Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba

Madeirized

1998 vintage

Soft and tertiary. Our bottle felt slightly past peak. Dried cherry, menthol, dried rose petals, dried herbs. Not a ton of fruit. Easy drinking but with a slightly drying finish. Doesn't have the depth and intensity you would expect from a prime bottle of Giacosa. Drink up now.

1998 vintage

Still drinking beautifully. It has faded some. Tannins are resolved. Fruit was delicate. Slight kiss of rose petal.

1998 vintage

Last of a wonderful case, double decanted around 1pm and served at dinner, medium bodied, lovely aromatics, mixing the cherry fruit with some spice, dried rose petals and more, this is what you want from mature Nebbiolo, it tastes youthful but when pouring shows a lot of bricking, could develop further, will definitely keep longer

1998 vintage

Tightly wound and tannic initially, softened up nicely though by hour 2. Silky and rich, lots of dried black cherry and a bit of tar. Really lovely wine, but definitely give this plenty of air.

1998 vintage

Smashingly great. Intense, soaring nose of dried flowers, red fruits, and earth, with an open-knit, generous palate. Powerful but elegant and open for business. This will get more tertiary and perhaps fan out a bit more, but for my palate I'm not convinced it's gonna get better than it is now. I suspect there will be a long plateau of excellence.

1998 vintage

Wow this was good; the nose was absolutely incredible; truffle and mint, floral notes, ripe red fruit, anise and forest floor; palate is stunningly good with great length and depth. A wow wine all around.

1998 vintage

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

1998 vintage

Alt Festa Friday at Ci Siamo Same bottle as Ken's TN. Double decanted around noon. Savory and darker fruit profile with iron, and tar. It’s a little meaty, with darker Nebbiolo fruit and a saline, olive slant to the savory notes. On the palate, it’s structured and savory with more of the same from the nose with some porcini and ferrous notes. Long and sapid, outstanding and then some, just suffering amongst its company. Excellent with the meal. At peak, …

1998 vintage

Pronounced nose intently with notes of red and black cherry, toast, spices. High tannin.

1998 vintage

Dinner at Thierry's place (Karori, Wellington, NZ) : The 1997 and 1998 served double blind as a pair by David. Really similar flavour profile between the two Barolos. Both seemingly fully resolved - at full maturity - but neither seeming near the end of its life. On bouquet, dark red fruit – seeming a little darker than for the 1997 – dry soil and brush, smoky barbequed meats and wet slate with a little balsamico, tobacco and creosote. Savoury, earthy …

1998 vintage

This pours light garnet in the glass with medium plus bricking. The nose is quite odd on this showing VA, paper, wintergreen, red cherry, raspberry, and a touch of old furniture. The palate is much more enjoyable entering on bright red fruit with high tannin and high acid though the texture is quite well managed and the finish quite long with lovely ethereal rose petals and red fruit. On this night it was quite the contrast to the 1996 which …

1998 vintage

Outstanding with rich, smoky Thanksgiving fare. Tonight’s standout, beautifully balancing red fruit and earthy, smoky notes showing development.

1998 vintage

Nebbiolos, white truffles, Volume IX (Chicago, IL) : Handily my favourite bottle of the 1990s Giacosa white label lineup. Darker red fruit, with almost just a slight bit of a cough syrup note on the palate, but the overall profile is clean, crisp, and very intense. More full-throttled and powerful, and yet also more precise than the others as well, just an all-round, well-put-together bottle of textbook Giacosa.

1998 vintage

VA and cooked at the same time, this was one bad bottle

1998 vintage

Pulled the cork at 3pm, decanted around 7, poured at 9 and was beautifully open and fragrant, tasting at its peak now, no hard edges, just a beautiful classy Nebbiolo

1998 vintage

Tasty wines and Biryani (My place, newk’s loft, Portland OR) : This is a wine that constantly finds its way to me. Darn. Kidding aside, the nose really hit in all of the places with deep and layered tones of sour red cherries, raspberries, tobacco leaf, violets, crushed rocks, roasted herbs, thyme, dried currants, violets, and some leather notes. There was that upper register quality to this that just takes me places and lets my mind wander while the Full …

1998 vintage

Double decanted a few hours before dinner I believe, this was stunning from the get go, the aromatics soared from the glass, cherry fruit, spice, a little touch of balsamic. The palate was complete from front to back and lovely acidity kept it all together through a delicious finish, at peak

1998 vintage

Chez Bruce Sundays - Simon's Cornucopia 2nd June 2024 (Chez Bruce, Wandsworth Common) : So much going on here and a think a better bottle that one at 67 Pall Mall a couple of months ago. Sweet chestnuts, soil tones, some sweet peas, rose petals and a touch of aniseed. Old mahogany dresser and a couple of ppm of fine balsamic vinegar. Some brown sugar, a hint of soy and some coffee grounds. Hints of giant Piccolino caper and hint …

1998 vintage

This was magnificent, getting better and better after 2 hours in the decanter and breathing up in the glass. It has sweet and luscious cherry and cassis fruits at its core. It has so much savoury nuance, with notes of menthol, teak, truffle and ironstone. It is rich and powerful, but light on its feet. Tannins are moderate and supportive and acidity brisk. Great balance and an expansive finish that is so long.

1998 vintage

Evoluído

1998 vintage

F3. The mistake with this wine was that we drank it with a 1990 Rossignol Trapet Chambertin. It simply didn’t have the same dimensions. Nice nose and well-balanced. Would love to try this again as solo bottle with nice dinner. MPD at Bisato.

1998 vintage

M&PD Tasting: Bisato (Seattle, WA, USA) : I think this was more my palate than the wine, as we were switching pretty rapidly. I just found it a bit ponderous, never really fired for me. Generally I find Giacosa pretty soaring and ethereal, although I also increasingly think I have a preference for their Barbaresco bottlings over their Barolo.

1998 vintage

Nick's "Good Barolo and Barbaresco" Dinner - Friday 22 March, 67 Pall Mall; 3/24/2024-3/25/2024 (67 Pall Mall) : Needed some swirling to get going but this was lovely, dried fruit and a touch of pepper on the nose, lovely deep fruits on the palate. A fine tannic structure. Lovely wine.

1998 vintage

Nick’s Barolo and Barbaresco (67 Pall Mall, London) : 5/6. Pale mahogany. Quite developed, mushroon, truffle. Medium bodied, savoury with gamey notes, truffle again, fully resolved tannins, fresh acidity, finishes quite well.

1998 vintage

Nick A's "Good Barolo and Barbaresco" at 67 PM (67 Pall Mall, London) : Nose a little soupier that the Gaja this is served with. Some well polished dresser and some roasted chestnuts. Fine tannins. With air it gains focus and some roses emerge. Lovely acidity.

1998 vintage

Good Barolo and Barbaresco (67 Pall Mall) : A classic nose, with lift and soul, and a floral quality. Pretty acidity made the wine very refreshing. Delicate and unlikely to improve, but with beautifully mature flavour and holding up well. Just so tasty; I don't think my note has done the wine justice, as it was my WOTN and the group's #5.

1998 vintage

Glorious bouquet right off the initial pour, and matching flavors: sweet cherry, and all the traditional Nebbiolo character (mentioned below) in a great evolutionary spot where the structure is resolved and the fresh acidity remains. It thrilled everyone and well stored bottles are better than the 92+ rating on this site. ps, I find I have a clear preference for the 98 vintage over 96.

1998 vintage

Decanted for ~4 hours and back in the bottle for dinner. Stunning aromas that are classically Giacosa with red fruits, plums, intense florals, hints of licorice and road tar. The palate is so silky yet full of Serralunga power. In an early peak window.

1998 vintage

Mostly 1998s (Washington, DC) : Whoa, this was really cool. Intense nose of incense, dried roses, tar, black pepper, all sorts of mossy rocks, fallen leaves – smells like a good fall mushroom foray. The tannins are resolved, the acidity is refreshing, and the wine is subtle, balanced, and focused. Flavors of black cherries and cranberry relished, tossed with complexities of spiced tea, tobacco, violets, mushrooms, some balsamic and black pepper glaze. I guessed Barbaresco.

1998 vintage

Rose petal, dried flowers, plum fruit, earth, graphite and balsamic on the nose and palate. Fully resolved on the palate with finesse and elegance. Drinking very well from just pop and pour. 92+

1998 vintage

Pile of cooked garbage, purchased from Benchmark for $400. Take note.

1998 vintage

Beautiful wine. Ken had double decanted this a few hours before dinner, and at first it showed rather light and a bit more mature than either of us expected. Time in the glass saw the fruit deepen in intensity and gain freshness to match the intensity of the more savoury earthy/dried herbal/tarry notes around it. Lovely, silken texture, and a wonderful match with the fresh pasta and ragu.

1998 vintage

[Double-decanted around 2pm.] Smells great on decanting, so I put it back in the bottle. I think I should have given it more air, because it was kinda shut down when we poured it around 7pm. The color was thin and brown, but as is typical of Giacosa, the wine blossomed after a half hour in the glass. Nose of forest floor, dried cherries, tar, and bark mulch. Lovely in the mouth, but still more mature than I expected given …

1998 vintage

In the future when scientists develop a pill that means you can drink wine as though it was water then I'd probably have a magnum of this for breakfast most mornings. All the classical Barolo notes that I read about, but without ever really experiencing - my Barolos are usually closed or grumpy or nasty or acidic. This was all the good things. Everything dialled to about 6.... not too showy, not too tasty - nothing set to maximum or …

1998 vintage

Pulled the cork in the morning then gave it a quick double decant before taking to the restaurant where it sat in a decanter for an hour. This still needs all the air it can get to loosen up, the nose has evocative Middle Eastern spice and dried rose petals breaded through some dark berry fruit, a touch of tar and a long finish makes this quite a complete and lovely Barolo.

1998 vintage

Opened and decanted an hour before serving (we brought this to a restaurant). Light garnet center with early browning. A faint whiff of burnt rubber and fennel which stuck out and never completely went away. That did not obscure the beautiful menthol and spice though. Light weight and ethereal in the mouth. Supple, naturally sweet red fruit, citrus, and the much ballyhooed Giacosa spice box, which I've never found more convincing than in this bottle. Excellent acidity and light remnant …

1998 vintage

Wine tasting at La Terre : Wow this was my best Giacosa so far. Unlike the 1999 that was a little dull, this had a brilliant hue of red with an intoxicating floral nose. Incredibly vibrant with dark red fruit, there was a superb depth and complexity to this wine. Loved the elegant texture, sensual but biting tannins that brought you back to Piedmont. So so refined, the Giacosa magic on full display here.

1998 vintage

Gorgeous nose with rose petals, cherry, a bit of VA, strawberries, tar, and a hint of mushrooms. The tannins are surprisingly well integrated and more red fruit flavors, cherries, sweet berries, and underwood flavors come through on the palate. Good acidity to balance it out and a long finish. This was absolutely lovely and tasting probably at peak right now.

1998 vintage

4/6. Developed nose - msuhroom, truffle, brown sugar, spice. Medium bodied, elegant with mushroom, savoury notes, borwn sugar, tea, fresh acidity, good length harmonious finish. Drinking well.

1998 vintage

light red to red in color. the over arching notes are the residual of a very ripe vintage with some oxidation, no VA, but a style of fruit that is not classic Barolo. This seems to be a characteristic of the vintage and not a flaw in the wine.

1998 vintage

Best bottle of this so far. The nose was rich, floral, red fruited yet suffused with eucalyptus/mint. Palate deep and long, gorgeously balanced and spot on for a summer BBQ. Only thing holding back a stratospheric rating was a little pruniness on the palate. Still, excellent.

1998 vintage

Lovely mature Barolo. Started out of the bottle tasting almost overly sweet, but after a good 20-30 minutes, the tannins asserted themselves, while sour cherry and sous bois emerged, along with leather and sweet baking spices. After an hour, baked tart apple pie, caramelized baked cherry and some ripe pear with pear skin were present, with well integrated yet still assertive tannins and good acidity. The wine paired perfectly with beef blackstone.

1998 vintage

Seems fully mature with good fruit structure and nice long finish.

1998 vintage

felt light bodied with tons of acidity (which I generally love, but this was too much given very light body)... great news was that after about 5 hours of air it came around a bit... if you have one I would likely wait five years or more, of if opening now decant for 4-8 hours

1998 vintage

Acquired new and stored in professional grade cellar since. A delight and it shows some age but some years left. Just wonderful.

1998 vintage

This one is clearly showing its age. Tertiary, some soy and less intensity than the Massolino tasted togehter. Still, a great Barolo. Just not singing.

1998 vintage

Four pairs of wines at Mark's place (Wellington, NZ) : Served double blind by Nick as a pair with the 1998 Altare. Darker colour. A deep, powerful bouquet suggesting a heavily structured Barolo. Darker red fruit than the Altare with soil, tar, balsamico, wet iron and dark florals. In the mouth, serious architecture and large scaled tannins yet harmonious, proportioned and fine. Earth, polished largely red berries and cherries, creosote, hoisin and ferric minerals. Lovely acidity. Long, finishing with some …

1998 vintage

Decanted for 3 hours and followed for 3 hours more. Translucent ruby garnet color. Lilting, fragrant nose of musk, camphor, tar, strawberry blossom, red plum, earth. Layers of bright, chiming red strawberry and plum fruit centered on the tongue with ethereal brightness, joined by gentle tar and earth. Softened, slightly dusty tannin and freshening acidity. Long finish of settled red fruit amidst seasoned earth and tar. Last sips were best. Beautiful wine showing the beginning patina of age.

1998 vintage

Nebbiolo and White Truffles (Matt's, Portland OR) : This is so deep and refined with perfumed tones of red cherries, strawberries, red berries, raspberries, licorice, tobacco, crushed rocks, roasted herbs, and loads of wild flowers and rose petals. The Full bodied feel is balanced and layered with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. The structure still shows some youth, though it is far from overpowering. This is pure class and a light-heavyweight of a Barolo. It packs a punch …

1998 vintage

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Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba

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