TN: Monumental Barolo dinner - Monfortino, Giacosa, Taurasi and La Romanee

MONUMENTAL BAROLO DINNER - MONFORTINO, GIACOSA, TAURASI AND LA ROMANEE - Fleet Street Kitchen - Baltimore, MD (7/16/2015)

Tom organized a monumental Barolo dinner at Fleet Street Kitchen in Baltimore to honor Gregory dal Piaz’s visit. As usual the dishes were exceptional and the service was perfect! As usual Tom was incredibly generous and brought the 78, 82 and 85 Monfortino. It was only six of us so we were able to go revisit all the wines.
Champagne
The 96 Salon is really singing lately. It lost the perfection precision of the youth but more generous and perhaps more complete although that can be easily argued.

• 1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne, Le Mesnil Sur Oger, Champagne
  Another stunning showing. This particular bottle combines the precision showed on its youth and the decadent sweet fruits of the recent bottles. Delicate yet decadent nose displaying white fruits, apple and citrus, strong presence of white flowers and wet stone, white pepper, anise and honey. As usual, exceptional concentration, decadent citrus and apple driven palate impression, bright acidity and lovely long sweet yet very precise and clean finish. Quite youthful, decadent yet very precise bottle. I prefer this to the Krug at the moment. I am yearning for another flirting with perfection kind of bottle. Very close but not quite. (98 pts.)
• 1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
  Warm and round version once again but not quite precise. Vinous nose, tarte tartin, slightly hint of oxidative note, yellow and red fruits, apple peel, red currant, honey, brioche, smoke and sweet spices. Fine mousse, nicely layered fruits, warm and round, sweet yellow fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and love sweet finish. As usual it gets fresher with air. Very much ready to go but as the vintage Krug goes, that can change, ie become precise and a bit tighter once again. Very enjoyable but not as good as the Salon in the occasion. (96 pts.)

Barolo
THe 78 Rionda was incredible. The Bussia opened up beautifully. Unfortunately the 55 Rinaldi was a bit tired and never recovered.

• 1955 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Upon opening, delicate red fruits, a hint of sherry and strong VA note. We hope it will gain a bit of fruit to counter balance VA. Unfortunately oxidative note gets stronger and VA as well. Too bad as it seems like a pretty wine. NR (flawed)
• 1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Collina Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Thanks to Tom M’s generosity, I drank this monumental wine twice previously. This time, it was Henry who generously brought the bottle. Incredibly youthful and expressive nose displaying red and black fruits, dry cherry and blackberry, cherry liqueur, rose, lavender, tar, stem, sap, black spices, strong presence of mineral via rusty nail and wet limestone and strong earthy note. Incredibly youthful palate, exceptional concentration, quite chewy, decadent dry red fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and still noticeable tannin presence. Tom mentions he thought the 78 was going down the hill a couple years ago. He also mentions how each bottle expresses differently, some are quite youthful and others are more ready and hedonistic. This is an incredibly youthful example. With air, it displays more iron but remains incredibly youthful. Monumental wine. (99 pts.)
• 1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Bussia di Monforte - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Pop and pour, delicate dry red fruits, red cherries, strawberry, caramel, tree bark and earth. Warm, soft and round palate, delicate sweet red fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and fully resolved tannins. It gains weight with air, strawberry, raspberry and cherry, a hint of iron, cappuccino, cedar, leather and earth. The palate remains warm and round, sweeter red fruits, good acidity and lovely long red fruit driven finish. Compare to the Rionda, this is a lot softer and mature. Really enjoyable wine that you can savor all night. Paul informs that it is the smallest production of the 78 Giacosa red labels. (96 pts.)

Monfortino
All I can say is… Tom… Thank you!

• 1978 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Very youthful nose, starts with a hint of VA then strong pine needle/eucalyptus note, black cherries, licorice, petrol, raisin, dark spices and earth. Incredibly youthful palate, cool yet decadent dark fruits, clean and focused palate, bright acidity and lovely long clean finish. The pine resin/eucalyptus note remains very noticeable and the overall impression don’t change significantly. Quite cool and youthful, I would have love to find a bit more balsamico and a bit less pine needle. Nevertheless, this is a great wine with a long life a head and still time to improve based on this bottle. (96 pts.)
• 1982 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  How lucky can I be to say that the 82 is the biggest of the flight “AS EXPECTED”. Expressive decadent nose of intensely sweet and slightly dry red and black fruits, red and black cherries, cherry liqueur, fruit cake, strong presence of balsamico, licorice, dark flowers, cedar, mineral via a hint or iron, grilled rare steak, dark flowers and tar. Incredible concentration, intense decadent dark fruit driven palate impression, unctuous, strong presence of acidity and nicely integrated tannins. The finish is extremely long and ends with very sweet and decadent note. I actually prefer the decadence and power of the 82 to the youthful and precise 78 and the 85 pure and red fruit driven but they are all incredible and I can’t really say one is better, just depend on your mood. A long life ahead. (98 pts.)
• 1985 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  So interesting to compare these. Beguiling delicate and pure nose displaying fresh sweet red fruits, strawberry, raspberry and only a hint of cherry, beautifully floral, rose, just the right amount of mint and cedar, white truffle and tar. The least concentration of the flight but perhaps the most pure and energetic. Medium concentration, vibrant, pure delicate yet energetic red fruit, bright acidity and love long clean sweet finish. Incredibly enjoyable in dare I say very Burgundian way! (97 pts.)

The legend
And didn’t disappoint though started a bit shy.

• 1962 Maison Leroy La Romanée - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Romanée Grand Cru
  It starts really soft and delicate, a hit of red fruits, raspberry, caramel and black truffle. Very delicate palate, strawberry/raspberry infused water, caramel, just right amount of acidity, fully integrated tannins and lovely soft yet long lingering finish. With air, it blossoms, the nose becomes more expressive and the palate gains weight. Essence of raspberry, decadent light caramel, a hint of cedar and vosne spices emerge. Delicate yet decadent and energetic palate with the perfect balance and unbelievably long finish for such a delicate wine. It starts like Catherine Deneuve at her late 40s, still beautiful and graceful and ends in her late 30s still vibrant, classy, energetic and incredibly beautiful. Starts as 95 pts but quickly got to 98 and the last drop was flirting with perfection. (99 pts.)

Another Legend
John Gotti wine. You have to respect the man’s palate.

• 1968 Mastroberardino Taurasi Riserva - Italy, Campania, Taurasi DOCG
  It may be hard to believe but I drank at least a few bottles as my pizza/pasta wine as I had no clue about the 68 Taurasi. I thought they were incredibly good. I really drank the 77s like my house wine. The color is still opaque. Expressive nose that closely resembles the Barolos, mostly dry dark fruits, black cherry, cherry liqueur, dry figs, fruit cakes, roasted nuts, charred steak and dark spices. Exceptional concentration, dark roasted fruit driven palate impression, good acidity and incredible long finish. The wine remains incredibly expressive. It is really like a great Barolo but more ash and a hint of roasted fruits. My last bottle but this will last for another fifty years. Both hedonistic and intellectual. (97 pts.)

Nettare
As usual, kinky and hedonistic.

• 1995 Romano Dal Forno Garganega Nettare Veneto IGT - Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT
  I am thinking 50/50 version of SQN sweet in unctuosity and airy texture and 19 century Madeira in piercing acidity and ripe slightly dry yellow fruits. Intense nose displaying slightly dry tropical fruits, apricot jam, peach jam, dry mango and clove. Despite chewy and unctuous palate, it remains quite airy, precise and beautifully balance due to the acidity or perhaps Dal Forno magic. Incredibly intense and hedonistic wine. (96 pts.)

I don’t often explicitly mention an individual’s generosity but Tom has been so incredibly generous that I must express my gratitude. He once again outdone himself by providing three incredible bottles of Monfortino. The others also were incredibly generous. This was a truly monumental dinner. The great time was had by all!
Posted from CellarTracker

Tom is amazingly generous. Sounds like a great dinner.

Did anyone mock you for rating the Giacosa higher than the Monfortinos? I was relentlessly mocked for doing that once, all in good fun of course.

Ken,
I think it was unanimous.

Awesome tasting Kevin. Great bottles of CR can be amazing. I’m still chqsing the dragon.

Very, very cool set of wines. That is living.

I don’t see much written on the Dal Forno- does it have another 10-20 years in it?

Ah, so they’ve finally come around to my way of thinking!

Luke,
It will last forever but will gain more dry fruit impression, dry figs and dry apricot. This as well as Recioto are so beautifully balanced that they will last. It all depend on one’s preference just like German icewine or SGN.

Ken,
It was just this time, I think.

And my recollection of that evening was that we didn’t mock you in good fun - it was serious, in your face castigation.

Wow, quite the tasting - quite a treat to try all those wines in one sitting, and yes, to echo the chorus, Tom is one amazingly generous gent. After a tasting like this, I assume he closed it down with a Budweiser chaser?

Excessibe Barolla night!

Thanks for making me cry Kevin.

Great lineup guys.


It’s a great night to sit with those wines and people.

Henry, I’m glad to see you starting out the new decade in style

Best,

This is pretty close to ageless wine, isn’t it? Sounds near exactly as a bottle I had about 7 or 8 years ago.
What a tasting you had!

Todd,
Come on down!

Markus,
I used to horse trade wine with a wine store owner that most dealt with private cellar deals. I paid $20 per bottle for thirty bottles also of the 68 and 77 mix. It really was my pizza wine and always thought they were too good to be just pizza wines.

Great notes. I was sorry to miss this one, but family obligations intervened and required a trip out of the country.

love
both the 96
Salon and that 62 Leroy La Romanee.
Thanks for the notes.

Maybe he meant unanimous mocking.

Thanks for the notes and for sharing the experience.

Nice wines, thanks for the notes Kevin.

Had that '62 Leroy a few years ago, spectacular wine indeed, and sounds like yours was also a great showing amongst the other fantastic wines…

Paul, the '62 Leroy La Romanee we had was splendid. Held its own against the likes of '55, '78, '90 and '99 DRC RC.

Thanks for the notes Kevin.

Best Regards
Jeremy

Amazing tasting and notes

Sounds like a terrific event, Kevin.

FWIW, I had the '82 Montfortino at the end of June ( a friend bought in on release, and I smoked some lamb shoulder for him and his wife…and…he offered to bring this…good trade). I thought it was probably the best Barolo I’ve ever tasted.

My note:
1982 G. Conterno Montfortino
Very concentrated wine with structure largely receded; “balsamico” elements of mint, menthol on the aromatics. Clean and concentrated. Deep and beguiling reddish fruits.

Next morning: the effusive fruit has morphed into a wine of mature beauty and complexity. Much more subtle and less obvious. The vibrant fruit has receded into a wine of superb harmony with mellow fruit, chocolate and depth and a long long finish with just enough of a hint of tannin to prolong it. Red fruits. Class and depth. All that one could hope for in a 32+ year old Barolo. Even silky in the context of that region’s wines. A hint of menthol on the finish.