Spent the evening of the 23rd with Bruna from Bruno Giacosa in trying several Baroli and Barbareschi from her estate at the wonderful new Sampler shop in South Kensington (more than worth a visit). The evening was wonderful and Bruna seems to be this wonderful, down-to-earth person and one which you felt comfortable trying these exclusive wines from Piemonte. As the estate and especially Bruno himself is of such renowned character for Piemonte, Italy and the world I will not bother with much detail.
Despite all this the evening lost much of its climax as the three final wines, the grande finale, were corked. The Barolo Falletto Le Rocche 1998 and the Barbaresco Asili 1998 both of which were tainted by the cork, although the Barolo improved in my glass as I might have gotten a different bottle, gained some nuances but both lacked the vigor and life they should have had (depsite coming directly from the cellar of the estate). Perhaps more sadly the red label Barolo Falletto Riserva 1985 was a completely lost cause. ![[cry.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/853b6e76c6e8406be77a6727c2a27ad1672678b3.gif "cry"){kind=small}
Although Bruna was very apologetic and as she explained these are ‘living things’ and I guess we are all more familiar with it then we’d like to.
Here are the wines that did work:
Spumante Extra Brut Rosé 2007 - Very appetizing, with buckets of lovely strawberries and a dry and acidic style greatly similar to a Provençal rosé, that got me hungry. Overall quite long, very balanced and for something that Bruna claimed to make ‘for fun’ it was really good. 87
Nebbiolo 2008 - Bruna explained the vintage as classic with a lot of interchanging weather (as all over Europe I guess) Had a clear red burgundian hue to it. On the nose there was beef salami/sausage written all over it! Dominated by spices the cola-cherries mingled with green peppers, smoked meat/beef-jerky. The palate was mellow in structure, slightly floral, some roses and musk again more spice dominated with the wonderful sour cherries and cornichons (!). A simple wine that easily got my attention and will in the future. 90+
Barbaresco 2005 - A tad darker still quite clear, thank God for having world class wines throughout the estate that hasn’t got to look as engine oil! The scent of musty roses and maraschino cherries gave more complexity and seemed slightly mature. The taste counter acted with one of the most gorgeous tannin structures of the night, really sandy and dry which I love. It tasted of sweet tobacco and roses, mixing with the maraschino cherries and the ‘Play-Doh’ with great length and structure for a classic Barbaresco. 94 (the wine I will go look for in terms of “QPR”)
Barolo Falletto 2004 - More intense and dense colors. The Barolo clearly made out itself, more extracted with a red fruit compote dominated by rosehips and tobacco. The more hefty and meaty palate set it apart itself and had a great intensity of fruit, rosehips and berry concoctions. Clearly infanticide and I struggled with it, especially since I am more partial to the more elegant barbarschi. 93-95
Barbaresco Santo Stefano 2004 - Brighter hue. The higher growing conditions and the earlier harvest I felt gave this Barbaresco more a ‘approachable’ style. Sadly did not take to much notes but remember it with fondness as it was something I came back to. 94-95
Barbaresco Santo Stefano 2001 - Against previous wines there was some nuances of development although I felt the 2001s superior and Bruna told us that this was something for the cellar. It smelt of the signatory roses, cherries, tobacco and of a steely minerality. Beautiful showed what time does to these wines, much more calm and pure beautiful balance and length, that actually gave off a very young feeling to it all. This would truly be something to have in your cellar… 96+
Barolo Falletto 2001 - Deeper dark red, as Bruna explained the Barolo being the King of Piemonte, it gave the same intensity and flavours of the 2004 but much more aligned and had my character note on Barolo; root vegetables (parsnips etc), earthy, mint, rosehip reduction. Giving off its broader shoulders that made more favour this over the previous. 95-96
Barolo Falletto Le Rocche 1999 - Had a young deep red color. It came in as a stand-in for the wines that we found were corked and really displayed what the missing pieces were. What a Giacosa’s Le Rocche can do and even for me, as a Barbaresco lover, this probably was the wine of the night. Amazing intensity, you felt at the palate the Barolo style of the house; concentrated, complex and continuous except it had that lightness which seem to occur only in truly great wine, which makes it that elephant with the agility and elegance of a ballerina. Sadly my time with the glass was a bit short and hence the notes are lacking as for probably all of the above as these are very special wines. 96-97
Other wines:
Cockburn’s Vintage Port 1967 - Balanced aromas, new leather, cover leaf of a cigar, figs, mature cherries and fresh. Mellow and balance played out, on the sweet side, some ‘sweet-fruit-gum-tobacco’ that you all know of:), not an expert but seems like a great effort for the vintage and did not show neither decay or alcohol, at its prime. 93+
Vieux Télégraphe 1998 - Ok… sweet, fat luscious plums, garrigue/pipe tobacco, moist earth and so much more. It sings out and is gorgeous, truly special… but then you taste; just the smells gives the disappointment of the palate, it especially feels short and less developed, a bitter tail-end, lovely bitter cherries, very dry which I love, a whole bunch of minerals but stayed slightly weak on the initial attack. I have heard great praise of this wine from friends, so would love to try it again as it did improve slightly in the glass. (95 nose) 92+
Emilio Moro Malleolus de Sancho Martin 2005 - ![[winner.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/07ec25c9fd71159fe15d7f1ba5fad64e91238d0e.gif "winner"){kind=small}
Hedonistic winner, just upon the sight of its sheer pitch dark inky-ness, you can tell the style. What I’ve liked about Emilio Moro is that these are hedonistic wines which are really well made and dare I say balanced. Off the bat this just reminds me of the wonderful La Pèira from Terrasses du Larzac, much ripe fruit, complex as few, amazing pure plums, cherries, candied orange zest, tobacco, bitters and a herbal taste I associated with Antica Formulas sweet red vermouth, seeds of cherries, believe me the list just goes on. Most likely you should think it is cool, because it is 
ALTHOUGH there is a very extracted intensity of fruit which went into alcoholic bitters which I struggled with besides the fact that I love the winery. 94
Perhaps this is something that will calm down over time, but for the moment in terms of price I’d rather go for the standard bottle or even better the La Pèira which had all of the elements but what I believe to be a better balance.
Tried the Inflorescence 2008 from Cédric Bouchard which I loved for that price (93) but my friend blew it away by giving me the Vilmart Cuvée Creation 1999(95-6) lovely creamy, perfectly balanced champagne such a treat from C, thanks! And a shame that Laurent will not be making it anymore:/
Sorry for the eclectic and misspelt style guys, getting late and felt I needed to get it down, if you have any questions just ask! Hope all you berserkers are having a great weekend and that you had a good thanksgiving!
All the best! ![[berserker.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8600bbd4810d342b8fbd4ffb62b4f0026275fd37.gif "berserker"){kind=small}
P.S. Bruna told us that the 2010 was shaping up to be ‘spectacular’ and the 2007 were left with exclamation marks, something that is on par with '01 and '04. D.S.