Belated notes on some amazing Barolo

[Blanquito]

Just found some of my notes from this awesome Barolo tasting that Ian (Comte Flaneur) and Tom in DC put together last October (!)...
1989 Bruno Giacosa
This is their generic bottling. Bouquet of iron, soy sauce, Asian five-star spice, with hints of ash and funk-- very complex, awesome nose. Off the charts intensity with zero heaviness. Terrific length. Acidity plays the lead, with excellent sweetness and structure in supporting roles. Still somewhat firm (iron), but oh so good. How amazing must the single vineyard bottlings be? A/A+

1990 Conterno Riserva Monfortino
Still a dark color. Nose starts out subdued, but grows into something divine with menthol, cherry and cardamom. Gorgeous mid-palate richness with red cherry fruit and a wonderful mouthfeel. Heaps of acidity to go along with the fruit and still abundant structure. Great grip, great length, still young. Fantastic. A/A+

1989 Feyles Riserva Ginestra Monfortine Fratello Nicola
Some lactic notes on the nose. More tannin than the Giacosa, a bit harder...Black tea flavors and smells... There's a lovely freshness to the wine, like smelling a just-cut honey-dew melon, but it keeps morphing... now it's like fresh cut black cherries with some banana-estery notes. Could use more time? B+/A-

This tasting was such a treat, and proved just how much I love Barolo. I wish I had it more often! Plus, these wines went so well with the food, in a way that no other region can replicate IMHO.

[Nicklasss]

Blanquito (or anybody else),

what would you consider a good age to ''start'' drinking Barolo and/or Barbaresco? Let say from a good vintage : 5, 10, 15 years?

Nic

[Michael Malinoski]

Great stuff!

The Barolo that really got me into Barolo was an '89 Giacosa at a wonderful little restaurant in Denver during a big snow storm. I can still almost taste it now...

Monfortino (especially from a good vintage like 1990) is very high on my wine To Do list--I'm jealous!

Thanks again,

Michael

[Chasse-Spleen]

Nic,
I'm hardly an expert, but I think the general drinking window of Barolo is somewhat similar to Bordeaux, with many wines drinking well or hitting a sweet spot between 10 and 20 years of age. This is of course a total generalization. I think Bordeaux can be a lot more flattering in its youth. I'd be interested in others' opinions, as well.
-Chris

[Comte Flaneur]

I tend to agree with Chase...though there are no hard and fast rules...for example the 2004 Pio Cesare is drinking really well now but it will probably close down, while the 1997 is still backward, quite hard and coming out of a dumb stage.

The 1995s strike me as being similar to their Bordeaux counterparts in that the ones I have are only just now starting to hit their stride. Many of the 1989s and 1990s are drinking very well but the Monfortino 90 is at least a decade away from maturity; and I wouldn't touch a 1989 or 1990 Gaja single vineyard for at least ten years.

We had a 1994 Gaja straight Barbaresco last night and while it was excellent it was nowhere near ready. (We also drank a 1997 Tignanello which was very backward)*. The Giacosas - especially the top cuvees - tend to be timeless as well (as I think Roberto observed on another thread).

However I would say for most barolos the 1982s to the 1995s are "in the zone"...for barbaresco a similar logic would apply but they tend to be a little lighter and more forward.

* Will report on another thread - we also had 82 Montrose as well