Glenn R.
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Rated
on May 26, 2009
When Barolo is on, it may be my favorite wine. No other wine--not even Burgundy--can match its combination of richness, complexity and power with that ethereal, "light on its feet" quality that makes the wine feel weightless in the mouth, while marrying beautifully with food.
Sadly, for me, Ceretto's wines were never that wine, at least through most of the 80's and 90's. Too often thin, overly austere, and sometimes even slightly oxidized on release (!), they seldom merited their fame (or price!). But oh, that '96 Brunate.................
Though still very young, it has hit the first phase of maturity, when the tannins have begun to meld in, but there is still fruit from the bouquet thru the finish.
To smell this wine is to be put into such a stuper of pleasure and contentment that everything seems to stop--I (almost) didn't even need to drink it! I guess that's what the Italians mean by "Vino da Meditazione." At first, the bouquet reveals aromas of wild red berries, rose petals, and tar, but with air, hints of white truffles, mint, camphor, and almond nougat come through. On the palate (yes, I did finally succomb), a medium bodied entry of red berries, almond, truffles and mint showed none of the thin, sinewy, austere qualities of many Ceretto wines of the past. Just wave after wave of new flavors with every sip, and a laser sharp finish that lingered on and on.
So complex and complete a food was this wine, that it needed nothing else. Fortunately, our host paired it with a delicious grilled Tuna steak, served almost rare. The smoky, charry herbal flavors of the fish were perfect with the wine (like Pinot Noir and Salmon, Nebbiolo and grilled fleshy fish is a match made in heaven.).
It is impossible, if not just plain wrong, to assign a number to a wine like this, so I'll
steal a phrase from Steven Tanzer (used while describing another 1996), "the full Barolo experience, in 3D and technicolor!" WOW.
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