Birth year wine number two, and this one is alive and well! 1967 Giuseppe Contratto Barolo. Another Wine Bid purchase.
I stood this up for about 3-4 weeks, but there wasn't much sediment. I did a 4-hour decant. In the last hour, I set the decanter in a slightly iced, water bath to bring it back down to the low 60s F.
Capsule and cork were nice and snug. I was surprised by the depth of color-- a fairly dark garnet to brick to orange to clear rim. See pics.
Nose: Leather, raisin, menthol, sweat, and subtle white pepper.
Palate: Medium bodied. Astonishing amount of well-ripe, dried red fruit on the attack, then a faint spearmint oddly enough, but not offering up too much more midway. But the leather seems to emerge. Acidity is still there, and the tannins are gum-drying. Alcohol feels a bit higher than posted. The finish lingers for while, a bit salty, then prunish.
I guess if I weren't enamored with the age and especially the year 1967, I would put this at about 91-92 points. But I will finalize at 92+. Looking forward to drinking more nebbiolo from this great year. Happy Labor Day 2020.
92+ points
Birth year wine number two, and this one is alive and well! 1967 Giuseppe Contratto Barolo. Another Wine Bid purchase.
I stood this up for about 3-4 weeks, but there wasn't much sediment. I did a 4-hour decant. In the last hour, I set the decanter in a slightly iced, water bath to bring it back down to the low 60s F.
Capsule and cork were nice and snug. I was surprised by the depth of color-- a fairly dark garnet to brick to orange to clear rim. See pics.
Nose: Leather, raisin, menthol, sweat, and subtle white pepper.
Palate: Medium bodied. Astonishing amount of well-ripe, dried red fruit on the attack, then a faint spearmint oddly enough, but not offering up too much more midway. But the leather seems to emerge. Acidity is still there, and the tannins are gum-drying. Alcohol feels a bit higher than posted. The finish lingers for while, a bit salty, then prunish.
I guess if I weren't enamored with the age and especially the year 1967, I would put this at about 91-92 points. But I will finalize at 92+. Looking forward to drinking more nebbiolo from this great year. Happy Labor Day 2020.
92+ points
Sep 8th, 2020
Well made, balanced, and in good shape. Sour cherry, tart and intense still. Very good
Well made, balanced, and in good shape. Sour cherry, tart and intense still. Very good
Jun 16th, 2016
Barolo, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy
