Giacosa?

[Florida Jim]

I bought some 2022 Arneis and found it good but ponderous at 14.5% abv.
Tonight I’m drinking the 2022 Nebbiolo d’Alba, Valmaggiore and it’s 15% abv. Again, ponderous and misshapen.
Of course, these are the degrees reported on the label. It could be more.
I do not buy the high end stuff but I’m starting to think this remarkably dependable producer has gone to the dark side.
Thoughts?

 

[MLipton]

I’d guess that climate change accounts for much of that, Jim. Maybe they could mitigate the effects with changes to canopy management, but I’m not enough of a viticulturist to know for sure.

Mark Lipton

 

[Marc Hanes]

I had the 2021 Arneis in January 2023 and didn't care for it. Bitter and not very giving. It was 14.0%.

 

[Bill Lundstrom]

I used to love Giacosa Arneis but gave up on it several years ago. It lost that racy verve it used to have. Same with the Nebbiolo. There's plenty of other arneis and nebbiolo at better prices.

 

[Florida Jim]

Where were you guys when I was still in La La land.
A name I hate to see tarnished but then . . .
‘tis the season.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

i had 1990 gallina and 1970 santo stefano in november

both life-altering

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Florida Jim:
Giacosa?I bought some 2022 Arneis and found it good but ponderous at 14.5% abv.

Try Malvirà Roero Arneis 2023 (the basic bottling). It is very good (and the producer has always been excellent and consistent) and 12.5% ABV.

 

[Yule Kim]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
i had 1990 gallina and 1970 santo stefano in november

both life-altering

When Giacosa was at peak-Bruno

 

[VLM]

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by Florida Jim:
Giacosa?I bought some 2022 Arneis and found it good but ponderous at 14.5% abv.

Try Malvirà Roero Arneis 2023 (the basic bottling). It is very good (and the producer has always been excellent and consistent) and 12.5% ABV.

I've really enjoyed Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis, bot the the Vigne Sparse and Bricco delle Ciliegie, the latter is worth the extra $ IMO. Reds are good too and both are cheaper than the Giacosa versions.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by Yule Kim:

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
i had 1990 gallina and 1970 santo stefano in november

both life-altering

When Giacosa was at peak-Bruno

IMO/IME the best wines were mid-1990s to early 2000s but reasonable people can disagree.

 

[mark e]

originally posted by VLM:

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by Florida Jim:
Giacosa?I bought some 2022 Arneis and found it good but ponderous at 14.5% abv.

Try Malvirà Roero Arneis 2023 (the basic bottling). It is very good (and the producer has always been excellent and consistent) and 12.5% ABV.

I've really enjoyed Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis, both the the Vigne Sparse and Bricco delle Ciliegie, the latter is worth the extra $ IMO.

Both are very good, but they are riper now: sparse 2023 is 14% and ciliegie 2022 is 13.5%.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by VLM:

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by Florida Jim:
Giacosa?I bought some 2022 Arneis and found it good but ponderous at 14.5% abv.

Try Malvirà Roero Arneis 2023 (the basic bottling). It is very good (and the producer has always been excellent and consistent) and 12.5% ABV.

I've really enjoyed Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis, both the the Vigne Sparse and Bricco delle Ciliegie, the latter is worth the extra $ IMO.

Both are very good, but they are riper now: sparse 2023 is 14% and ciliegie 2022 is 13.5%.

Ooops. I hadn't notice and don't have a bottle to look at. We drink them at one of our favorite restaurants.

 

[Bill Lundstrom]

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by VLM:

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by Florida Jim:
Giacosa?I bought some 2022 Arneis and found it good but ponderous at 14.5% abv.

Try Malvirà Roero Arneis 2023 (the basic bottling). It is very good (and the producer has always been excellent and consistent) and 12.5% ABV.

I've really enjoyed Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis, both the the Vigne Sparse and Bricco delle Ciliegie, the latter is worth the extra $ IMO.

Both are very good, but they are riper now: sparse 2023 is 14% and ciliegie 2022 is 13.5%.

The 2023 Ciliegie is 13% and very enjoyable. Sparse and Ciliegie bot age well too. I don't really buy them to age but I found a couple of each hiding in my cellar last year and they were a delight with roast chicken.

 

[Florida Jim]

Bill,
What are those?
I don’t know the names.

 

[Bill Lundstrom]

originally posted by Florida Jim:
Bill,
What are those?
I don’t know the names.

These are the wines Mark and Nathan were discussing. The producer is Giovanni Almondo. Worth seeking out for sure. Readily available in my market. I'll make sure to open a few next we meet.

 

[mlawton]

2019 Giacosa Langhe Nebbiolo is a terrible wine. Truly. Multiple bottles down the sink. Quite disappointing.

 

[Ken Schramm]

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by Florida Jim:
Giacosa?I bought some 2022 Arneis and found it good but ponderous at 14.5% abv.

Try Malvirà Roero Arneis 2023 (the basic bottling). It is very good (and the producer has always been excellent and consistent) and 12.5% ABV.

Tried a 2021 Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo d’Alba earlier this week, and found it to be a disappointment. Got better after a couple of hours of air; respectable, maybe, but never reached anything that I could call a high point. Hollow on both the nose and the palate. The Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo is twice the wine at half the price.

The Malvirà Nebbiolos are reliably good, as well. I love the 2019 Giacosa Fratelli Nebbiolo d’Alba (no relation, I believe), which was also a fraction of what I paid for the Bruno.

Can't pass judgement on the higher end Bruno Giacosa stuff, because I can't afford to try it. It would be hard to justify laying out the cash for those after the Alba.