Angelo Gaja, Giuseppe Rinaldi and Bruno Giacosa White Truffle Dinner Saturday, October 31st 7:30pm
"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age."
Lucille Ball
There is nothing that is quite as decadent as white truffles but if you are going to pair a wine with this unique culinary experience Nebbiolo would be my first, second and third choice. The Piedmont is one of the world's most unique grape growing regions and is the only area where the Nebbiolo varietal makes a high-quality age worthy wine. This is also the only part of the world where you find the white truffle. These truly unique fungi are not only very intense in flavor but also incredibly expensive pound for pound the most expensive food in the world today. This is one of the only times when it comes to food and wine where the food almost always costs more than the wine here at our “Once in a Lifetime” events at the Wine Watch.
Join us as we experience one of the rare culinary treats alongside three of the greatest wine producers of the Piedmont with a selection of vintage wines from that Angelo Gaja, Guiseppe Rinaldi and Bruno Giacosa that makes this white truffle and vintage Piedmont tasting one of the greatest events of its kind that we have ever hosted!! Chef Toni Lampasone will be making a special tasting menu to accompany the wines. The fee for this event which includes dinner and gratuity is $795.00 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.
Angelo Gaja, Giuseppe Rinaldi and Bruno Giacosa
Piedmont White Truffle Dinner
Saturday, October 31st
7:30 PM
1987 Gaja Cabernet Sauvignon Darmagi Langhe
2000 Gaja Sori Tildin Langhe
2000 Gaja Costa Russi Langhe
2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo
2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga D’Alba
2003 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche Del Falletto di Serralunga D’Alba
2003 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili
2005 Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste
2003 Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste
Menu
Parmesan Reggiano and Prociutto di Parma
Egg Flan with White Truffle
Gnocci with White Truffle and Kerry Gold Butter
Wahoo Sashimi with Fontodi Olive Oil and White Truffles
Osso Bucco Ravioli with White Truffle Creme Sauce
Chocolate Bark
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $795 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservation if you do NOT like veal and Toni will be glad to make you chicken.
A bit about Gaja Winery:
He has been called a restless genius; others have been less charitable in their characterizations of Angelo Gaja (pronounced GUY-YAH). Gaja is a fourth generation winegrower from Barbaresco, one of Italy's premier wine districts in Piedmont in northern Italy. As controversial as Angelo Gaja is, nobody disputes his great talents as a winemaker or his ability to generate interest in his wines. Gaja in his relatively short career has become the highest profile grower in Piedmont as well as Italy's most famous winemaker. He has accomplished this through consummate skill at both winemaking and public relations. He describes himself as "vain"; we translate that to mean that he is not the least bit reluctant to be an unabashed publicist for his own wines. Gaja has traveled extensively throughout the world hyping the Gaja name while also trying to learn more about how he might apply new technology in order to improve his own wines. He first visited California for this purpose in 1974, and it is presumed that it was there that he became fascinated with the "barrique" concept - the idea of aging his reds in small oak barrels. He has broken new ground in many areas, and even his critics begrudgingly admit that the results speak for themselves. Gaja is now regarded as Piedmont's leading producer of Barbaresco, and his wines command prices that rival those charged anywhere in the world.
The Gaja firm has been bottling wines since the early 1900's; in 1964 a decision was made to contract the size of the Gaja winery and produce only wines from the winery's own vineyards. The fact that the Gaja winery produces only estate wines is a most salient point in the gospel according to Gaja, for he feels that the consumer is willing to pay more for "authentic Gaja". Gaja is the largest private owner of vineyards in the Barbaresco zone with 153 acres. About half the annual Gaja production of 22,000 cases is Barbaresco - the rest is split between Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera, a nouveau-style Nebbiolo called Vinot, several Chardonnays, a Cabernet, and a Barolo. The Cabernet and Chardonnay have been very controversial in this part of Italy where tradition and conservative values reign supreme. To plant foreign grapes in Barbaresco was heresy to some; but Gaja defends against those charges by pointing out that in the 1890's - before phylloxera destroyed the vineyards - there were Cabernet and Chardonnay vines planted in Piedmont. Even the retired Giovanni Gaja, Angelo Gaja's father (who is now said to like the Cabernet planted in the Gaja vineyards), referred to the Cabernet plantings as "darmagi" - "such a pity." He felt that it was a pity that Cabernet - not the native Nebbiolo - was being planted in a prime vineyard site by his son. The name stuck, and Gaja's Cabernet is called Darmagi. We have tasted the Chardonnay and the Cabernet with Gaja and on several other occasions and have been impressed with their quality; their price, however, is extremely ambitious.
In 1988 Gaja purchased a Barolo vineyard in the Marenca e Rivette area of the village of Serralunga. The property was well known to Gaja, for his father often purchased fruit from this vineyard in order to produce Barolo in the 1940's and 1950's. This long standing desire to return to Barolo was reflected in the name Gaja selected for the Barolo. The name "Sperss" is an expression in Piedmontese dialect that translates to "profound longing or nostalgia" (in this case nostalgia for Barolo.) The first two releases - the 1988 and 1989 Sperss - have met extraordinary critical reception. The 1989 was selected as the number two wine in the TOP 100 wines of 1993 and scored a (96) in The Wine Spectator!
Gaja has made his name with Barbaresco. Both Barbaresco and Barolo are produced from the Nebbiolo grape within a few miles of each other in Piedmont. Gaja ages his Barbaresco in small new oak barrels, and he manages to produce a wine that takes on a certain subtlety and suppleness without losing the personality of the Nebbiolo grape. One way Gaja manages to do this is by steam cleaning the inside of his brand new oak barrels in order to remove some of the oak extract they might otherwise impart to the new wine - a rather shocking technique that works! His Barbarescos have a unique personality for other reasons as well. He picks his grapes late for more extract and color, but he also strives to produce a harmonious wine with more aroma and flavor and less tannin. These and many other factors are what make Gaja Barbarescos unique and sought out by connoisseurs all over the world. In addition to Gaja's regular Barbaresco, he bottles three "crus" - but only in great years. His single vineyard Barbarescos - "Sorì San Lorenzo", "Sorì Tildìn", and "Costa Russi" - are quite possibly the best produced in Italy and among the world's noblest red wines. Over the past decade Angelo Gaja has really excelled with his Barbaresco - producing fabulous world-class wines in vintages such as 1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and this 2001. The Piedmont has seen an unprecedented string of outstanding vintage from 1996-2001. All three of Gaja's single cru Barbarescos rated a (95) or better in The Wine Spectator; in both 1996 & 1997 and in 1998 two of the three rated (95) or better, an incredible track record for the last three releases. Generally of the three crus produced by Gaja, the Sorì San Lorenzo is the slowest maturing, the longest-lived, and the least approachable in its youth. The Costa Russi is the most approachable when young, while the Sorì Tildìn falls between the two.
In The Gambero Rosso (the Italian wine Bible) Gaja is the only producer in the Piedmont with a rating of “Two Stars”, indicating the number of times his wines have received the coveted “Three Glass” award. Gaja’s wines have received twenty-one (a star for every ten “Three Glass” wine). They call Gaja “Here we are in the presence of what is undoubtedly the best Italian winery, to judge from the quality of its wines; colleagues and wine critics from all over the world admit as much.”
ALL the Gaja wines that we have available in the store:
2024 Gaja Rossj-Bass Langhe
Price: $129.00 Your Price: $116.10
WINE Named after Rossana, younger daughter of Angelo Gaja, whose nickname is Rossj, and the site of one of the vineyards used to make this wine, positioned in the lower part of a hill (low in italian is “basso”).
Rossj-Bass is produced from three separated vineyards in the Langhe district: two of them, Rossj and Bass – and both were planted in 1984, are located in area surrounding the village of Treiso. Rossj-Bass includes also Chardonnay grapes from a vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba.
The 2023 Rossj-bass presents a powerful burst of tropical fruit and citrus flavors. The concentrated flavors reveal layers of mango, mandarin, cedar, and a slight hint of spice, floral notes, anise, and vanilla. The structure is solid, delivering elegance through its woven acidity. The finish is wellbalanced, leaving a lasting impression of sweet citrus. -wilsondaniels,com
2023 Gaja Alteni Di Brassica Sauvignon Blanc Langhe
Price: $219.00 Your Price: $197.10
The name originates from Alteni, small stone walls that once surrounded the plots of land, and the word Brassica, yellow flowers growing in the vineyards in spring.
The first vineyard of Alteni Di Brassica was planted in 1983 in the heart of Barbaresco (Masuè). The other vineyards are in Serralunga d’Alba (Vivaldo 3 and Colombaio) and in Trezzo (Serra Pini, Boscasso, and Cascina Langa).
TASTING NOTES: Very fresh, with notes of lemon, lime, and lychee, accompanied by fresh vegetal aromas. A rich bouquet of aromatic herbs ranges from thyme to mint, from lemonscented sage to rosemary. It presents aromas of pear jam, fruit mustard, and a spicy hint of kumquat. On the palate, it is very fresh and lively, with a light final reduction and a lovely savoriness. Its taut acidic structure contributes to defining the character of the wine, all focused on savoriness.
2016 Gaja Sito Moresco Langhe
Price: $85.00 Sale Price: $69.00 Quantity in Stock: 7
2019 Gaja Sito Moresco
Price: $85.50 Your Price: $76.95 Quantity in Stock: 1
Angelo Gaja is known for producing elegant, opulent wines that are true to their origins. He is a pioneer in the production of single-vineyard wines in Piedmont. Several estate-owned vineyards provide the grapes for Sito Moresco, among which is the twenty-five-acre Sito Moresco vineyard in Barbaresco. The name means "Moresco's site" and refers to the former owner of this vineyard Sito Moresco combines complexity and longevity with refinement and accessibility. Ruby red in color, this wine offers a pure nose with aromas of small fruits. On the palate, it is elegant and balanced with fine tannins and a fresh finish.
2021 Gaja Sito Maresco Magnum
Price: $193.50 Your Price: $164.48
2022 Gaja Sito Moresco Rosso Langhe
Price: $84.00 Your Price: $71.40
2023 Gaja Sito Moresco Rosso Langhe
Price: $85.50 Your Price: $72.68
2022 GAJA BARBARESCO MAGNUM
Price: $1042.50 Your Price: $938.25
2022 Gaja Barbaresco DOCG
Price: $408.00 Your Price: $367.20
(95 Points) Showing that Gaja Midas Touch, the 2022 Barbaresco is a seamless wine with a long, polished mouthfeel. This vintage saw 10% whole-cluster fruit. That fermentation method started on an experimental level in 2021, but it's giving encouraging results, Giovanni Gaja tells me, because it reinforces impressions of freshness, especially in the hot years. This Barbaresceo shows Nebbiolo purity, while remaining chiseled and elegant all the while. The bouquet peels off to reveal pretty layers of crushed rose, stone and plump fruit. The tannins are beautifully balanced. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2021 Gaja Barbaresco 3 Liter
Price: $2208.00 Your Price: $1987.20
(96 Points) This was an epic vintage, and the entire Gaja family is ready to sing its praises. The 2021 Barbaresco sets the tone with sweet cherry flavors framed by spice, earthy notes and elegantly sweet tannins. Giovanni Gaja says the 2021 growing season had two phases: the first six months of the year saw rain and cool temperatures with some frost and soggy conditions until May; however, from June forward, the season saw sunny days without excessive heat spikes. In line with the character of the vintage, this wine shows succulent fruit that is balanced and not too ripe. There is depth and volume here. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2022 Gaja Costa Russi Barbaresco
Price: $900.00 Your Price: $810.00
(97 Points) The 2022 Barbaresco Costa Russi has a very even and well-integrated character. Pouring a bright red color, it’s layered with spice and fruit on the nose, revealing aromas of wild raspberries, sweet spices, hints of clove, incense, pressed flowers, and leather. Medium-bodied, it offers plushness with a seamless texture, good richness without weight, and a long finish. Drink 2026-2056. (AF) Jeb Dunnuck, Review Date: 05/2025
2020 Gaja Costa Russi
Price: $900.00 Your Price: $810.00
(95 Points) The Gaja 2020 Barbaresco Costa Russi has a rose and floral note that emerges at first, and it doesn't have the heavy dark earth or cured leather aromas that we get in the Barbaresco. This wine is focused on fruit tones, bright ones, and those nuances are juicy, generous and long. There's more youth in this wine, and the tannins are extremely fine and silky. Count on this wine to improve with age. The Wine Advocate Reviewed by: Monica Larner
2022 Gaja Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo
Price: $1125.00 Your Price: $956.25
(97 Points) The 2022 Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo is more contemplative of a wine, with aromas of deeper spice and an earthier component compared to the Tildin, but as it opens, it takes on pure notes of cherry liqueur, preserved orange, and forest earth. The palate is elegant but with a velvety texture upfront, even freshness, with a deeper richness to its texture. Long on the palate, with a long finish, it’s built for the long haul and is likely going score even higher in the future. (AU) Jeb Dunnuck, Review Date: 05/2025
2022 Gaja Sori Tildin Langhe-Barbaresco Piedmont, Italy
Price: $975.00 Your Price: $828.75
(98 Points) The 2022 Barbaresco Sori Tildin exhibits fresh aromas of black raspberries, orange peel, anise, and toasted spices. It has a more immediate feel initially, but there is lovely structure and a layered complexity that unfolds in the glass to back this up. A step up on the palate, I love this where this is now. It has fantastic detail, with ripe tannins and a long finish. It’s a true pleasure all around and offered a more complete feel at this tasting. Drink 2026-2056. (AF) Jeb Dunnuck, Review Date: 05/2025
2020 Gaja Sori Tildin Langhe-Barbaresco
Price: $1065.00 Your Price: $905.25
(97 Points) First produced in 1970, the 50th vintage of Sori Tildin shows the grace and magic of this vineyard alongside the dedication of the Gaja family to sheer excellence. Savory aromas and dark-skinned fruits define the nose of the wine with hints of warmed spices, dried orange peel and iron as the wine develops in the glass. A wine that is exact and focused with vibrant plum flavors at the center with notes of forest floor, anise and dried rose. Fine elegant tannins provide a foundation that will carry this wine well into the future. Drink 2026–2050. Wine Enthusiast
2022 Gaja Dagromis Barolo DOCG
Price: $145.50 Your Price: $130.95
The nose shows deep wet earth, warm spice, sandalwood, juniper, red fruit, and subtle savory, sanguine notes. Powerful and concentrated on the palate, it is balanced by bright savory acidity and dense yet polished tannins, finishing fresh with a hint of blood orange.
Blend: 100% Nebbiolo
2021 Gaja Dagromis Barolo Magnum
Price: $346.50 Your Price: $311.85
This wine opens with balsamic aromas, where the fruit prevails and fills the nose with its vibrant presence. One can perceive wild, ripe, and freshly picked fruit, with notes of plum blending into a bouquet of red and balsamic flowers, including rose, broom, and sweet licorice. The tannins are soft and juicy, providing a sensation of roundness and length on the palate. The structure is remarkable, rich, and full, and the wine has a good balance. It concludes with an elegant aftertaste of violet and a long, persistent finish.
2021 Gaja Barolo Conteisa
Price: $675.00 Your Price: $607.50
(99 Points) "The bright red 2021 Barolo Conteisa is highly expressive and ramps up the volume on the nose. It makes a statement with its aromas of wild spice, redcurrants, cherries, ripe tannins, and intense ripe orange fruit. It has a lot of clarity but offers dramatic intensity and completeness, with mouthwatering acidity, angular tannins, and a fantastically long finish. Flirting with perfection, this is an exceptional wine all around to return to over the coming decades…" Jeb Dunnuck
2022 Gaja Conteisa Barolo DOCG MAGNUM
Price: $1582.50 Your Price: $1424.25
(96 Points) The Gaja 2022 Barolo Conteisa opens to generous aromas of bright cherry and ripe red fruit that immediately signal the warmth of the vintage. Sourced from the Cerequio MGA, where the vines are now protected by overhead netting, the wine is broad and richly textured, with earthy undertones, sweet spice and ripe fruit layered over a classically structured palate. Chalky tannins and bright acidity provide plenty of support, although the wine remains noticeably more austere and tightly wound. The 2022 also carries a touch of youthful reduction on the finish. In personality, it recalls concentrated vintages such as 2000, 2005 and 2006, and I would expect its drinking window to begin later than is standard for this wine. The Wine Advocate Reviewed by: Monica Larner
2021 Gaja Barolo Sperss
Price: $725.00 Your Price: $652.50
(98 Points) With fruit from Serralunga d'Alba, the Gaja 2021 Barolo Sperss is marked by a distinctive ferrous note of rusty nail or soft earth that frames a core of dark fruit. The wine is exceptionally balanced and beautiful with depth and a high level of fruit purity. Unlike the Conteisa, which ends with a sweeter floral note, this wine is decidedly salty and stony on the finish, giving it a harder edge in terms of structure. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2020 Gaja Sperss Barolo Magnum
Price: $1732.50 Your Price: $1559.25
(98 Points) The 2020 Barolo Sperss is a bright red color and reveals an incredibly floral profile of rose petals and ripe strawberries. Aromatically light on its feet, with a joyous feel, on the palate the structure is more focused and compact, with mineral undertones that weave through with more a defined nature. It needs more time, but this is a fantastic red to drink over the coming 30 years. Jeb Dunnuck
2001 Gaja Sperss Langhe
Price: $736.00 Sale Price: $625.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
(95 Points) The 2001 Sperss is the alter ego to the Conteisa. It is a decidedly powerful, virile wine with plenty of Serralunga muscle in its powerful, brooding personality. Tobacco, mint, crushed flowers, licorice and leather are some of the notes that add complexity and depth to the dark fruit. Layers of flavor build to the explosive finish. Readers will have to be patient with the Sperss. All it needs is time. (AG) Review Date: 04/2012 Wine Advocate
2019 Gaja Darmagi Cabernet Langhe
Price: $452.25 Your Price: $407.03 Quantity in Stock: 1
First Cabernet Sauvignon post-phylloxera planted in Piedmont, Darmagi is a single vineyard situated in the municipality of Barbaresco. It was Giovanni Gaja, Angelo’s father, who involuntarily named this wine, because when Cabernet Sauvignon was planted instead of Nebbiolo, his first comment in Piedmontese dialect was Darmagi! (What a pity!).
Vineyard Profile: Planted in 1978, Darmagi is Angelo Gaja’s tribute to the prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon variety, with a clear expression of the Langhe.
Tasting Notes: Intense cassis and blueberries on the nose with hints of forest notes, such as tree bark, a trace of iodine rounded by sweet wood aromas. Soft tannins with nice acidity. In the mouth, it is smooth and velvety, elegant.
Giuseppe Rinaldi
Wine Spectator Posted: September 4, 2018
By: Bruce Sanderson
Giuseppe "Beppe" Rinaldi, proprietor of the Giuseppe Rinaldi estate in the Italian wine appellation of Barolo, died September 2nd after recently being diagnosed with bladder cancer.
He was 69.
"Beppe Rinaldi was a special person, low-keyed, very knowledgeable about the history of the Barolo area and a staunch traditionalist, just like his father and grandfather," said Dominic Nocerino of Vinifera Imports, Rinaldi's New York importer, who began working with the estate in 1980.
Rinaldi, a veterinarian by profession, took the reins of his family's winery three decades ago after the death of his father, Battista. The Rinaldi family had first started selling grapes in the late 1800s; Rinaldi's grandfather, also Giuseppe, began bottling and selling wines in the 1920s. Despite the changes occurring in the Barolo region in the 1980s and '90s, Rinaldi continued to make wines much like his father and grandfather had, blending crus to find a balance. He produced two cuvées, each a blend of vineyards, fermented in wooden vats and aged in large, neutral-oak barrels: Brunate-Le Coste and Cannubi San Lorenzo–Ravera.
When labeling laws changed with the release of the 2010 vintage, Rinaldi blended three of the vineyards, calling the wine Tre Tine, or "Three Casks," and bottled the Brunate separately. Known for their youthful austerity and ageability, Rinaldi's Barolos were pure and complex. Beppe's other nickname was “Citrico,” or “the acidic one,” for his directness and acerbic wit.
Rinaldi was joined in the Winery by his eldest daughter, Marta, an enologist, in 2008, and younger daughter, Carlotta, an agronomist, in 2012.
“The winery is in good hands with his children," Nocerino told Wine Spectator. "Beppe will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on in the wine world."
In addition to his daughters, Rinaldi is survived by his wife, Annalisa.
2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Price: $700.00 Your Price: $630.00 Quantity in Stock: 7
(95 points) "The 2020 Barolo Brunate is stellar. I especially admire its mix of soaring intensity and energy, and yet the wine also remains light on its feet. Ethereal, nuanced and classy, the Brunate is a super-classic Barolo with the refinement of the present day. Dark fruit, spice, leather, menthol and licorice build into the potent, substantial finish, with notes of minerals and blood orange that linger. Drink: 2028-2045. (Jan 2024)" Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Price: $681.25 Your Price: $613.13 Quantity in Stock: 12
(95 points) "Lifted aromatically, with impeccably polished tannins and fine balance, the 2020 Barolo Tre Tine is super-impressive. In its first vintages, the Tre Tine was pretty imposing and linear from a tannin perspective, but the 2020 stands out for its exquisiteness and balance. Like most wines in this vintage, it is on the lighter side, but that is in no way a bad thing. Drink: 2025-2040. (Jan 2024)" Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
2019 GIUSEPPE RINALDI BAROLO BRUNATE MAGNUM
Price: $1350.00 Your Price: $1215.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
(100 points) “The 2019 vintage is the first Brunate fully tended by Carlotta and Marta, following their father, Beppe Rinaldi's death. Typically blended with 15% of the Le Coste MGA for an acid drive, its southern exposure seems to be beneficial in this austere vintage. Fermented in oak vessels with natural yeast and aged for 36 months, the nose is a smorgasbord of details from liquorice and earth to pot pourri and mint leaf. There's a fresh pomegranate and red cherry core, and a finish of rhubarb and orange peel. The elegance of the tannins is great – velvety and dense – with refreshing acidity and polite alcohol. This Brunate has gorgeous balance between grace and power that will keep it going for decades. The best 2019 tasted. It will be officially presented in April. (AF)” (2/2023) Decanter
2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Bussia, Barolo DOCG, Italy
Price: $650.00 Your Price: $585.00 Quantity in Stock: 15
(97 points) "The 2019 Barolo Bussia, a new wine in this range, is fabulous. It is also a very serious, almost somber Barolo endowed with huge fruit and equally imposing tannins. Sage, mint, dried herbs, crushed leaves and spice lend compelling aromatic intensity to this deep, layered Barolo. Exotic hints of orange peel, spice and sweet dried cherry linger on the explosive, soaring finish. What I love most about the Bussia is its complexity. Each taste reveals a new shade of its glorious dimension as the 2019 builds into its seriously long, resonant finish. This is a tremendous debut from sisters Marta and Carlotta Rinaldi. Drink: 2029-2059. (Jan 2023)" Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi 'Tre Tine', Barolo DOCG, Italy Magnum
Price: $1300.00 Your Price: $1170.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi 'Tre Tine', Barolo DOCG, Italy
Price: $687.50 Your Price: $618.75 Quantity in Stock: 21
(95 Points) Tre Tine is Rinaldi's blend of Ravera (60%), Le Coste (20%) and Cannubi San Lorenzo (20%), confirmed on the cork. Harvest began in the middle of October with the southern expositions such as Cannubi and Le Coste, and ended with Ravera, a late-ripening southeast-facing site close to the forest. ‘In 2019 we had cool nights and the grapes were properly ripe,’ said Carlotta Rinaldi. Sweet violet dominates the nose, allied to restrained blood orange, wild strawberry and a whiff of funkiness; volatile acidity here is slightly received. The attack is refreshing, with juicy, velvety tannins leading to an elegant finish. Decanter
2018 GIUSEPPE Rinaldi Brunate Barolo
Price: $750.00 Your Price: $675.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
(95 Points) Rinaldi's 2018 Barolo Brunate is one of the more satisfying wines of the vintage. Austere, medium in body and classic in feel, with that extra bit of textural resonance that is such a Brunate signature, the 2018 has real potential. Dark cherry, melted road tar, tobacco, spice, menthol, sage and licorice all build in the glass. The 2018 is going to need a few years to soften and start hitting its stride, but all the ingredients are there. It's a powerhouse, that much is certain. Vinous
2018 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine Magnum
Price: $1025.00 Your Price: $922.50 Quantity in Stock: 5
2018 GIUSEPPE Rinaldi Tre Tine Barolo Piedmont
Price: $725.00 Your Price: $652.50 Quantity in Stock: 11
(94 points) The Giuseppe Rinaldi 2017 Barolo Tre Tine was bottled in September 2020, and Carlotta Rinaldi tells me that the wine has gone through various moments of openness and shyness since then. The wine was a little closed when I tasted it this past summer, but its evolution is far from over. As you contemplate the bouquet, you sense lots of fruit, yet there is no excessive ripeness like you might expect from this hot and dry vintage. It shows elegant fruit weight, streamlined and silky, with dried violet, spice and rusty nail. It carries a medium texture that is elongated by the wine's integrated tannins and acidity. Tre Tine is a blend of fruit from Ravera, Le Coste and Cannubi San Lorenzo, and these latter two vineyards were harvested especially early in this vintage, starting on September 13, 2017, which is unusual for Nebbiolo. - Monica Larner Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, September 2021
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine Magnum
Price: $1325.00 Your Price: $1192.50 Quantity in Stock: 6
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Price: $699.00 Your Price: $629.10 Quantity in Stock: 2
(95 Points) The 2017 Barolo Tre Tine is fabulous. A wine that marries classicism with the racy personality of the year, the 2017 hits all the right buttons. It's a wine that satisfies all the senses, with more than enough to please both the hedonistic and intellectual senses. Everything about the 2017 is spot on. Bright red berry fruit, rose petal, mint, lavender and spice build into the delineated, salivating finish. As always, the Tre Tine is a bit more linear than the Brunate. In 2017, it is one of the wines of the vintage. Don't miss it! Galloni
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate 3 Liter
Price: $2550.00 Your Price: $2295.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Magnum
Price: $1325.00 Your Price: $1192.50 Quantity in Stock: 6
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Price: $700.00 Your Price: $630.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
(95 Points) The 2017 Barolo Brunate is a dark, powerful wine. A huge swath of tannins gives the Brunate its feeling of gravitas. Readers will have to be patient with the 2017, as it is going to need a number of years to come together. Dark cherry fruit, lavender, sage, licorice, spice and earthy notes build into a crescendo of aromas and flavors that is just captivating. The 2017 finishes with tremendous substance and intensity, both of which bode so well for the future. Galloni
2015 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Price: $695.00 Your Price: $625.50 Quantity in Stock: 24
(95 Point) This wine celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2016. Representing its 99th birthday, the 2015 Barolo Tre Tine is a blend of fruit from Ravera (60%), Le Coste (20%) and Cannubi San Lorenzo (20%). These sites encountered some challenges with hail in the 2014 vintage that resulted in a 30% loss of fruit. The Rinaldi family saw hail in the Brunate and Cerequio area in 2016. But the 2015 vintage saw smooth sailing and what winemaker Marta Rinaldi calls "a return to normalcy." She says fermentations proceeded beautifully and without any holdups. This Barolo opens to a medium-dark garnet color with bright fruit tones followed by licorice, tar and delicate balsam herb. The wine offers a degree of softness that comes through in the quality of the tannins and the texture of the mouthfeel. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Monica Larner 06282019
2005 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste
Price: $700.00 Your Price: $630.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
The 2005 Barolo Brunate/Le Coste presents a darker shade of red fruit along with a more muscular, dense personality. This too is a relatively soft style for Rinaldi, and while some of the complexity of the finest vintages appears to be lacking, the wine nevertheless offers compelling balance and harmony. 92 pts Galloni
2005 Giuseppe Rinaldi Cannubi S. Lorenzo Ravera Barolo
Price: $737.50 Your Price: $663.75 Quantity in Stock: 8
Beppe Rinaldi is a revered traditionalist, following the techniques Battista and Giuseppe had employed in the early and mid 1900's. Wines are macerated on their skins for a long time, and aging takes place large botti. The results are powerful, deep Barolos that are met with the precision and aromatics that make them incomparable. They offer wild spices, gamey notes, and of course Nebbiolo's tell-tale tar and roses.
Essentially two Barolos were made, the Brunate-Le Coste and the Cannubi (San Lorenzo)-Ravera. Laws recently changed and now multiple crus aren't permitted on labels. Starting in 2010 the Brunate-Le Coste was bottled with a higher 85% Brunate and just 15% Le Coste (the maximum legal addition). The Cannubi (San Lorenzo)-Ravera began to implement wine from Le Coste and the new name for the bottling is "Tre Tine" (three vats).
2003 Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate Le Coste Barolo
Price: $575.00 Your Price: $517.50 Quantity in Stock: 14
(92 Points) Rinaldi’s 2003 Barolo Brunate/Le Coste is deeply flavored and intense, with more than enough fruit to balance its tannic structure. The characteristic balsamic notes that are typical of this wine literally jump out of the glass. This seriously long and powerful Barolo is also remarkably accessible and is a great introduction to one of Piedmont’s great wines. When tasted separately the different qualities of the two vineyards are striking. Brunate provides the muscle and complexity, while Le Coste gives the wine a measure of softness. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019
Bruno Giacosa
A profound passion for Piemontese wine handed down for three generations…Bruno Giacosa, a man of few words but eloquent talent, practices an extremely simple philosophy based on the respect of traditions both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Giacosa brings out a richness of flavor and an intensity of character to produce wines of meditation. In addition to Bartolo Mascarello, Giacomo Conterno, and Aldo Conterno the Giacosa estate is the most respected producer of traditional style Barolo.
Giacosa is not an enologist, which surprises most people. He learned by working with his father and grandfather and became fascinated by what could be created from the grape. Bruno feels that wines were better in the past, when there was less sophistication and treatment made to both grapes and wine, less handling. The yields were smaller as well. In the old days, he points out, things were done more simply and with more care. Until recently Giacosa owned no vineyards; he bought all the grapes he required, selecting, as he still does, from some of the area’s best sites. In 1982, he bought the Falletto vineyard in Serralunga. Giacosa firmly believes in the value of single-vineyard bottlings. Crus are only bottled in the better vintages, and if a wine does not attain a very high standard, he either declassifies it, selling the wine as a simple nebbiolo, or he does not bottle it at all. That said, the high hill country positioning—400 metres above sea level—the propitious south/southwest sun exposure, and the peculiar microclimate of the amphitheatre-like vineyards assure a remarkable location for vines. Given the combination of all of these elements, Bruno Giacosa understandably produces an extensive range of high-profile bottles.
Legendary Piedmont wine producer Bruno Giacosa died on 21 January 2018 in Alba, Italy, aged 88, surrounded by his daughters Bruna and Marina
2023 Bruno Giacosa Asili Barbaresco
Price: $349.50 Your Price: $314.55
Red garnet colour of good intensity. On the nose you can perceive delicate aromas of ripe red fruit; In the mouth it has a good balance and a good tannic texture. The tannins are present but sweet and silky, good persistence and excellent nose-mouth correspondence.
2022 Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Asili Barbaresco DOCG, Italy
Price: $307.50 Your Price: $276.75
(95 Points) This elegant wine shows the finely tuned and nuanced essence of Asili with its fine soils. It opens to a bright ruby color and delivers chalky tannins that retain their tension and grippy feel. On the close, you get hints of violets and blue flower. This is a very terroir-driven wine, but it needs more time in bottle to fully express itself. There will be a red label, or Riserva, made in 2020 to be released later this year (that I have reviewed here). A 2021 Riserva will be released in 2026. If Bruna Giacosa (daughter of the late Bruno Giacosa) makes a red label, the white label is not produced. Wine Advocate
2022 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Piedmont Italy
Price: $445.50 Your Price: $400.95
Intense ruby red colour. The nose is dominated by notes of small red fruit, flowers and light spicy notes. On the mouth, an excellent structure accompanied by good freshness. Very good tannic balance.
2021 Bruno Giacosa Barolo
Price: $283.50 Your Price: $255.15
Ruby red color with light garnet reflections. Fine aroma, with intense notes of fresh red fruit. In the mouth it has a good freshness and a good tannic texture which gives a good persistence to the wine.
2022 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Rocche del Falletto Riserva Magnum
Price: $1096.50 Your Price: $986.85
2022 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Rocche Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba
Price: $549.00 Your Price: $494.10
(97 Points) The 2022 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche pours a ruby red color and is still somewhat reserved aromatically. With air, it begins to reveal salted licorice, cherry cordial, pressed roses, orange rind, and gravelly earth. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied yet expansive, saturating without heaviness and carrying impressive length. This is structured but already shows clarity of site and intent. Jeb Dunnuck
2022 Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Rabaja Barbaresco DOCG, Italy
Price: $483.00 Your Price: $434.70
(97 points) "The Bruno Giacosa 2021 Barbaresco Rabajà comes in a bottle with a white label. Bruna Giacosa explains that although she came close to making a Riserva (or red label) in 2017, Rabajà is usually presented in a white label. Rabajà has more backbone and a greater sense of richness and density. The Asili site is characterized by sandy soils, resulting in elegant and finessed wines. Even though Asili is right next door to Rabajà, the soil composition is completely different. Here, you get darker fruit tones with a very pretty mineral or salty signature. This is a beautiful vintage, one that excels in focus and clarity of fruit. I really love this expression of Rabajà, but you are best off giving it more bottle time to evolve." Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, January 2025
2021 Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Barolo DOCG Piedmont, Italy
Price: $482.00 Your Price: $433.80
(97 Points) You feel the signature of an elegant vintage in the superbly direct and focused Bruno Giacosa 2021 Barolo Falletto. This beautiful wine offers bright berry fruit, blue flower and crushed stone. This is a complete wine, with aromatic intensity that is matched to the depth of mouthfeel and structure. We can expect a red label Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche from the 2020 vintage to be released in 2026 and a 2021 edition to be released in 2027. That will certainly be something to look forward to. The Riserva was previously made in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. Vinous
2021 BRUNO GIACOSA BAROLO FALLETTO MAGNUM
Price: $801.00 Your Price: $720.90
2021 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto
Price: $400.50 Your Price: $360.45
(97 Points) Supple in texture and loaded with finesse, the Barolo exudes flavors of raspberry, cherry, rose, iron, tar and spices, with a hint of licorice. The dense, fine grained tannins emerge as this winds down on the long, languid aftertaste. Vibrant and complex.
2020 BRUNO GIACOSA Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva Magnum (1.5L)
Price: $2115.00 Your Price: $1903.50
Purchased in 1980, the Falletto estate is comprised of 13 hectares (32 acres) in the commune of Serralunga d’Alba. Considered by Bruno Giacosa as the best area for producing elegant and long-lived Barolos, the Falletto vineyard is southwest facing on steep slopes of calcareaous clay soils in an amphitheater shape. The estate features a single plot known as Vigna Le Rocche, which contains the oldest vines and produces wines that are vinified and bottled separately from the rest of the estate. The Falletto wines are austere, elegant and complex on the nose, with excellent structure and suave tannins.
2020 Giacosa Barbaresco Asili Riserva Red Label 3 Liter
Price: $3150.00 Your Price: $2835.00
2020 Bruno Giacosa Asili Riserva Barbaresco Magnum
Price: $1550.00 Your Price: $1395.00
2020 Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Asili Riserva Barbaresco DOCG, Italy
Price: $775.50 Your Price: $697.95
(97 Points) The 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Asili was aged for 20 months in barrel followed by two years in bottle. In this vintage (as in 2021), the weather conditions and the maturity of the grapes were evident in the vineyard, indicating that they would produce the red label Riserva bottling this year. (In other vintages, that decision has been made in the cellar.) In the glass, the wine displays a medium red transparent hue and offers fantastic layers of incense, Asian spices, fresh currants, and raspberries. The palate is elegant and refined, with a long, graceful feel. It’s very long on the palate, with a balanced, fruity feel, and its perfume lasts on the finish, featuring notes of apricot perfume. It's gorgeous already, but I would stash this away and check back in a few years. It’s deceptively approachable now but has the structure to age over the coming decades. This vintage reminds Bruna Giacosa of 2000, a vintage marked with similar elegance. Jeb Dunnuck
2020 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Magnum (1.5L)
Price: $732.00 Your Price: $658.80
2020 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto
Price: $366.00 Your Price: $329.40
(94 Points) Strawberry, cherry, rose, eucalyptus and stony mineral flavors are framed by dense, fine-grained tannins in this graceful, firmly structured red. Elegant and very Burgundy in profile, with a vibrant character and excellent length. Best from 2028 through 2046. Wine Spectator
2020 Bruno Giacosa Barolo DOCG
Price: $282.00 Your Price: $253.80
Tasting notes: Red garnet in color. Intense and fine aromas of fresh red fruit. The palate presents good freshness, excellent structure and fine, velvety tannins.
2019 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Magnum
Price: $655.00 Your Price: $589.50 Quantity in Stock: 2
2019 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Rocche Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba
Price: $328.00 Your Price: $295.20
(96 Points) With the white label, the 2019 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche is a generous and expansive wine that hits the palate from all sides. It offers lingering sensations of sweet fruit with a good amount of intensity and muscle power pushing from behind. That forward momentum is fueled by dark fruit, rusty earth, wet clay and blood orange. It shows elegance, substance and finely tuned tones with considerable tension and tightness. This is another bottle to rest at the back of your cellar. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2018 Bruno Giacosa Barolo DOCG
Price: $255.00 Your Price: $229.50 Quantity in Stock: 4
(98 Points) The 2018 Bruno Giacosa Barolo is very rich and hedonistic, with ripe strawberries and rose hip and notes of incense, lilies and violets. It is a lovely nose, persistent, intense and enticing and on the palate it is like falling into a soft velvety bed of rose petals. It already has such beautiful harmony and poise. It has a lush, sensual texture of crushed velvet, and is full-bodied without feeling heavy. There are plenty of dense, savory tannins extending the very long finish, creating a combination of seductive charm and power. This is something special, a great achievement in this vintage. Wait 2-3 years at least but I would not want to miss that young fragrance. Drink: 2025-2052 The Wine Independent
2017 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili Magnum
Price: $482.50 Your Price: $434.25 Quantity in Stock: 1
Winemaker Notes: Intense garnet red color. Notes of raspberry, blackcurrant and wild strawberry are found on the nose. On the palate, good structure is matched with freshness of fruit and fine tannins.
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