Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabajà

Really killer nose, decant, showed best 5hrs in

2004 vintage

Last drunk at the end of 2022, I really enjoyed it, but my previous experience was much less positive: sometimes too woody, sometimes completely oxidized, etc. This bottle was tasted blind. I suggest an old Syrah given its brick-red color, but then a Syrah that's on the mend, a little faded, with simple aromatics, including olives. Fluid palate, too fluid, elusive structure, the sensation of a wine past its peak, whose cork is, moreover, badly soaked throughout. An anonymous finish. …

2004 vintage

This was an excellent bottle.

2004 vintage

Leroy Weekend in Michigan; 8/1/2025-8/3/2025 (Asian Spice House - Buchanan MI) : Powerful array of bright red fruits with great concentration and good balance, even with a clearly firm finish. Getting its groove. This is really coming into its own, vs five years ago when it was just teasing us.

2004 vintage

Opened two magnums both had corks that had dried out and needed careful Durand extraction although no sign of seepage or poor storage. Color dark red at core with significant bricking. On the nose both showed signs of age with more leather and some VA in addition to soft red fruits and tar/ash. Possible light cork taint or storage issues due explain subdued nose?. Long balanced almost sweet and creamy mouthfeel finishes long and delicious.

2004 vintage

Giacosa with Riccardo Campinoti (Hearth Restaurant, NYC) : [Opened at 11am. Double-decanted at 3:30pm.] Stunning nose of black fruit and fruitcake spice. Lots of meaty red fruit. Super long. Just another incredible wine to end the evening. Should improve for another decade, then drink well for at least another twenty years. 97-99

2004 vintage

Regal, effusive nose. Beautiful depth and lightness on the palate. Floral elements remain while tertiary is coming in with restrained elegance. Revelatory.

2004 vintage

Brick red color. Red cherry complex balsamic notes tons of ripe tannins for a few decades more. Full bodied and excellent length

2004 vintage

Alt Festa Friday night at Ci Simao (Double decanted 14 hours before dinner and then decanted for 1.5 hours per Ken). Same bottle as Ken's TN Iron, darker cooler Nebbiolo fruit, tar, roses, balsam and Giacosa hard candy on the nose. It’s structured and firm yet graceful on the palate. Deep and powerful yet poised and harmonious. Firm, ripe, fine tannins on the back end. We were discussing that this 20+ year old wine is still too young. That may …

2004 vintage

Bruno Giacosa Dinner (Ci Siamo, 440 W 33rd St Suite #100, NYC) : [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-??

2004 vintage

Last drank this wine in 2022. It hasn't changed much since then. The 2004s at Giacosa are on their way to becoming legendary. Nose of faded rose, blood orange and balsamic. Perfumed palate, very vaporous. I really like this kind of Nebbiolo which is close to Pinot Noir. Silky juice, of great elegance that stretches to infinity. The flavors are more evolved on the palate, especially with the leather that mixes with floral aromas. Balanced and tracing wine. Great powdery …

2004 vintage

I’m starting to wonder if Giacosa’s Barbarescos are the real deal, and not the Barolos. Ok, why choose? Drink them all! This was fantastic, youthful, intense, so red fruited and rosy floral. So good. Decant even more, yes.

2004 vintage

An alluring wine with notable depth and also a great sense of airiness in delivery of its nicely developed dark plum, black-red cherry, muddled cranberry, damp dust, dark leather, and river rock flavors. Orange citrus wakes up the profile and keeps everything moving. Finishes a little brooding, but agreeably developed, making for a tail that saturates more than sizzles. Slightly chewy (dark/black chocolate note?). 20 years from vintage seems to be a good drinking window for this wine. Give it …

2004 vintage

2024-07 Vinorules Truffle Dinner at The Rec (The Recreation) : From a different plot than the 2013 - this plot is now part of Asili. A hint of pooeyness of the nose. Structured but bright fruit. Was a bit dense and overly structured compared to the fruit but got prettier and prettier in the glass and after time became much more expressive. 94

2004 vintage

Not as finessed as I remember. More tar.

2004 vintage

Garnet with orange hue in thin layers. No decant. Cork in pristine condition. Cellared under perfect conditions since release. Ready from the start with the scents and flavors mentioned in previous notes, no oxidative notes. This has shed some more of its tannins and has became smoother. With extended airing over two hours (small part decant) the fruit gets more intensity, but also the complexity of the wine suffers a bit. 5/14/19/9. -2029. At peak, with some years ahead if …

2004 vintage

~90 minute decant. very good, but still in primary-secondary phases and could still use some time in the cellar.

2004 vintage

Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont - 2023 Edition; 10/20/2023-10/22/2023 (Piedmont, Italy) : Decanted for a good hour and served blind. This is a cruel mistress of a wine to serve blind especially with our a long decant. The nose on first serving was touch medicinal, rich and not a Piedmontese aromatics at all to the point we thought maybe an old soft amarine style wine… but then it opens, hits its full stride and delivers something magical. As elegant as wines …

2004 vintage

Vinous Piedmont Icons Dinner @ Legacy Records (Legacy Records, NYC) : The '04 Asili is an unbelievable wine. I found it to be a very exotic wine, with the aromatic profile very different than the Nebbiolo stereotype. This bottle was very expressive, more so than the bottle I had back in 2020, but it is still very primary and should improve with time. On the nose, I found olives, dark red, exotic floral tones, dark red fruit, blood orange, bitter …

2004 vintage

A Summer Giacosa Dinner (Spinasse, Seattle) : Double decanted 6 hours earlier. Even ruby. Tobacco, tar, and some green herbs. Medium bodied, much denser and tannic than its 2000 counterpart tasted alongside it. More serious and easily confused for Barolo. This just steadily improved over time. Not the wine of the evening for current drinking, but a towering Barbaresco that should approach perfection in 15 or so years.

2004 vintage

Brooding tarry nose, mint overtones, becomes increasingly fresh and herbal with air. Rich dark fruit on the palate, again tarry but with bracing acidity in support. Massive but very fine tannins. Air softens it. Fantastic drive on the finish, massive energy. Amazing wine, very young.

2004 vintage

Blind, from Magnum. I'm not going to lie, I was expecting a bit more from this wine. I'm a huge fan of Giacosa wines, I find them compelling, thought provoking and overall great like few others, but on this night, I don't think the wine was at its peak. Coming from a Magnum, my expectations were high, even though it was served blind, so we didn't know what it was at first. The color suggested an older wine than 2004, …

2004 vintage

In its prime now..l..

2004 vintage

Drank last night at Lucciola’s in NYC with other fine Piedmont wines. The owner/chef was brilliant in his pairings and this wine certainly shined. After a 3 hour decant, the wine was perfectly balanced with dark cherry fruit and a silky finish. The 04 vintage is epic and this wine was everything you could ask out of a barbaresco. The wine was young and just entering its long drinking window. Many great years to come.

2004 vintage

March Madness Wine Tasting : Served blind. Caveat, palate fatigue had set in at this point. Wonderful aged nose of Nebbiolo. There is a definite nobility in this wine. A treat to drink.

2004 vintage

Granato limpido, luminosto, stappato e bevuto subito, fragoline e fiori secchi, sensazioni di sale marino, poi prende vigore e diventa più verticale, bocca fresca, guizzante, tannino fitto e dolce... molto buono ed ancora giovanissimo.

2004 vintage

Intense nose of crushed strawberries. Deeply complex palate with a silky touch. The juice is dense but the whole is very soft, the wine loosens up in layers to display its complexity: smoke, cocoa, strawberry, sweet spices... The style is very Burgundian, only the fine smoke characteristic of the riserva makes us start on Italy and this side of exotic spices which will develop more and more. Flawless balance, the acidity carries the wine and stretches it without losing intensity. …

2004 vintage

Pre-Birthday Warmup Dinner with Friends (The Bristol - Chicago IL) : Opened a couple of hours before serving, but not decanted. Very floral with fresh and dried cherry throughout, very good depth and length. Only negative was slight drying on the finish.

2004 vintage

Brooding ripe dark fruit on the nose, walnuts. Gorgeous sweet dark fruit on the palate. Great drive and acidity on the finish, a big wine with a remarkably youthful profile.

2004 vintage

Already so delicious. Tonight I found this to be quite expressive right out of the bottle, surprisingly. Juicy red cherries and silky with pretty aromatics. Drank at the Belmond Caruso.

2004 vintage

Very intense nose of cherry, tobacco and wilted rose. Cap in perfect condition. The palate is spectacularly pure. It is very Burgundian in style, with an obvious presence. The juice is wildly elegant with a complexity to die for, the mouthfeel is magnificent, silky, before the power, all contained, coats the tongue with aromas of blood orange and leather. The second salvo is more grassy with sweet spices. The balance and coherence of the whole is impressive, it traces in …

2004 vintage

was going to write a note, but drwine's below, says it all. ricotta gnocchi w/favas, pea greens, parm & lots of butter

2004 vintage

Decanted for 3 hours. Ruby core, only 10% fading at the rim. A "to die for" bouquet of tobacco, cut flowers, and opulent red fruits that was riveting for the 3 additional hours that the wine lasted. Medium body, gorgeous seamless feel due to ripe fruit, glycerine, and a gentle soil base. The interplay between cherry, plum, light herbs, spice, and the more savory elements is dizzying and dazzling. Beyond all of that, it is enlivened by a twist of …

2004 vintage

From a bottle purchased at auction with a noted depressed cork. Thankfully no flaw. Cork in perfect shape with no seeping, just wine stain at very base. Decanted 3hrs. Full medium ruby, slightest hint of garnet at very edge. Nose is squeaky clean, with a classic Giacosa note of fruitcake, then roses, violet, medicinal cherry, blood orange, leather, cedar, iron, a subtle high-pitched lifted herbal, minty quality, and even a shade peachy with a soaked fruit quality this wine had …

2004 vintage

Top wine of the year vor me so far. AWESOME fruit, LONG FINISH, JUST PERFECT

2004 vintage

Absolutely stunning. A world class wine. Extreme power complexity and finesse combined. Could be the wine of the year for me.

2004 vintage

The '04 Rabaja is extremely impressive, although it remains quite young and not fully expressive, in need of another 5-10+ years of aging to start drinking near peak, I'd guess. It shows some of the same characteristics as the epic '01 Rabaja Riserva, but currently is less giving and seems a bit more conventional - less exotic. On the nose, I found sweet black fruit, tar, spices, lavender, tobacco, coffee, and balsamic. On the palate, the wine showed the combination …

2004 vintage

Garnet, with almost no lightening to the edge. This has a lot to give right from the start. A complex, yet quite intense nose (Goldfishbowel, Riedel) that easily fills out the biggest glasses. Cherries in many shades, tar, cedar, soy. On the palate still with adstringent, but round tannin, that isn't going to be shed within its optimal drinking window, I suppose. Low but enough acidity to balance it. This is much better than the last bottles of Giacosa I …

2004 vintage

decanted one hour prior to dinner, followed over 3. beautiful cherry - driven aromatics, w/significant spicy floral notes; absolutely elegant & refined, though purposeful, seamless, w/moderately dry tannic structure balancing the stylish fruit. while likely to evolve considerably, an absolute pleasure this evening. roasted garlic sausage; lovely young hakurei turnips & their greens w/'nduja; creamy white beans 3/07/21 decanted 1.5 hours, savored over 3 more. equally youthful & promisingly delicious. 5 - 8 years to best equilibrium for me. (93) …

2004 vintage

Slow-oxed for 5 hours before serving. Dark cherry, minerals, leather, and wilted flowers. Palate was so round and powerful with lacy silkiness and elegance. Profoundly complex and interesting to follow through. Probably the most memorable Italian wine I had this year.

2004 vintage

The '04 Asili was a bit austere at this stage, but shows flashes of brilliance, shows great elegance, and appears to have all the right elements to age well. Sweet, dark red cherry, exotic spices, smoke, cocoa, and licorice rise from the glass in a nose that reminds me more of Burgundy than of a typical Barbaresco. On the palate, the wine has a beautiful dark red fruit profile and a smokiness to it that was quite unique and alluring, …

2004 vintage

MUST be decanted for a long while. Moments of brilliance come and go. So well made and balanced. To try again.

2004 vintage

A Good Tuesday, Vol IV: Italians ('07 Valentini, '15 Emidio Pep, '04 Giacosa Barbaresco, 86 : This was opened a few hours prior to dinner, recorked and brought to the restaurant. Tremendous showing. Power and balance and beauty. So much to the nose: cherry and tar and spice. Still so youthful on palate. Burgundian intensity. Everything is here and will be for years. This is why you buy Giacosa.

2004 vintage

Bottle opened one hour and a half previously to be consumed. Unfortunately last section of cork was glued-like to the glass of the bottle so decantation was mandatory. Also filtration. And when you are expecting for a modern wine, time and a traditional vintage surprise you. At least to me. Sixteen years have made their task and now it is a feminine wine, meaty, milky chocolate with black truffle and floral with a vanilla and cinnamon scented touch. Traditional yet …

2004 vintage

The nose is to die for! Complex nose of cherries, rose petal, tar, dark berries, leather, and cigar box. Good acidity with surprisingly well integrated, yet drying tannins. Flavors of dark cherries, blood orange, dark berries, and more tar. Very long finish. An outstanding Nebbiolo, what a wine!

2004 vintage

Very nice. Initially good, opened up a fair amount over a few hours. Not quite at the level of the 1996. Maybe will continue to get better with time. Great nose.

2004 vintage

#2 WOTY against a stacked lineup of mostly barolos (Cappellano, Burlotto, Conterno, etc.) Preferred over the 2005 Asili. Power, finesse, great dusty tannin. Aroma of concentrated sweet fruit. Felt a bit too perfect / four squared, which makes no sense. I have been wanting to have this wine again in a vacuum and not compared against the Pie Franco, etc. 95-97.

2004 vintage

Rubino riflessi granato, limpido, naso fiori secchi, frutto rosso sia piccolo di bosco che una bella prugna con cenni di liquerizia. Bocca fresca, tannino fitto e sottile, frutto in ingresso e chiusura terrosa sapida con liquerizia e fiori.

2004 vintage

Anything but Burgundy Gala Dinner (San Francisco) : Even, light ruby-less saturated than the '82 Mouton but almost exactly the tint of the 2005. All tar and tobacco. Medium to lighter weight but tremendous intensity due to relentless acidity and minerality. Undeveloped red fruit in the background. A long way to go before this will be fully mature. Outstanding young Nebbiolo.

2004 vintage

I had expected a little bit more and not as good as the last bottle. Still - easy to drink and like.

2004 vintage

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