95 v 96 Roagna Barolo La Rocca e La Pira

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Oswaldo Costa

Oswaldo Costa
Both were opened half an hour before serving and not decanted, possibly a mistake. Served in Burg bowls.

1995 Roagna Barolo La Rocca e La Pira DOCG 13.5%
Nose more feral and expressive. Deep cherry, leather, chalk, blood iron. Vibrant acidity and mouth-puckering tannins overwhelm fruit before food, but promise balance with food. Body on the medium side, wanted a little more weight.

1996 Roagna Barolo La Rocca e La Pira DOCG 13.5%
Nose more elegant and restrained. Bacon, tar, blood iron. Well-balanced combo of expressive fruit, fresh acidity and satisfying body. Tannins not as obtrusive as in the 1995.

I preferred the 96. Both were fine but not magical. A half bottle of the 96 in September of last year (from a different batch) was more pleasing. Both seem to have just entered the drinkable phase, and could last way longer, at least 10 more years.

The flavors described above were all faint, like the remnants of outlines in Kandinskys landscape paintings from the teens, landmarks in the transition to abstraction. It was more about the gestalt than the detail.

Kandinsky_Landscape_with_Rain_1913.jpg
Landscape with Rain, 1913, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
 
Curiously, we did a '95 vs. '96 last night, but from mags. Pergole Torte. The '95 is round and plush, nice wine, but the '96 is much more interesting. The tasty structure brings the flavors together in a way the more diffuse '95 can't.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
Curiously, we did a '95 vs. '96 last night, but from mags. Pergole Torte. The '95 is round and plush, nice wine, but the '96 is much more interesting. The tasty structure brings the flavors together in a way the more diffuse '95 can't.
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with martino?
 
originally posted by Matteo Mollo:
originally posted by SFJoe:
Curiously, we did a '95 vs. '96 last night, but from mags. Pergole Torte. The '95 is round and plush, nice wine, but the '96 is much more interesting. The tasty structure brings the flavors together in a way the more diffuse '95 can't.
Click to expand...

with martino?
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?
 
I think he is asking you if you had the Pergole Torte in the company of Martino Manetti of Montevertine. That gentleman was supposed to be in the US at about this time, but his trip was cancelled due to the eruption.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
I think he is asking you if you had the Pergole Torte in the company of Martino Manetti of Montevertine. That gentleman was supposed to be in the US at about this time, but his trip was cancelled due to the eruption.
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Ah, thanks. No, I had it with some different winemakers who don't get to drink much old sangiovese, or probably much young for that matter.

Sure would be fun to meet Mr. Manetti sometime. What's he like?
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
I think he is asking you if you had the Pergole Torte in the company of Martino Manetti of Montevertine. That gentleman was supposed to be in the US at about this time, but his trip was cancelled due to the eruption.
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Ah, thanks. No, I had it with some different winemakers who don't get to drink much old sangiovese, or probably much young for that matter.

Sure would be fun to meet Mr. Manetti sometime. What's he like?
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He'll be down here on Friday. You are always welcome.

I've always preferred the 1995 to the 1996, although both are very good wines. I would never describe the 1995 as diffuse. The 1997, we'll that's a different animal.
 
So I had the chance to eat some food and drink some wine with Martino.

The wines of the night looked like this:

97 Movia Puro Brut: Wild, nutty, fennel and evolved. Quite interesting.

Rusticum: I like where this wine is at at the moment. It has taken on more savory notes and shed its baby fat. Went really well with an octupus terrine.

2005 Montervertine Montevertine: Love this stuff. Burgundian and elegant without laking "stuff". No pergole torte this vintage so this is a steal!

2006 Pergole Torte: Ill admit i thought this was going to be clamped down and tight as nails (as the 2004 is right now) but it was open and very generous right from the get go. Martino says he really likes this vintage for its elegance and depth. One to watch and drink over many years.

1998 Pergole Torte: (martino's choice) I loved this wine. It is in a perfect place (for me) right now. Secondary yet still enough for the long haul. It is a rough and craggy wine with defined edges and a real tuscan feel.

1983 Pergole Torte: Fuck fuck fuck fuck! My birth year and everything. This was absolutely singing. Pure color, great weight with developed (in the best possible sense) tones of leather and dried meat. Special shit.

1993 Bea Passito: This raised some discussion amongst the small group. Many found it a bit "eh" as in it was missing something they were hoping for. I loved it. It had great aromas of prunes and walnuts with a sharp acidity and a light tawny color. It was sweet yet with my dessert it felt quite dry and even tannic. I really enjoyed this.

Martino was a great guy. Everything you hope from a traditional tuscan winemaker (even lovely hand crafted florentine shoes). You got the sense that this guy really loved wine and loved to share and think about it, something i dont always find in a "winemaker". I also got a real sense that he enjoys the work in the field as much as in the winery. He had a nervousness about him that showed how much he really wants to preserve the style of wines his family is know for without being limited by that tradition.

A great encounter.
 
Matteo, thanks very much for the notes.

I drank some Tuscan wines last Friday, a couple worth mentioning.

The 1999 Pergole Torte is still pretty tight, but with elegant structure.
A glass left over the next day was more open, a little smoke and cedar. A definite hold.

The 1983 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio was unbelievably good.
I would give it a triple fuck fuck fuck.
Purchased from Rare Wine Co 3-4 yrs ago. Beautiful and expressive sour red cherry, blood, orange peel, floral, some mature flavors, vibrant acidity, and almost fully resolved tannins. Lithe and powerful at the same time. By far my favorite Chianti I've tried (limited sample size, though).

There was an abomination called Pieve Santa Restituta Sugarille Brunello. I guess it is a Gaja wine. I think it was the 2001. Confected fruit at first, and then a huge amount of wood. Like fresh cut boards. After a big start it quickly faded away. Very soft structure for such a young wine. My friend tells me it is expensive too. I was not a fan.
 
originally posted by Marc D:
There was an abomination called Pieve Santa Restituta Sugarille Brunello. I guess it is a Gaja wine. I think it was the 2001. Confected fruit at first, and then a huge amount of wood. Like fresh cut boards. After a big start it quickly faded away. Very soft structure for such a young wine. My friend tells me it is expensive too. I was not a fan.
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some info
 
originally posted by Marc D:
Continuing the Tuscan driftMatteo, thanks very much for the notes.

I drank some Tuscan wines last Friday, a couple worth mentioning.

The 1999 Pergole Torte is still pretty tight, but with elegant structure.
A glass left over the next day was more open, a little smoke and cedar. A definite hold.
Click to expand...

When I did my Montevertine vertical a few months ago the 1999 PT was one of the universal favorites. Though certainly young I wouldn't have called that particular bottle tight. But bottle variation and all that...
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Old Monsanto Il Poggio can be really great.
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Word, but my cellar is now bare.

How are things there now? I haven't had one since the 1997 almost made me throw up.
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Old Monsanto Il Poggio can be really great.
Click to expand...

Word, but my cellar is now bare.

How are things there now? I haven't had one since the 1997 almost made me throw up.
Click to expand...

Old stuff can be amazing. The given vintage really has ramifications on the taste of what is in the bottle, which I appreciate.

New stuff earns a pass right by, do not stop at GO, do not spend $200.
 
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