
Two wines, one was much better than the other. Neither of them had time to show properly. Nor did I spend much time thinking about how to form a note after the fact. Thus, these are the takeaways:
To begin, a bottle of 2001 Marcarini Brunate Barolo - this was fantastic! Had looked ahead and picked out this bottle. Was a great price and fit the buyerās (thankfully not me) palate well. Decanted immediately on arrival, and only got better over the next 2 hours. It took an hour before it became really tempting to drink, and at 2 it was superb. Was initially all roses and harsh tar, but opened into a really wonderful melange of mushroom and red cherry. Didnāt loose anything, and seemed to picking up momentum every few minutes at the end. I really want to drink more of this!
The buyer (my wonderful girlfriendās dad) could not be convinced to go for the 1997 Cerema that Iād picked out as a second choice. Instead, he āfreelancedā to choose a bottle of 2011 Cantina del Pino Barbaresco - this was in a funny spot. Also decanted - it was singing right away. Full nose of florals and strawberries and pine forest. That went away very quickly. Iād say it was good for 10 minutes. Then, it faded into a murkier spot, with the occasional whiff of the aforementioned things appearing. In the mouth it was even worse, giving some heat and leaning towards tobacco more than any fruit. My guess is in another few minutes it wouldāve improved, but this was simply not up to par when Iād sniff it before and/or after the Barolo.
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1979 Castello di Neive Barbaresco Messoirano: A gorgeous nose of red fruits, rose petals and fresh earth. Fine and silky in the mouth. Fleshy through the mid and a gentle flex of minerally muscle at the tail. Balanced, ethereal and engaging.
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That wine has been in a beautiful place for 15 years ā so elegant. Iāve had a bottle at the ready for a few months. This makes me think I should pop the cork!
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I was in the mid-week nebbiolo so I picked up a 2024 Seghesio Langhe Nebbiolo. It was about $20, and I didnāt have high expectations because I have no experience with the producer, 2024 was a very difficult vintage and this is 15%.
But itās lovely ā with decent acidity, very modest tannins and quite a bit of fruit. Quite balanced. Iāve drunk it slightly chilled because of the alcohol, but it paired well with spaghetti bolognese last night and a grilled filet tonight.
I wonder if they declassified Barolo in this vintage.
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Do it! Like I mentioned, this had a full decant. I think it will show better if you just popped a cork and let it sit for several hours; however, it was fantastic with a decant too.
I just had the 2020 Ca Nova Montefico. A nice wine. It needed at least a couple hours to open up.
Thanks for this Eric. I have both MGA wines from 2017. I will try one soon.
Had the '19 a week or two ago and it was in a very awkward spot; that or mildly flawed with TCA or otherwise. Something not quite right, but Iām willing to assume it was simply very closed down and not giving much of anything.
I want to try to post here more. My experience isnāt up to many of yours, so forgive the inaccuracies.
2016 GD Vajra Ravera
This is a curious wine. Iām a big fan of the BdV 10/16/21, so wanted to branch out. I opened a bottle of 16 Ravera last year and it was so over-bearing and tough, it took me a while before I wanted to circle around to it again. Giuseppe Vajra calls it their Led Zeppelin wine (against the Pink Floyd of the BdV, and Beatles of Coste Delle Rose). Itās obviously well made, and probably worth a high score, but Iām not sure I love it. I canāt remember another barolo where on opening the nose covers such a spectrum of novelty notes - it lends a slight quality of artifice about it, like Walmart Christmas Air Freshener! Cinnamon, cloves, blooms into strawberry confiture, cardamon, powdered sugar, like christmas cake with white marzipan (or I took a blow to the head, I probably have August-Christmas psychosis, letās not rule anything out). Honestly, if I hadnāt followed that evolution, I might even like it more.
But as you should expect, that all goes away, leaving all the big ticket aromas of a serious wine - crunchy red fruit, deep and distinct new leather, rolling tobacco, Morello cherry, mint. On the palate, a surprising Medium-tannin (instead of M+), med acidity , which felt gentle for Ravera.
So, I imagine 5 years before itās properly good. And 10 before it begins to peak. Iām not sure why I felt a distance from this wine.
2016 elvio cogno bricco pernice
My first experience with Cogno, outside of the L&W tasting. I took the leap with some of this, and some 21 Cogno Ravera (after a v good review from Elk).
On the nose: Roadside herbs, wild fennel and rye seed, yeast, frais du bois, crunchy red berries, suede. On the palate, medium+ acidity, very fine tannins. This is a big wine, made for a big stage, but probably itās 10 years before its parts will begin to properly cohere.
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Exactly what I want to read from Ravera!
2022 Giaconda Nebbiolo: A nose of ripe berry, smoke, mint and orange. The palate has nice interplay between fruit flavours and savoury elements. Thereās bitter orange and Amaro-like bitterness and some tannic chew. Plenty going on here and the finish is persistent.
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So much fun to put these three side by side and they couldnāt be more different.
The Albino Rocca is extremely easy going and ready to drink now.
The Batasiolo is classic Barolo with big tannins and cherries galore.
The Traveglini is at end of life. Some acidity with balsamic and tertiary flavors.
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