Ian and Maureen were in town from London, and a nice group (friends old and new) gathered at Piccolo Fiore near the UN. Nice small room, seemed a litt le warm at first, ended up ok.
2010 Savart L'Annee Extra Brut Champagne A little hard to take at first, the combination of low dosage and young mad e it too austere for me, but with some air this was quite good. B+/BOn the Nebbiolos
1964 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Pretty pale color. Perfumed, still good cherry fruit, tar and violets. Love ly and long. At end of night nose was still gorgeous but with a little vola tility, palate not quite as long but still holding on. A-1971 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Nice, but a bit clunkier, less precise, possibly vintage difference but I t hink the sediment hurt this a bit. B/B+
1986 Giacosa “Santo Stefano” Barbaresco I had double decanted this (and the ‘64) that afternoon, though fun ky but not corked, but by dinner time it was reeking of TCA1995 Sandrone “Cannubi Boschis: Barolo Not a splintery Sandrone, but the wood and extraction give a somewhat gener ic character. Red fruit and a little tar, but also coffee, vanilly oak, blu eberry. B-
1997 Giacosa Barbaresco This was simultaneously one of my favorite tipples of the night and an exam ple how crazy the hype over ‘97 Piedmont was. Nice fruit, some tar and dried roses, but fully mature and maybe even beginning downslope. Fun t o drink now, but drink up. B++ for drinking today2000 Manzone “Gramolere” Barolo Darker fruits, citrus zest, anise. Tannic but a little flat, and fruit has a pruney edge, not sure it’s going to last long enough to conquer t he tannins. B-
2000 Aldo Conterno “Cicala “ Barolo Tasty, ready, more approachable tannins than the Manzone, drinking well now . B+2001 Spinetta “Campe” Barolo Low acidity on palate, plenty of volatile acidity on nose. Somewhat roasted red fruit, some spice. B-/C+
2001 Cappellano”Pie Rupestris” Barolo Young but quite drinkable, fuller styled, red berries, cherries, and spice. Lovely and should get better. A-/B+2001 Giacosa “Rabaja” Barbaresco Riserva There’s a wall of acid and tannin here, but you can see this has to ns of potential, Black and red cherry, earth, tar, herbs. B+/B for drinking now, A/A- potential
Nice lineup. Justin had brought along a bottle of Scholtz Hermanos Malaga. Unknown age but there’s a stamp or something where it was sold 60 y ears ago, he thinks the solera might date back to 19th century. Thick, brow n, this is like a PX on steroids mixed with fig paste. Very interesting, fu n to try.
Nice night, nice group
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.