NV Giacosa Riservas & Cappellano Piè Franco @ Hearth, NYC, 5/16/2024

Neb Vinous Giacosa Riservas & Cappellano Piè Franco
@ Hearth, East Village, NYC, 5/16/2024

A group of Neb Heads (most of them from the Nebbiolo group formed through the Vinous forum) met to check out two sets of wines: Riservas from Bruno Giacosa and Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco from Gabutti in Serralunga d'Alba.

For more background on the wines of Bruno Giacosa, check out the FWG's pages on The Wines of Bruno Giacosa. For more background on the wines of Cappellano, check out the FWG's page on Barolos and Barbarescos Made by the Cappellano Winery.

We met at Hearth, 403 East 12th Street (at 1st Avenue) in the East Village at 6:30. The food and service were superb, even better than our previous dinners here.

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The menu and place setting:

Flight 1: Mystery Wine and Giacosa Falletto Riserva
Fava Bean Salad with Pecorino Toscano, Spring Onion, and lots of Garlic on Grilled Bread.
This was so delicious, but you have to like garlic!

2008 Alessandro e Gian Natale Fantino Barolo Riserva Bussia Cascina Dardi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Served totally blind. Double-decanted around 9:30 am.] Earthy nose of cherries and spice. Lovely palate of red fruit, cinnamon and licorice. Young, but quite well-balanced. Should age well for 15-20 years. Considering a release price of under $60, this was a great value. Everyone guessed that this was nebbiolo. Once I was told that bringing this was inspired by a TN of mine, I was able to guess the wine. (94 points)
1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 10am.] Stunning nose of fruitcake, licorice, and roses. Expansive and harmonious in the mouth. Long, complex finish. The balance and harmony are terrific. Fully mature now. No reason to hold further. (98 points)
1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 1:30pm for half an hour.] Nose of dark red fruits. Long, rich, juicy, complex, tannic. A great wine, still not at full maturity. Still, a joy to drink. Interesting comparison with the 1990 that has reached maturity. I would give this another decade to reach full maturity. (98–100 points)

Flight 2: Giacosa Barbaresco Riservas
Maccheroni in Pork Ragu with Whipped Ricotta and Fried Rosemary.
This was so delicious and the pasta was cooked to perfection.

1998 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around 8am.] Big smoky nose of black fruit and iron. Silky and complex in the mouth. Never had the power of earlier SSRs, but a beautiful wine that has drunk well almost since release. Don't know how much upside this has, but why wait? Still, no danger of fading any time soon. (97 points)
2000 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted for 4 hours around 2pm.] Corked. (NR/flawed)
2007 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted at 1:30pm.] Sweet red fruit nose. Rich and complex in the mouth with a sweetness typical of 2007. A long spicy finish. (95 points)

Flight 3: Cappellano Piè Franco 1996-2001
Wild Striped Bass with Braised Artichoke, New Potato, and Lemon Confit.
Not a great match to the Barolo, but delicious nonetheless.

1996 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around noon.] Huge nose of black fruit. A monster in the mouth with tons of tannin and black fruit. Just a stunningly complex wine that needs at least another decade. (99–100 points)
1998 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted for 3 hours around 1pm.] Sour black cherry in the nose and mouth. Long, complex, still a huge wine that needs another decade. (95–97 points)
2001 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted for 3 hours at 8pm the night before.] Stunning nose of black fruit, licorice, and something dark and floral. Rich, complex, tannic, but with plenty of rich black fruit. Archetypal Serralunga. Wow! Still quite young, but incredible harmony and balance. WOTN for me. (100 points)

Flight 4: Cappellano Piè Franco 2003-2005
More of the Maccheroni in Pork Ragu from course two.

2003 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 9am.] Big smoky red fruit nose. Tannic with high alcohol. Juicy red fruit. A little concerned that this has too much tannin and alcohol for the fruit. But it might show better if it was not in this company. (92 points)
2004 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around noon.] Gorgeous nose of red and black fruit with subtle hints of licorice and spice. Huge and expansive. A big, harmonious young wine with a great future. Probably needs 20 years. (98–?? points)
2005 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 9:30 am.] More of that big Serralunga black fruit in the nose and mouth. Rich, juicy, more open than the 2004, but not by a lot. Still quite young. Long finish of tart red fruit and licorice. Needs another decade. (95 points)

Flight 5: Cappellano Piè Franco 2011-2012
Rohan Duck Breast with Morels, Confit Carrot, and Ginger Coriander Jus.
This was really good and excellent with the wines.

2011 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around noon for half an hour.] Nose of smoky red raspberries. Rich and tannic, but not as backward as the earlier wines. The duck is able to hide a lot of the tannin making this perhaps the most drinkable of these Francos tonight. (95 points)
2012 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Opened at 11pm. Double decanted at 5pm.] Huge black fruit nose. Expansive and juicy. A little sour without the duck, but lovely with it. Needs time, but perhaps less than any of the previous wines. (94 points)

Dessert
Chocolate Almond Mousse Bar with Candied Kumquats and Cocoa Nib Brittle:

Summary
The group said we want to taste great wines and we did! If Barolo had Grand Crus like in Burgundy, these would be near the top of the list. Another great evening of food, wine, and friends.

People Pix
I did not think to get any people photos until after 3 people had headed home,
but here are the rest of us in the semi-private room where we had dinner:

All the wines. [Photo by Josh.]

My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.