It seems like the market automatically triples the price of any Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo that gets bottled with the coveted Riserva designation. What do you all think is the single wine (vintage and vineyard) most deserving of a red label that did not receive one? Older candidates preferred.
I don’t have really extensive experience, but the best Giacosa white label I’ve ever had is the '78 Santo Stefano, though as there is a red label 78 SS (legendary but I’ve never had) so I’m not sure that it qualifies for your question (“most deserving of a red label that did not receive one”).
71 Barolo CR and 71 Barbaresco SS. Nothing wrong with the 78 SS either. Never was crazy about the 85s, Riservas included. If “best ever” becomes “most satisfying”, that opens the discussion to some of my happiest Giacosa experiences which often involved “lesser” vintage white labels completely outperforming expectations.
Especially the 71´s have been tremendous and some of the finest Giacosa´s I have had the last few years.
Offcourse, the red label´s have been a step up.
As I am born in a devestating vintage (1987) I sourced a six-pack of white label Barolo´s from this vintage, but they have had a clear Giacosa signature and given great pleasure. I think that he´s best period was 1970-1990. Today they are not up to expected standards.
-A
Off the top of my head, I would say the Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche di Castiglione Falletto 1978 is the best white label I’ve had. At least once, it out shown the 78 Rionda Riserva.
Not really. Starting at least as far back as 1996, the only Barolo riserva from Giacosa came from the Rocche subplot of Falletto. So I think if a red label Barolo had been made in 1999, it would have been from those same grapes.
Carl’s three above, plus the 1978 Le Rocche di Castiglione Falletto. No amount of wishful thinking will put the 1999 Le Rocche (Serralunga) in that company, nor in the company of most (probably all) of the Le Rocche Riserve. The 1999 Le Rocche would bear a red label if Il Maestro had deemed it worthy, and he did not…
When I saw this thread, I thought about naming the 1999 Rocche and its supposed riserva status just to see if it would draw you out. Apparently that wasn’t even necessary.