White Truffle & 1971 Nebbiolo Dinner
@ Chez Goldberg, Greenwich Village, NYC, 12/9/2021
This was the annual white truffles and Nebbiolo of a long-standing Bordeaux group in NYC.
I was fortunate that a seat opened up, and I was able to make it.
The wine theme was 1971 Barolo and Barbaresco at 50 years of age.
Ben and Wendy hosted in their beautiful apartment.
The food they prepared was superb and well matched to the wines.
One of the best meals I've evder had in a private home.
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Passing Washington Park in an Uber:
The place setting:
All the wines:
Flight 0: Champagne with Gourmet Potato Chips
With chips from
Mountain Sweet Berry Farm in Roscoe NY.
We had Peruvian Purple, German Butterball, and Kennebec.
Flight 1: 1971 Barbera & 1970 Barolo
With slow-cooked, soft scrambled eggs with shaved white truffle.
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1971 Braida (Giacomo Bologna) Barbera d'Asti Riserva -
Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti
[Double decanted around noon. Tasted around 7pm.] A rather pleasant surprise for a 50 year old Barbera.
Muted nose of red fruit and forest floor. Delicious.
Goes beautifully with soft scrambled eggs and shaved white truffles.
Long bright finish. Wow! (93 points)
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1970 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 3:30pm. Tasted around 7pm.] Lovely nose of roses and spice. Mellow, elegant, smooth.
Fully mature, but should hold for another 5-10 years. (93 points)
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1970 Camerano Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A bad bottle. Cooked. (NR)
Flight 2: 1971 Barbaresco
With homemade tajarin [made with 31 egg yolks in a kilo of flour] with white truffle-infused butter.
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1971 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Ovello - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Opened at 3pm, then decanted around 6pm. Tasted around 8pm.] No nose.
Lovely in the mouth, with a long, tasty finish. Good balance. (93 points)
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1971 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Opened at noon and double-decanted at 3pm. Tasted around 8pm.] Dark nose of smoke, tar, and black fruit.
Quite a bit richer than the 1971 Ovello with thick fruit and some tannins.
Could easily go another 10 years. (95 points)
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1971 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double decanted around noon. Tasted around 8pm.] Muted nose of dark fruit, roses, and licorice.
Still somewhat tannic. Long and complex, but not as brilliant as the bottle I had in 2018.
(94 points)
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1971 Oddero Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Decanted around 6:30pm. Tasted around 8pm.] No nose. Elegant, balanced. A lovely wine.
Long sweet finish. (92 points)
Flight 3: 1971 Barolo
With the homemade tajarin with white truffle-infused butter.
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1971 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Original release. Opened at 3pm, then decanted around 6pm. Tasted around 8:30pm.]
Quite mature. Elegant, but fading. (88 points)
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1971 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cascina Masante - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Opened at 3pm, then decanted around 6pm. Tasted around 8:30pm.
This was a special bottling for the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini d'Alba.
Cascina Masante is a subvineyard of Bussia Soprana. In recent years, they have made a Dolcetto from this site.]
Spicy black fruit nose. Sour in the mouth. I think this is an off bottle. (NR)
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1971 Marcarini Barolo Riserva Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Opened at 3pm, then decanted around 6pm. Tasted around 8:30pm.] Gorgeous Barolo.
Lovely, nuanced floral nose of red fruit and tar. Expanse and complex in the mouth.
Long, elegant finish. Drinking beautifully now. (94 points)
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1971 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Opened at noon and double-decanted at 3pm. Tasted around 8:30pm.]
Disappointing, especially since this was purchased directly from the winery.
This should be a great wine, but it is flawed. Not bad, but not what it should be.
There is a sourness that is off-putting. (NR)
Flight 4: 1974 & 1975 Barolo
With short ribs braised in red wine, served over polenta with roasted asparagus on the side.
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1974 Cantina Terre Del Barolo Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Opened at 2:30, poured back into the bottle at 5 pm. Served about 9pm.] Gone. Dead. Mort. (NR)
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1974 Massolino Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted at 4pm. Served about 9pm.] Sweet cherry nose. Long, rich and delicious in the mouth.
I suspect this is mostly from Rionda. Excellent. (94 points)
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1975 Cappellano Barolo Troglia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Decanted at around 5pm. Served about 9pm.] Spicy, minty, red fruit nose. Long and tasty.
Quite good for this vintage. (92 points)
Flight 5: 1999 & 2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo
With the short ribs.
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1999 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted for an hours at 2:30pm. Served about 9:30pm.] WOTN for me.
Maybe I don't like really old Barolo as much as I thought.
Anyway, this wine is rich and gorgeous with great depth and length. Nose of cherries and spice.
Stunningly complex. Just wow. Il Maestro is king! (96 points)
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2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted at 8am. Consumed about 9:30pm.] Gorgeous nose of flowers and licorice.
Not as great as the 1999 Falletto, but still an excellent wine for a non-single-vineyard Barolo.
Rich, long, complex. (93 points)
Dessert
Two homemade pavlovas made using the leftover egg whites from the tajarin above.
One chocolate (left), one coffee.
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1995 Crociani Vin Santo di Montepulciano -
Italy, Tuscany, Montepulciano, Vin Santo di Montepulciano
[Pop and pour.] Maderized nose. Too much oxidation for me. (NR)
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NV Bartolo Mascarello Barolo Chinato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo Chinato
[Pop and pour.] Exotically perfumed with spice and red fruit. Warm and spicy in the mouth.
Delicious. I wish this was more widely available. (94 points)
Conclusion
On the whole, the older wines were a mixed bag. What should have been the two best wines
(the 1971 Giacosa Barbaresco and the 1971 G. Mascarello Barolo) didn't live up to previous tastings.
OTOH the Cavallotto, the two Produttori del Barbarescos, the Marcarini, the Massolino, and
the two younger Giacosa Barolos were excellent. The 1971 Oddero Barbaresco was also a nice surprise.
And the Bartolo Mascarello Barolo Chinato was wonderful.
People Pix
Warming up with the Champagne:
Around thetable during the pasta course:
My tasting notes posted from
CellarTracker.
All original content © Ken Vastola