1947 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva

[DavidG]

We took Peggy to our favorite Italian place in Baltimore, Cinghiale, to celebrate her 75th birthday. I brought the second of 2 bottles of 1947 Borgogno Barolo purchased in 2016. They are original release, non-reconditioned bottles with the red capsules. The first was drunk 5 years ago for her 70th.

Stood up for 4 months in the cellar after finding some fine sediment remaining suspended in the previous bottle despite standing it for 4 weeks. Fill within 1" of the cork, which easily came out in 1 piece with a Durand. The cork was remarkably intact, soft and spongy only along the bottom 1/3. Carefully decanted off of the sediment, then replaced in the cleaned bottle for transport to the restaurant.

Initial pours about 1 hour later showed moderate bricking and no sediment, an old dusty nose reminiscent of grandma’s unattended clothes closet, and a medium body with not much going on on the palate.

Let it sit for a while and about 2 hours after opening it began to come alive. By 4 hours after opening the color had surprisingly deepened and the nose was fully open with a complex melange of cherry, roses, tar, violets, and mushroomy moist earth. The palate was medium bodied and full of sweet aged complexity with a nice balance between the delicate fruit and acidity. Tannins fully resolved. Complexity persisted through the medium-long finish. Still going strong at the end of the evening, 6 hours after opening. Outstanding.

The wine was a great match for a tajarin of veal bolognese and a venison osso bucco.

[JimHow]

Happy Birthday Peggy!

[stefan]

Happy Birthday, Peggy! May the next quarter century be even better than the previous three quarters.

[SF Ed]

Happy birthday Peggy and great to see old Barolo show well at 75.

SF Ed

[AKR]

a well taken care of bottle to pair with a with a well taken care of life!

[Nicklasss]

Happy birthday to Peggy. Nice bottle to celebrate!

[JoelD]

Lovely. I’ve been considering opening one of these soon. Will report back if I do. Tell Peggy I said happy birthday and hope to see her in the near future!

[jal]

Happy Birthday Peggy. Old Borgognos are awesome.

[DavidG]

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I've passed them on and Peggy also says thanks and hi!

[jckba]

Glad your original release birth year bottle delivered for the special occasion.

Not sure if I posted this here or somewhere else but several years back my 3rd Tuesday group did a vertical tasting of 12 Bourgogno Reserva’s ranging from the ‘47 to either the ‘99 or the ‘01 and the results were variable. The original release red capsule wines which there were several definitely seemed tired when compared to the considerably fresher, library release black capsule bottlings which are reconditioned. But I guess like with all older wines, provenance is key.

[JoelD]

Glad your original release birth year bottle delivered for the special occasion.

Not sure if I posted this here or somewhere else but several years back my 3rd Tuesday group did a vertical tasting of 12 Bourgogno Reserva’s ranging from the ‘47 to either the ‘99 or the ‘01 and the results were variable. The original release red capsule wines which there were several definitely seemed tired when compared to the considerably fresher, library release black capsule bottlings which are reconditioned. But I guess like with all older wines, provenance is key.

This sounds great. I have a whole rack of the older red label ones. From 47-64. Been meaning to do a vertical at some point. There are theories going around that the black capsules were topped off with younger wines.

[DavidG]

Very interesting JC. A couple of posts on Berserkers described the reconditioned black capsule bottles as lacking depth, structure, and character compared to the red capsules. That was over 5 years ago, and led me to seek out red caps. But I’ve never done a side by side. As you say, at 75 years out it’s going to be a bottle by bottle thing.

I can say definitively, however, that no 1947 has aged as beautifully and gracefully as Peggy.