Recently I've had good showings on old Barolos from "second tier" producers. But what about Barolo from a good-but-not-great vintage from a 3rd (or 4th) tier producer?
Yesterday I had a couple errands in the city, when to Chambers St to pick up a mixed case I had waiting, and to briefly say hello to Oswaldo who was in town overnight (and who very generously gave me a bottle of Scholium Project!). While I parked by hydrant, CSW staff threw my wine in van, and I had a sec to chat with Oswaldo. He was looking in the sale bin, and said "hey, they've got 1982 Barolo in here for $25." Hey, great store, good looking bottle, who's going to let a little detail like not knowing the producer stop me? So I bought a bottle (even got the case discount), and I think Oswaldo bought another.
I stopped by house about noon and left wines on counter. Normally I believe in 24 hours upright if possible, but when it came time for dinner (duck breast in a red wine/demiglace sauce over salad) I gave Betsy the choice of older Barolo or younger Burg, she said Barolo, and I opened the 1982 Tenuta Montanello (Monchiero) Barolo. Good cork, clean label (probably recent),. Yeah, a bit murky, more time to rest after travel would have been wise. A bit of brown/orange to the color, but nice Nebbiolo nose of cherries, violets and tar, with some citrus zest. On the palate however it seemed a bit tired, meager red fruit with the acids sticking out a bit. However, never count out Nebbiolo. Hey, second pour has more vigor and fuller fruit, and third is a slight improvement over that. A small glass about 10 (I think opened around 7) is best of all- there's nothing profound or complex here, but a solid mature midweight with cherries, roses, a bit of forest floor and tar. Still an edge of tiredness, but fun, and well worth my $22.50 plus tax. There's a good glass plus left, we'll see if it survived the night. B
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.