Monday, December 26, 2016

Gigi Rosso Barolo Arione, 2001

This Barolo was the highlight of my Christmas dinner of roast lamb Provencal. It is drinking beautifully now.

Aromas of roses, dark cherries and licorice are beautiful from the time the bottle is opened. The other bottles (a 1995 Barbaresco and a 2008 Langhe Nebbiolo) are much meaner and more backward when first opened, although they open up nicely after a couple of hours. Definitely a Barolo--big, bold and beautiful. Sweetish flavors of dark cherries. Actually, still some tannin and plenty of acid to keep it going. Yet on the second night, after the wine has been re-corked, the wine is much less enjoyable than the 1995 Ca Rome Barbaresco.

2001 was an excellent year in the Piedmont, and Arione is arguably one of the top vineyards. Even so, the Cellar Tracker reviews for this wine were not as positive as our assessments today. And partly because of experiences similar to mine: the wine has not held up over the second night.

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