Rubesco, regarded

L

Levi Dalton

Levi Dalton
Recently I shared a Lungarotti Rubesco 1971 with a passing through Wolfgang Weber, in honor of Wolfgang's 33rd.

It amazes me that these wines are so little talked about.

Traditionally made Sangiovese can age. It can be long and sweeping. It can have cut and lift and do somersaults. It can combine green edge with svelte red trim. It can ask more attention of you than you had been prepared to give.

Old Sangiovese can be beautiful, and if it is from Umbria, it can cost a relative pittance.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Rubesco, regardedRecently I shared a Lungarotti Rubesco 1971 with a passing through Wolfgang Weber, in honor of Wolfgang's 33rd.

Old Sangiovese can be beautiful, and if it is from Umbria, it can cost a relative pittance.
Click to expand...

Is everybody turning 33 these days? I know I did, last Sunday for me. Though due to a pair conspiriatorial flu bouts on both of our parts, I haven't even been able to have a celebratory bottle of wine with my wife. As soon as our stars align, it's time for a second crack at Lapierre 2007 (Chicago importer style.)

Sounds like a delight, Levi.

Cheers,

Kevin
 
I was in Umbria fall of'08, and bought a bottle of Rubesco. It was corked. Then I bought another bottle, and it got broken before I got even a drop of it. I know how good the stuff is, but it didn't seem to do me any good!
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
I was in Umbria fall of'08, and bought a bottle of Rubesco. It was corked. Then I bought another bottle, and it got broken before I got even a drop of it. I know how good the stuff is, but it didn't seem to do me any good!
Click to expand...

I offered to help you remedy the Curse of the Rubesco back in the '66 thread, but you stood me up like I was a fat girl on prom night.
 
I had the '67 Rubesco and the '75 Rubesco riserva Monticchio three years ago. Both were fully mature and nice bottles that had aged gracefully. The Monticchio had more depth to it and really was a great wine. I also had about 6 bottles of the '78 San Giorgio over the last 7-8 years. Two bottles were gone, the rest nice bottles, but none of them lived up to the Rubescos.
 
originally posted by Arnt Egil Nordlien:
I had the '67 Rubesco and the '75 Rubesco riserva Monticchio three years ago. Both were fully mature and nice bottles that had aged gracefully. The Monticchio had more depth to it and really was a great wine. I also had about 6 bottles of the '78 San Giorgio over the last 7-8 years. Two bottles were gone, the rest nice bottles, but none of them lived up to the Rubescos.
Click to expand...

I have had the '75 Rubesco Monticchio fairly recently, and I thought that the bottles I opened could have aged for another decade. I have more from another batch, so I'll check in again.

I haven't had the normale '67 Rubesco. I do have a bottle of normale '78, so I will be curious to see how that is, in light of your experience with the '78 San Giorgio.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
I was in Umbria fall of'08, and bought a bottle of Rubesco. It was corked. Then I bought another bottle, and it got broken before I got even a drop of it. I know how good the stuff is, but it didn't seem to do me any good!
Click to expand...

I offered to help you remedy the Curse of the Rubesco back in the '66 thread, but you stood me up like I was a fat girl on prom night.
Click to expand...

I plead old age and bad eyesight! I throw myself on the mercy of the Dalton gang!
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
I was in Umbria fall of'08, and bought a bottle of Rubesco. It was corked. Then I bought another bottle, and it got broken before I got even a drop of it. I know how good the stuff is, but it didn't seem to do me any good!
Click to expand...

I offered to help you remedy the Curse of the Rubesco back in the '66 thread, but you stood me up like I was a fat girl on prom night.
Click to expand...

I plead old age and bad eyesight! I throw myself on the mercy of the Dalton gang!
Click to expand...

It's cool, bro.

O-Town Foreves.

Peace.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
As a lurker rightly points out, Mr. Asimov wrote an eloquent piece about older Lungarotti Rubesco some time ago, and I shouldn't act like nobody pays attention to the wines.
Click to expand...

On the other hand he wasn't paying attention either, until the fateful evening at the chef's table. God that sounded like a good dinner...
 
originally posted by Arnt Egil Nordlien:
I had the '67 Rubesco and the '75 Rubesco riserva Monticchio three years ago. Both were fully mature and nice bottles that had aged gracefully. The Monticchio had more depth to it and really was a great wine. I also had about 6 bottles of the '78 San Giorgio over the last 7-8 years. Two bottles were gone, the rest nice bottles, but none of them lived up to the Rubescos.
Click to expand...

I sat with the '78 Rubesco (not Riserva) this evening and found it petty lackluster. Short finish. No layered complexity. No wonderful aromatics. Fairly quick evolution to metallic notes.

It might have been the bottle. The cork was soaked on all sides up its length. Or it might just be a so-so vintage for them.

It was a bit of a disappointment.
 
Shared a bottle of '75 Rubesco Monticchio with the boss this evening.

I think that a well-stored bottle could develop for another decade without a problem.
 
We had the 2005 Rubesco tonight because of this thread. Nice wine indeed - thanks for the tip.

Hard to know how much certain perceptions are caused by suggestion. Still: very Chianti-like, except with the sangiovese character shaded off slightly into an orange spectrum, which I (romantically? stupidly? certainly not scientifically) associate with the rich dark orange into deep brown soils I saw the one time I visited Umbria. The wine gave a sense of a kind of 'spine' - not from high acid, although it had some, but there was a vaulted sort of architecture to it that suggested the sort of ageworthiness folks here have experienced firsthand, or at least something approximating that (another ten years easy for the '05 in any case). There was also a very mild touch of more conventional richness.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top