WTN: Gia Golly Wiz

[Jenise]

2013 Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore
Last-minute pop and pour to serve with a vegetarian tomato-garlic pasta last night. Considering that the first two bottles of this we opened over the last four years fell short of expectations, I was intially ecstatic thinking we had one of those elusive perfect-timing home runs. Tar, red rose petals, black raspberry tea, a little rhubarb tartness, perfect for the pasta...but that was only the first glass. A re-pour was softer, a bit cloudy, and lost its grip with every sip. All of which was okay--we hadn't intended to drink the whole bottle anyway and this made it easy to pour out the rest. But wow, that first glass!

[David M. Bueker]

Cloudy? Had it been standing up?

[Jenise]

No, it was a last-minute choice (original plan: no wine at all).

[David M. Bueker]

Ah.

I know the last minute thing.

Yes, last minute thing happens for me most often when I debating whether something is corked/not good enough to drink with dinner, and depending when I make that call, there can be very little time left for prepping the bottle/aeration, etc!

[Jenise]

Cloudy? Had it been standing up?

I want to add that the first 2 glasses (one for me and one for him) looked perfect. The cloudy thing seems to come hand in hand with a wine that's going downhill before your eyes, kind of a death rattle. Has happened to me before.

[David M. Bueker]

OK. I have not experienced that, but OK.

[Jenise]

Not a common occurrence, but same happened with a 2012 Rivers-Marie pinot a few years ago. First pour: a total seductress to start, ready and willing! Second pour: funky/unpleasant scents/flavors developed, and cloudiness occurred in the glass. A total 180.

I've only had the Giacosa Langhe a couple of times, both young. I wouldn't have thought it would be throwing noticable sediment at 11, but the cloudy (after initial clear pours) makes me wonder. And Nebbiolo sediment is not fun. On (very) rare occasions I do a last minute pull of a Piedmont, I use a cradle and am extremely careful.
Ive had wines brown a bit but not get cloudy that I've noticed.
Anyway, sounds like it was pretty enjoyable, especially at beginning.

[Jenise]

Honestly, this didn't seem like a sediment issue so much as some kind of chemical alteration/breakdown, given the funky, stewy flavors that developed that bore a closer resemblance to mercaptans than the muted effect of sediment or the pruniness of standard oxidation. Anyway, as I said, it's just as well that we weren't tempted to finish the bottle.