A Comparison Tasting of 1989 & 1990 Barolo
presented by The Rare Wine Co.at Caffe Sociale Restaurant
Tasted March 11, 2006
The Rare Wine Co. of Sonoma, CA put on this tasting of six top Barolo producers.
They poured the same wines from these producers from both the
1989 and 1990 vintages (some of which aren't available anywhere).
The quality and condition of these wines was top-notch.
My general conclusion was that the 1990s are much more ready-to-drink now
compared to the 1989s, and would be a much better choice to order in a restaurant.
However it also seemed clear that 1989 is the superior vintage and that it has not
reached its prime. Will it take 8, 16 or more years for the 1989s to reach their peak?
The wines were served in three flights of four wines, in order listed.
Wines were decanted for more than an hour before the tasting began.
1990 |
Clerico | Barolo | Ciabot Mentin Ginestra | A bit tight. Very approachable now. Hardest to judge right now. | 3-4? |
1989 |
Clerico | Barolo | Ciabot Mentin Ginestra | More fruit. Bigger. More acids. More complex. I really like this wine! I'd wait 5-6 years before drinking one. | 6-8 |
1990 |
Francesco Rinaldi | Barolo | Cannubbio | "Giuseppe’s Mascarello’s cousin." Acids quite forward. Might need 10 or 25 more years to reach its prime. Quite appealing but must have food now. | 2-4 |
1989 |
Francesco Rinaldi | Barolo | Cannubbio | Softest, most elegant of the Rinaldi & Clerico. Serious acids. Perhaps too much acid on the finish. Great now and in 20 years. | 3-6 |
1990 |
Giuseppe Mascarello | Barolo | Monprivato | Best nose so far. Sweetest of the first 8 tasted. Will greatly appeal to most. Just not very complex and lacks acidity for longer aging. | 3 |
1989 |
Giuseppe Mascarello | Barolo | Monprivato | Still quite young. Good complexity. Very integrated acids. Long finish. A great wine! | 5-6 |
1990 |
Aldo Conterno | Barolo | Bussia Soprana | Sweet appealing nose. Great now! No need to age further. Great overall balance. | 6-8 |
1989 |
Aldo Conterno | Barolo | Bussia Soprana | Needs at least 8-15 years to be in its prime. A great wine. Long finish. | 9-12 |
1990 |
Giacomo Conterno | Barolo | Cascina Francia | Wow! Very harmonius. Still needs time. | 12? |
1989 |
Giacomo Conterno | Barolo | Cascina Francia | "Really rare." Acids on finish,but not unpleasant. Strange forest floor nose. | 4-6+ |
1990 |
Bruno Giacosa | Barolo | Faletto Riserva | Something very appealing here. Seductive! Elegant. Very well-made and balanced. Long finish. | 9 |
1989 |
Bruno Giacosa | Barolo | Faletto Riserva | Still a bit closed. This wine has great promise. Try again in 4-8 years. Might age forever. | 6-12+ |
A bonus:
1997 |
Giuseppe Mascarello | Barolo | Ca’ d’Morissio Riserva | Pineapple liquer nose. Most interesting nose of the tasting. Dense. Will sort itself out and be fantastic. | 6-8+ |
Afterwards, we had these five wines,
accompanied by quite an enjoyable dinner at Caffe Sociale –
(the 1958 and 1971 were brought by and generously shared by Manny Berk)
| 1996 | Ca’del Bosco | Franciacorta | Dosage Zero | A really great wine. So balanced and great acids. | 6+ |
| 1999 | Gravner | Venezia Giulia IGT | Ribolla Gialla | An amazing nose and color. Almost orange in color. | 6++ |
| 1958 | Antonio Vallana | Spanna | Montalbano | Still young. Great wine! |
6-12 |
| 1971 | Poderi Colla | Langhe | Bricco del Drago | Very dry. Good acids, balance. | 3+ |
| 1995 | Castello Di Nieve | Barbaresco | Santo Stefano | Great acids and balance. Really great! | 6-9 |
The right-most column is my rating – on a scale from 0 to (whatever) number of bottles I would like in my cellar. (For those with less than a 3 bottle score, I will not go out of my way to seek out.)
