WTN: Austerely aged but elegant Barbaresco

Barbaresco Montestefano 1990 - Prunotto - Alc. 13.5%

This bottle nearly got poured down the sink because, on extraction, the cork stank of mushrooms. Luckily I sniffed and sipped the wine as well and it turned out to be free of taint; significantly the more TCA sensitive Germaine agreed. Very odd.

C: Quite deep rusty red with amber rim.
N: Quite subdued but marked by minty violet.
P: Not a wine for those who insist on primary fruit. Quite full bodied with a dark character and flavours almost entirely floral and mineral notably with touches of violet, rose and tar; the finish was marked by a gentle bitterness. This may not sound very attractive but somehow the wine contrived to be austerely elegant and a good complement for lamb; 16/20++.

Tim
Ta for this.
I've certainly detected mushroom aromas in Nebbiolos that I've still considered 'alive' and hence wasn't too put off or surprised by your note. Ditto the lack of primary fruit - not something that drives my taste in Nebbiolo. Sometimes the touch of bitterness you detected can be an indicator of mild TCA taint, but then it's difficult to be sure, especially with some Italian wines (more so Sangiovese) where a touch of bitterness is both varietal and appreciated. That said, I'm pretty poor at picking TCA (or incredibly lucky!), so I'm not the best person to offer an opinion

Did the wine change over time at all? Sometimes they just seem to need a bit of gentle air and coaxing to come out of their shell - These days I tend not to decant mature Nebbiolos, but take plenty of time over drinking them, partly to see what changes come about, but mostly as I enjoy savouring them!

regards

Ian

thanks for notes. Never had this, but have the '89, planning on opening soon

Tim


Did the wine change over time at all? Sometimes they just seem to need a bit of gentle air and coaxing to come out of their shell - These days I tend not to decant mature Nebbiolos, but take plenty of time over drinking them, partly to see what changes come about, but mostly as I enjoy savouring them!

regards

Ian

Ian, I didn't decant but the wine did get more expressive over the course of dinner. Germaine didn't like it on first sip before eating (the bitter finish) but was won over after a mouthful of lamb and increasingly as the evening progressed. I have just sniffed the neck of the bottle some days after opening and it still exhales subdued floral and minty aromas (and not a trace of TCA).

Thanks Tim.