Ian and Maureen were in town from London, and a nice group (friends old and new) gathered at Piccolo Fiore near the UN. Nice small room, seemed a little warm at first, ended up ok.

2010 Savart L'Annee Extra Brut Champagne
A little hard to take at first, the combination of low dosage and young made it too austere for me, but with some air this was quite good. B+/B

On the Nebbiolos

1964 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco
Pretty pale color. Perfumed, still good cherry fruit, tar and violets. Lovely and long. At end of night nose was still gorgeous but with a little volatility, palate not quite as long but still holding on. A-

1971 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco
Nice, but a bit clunkier, less precise, possibly vintage difference but I think the sediment hurt this a bit. B/B+

1986 Giacosa €œSanto Stefano€� Barbaresco
I had double decanted this (and the "64) that afternoon, though funky but not corked, but by dinner time it was reeking of TCA

1995 Sandrone €œCannubi Boschis: Barolo
Not a splintery Sandrone, but the wood and extraction give a somewhat generic character. Red fruit and a little tar, but also coffee, vanilly oak, blueberry. B-

1997 Giacosa Barbaresco
This was simultaneously one of my favorite tipples of the night and an example how crazy the hype over "97 Piedmont was. Nice fruit, some tar and dried roses, but fully mature and maybe even beginning downslope. Fun to drink now, but drink up. B++ for drinking today

2000 Manzone €œGramolere€� Barolo
Darker fruits, citrus zest, anise. Tannic but a little flat, and fruit has a pruney edge, not sure its going to last long enough to conquer the tannins. B-

2000 Aldo Conterno €œCicala €œ Barolo
Tasty, ready, more approachable tannins than the Manzone, drinking well now.. B+

2001 Spinetta €œCampe€� Barolo
Low acidity on palate, plenty of volatile acidity on nose. Somewhat roasted red fruit, some spice. B-/C+

2001 Cappellano€�Pie Rupestris€� Barolo
Young but quite drinkable, fuller styled, red berries, cherries, and spice. Lovely and should get better. A-/B+

2001 Giacosa €œRabaja€� Barbaresco Riserva
Theres a wall of acid and tannin here, but you can see this has tons of potential, Black and red cherry, earth, tar, herbs. B+/B for drinking now, A/A- potential

Nice lineup. Justin had brought along a bottle of Scholtz Hermanos Malaga. Unknown age but theres a stamp or something where it was sold 60 years ago, he thinks the solera might date back to 19th century. Thick, brown, this is like a PX on steroids mixed with fig paste. Very interesting, fun to try.

Nice night, nice group


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.