1970 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
1970
Grade: 

What a fun treat.  This was decanted for sediment and served.  The label carried the name Banfi as an importer, so it would appear this is an original bottling.  Iced tea brown in color, clear and reasonably bright.  At first it appeared as though it might be corked but it was intermittent so perhaps just bottle age.  While this bottle seemed past prime, it did have some to offer.  Dried cherries, forest floor and mushrooms on the nose.  Medium bodied.  Tannins all resolved.  On the palate dried cherries, some stewed fruit with some forest floor.  There is a complexity to it and the acidity

1996 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
1996
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$170.00USD

Opened and decanted for about an hour or two, this is still showing "modern" and young.  That said, once we started drinking it, it evolved beautifully over the next hour.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, licorice, slight menthol and slight dried roses.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, lots of fresh cherry fruit with slight underlying tar and dried floral notes.  Great acidity.  Nice finish.  This is delicious.  Based on this bottle, another seven to ten years until peak.  This may end up easily doing fifty years.  Back

2009 Pietro Rinaldi Barbaresco San Cristoforo, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2009
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-

This is at peak it would seem.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, roses, chocolate and a bit or orange peel.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity.  Cherries, some dried cherries over forest floor with some fresher notes, slight mushroom and char.  Nice backbone of acidity.  Nice finish.  This begs for food.  Mushroom pasta in a cream sauce would be a nice choice.  Long finish.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

2004 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2004
Score: 
97
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$125.00USD

Great showing for this wine.  Pop and pour, it is close to fully mature but not quite.  Medium ruby in color.  The nose took about thirty minutes to open.  Cherries, slight roses, slight menthol, tar and spice.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, plenty of cherry fruit, some dried cherries, underlying spice and dry earth.  Lots of energy.  Nice balance.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This should easily do another ten and probably 15 more years.  It drinks well on its own, but is better with food.  It went nicely with a Spinach Lasagna.  

2013 San Biagio Barolo Sorano, Italy, Piedmonte, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2013
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+

This was a relatively inexpensive Barolo on release ($30) from an excellent vintage.  Solid showing although not as good as a bottle a couple of years ago.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, dust and slight tar.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has some cherry fruit.  Light tannins.  Moderate finish.  It works better with food and would make a nice meal with pasta.  Probably best to drink this sooner than later.  

1990 Parusso Barolo Bussia, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
1990
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$140.00USD

This bottle was bought at auction although there were no overt signs of poor storage.  Tasted over two days.  It was good, but we had hoped for more.  Garnet in color, mostly clear.  The nose has cherries, slight tar and dust.  Not very big on the nose.  Medium bodied.  Tannins mostly resolved although slight tannins remain.  On the palate, there are cherries and slight sour cherries.  One dimensional.  On Day 2 a brown sugar note emerges.  This can often mean heat damage in its life or in this case, maybe just old age.  Moderate finish.  This is drinking fine but was probably better ten ye

2016 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2016
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$40.00USD

From one of the best Co-Ops making wine anywhere in the world, this is their base level Barbaresco.  And, as they seem to do a few times every decade, they nailed it in 2016.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, spices, forest floor and slight mint.  On the palate, this has a lovely lush texture.

2001 Massolino Barolo, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2001
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+

This is drinking well right now.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has black cherries, plums, roasted meats and slight tar.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the black cherries come thru with an underlying charred meat quality.  Good acidity.  Nice structure.  Light tannins.  The finish is moderate.  This probably should be consumed in the next five years or so.  It works better with food.  A nice mushroom pasta dish would be a good choice.  

2001 Vietti Barolo Castiglione, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$75.00USD

Vietti makes some great value wines and some top Barolos.  This one is their entry level Barolo and it is a very nice value and a very nice Barolo!  At age 19 from a great vintage, this is showing some maturity but certainly not all the way there yet.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim with no browning.  The nose is nice with cherries, black cherries, spice and tar.  Medium to full bodied with light tannins.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity as the layers unwind in the glass.  Flavors of cherries over a bit of forest floor and damp earth.  Very smooth.  Nice finish.  This should con

2001 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina, Italy, Piedmont, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2001
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A

Great showing for this wine.  Decanted for sediment and air for about 4 hours.  Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  No browning.  The nose is pretty with cherries, slight cherry juice, roses, black cherries and slight forest floor.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, the black cherries come thru a bit stronger.  Mild tannins.  Underlying forest floor.  Great acidity.  Long finish.  This has layers of fruit and earth.  It seems to be drinking close to prime now, but well stored bottles should easily have another decade.  This will work great with pasta, mushrooms or more savory meat

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