1990 BAROLO
at Paprika Restaurant, NYC (2/16/2011)

This dinner is one in a series of Barolo dinners organized by Leo Frokic and Eric Guido.

The Restaurant

The Wines

Eric Guido organized this tasting. It was a huge success!

10 out of 12 bottles were excellent. Half a dozen were truly great!

The food was superb. The service excellent. The menu and food pix are at the bottom of this page.

Sometimes there is greatness in a wine that keeps you at a distance, and sometimes the greatness in a wine draws you in. There were 7 or 8 wines at this dinner that were the latter. I felt compelled to taste and taste until my glass was empty. These wines had an enthralling quality to them.

• In Flight 2, two very different great wines from two such renowned traditional producers.
• In Flight 4, two wines from two great producers that each had something to say about the other.
• In Flight 5, the Brovia didn't quite pull it's weight, but the G. Mascarello really showed what this vineyard can produce. This was the last vintage for Brovia's Monprivato, so maybe this shows how fine it is that Mauro Mascarello now has a monopole of Monprivato.
• In Flight 6, a pairing of the last two Barolo Riservas made by Bruno Giacosa in the same vintage, and the best showing ever for the Rionda in this vintage.

Flight 1

• 1990 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sorì Ginestra - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Opened around 2pm, DD at 6pm. Drunk about 7:30pm.] Nose of grilled meat and dark red fruit. Silky, lovely, some tannins, but ready. Lovely and harmonious. (92 pts.)(Photo by Eric Guido.)
• 1990 Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra "Vigna Casa Maté" - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [DD at noon. Attempted to drink about 7:30pm.] Dirty nose. Corked. Faaack! (NR/flawed)

Flight 2

• 1990 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Opened at noon. DD at 5pm. Drunk about 8pm.] Stunning, ethereal nose of white truffle and sweet red fruit. Silky, expansive in the mouth, but still with a load of tannin. Very appealing sour cherry. Long finish, opens wide. Several of us had the same sense that this wine was wide, while the 1990 G. Rinaldi Brunate Riserva paired with it was pinpoint focused. Both classic, but somehow quite different. (95 pts.)(Photo by Eric Guido.)
• 1990 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Riserva Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Opened at noon. DD at 5pm. Drunk about 8pm.] Tighter, more focused and intense nose (than the 1990 Bartolo with which it was paired). Thicker in the mouth. Warm and silky. Very long finish. In the mouth, more pinpoint focused than the Bartolo. Both classic, but somehow quite different. Incredible persistence in this wine. Tonight, I give a slight edge to this wine, but both are great! (97 pts.)

Flight 3

• 1990 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Opened 2pm. DD 4:30. Drunk around 8:30pm.] Stunning nose of roses, iron, and black truffles. Lovely, but not as gripping in the mouth. Slightly disappointing, given the 97 point nose. (94 pts.)
• 1990 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Bricco Bussia Vigna Colonnello - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Magnum. Opened 12:30. Drunk around 8:30pm.] Dried red fruit and tar in the nose. More advanced than it should be and fading more quickly than it should. A pleasant wine, maybe worth 91-92 points initially, but from a magnum it should be much younger and better than this showing. (NR/flawed)

Flight 4

• 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero di Castiglione Falletto - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [DD at noon. Drunk about 9pm.] Stunning nose of black fruits and tar. Incredibly sweet in the mouth. Explosive and stunning. Meaty. Christi D says "Tastes of roasted bone marrow." (96 pts.)
• 1990 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Opened at 7am. DD at 7pm. Drunk around 9pm.] Ethereal nose. Long, rich, backward. Still needs time. Perhaps the only wine here tonight (along with the 1990 Mascarello Monprivato) that still needs time. Serious stuff. Lots of potential. 94-97 points. (95 pts.)

Flight 5

• 1990 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Monprivato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Decanted 6:30. Drunk around 9:30pm.] Big woody nose. Rustic, sour. A very appealing wine, but may have needed a little more air to show all its stuff. (93 pts.)
• 1990 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Decanted from 3:30 to 5:30, then back in the bottle (according to Mauro Mascarello's advice), but this bottle needed more air than that. Drunk around 9:30pm.] Grilled beef and portobello mushrooms. Tight, tannic, riveting. Will be truly great in 10-20 years! 95-97 points. (95 pts.)

Flight 6

• 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [DD at noon. Drunk about 10pm.] Heady nose of ground beef and white truffles. Amazing length. HFS! A riveting, glorious wine! (97 pts.)
• 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  [Opened 1pm. DD 5:30. Drunk around 10pm.] Is there something beyond Ray Tuppatsch's "Killer Plus"? Maybe it's "I need a change of underwear." This is amazing. The best bottle of this wine I have had. Classic ground lamb, iron, and fruitcake. Sweet black fruit. Silky, elegant, powerful. An overwhelming wine that brings tears to my eyes. (99 pts.)

We had one corked bottle and one unusually advanced bottle out of 12. So many of the remaining 10 were terrific wines. It is very clear that the best producers made great wine in 1990.

Posted from CellarTracker

WOTN Voting (3pts for 1st, 2pts for 2nd, 1pt for 3rd)

The Food

All original content © Ken Vastola