Vigna Elena Barolo Nebbiolo

This was gorgeous! 1998 a vintage of underated balance. Salute to the late and great Cogno for providing some classic nebbiolo which has aged harmoniously.
This had layers and layers of mushrooms forest floor and very healthy fresh dark cherry fruit.

While drinking this, I thought it was quite different from the big, tight Nebbiolo I'm used to. Turns out it's from Nebbiolo Rosé, a related but different grape, which is lighter and very perfumed. Even though it's young, this is a beautiful, expressive, floral wine, with restrained tannins. I can only imagine it will get even better with time, but I had to open it...

Great Barolo. Ready to drink after an hour of airtime.

Sempre molto buoni i suoi Baroli , terrosi ma eleganti, lunghissimi ...

Only a touch less panoramic perhaps than the recent 2010 of this. A little browning, probably still at its peak. Seems to respond better to gradual airing in the bottle or glass than being poured into decanter. $190 from Winestar.

A bargain at $190 from Winestar. Fear I may have become overcorrected with no decanting at all for vintage Barolos, following education in Piedmont, but it seemed to go full panoramic after the fourth glass. Must try again with controlled variables!

Quite deep ruby garnet with yellow terracotta rim . Quite closed at first quite mineral and reserved , darker fruit , orange rind, touch smoky after a while . On the palate quite compact but ripe tannin , sweet dark fruits , mineral touches , black tea , liquorice. Good acidity , long on the palate . This is starting to drink well now and will continue to do so for a further 8-10 years

2012

Tasted over two nights. First night loved it - scored 93. Nose of figs (most prominent), mint and anise. Second night very different. Nose of iodine (or msoy sauce), mushrooms and pepper. Cherry palate. Not quite as interesting second day. Rated it 90

Mushroom, Dr. Pepper, soy sauce, savory. 2007 vintage on 1/5/19 Nebbiolo tasting. I rated higher on day 1.