NV G. Rinaldi Brunate @ Hearth, NYC, 10/28/2025

Neb Vinous Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate-Le Coste
@ Hearth, East Village, NYC, 10/28/2025

A group of Neb Heads (most of them from the Nebbiolo group formed through the Vinous forum) met to check out 10 Barolos from Giuseppe Rinaldi. For a lot more information on this producer and these wines, see the Fine Wine Geek Giuseppe Rinaldi page.

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I always enjoy coming out of Penn Station and seeing this icon:

We met at Hearth, 403 East 12th Street (at 1st Avenue) in the East Village at 6pm. The food and service were very good as always. This might have been my favorite menu among all the times we've been here.
Ben arriving at Hearth:

The menu and excellent bread:

Flight 1: 2015 Namaste, 1996, 1998 Brunate Le Coste.
Chicory Salad with sesame-spiced pecans, orchard fruits.
A salad will never be a good match to Barolo, but at least this was light on the vinegar.

2015 Giuseppe Rinaldi Namaste Vino Rosso - Italy, Piedmont, Vino da Tavola
[Pop and pour.] Lovely, exotic nose of dried fruits and Asian spices. Rich and complex. Tasty wine! Definitely has some resemblance to Nebbiolo and Freisa. Fascinating. (92 points)
1996 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 10am.] Dark black color. Muted nose of black fruit, tar and licorice. Gorgeous and expansive in the mouth, but still holding back.
Left in the glass for 2 hours, it is really showing much more open now. I should have given it a longer decant. A truly classic 1996 Barolo. Needs another decade or a long decant. Wow! (96–98 points)
1998 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 1pm.] Lovely red fruit nose. Rich and juicy, but less body than other vintages. Elegant. If you own this wine, I would start drinking them. (92 points)

Flight 2: 2000, 2003, 2006 Brunate Le Coste.
Line-Caught Tuna Crudo: Tuna nduja in honeynut squash broth.
This was delicious and went well with the wines!

2000 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 12:20pm.] Lovely bouquet of red and black fruits and tar. Tart with aggressive tannins and acid. Not sure if this has enough fruit to continue aging. NR
2003 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted for 3.5 hours at 2pm.] Another lovely floral nose of black fruits. Tart and juicy, but balanced. Lovely now. (92 points)
2006 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted for a half hour at 8am.] Bright red fruit nose. Juicy and very appealing with a good long finish. (93 points)

Flight 3: 2007, 2008, 2009 Brunate Le Coste.
Campanelle in a mushroom ragu with marsala and goat cheese crumb.
Hearth makes wonderful fresh pasta. Not surprisingly, this went brilliantly with the wines.

2007 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 2:20pm.] Muted nose of black plums and minerals. Tart and juicy. Seems a bit young still. Somewhat austere for at 2007. (92 points)
2008 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 4:15pm.] Beautiful nose of rich black fruits. Silky in the mouth. Harmonious, expansive. 2008 is still underrated. WOTN so far. Gorgeous. (95 points)
2009 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 12pm.] Red fruit and spice in the nose. Smooth. Showing well now. No need to wait on this. (92 points)

Flight 4: 2010 Tre Tine, 2013 Brunate.
American Wagyu Bavette with grilled chicories, anchovy vinaigrette, fried potatoes.
These were fantastic. The beef was so tender and tasty.

2010 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted for one hour at 10am.] Gorgeous nose of black fruit. Bright red fruit in the mouth. A beautiful wine, more delicate in style than the Brunates. (94 points)
2013 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 11am.] Dark black fruit in the nose. Huge in the mouth. Expansive, complex. A stunning wine with a super long finish. Fantastic! WOTN (97 points)

Dessert
Olive Oil Cake with poached quince, vanilla crème fraiche, black pepper candy.
This was so good. Light and flavorful.

Summary
Excellent wines, but I thought a few more would be really dazzling like the 1996, 2008 and 2013 were. Still, another enjoyable dinner with this group.

All the wines:

Photo by Brad.

My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.