1989 Barolo, Ornato, Pio Cesare
A gift bottle from a very good friend which has been kind of forgotten in my cellar (the wine, not my friend...). Found it today when looking for something special to a fine steak with a sauce of porcini mushrooms plus celeriac mousse and Brussels sprouts. Not surprisingly, I found this bottle to be perfect once I laid my eyes on it.
Initially the nose was not very promising with mostly rather aged notes of burnt sugar and some licorice, but eventually, after an hour or so, the wine really started developing much more Nebbiolo character, albeit still definitely mature ones. A nice tarry smokiness and loads of mushrooms came forward and paired nicely with the porcini.
In the mouth the initial sensation was mainly soft and rounded with a nice acidity, but soon one realized that there were definitely some Nebbiolo tannins left. Fine grained and with a definite grip. Also a spiciness added to the quite intense taste. The aftertaste was very nice, particularly so when five second after swallowing a nice puff of smoke came around the corner where it had been hiding. Again the aftertaste was a combination of a soft roundness and the dry tannins. A very good match to the food. I guess one could claim that the wine should have been opened some years ago, but still, I was very happy to have this experience of a well made, mature Barolo. Some of Pio Cesare's wines I have tasted have been marked by a green note lingering in the background, but I was pleased that I was not able to find anything of the kind in this wine.
Cheers,
/Anders