TN: Fiorenzo Nada Barbaresco Rombone 1997

[David from Switzerland]

Fiorenzo Nada Barbaresco Rombone 1997
With dinner last night, a "cellar find" I opened for my sister. Garnet-red, minor watery-orange rim. Dried blood orange and rose-hip, tiny truffle and dried porcini top notes, earth. Thyme and oregano. Ripe yet dry and tannic, this isn't going anywhere anymore at this point. Medium-plus length. 24 hours later still fresh and lively, with lovely acidity, subtle fruit and tannin that is not too dry at all. Showing pretty minerality now, too. dp 91-

When I last had this a little over a year ago, according to my cellar list, that already was my last bottle. Found this last week whilst looking for all the wines opened last Saturday. Having it now, I am reminded of two things. One is Oliver's 1996 Barolo/Barbaresco comparison tasting/extravaganza earlier this year, where I came to the surprising conclusion that there is no such thing as midfield. There were was the group of wines we always knew were the top wines of the vintage, all of which youthful and in need of more bottle age. Then there were all the others, including all once thought of as "second tier", at quite a distance qualitatively speaking, none of which seemed to warrant further bottle age, and some of which would have provided greater drinking pleasure five to ten years earlier, and most importantly, which suffered from direct comparison, and would be best appreciated on their own. Nada's Rombone is such a wine in the 1997 vintage, once leading the pack of second tier wines, but now, nowhere near the vintage's handful top wines.
The other thought that went through my mind refers to one of the smartest things I learnt in this hobby, passion, obsession (call it what you like) of ours. Daniel Gantenbein (of Pinot Noir fame), between pours of 1985 Jayer and 1985 Martha's Vineyard, presumably referring to one or the other or both (I forget), told me to watch out for a specific moment in a wine's development, which he felt is shortly before it reaches full maturity: "The moment when one can stare its future right down to the horizon", he called it. "Don't wait for that elusive extra bit more" (I'm paraphrasing, forgetting the exact words), he said, "more often than not, you'll regret it!" The 1997 Rombone, while not one of those wines anyone will tear their hair out for procrastinating, luckily hasn't moved one bit since last year. But it's one of those universal truths: better pull a cork too early than too late. I've been guilty of too much patience sometimes...

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

J'ai gaché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ - Roger Conti

 

[Levi Dalton]

Of course there has been a lot that has happened with the producer since 1997. In terms of vineyard work, refinement of cellar practice, and the involvement of the son. A 2011 Rombone might indeed fit nicely into the "middle tier."

 

[David from Switzerland]

originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Of course there has been a lot that has happened with the producer since 1997. In terms of vineyard work, refinement of cellar practice, and the involvement of the son. A 2011 Rombone might indeed fit nicely into the "middle tier."

What I meant is that there always seems to be a middle tier as long as the wines are young, especially at release tastings, the best of the second tier, which are often the wines that one feels are extraordinary QPR buys, the qualitative slope seems more uniformly continuous. Then, 20 plus years later, the gap between the top wines (often those that one always thought the best, but didn't seem to fare well in terms of QPR considerations, at least where producers know their worth) is considerable, so much so it then seems as if there were no middle tier. What this means, to me at least, is that there is no use putting everything aside and plan comparative tastings decades down the line, but that it's best to appreciate every category for what it's worth, and perhaps no longer comparatively. Comparison, in this context, seem best reserved to e.g. release tastings where buying decisions are made. At least these are my two cents worth. I happen to find it a pity, and unfair to all those wines at comparative tastings that one would have appreciated with dinner on their own, but that suffer in direct comparisons to the top wines so much that more often than not, bottles aren't emptied, and whole glasses poured into the spit bucket. Admittedly, this may have to do with the way I was raised, an innate aversion to scrapping food etc., as I do recognize the instructive value of comparative tastings...

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

J'ai gaché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ - Roger Conti[/quote]