NK Bruno Giacosa @ Ci Siamo, NYC, 1/31/2025

NK Bruno Giacosa Dinner
Ci Siamo Restaurant, NYC, 1/31/2025

A motley group of old friends/Nebbiolo lovers got together at the Ci Siamo restaurant in NYC. Everybody brought a wine made by Bruno Giacosa. I tried to make sensible flights from this random selection. I think I did a good job, if I do say so myself. Dinner started around 8:30pm.

We had another dinner the next evening. The notes for that dinner are here.

Click on any photo for a larger view of that photo. Most larger photos contain more image as well as much higher resolution and are typically 3-4 MB.

Venue

Ci Siamo is a fairly new restaurant from Danny Meyer. The food and style are a lot like his Maialino, which is saying a lot. All the food was delicious, but there is clearly no attempt to spare the fats. The chef in charge here is Hillary Sterling.

Ci Siamo is in a new complex called Manhattan West,
which is across 9th Avenue from the Moynihan Train Hall:

Ci Siamo is on the 2nd floor:

Jamie discusses Champagne with Beverage Director Luciane Froz,
who took very good care of us and our wines:

The gang's all here:

Starter

NV Georges Laval Champagne Premier Cru Brut Nature Cumières - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
[Pop and pour off the restaurant list.] Crisp yeasty nose. Delicious and complex in the mouth. Appealing sour apples. Lovely. (93 points)

Appetizers

We shared several appetizers with the Champagne and Flight 1.

Cast Iron Focaccia:

Braised Beans with Parmigiano & Olives:

Potatoes with Rosemary & Pecorino: Prosciutto:

Caramelized Onion Torta with
Balsamic & Pecorino Toscana:

Flight 1: Santo Stefano

1982 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around 11am. Lots of sediment. Left open in the bottle for 2 hours.] Stunning nose of cherries, iron, and fruitcake spice. Expansive, mouth-filling wow wine. This is clearly at its peak. An extraordinary wine of incredible complexity. Long, long finish. One of Bruno's greatest wines. This was my WOTN until the 1996 Falletto Riserva. (99 points)
1996 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around 5:30pm.] Muted nose of dark red fruit and beef bouillon. Silky smooth in the attack. Long, complex finish of black fruit and spice. Just a gorgeous wine at the beginning of its peak drinking window, which should last another 15-20 years. (96 points)

Main

We each ordered our own main course to go with the remaining flights.
I had Braised Lamb with Celery Pesto, Pistacchio, & Potatoes:

Flight 2: Villero

1989 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero di Castiglione Falletto - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 6:30pm.] Vibrant nose of roast beef, spice, and red fruit. Still young with firm tannins and loads of black fruit and a hint of beef. I think will continue to improve for another 10 years. (95–? points)
1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero di Castiglione Falletto - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 11am. Lots of sediment. Left open in the bottle for 2 hours.] Big, black fruit nose with a hint of cocoa. Long and sweet, with plenty of life ahead. Sadly, this was the last vintage of Giacosa Villero. (95 points)

Flight 3: 1998s

1998 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around noon.] Beautiful floral bouquet with hints of beef blood and spice. Vibrant, long, expansive. This doesn't have the power of most SSRs, but it makes up for that with great elegance and perfume. (98 points)
1998 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around noon.] Sweet red fruit in the nose with hints of tar and licorice. Elegant. Fully ready to drink now. Sweet, long, lovely. (95 points)

Flight 4: Le Rocche del Falletto
Note that the grapes that have gone into Le Rocche del Falletto (since 1997) are from the same subplot of Falletto that was used to make Falletto Riservas up to and including the 1996. So, these wines were made from the same subplot of Falletto.

1999 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 5:30pm.] Loads of black fruit and licorice in the nose. Vibrant, expansive. This has been drinking well since release, but this may be the best bottle yet. Gorgeous, silky black fruit. The tannins are well integrated. Undoubtedly one of the best white labels ever. (97 points)
1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 8pm.] Big burly, red fruit nose. Stunningly complex in the nose and mouth. OMG! This is the best showing yet for this great wine. Mind-blowing perfume. The finish lasts forever. My WOTN by a narrow margin over the 1982 SSR. (100 points)

Flight 5: 2004 Rabajà

2004 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabajà - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted for 1.5 hours at 6am.] This was the only wine tonight that clearly needed more time. Very young and quite powerful. Big and tannic with plenty of fruit. I would wait 10 years to try this again. (95–? points)

Summary

Another special evening with these great friends and great wines and excellent food!

Most of the wines this evening were wines we bought long ago (as that price sticker on the 82 SSR indicates). All these years have paid off. This was as great a set of wines as I've ever had in one sitting.

Heading home:

My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.