TN: Gala Dinner at La Festa del Barolo 2020

GALA DINNER AT LA FESTA DEL BAROLO 2020 - The Pool Restaurant, NYC (1/31/2020)

I sat at the Giacomo Conterno table with Roberto Conterno, the winemaker and owner at the Giacomo Conterno Winery.

Photos and more details can be found on my website.

Champagne
With passed Canapés.

• 2012 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut - France, Champagne
  Yeasty, juicy, complex. A great Champagne. (95 pts.)
• NV Larmandier-Bernier Longitude - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
  Soft and a touch sour, esp. after the Cristal. Still quite tasty. (92 pts.)
• 2014 Laherte Frères Champagne Blanc des Blancs Extra Brut Les Grandes Crayères - France, Champagne
  Soft and somewhat simple, but so tasty. (92 pts.)
• 2014 Bérêche et Fils Champagne Campania Remensis - France, Champagne
  Yeasty nose. Long and complex. Excellent! (94 pts.)

Course 1.
Prosciutto and Mustard Fruits.

• 2005 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Magnum brought by Roberto Conterno.] Big, rich, ripe berry nose. Still young and tannic with a long rich finish. (94 pts.)
• 1970 Cappellano Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Mature nose of mulch. A touch sour, but complex in the mouth. Fading, but still alive. Drink up. (88 pts.)
• 1971 Cappellano Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  More sour and dirty. Not a good bottle, I think. NR (flawed)

Course 1 continued.

• 2015 Giacomo Conterno Nebbiolo d’Alba Arione - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Nebbiolo d’Alba
  [The special charity bottling brought around by Antonio.] Huge juicy red fruit nose. Huge in the mouth as well. So big, round rich with massive fruit, ripe tannins, and good acidity. Long and exquisite. Wow! 97-99 (98 pts.)
• 1950 Franco Fiorina Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
  [Brought over as a taste from another table by Amanda M.] Mature mulch nose. Complex sour cherry. Medium length. Still quite alive. (92 pts.)
• 1950 Franco Fiorina Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Brought over as a taste from another table by Amanda M.] More sweet fruit than the Barbaresco. Quite lovely with some richness. (93 pts.)

Course 2.
Mushroom Risotto.

• 1990 Gaja Barbaresco Costa Russi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
  Big, ripe red fruit nose. Thick and rich in the mouth. Still tannic, but lots of red fruit and vanilla. Needs more time. (95 pts.)
• 1990 Soldera (Az. Agr. Case Basse) Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
  Brambly nose of red and black fruit. Long and just stunning in the mouth. This is the 2nd time I’ve had one of these at a Barolo dinner. It clearly stands up again the competition. Impressive. (96 pts.)
• 1969 Pio Cesare Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Gorgeous nose of red fruit. Surprisingly sweet in the nose and mouth. Delicate, but all there. Really impressive for the vintage. (93 pts.)

Course 3.
Spicy Rigatoni Vodka.

• 1996 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Gallina di Neive - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
  Sweet perfume of violets and red fruit. Juicy plums. Long and still a little tannic. (93 pts.)
• 2000 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Just a taste. So backward and tannic. Hard to believe this is from the ripe 2000 vintage. I can’t imagine how tannic the Franco might be. If the tannins soften, it could be 94-95. (93 pts.)
• 1971 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
  [A taste from Danny.] Wow! So long and ethereal. Gloriously complex with a finish that goes on and on. Totally blown away by this. (99 pts.)

Course 4.
Filet Mignon Florentine.

• 2002 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Magnum brought by Roberto Conterno.] Stunning, explosive nose of sweet red fruit. Massive with incredible richness and length. Just wow! And in a vintage when so many didn’t even bottle Barolo. Amazing. (98 pts.)
• 2014 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Magnum brought by Roberto Conterno.] Dark sweet black fruit and spice nose. Rich and tight, but great potential. 96-? (96 pts.)

Course 4 continued.
Filet Mignon Florentine.

• 1961 Giacomo Conterno Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Brought by me. Double-decanted at 11am. A huge amount of sediment.] Stunning sweet strawberry nose. Gorgeous sweet fruit in the mouth. Medium length. What a transformation from when I first decanted it. (95 pts.)
• 1967 Giacomo Conterno Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Brought by me. Double-decanted at11am. A lot of sediment.] Darker color (than the 1961). Nose is muted, but the palate is rich and sweet and long. Classic Serralunga. (96 pts.)

Course 5.
Robiola Cheese with Sea Salt Crackers & Gooseberry Jam.

• 2007 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Huge black fruit in the nose and mouth. Amazing richness and length. Certainly one of the wines of the vintage. 95-97 (95 pts.)
• 1961 Cappellano Barolo Troglia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Taste from a 2.1 liter Troglia bottling brought by Josh Leader.] Vibrant and lovely. Long juicy finish. Terrific. (94 pts.)

Another great evening of great wines, excellent food, and good people.

Welcome back. Long time no read. 2012 Roederer rocks.

This sounds wonderful. Ken, can I ask how many wines they limit you to bringing? Seeing something like this I’d imagine I would want to be bringing 4-5 bottles? Is that about average?

Nice to see you are still kicking around. You’ve been mum for a looong time.

I don’t recall there being any limit on the number of bottles you can bring, but 4-5 seems excessive. Everyone is bringing one or two including the winemakers, so there’s more wine than anyone can drink.

I think it’s more fun to bring a bigger bottles, so that there’s plenty to share with other tables. But large format old Barolo isn’t easy to come by. Roberto brought only magnums.

Great to see Ken. Any of the old Knights in attendance?

This was 2 years ago, so I don’t recall exactly. None at my table. Of course Antonio was there. As best I can recall Greg, Jamie, and Henry were at the Saturday morning 2015 tasting:
http://www.finewinegeek.com/tn/2020-02-01_AG_LaFesta_Barolo2015/

DEFINITELY added a Conterno tag to this…and Barolo~!

I tried, but you know us geezers and technology!

Great to see you back.

Wow. A 2002 Barolo takes WOTN. Whodathunkit.

Not just any 2002!

Yeah, but 2002 was not just any horrible vintage. Impressive!