Richard Neidich wrote:
1999 Pio Cesare Barolo...

I have never really enjoyed a Barolo. I had one a few years ago that was a
Gambero Rosso 3 glass winner I cannot remember the name. It was so harsh,
tannic and green I could not drink.

This one was at Costco and I checked ratings Tanzer and Parker liked. Does
anyone nere know this wine.

Also, does Barolo have characteristics you can compare to Burgundy or
Cabernet more? If there a way to compare as the grape is Nebbiolo which I
have limited experience with.


I had a 1997 Pio Cesare Barolo 2 years ago (I know, infanticide) but
did not take notes.

IMHO I do not think one can adequately assess Barolo (or, for that
matter, Nebbiolo, the grape) by comapring it with Cabernet Sauvignon or
Pinot Noir. Furthermore, Nebbiolo finds differing statements in Barolo,
Barbera, Gattinara and Nebbiolo d'Alba (and other wines which I have
not had the good fortune to taste, for instance Ghemme). I really do
remember having a glass of a very jammy Nebbiolo from Lombardy (not
Piemonte) 4-5 years ago in a small eatery in Rome as well - but since I
find no reference to Lombardian Nebbiolo elsewhere, I sometimes think I
was mistaken. And aren't the wines in Valtellina made from Nebbiolo as
well? There must be others - even if not among the DOC's.

The Nebbiolo does usually impart a brownish tinge to the rim of the
pour in all these cases (which spreads with ageing, in my experience).
The grape also gives its wines a powerful balance between acidity,
tannins and "extraktstoffe". The classic nose of violets tends to be
common across all Nebbiolo-based wines that I have tried.

With Barolo especially, I feel, the ageing in wood imparts it a typical
structure. I also find Barolo often (not always) to be heavier on
tannins, saddle, tobacco and mud than Barbaresco - which has, to my
palate, a "lightness of being". Not lightness, which I taste, as an
example, in Gattinara, just a kind of elegance and finesse.

And of course, even Gattinara's lightness is only in comparison to
Barolo and Barbaresco. In fact, it is this "lightness", which makes it
- for my money - to be more accessible, especially when not very old.

Depending on the producer and vintage, fruit and spice characteristics
of a Barolo vary. In fact the wine is typically such a bomb that I have
sometimes sniffed at a poured glass for an hour or more (no kidding)
without sipping. Just could not bring myself to sip it - it felt like
licking a Rafaelo fresco!

I have once had a 22-year old Barbaresco (thanks to a distress sale,
not a lottery win) and it was one of the most exhilirating experience
in wine-drinking that I have ever had. But I have not had a Barolo that
old, yet. I am keeping a few though - at least for 3-4 years.

Also, wit regards to greenness, I remember someone telling me to air a
Barolo or a Barbaresco for 40-60 minutes per year of age. I do not
think the person meant this advice for 20 year old wines though.

Cheers