WTN: 1990 Fontanafredda Barolo di Serralunga

1990 Fontanafredda Barolo di Serralunga
Brick red coloring. Initial nose is a bit musty but after an hour the truffle/dried roses/dried orange peel/tar emerges. Still some dark fruit in the flavor with controlled acidity and finely integrated tannins. Given that this wine spent most of it’s life in questionable storage conditions (in a fairly warm retail shop), it’s showing some maturity. It's not the most awe inspiring barolo but is extremely enjoyable (plus I got it for cheap). A great match with crucolo and taleggio cheeses and salami.

I was selling the Fontanfredda in the US when the 1990 came out, and I can tell you that it had the makings of a really good wine. Had a distressing amount of bottle variation, and even more cork taint problems, but them what picked up the FF in the bargain bins got more good wine than bad.

But the real winners were the single vineyard designate Barolos from Fontanafredda. They were awesome (especially the La Rosa).

Hoke, I've read that FF had some serious quality control issues through the 80's and early 90's. This was my first wine from FF and I'd love to find some of the vineyard specific stuff you mentioned.