Had dinner at 701West - a new restaurant in Manhattan that had a very good write-up in the Times a couple weeks ago. The review made special notice of the wine list, and it was a really interesting list - with lots of older bottles at reasonable price points. Burgundy is really well represented and relatively affordable.
However, one wine caught my eye - a ‘75 Barbaresco from Cossetti for $98.
I’ve never before seen a wine the same age as me on a restaurant wine list for under $100. The producer, Cossetti was unknown to me. The sommeliers had not tried this wine but were pretty confident it would be at least decent. Given what I’ve always heard about the vintage (cold and rainy) and the price tag we were pretty skeptical this wouldn’t be undrinkable. However, a chance to try my first birth year wine at that price, and with the encouragement of the somm, felt well worth the risk.
Relative to expectations, I was blown away, though by no means a great wine. The nose was very intense - ripe strawberries with balsamic vinegar. For the age, the presence of red fruit was pretty exciting. Strawberry and sour cherry above the expected flavors of soy sauce, balsamic, maybe a bit of grilled meat, and carried along by persistent acidity. Tannins (if there ever were any) were fully resolved.
I’m guessing this could be a vintage where the fruit never really got ripe, so the acidity would have been too much in the wine’s youth (hence the terrible vintage reviews) , but time in bottle has brought out those tertiary flavors to balance the acid, making them interesting and nice drinkers today. Would be interested if others have have had similar experiences with older wines from historically poor vintages?
I guess this is a wine uncovered recently somewhere, because there’s so much of it circulating in the market now. I’ve had it twice and still have a bottle of it in my cellar. Paid something like $20 per bottle, good value at that price. However, seeing how the wine is already going downhill, I’m happy I didn’t pay more.
Glad to hear you had a similar experience with Cossetti. Back in Dec 2016, I randomly purchased a 1971 Cossetti Barolo on winebid for $30. Agreed, it wasn’t a spiritual experience, but the wine held up nicely. 1971 Cossetti Barolo, Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo - CellarTracker
I have been experiencing with older no name Nebbiolo’s and must say that the pleasure outweighs the occasional disappointment. Kudos to you for give it a try and glad it showed well for you. Keep researching and sharing.