Popped a G.Rinaldi Cannubio 2000 this weekend to go with osso bucco and i was less than impressed: some strength, but seemed muted in the nose (a negative for me when it comes to nebbiolo), tough, but also somewhat flat tasting. I mean, sure, it'll develop a little more, but I was afraid the development won't be there in spades. A little disappointed, especially when it comes to the pricing of these. Please tell me it was the vintage and not the producer! BTW, if I was handing out grades (grades, mind you, NOT "points"!), I'd give it an 88.
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Not impressed
- Thread starter MarkS
- Start date
robert ames
robert ames
88 pts. so better than average? B+? not going to get into grad school, but. . . ?
Cristian Dezso
Cristian Dezso
I wish I could tell you more about older vintages of Rinaldi, but unfortunately I cannot. Yet. Having said that, the 2004 Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate Le Coste was the wine of my trip this summer in Piemonte, alongside the 2005 Vajra Bricco delle Viole. I also had the 2006 Rinaldi Brunate Le Coste and Cannubi San Lorenzo Ravera and they were fantastic. So based on this sample, I will venture and say that it is not the producer. I am sure Levi will be able to provide much more detail though.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
I think Rinaldi takes rather a long time, even by barolo standards, to come around.
Levi Dalton
Levi Dalton
Beppe Rinaldi has actually been quoted as saying that it is his goal to make wines that will never be ready.
That being said, I was shocked at how delicious and dare I say open a 1997 Brunate-Le Coste was last month. Also, about 4 months ago I opened a 3 liter of 2000 Cannubi-San Lorenzo-Ravera and it was perhaps the most appealing 10 year old Barolo I have ever had. I kept going back to my glass. Really amazing. Texturally, I was surprised. It was extraordinarily supple and fine grained for a G. Rinaldi Barolo. Of course those are 2000 vintage characteristics in general, and I sometimes get a finer grain in larger format offerings. But this was really tremendous. I drank it with a Piemontese winemaker and an importer who does not bring in Rinaldi and everyone was pretty impressed all around. That wine was awesome.
I also enjoyed a particularly fine grained Ruche' from G. Rinaldi recently. Very understated and pure.
Certainly it is true that G. Rinaldi wines could be less expensive.
I think 2005 is a tremendous year for Vajra Barolos. They are certainly deserving of a hat tip.
That being said, I was shocked at how delicious and dare I say open a 1997 Brunate-Le Coste was last month. Also, about 4 months ago I opened a 3 liter of 2000 Cannubi-San Lorenzo-Ravera and it was perhaps the most appealing 10 year old Barolo I have ever had. I kept going back to my glass. Really amazing. Texturally, I was surprised. It was extraordinarily supple and fine grained for a G. Rinaldi Barolo. Of course those are 2000 vintage characteristics in general, and I sometimes get a finer grain in larger format offerings. But this was really tremendous. I drank it with a Piemontese winemaker and an importer who does not bring in Rinaldi and everyone was pretty impressed all around. That wine was awesome.
I also enjoyed a particularly fine grained Ruche' from G. Rinaldi recently. Very understated and pure.
Certainly it is true that G. Rinaldi wines could be less expensive.
I think 2005 is a tremendous year for Vajra Barolos. They are certainly deserving of a hat tip.
Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
Veering off-topic, trivia question about large formats (3 l. and up): do you find that they age proportionally more slowly than the 750 ml size, as magnums do? I read somewhere that corks for the larger bottles are hand-cut and may not seal as well as those for standard-sized bottle necks, allowing oxygen exchange around the cork and consequently more rapid development of the wine. Hooey?
Also, do you also applaud the basic, less expensive 2005 Vajra Barolo?
Also, do you also applaud the basic, less expensive 2005 Vajra Barolo?
Levi Dalton
Levi Dalton
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Veering off-topic, trivia question about large formats (3 l. and up): do you find that they age proportionally more slowly than the 750 ml size, as magnums do? I read somewhere that corks for the larger bottles are hand-cut and may not seal as well as those for standard-sized bottle necks, allowing oxygen exchange around the cork and consequently more rapid development of the wine. Hooey?
Also, do you also applaud the basic, less expensive 2005 Vajra Barolo?
Shouldn't you preference this with "Hey Levi, I apologize that I suggested you leave the board just recently, because it sure is nice to ask you random questions, like..."?
Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Veering off-topic, trivia question about large formats (3 l. and up): do you find that they age proportionally more slowly than the 750 ml size, as magnums do? I read somewhere that corks for the larger bottles are hand-cut and may not seal as well as those for standard-sized bottle necks, allowing oxygen exchange around the cork and consequently more rapid development of the wine. Hooey?
Also, do you also applaud the basic, less expensive 2005 Vajra Barolo?
Shouldn't you preference this with "Hey Levi, I apologize that I suggested you leave the board just recently, because it sure is nice to ask you random questions, like..."?
I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean, I've never suggested you leave the board. When you took hiatus last year after words with another disorderer, I pleaded for your return.
If you feel we have something to sort out, don't hesitate to write me on the side.
Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
I don't know what proportion of wines are bottled under vacuum, but for airtight closures under vacuum, the bottle size should make no difference.
For wines bottled with air (presumably the majority), the bigger the bottle, the slower the rate of oxidation because of the lower air-to-liquid ratio. The case for bigger bottles, supposedly, is that slower oxidation will take longer to overwhelm the development of tertiaries. But the difference is probably negligible in the first few years, and increases over time as the difference has more time to influence the aging process.
There are also wines bottled under vacuum with corks that gradually let air in, probably the most unpredictable of all.
Not a subject on which truths come easily.
For wines bottled with air (presumably the majority), the bigger the bottle, the slower the rate of oxidation because of the lower air-to-liquid ratio. The case for bigger bottles, supposedly, is that slower oxidation will take longer to overwhelm the development of tertiaries. But the difference is probably negligible in the first few years, and increases over time as the difference has more time to influence the aging process.
There are also wines bottled under vacuum with corks that gradually let air in, probably the most unpredictable of all.
Not a subject on which truths come easily.
Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
Yes, thanks. Even under 'vacuum,' there is some atmospheric oxygen present. But there is also some seepage around or through the cork, too, no? Else wine development under screwcap would be comparable to that under cork, and it's not, from all I read.
The idea I'm randomly wrestling with, though, is whether air exchange between the bottle neck and atmosphere is more rapid in large-format bottles, because (perhaps) the corks don't fit as tightly.
Now I'm also wondering about the effect on wine development of corking into an argon (inert gas)-filled neck space.
The idea I'm randomly wrestling with, though, is whether air exchange between the bottle neck and atmosphere is more rapid in large-format bottles, because (perhaps) the corks don't fit as tightly.
Now I'm also wondering about the effect on wine development of corking into an argon (inert gas)-filled neck space.
Oliver McCrum
Oliver McCrum
Many producers use bottling equipment that either sparges the neck with an inert gas or pulls a vacuum, but I very much doubt that Rinaldi is one of them. Plus I don't know if you can fit grands formats under the corker, I bet they're hand-corked.