1996 Asili in magnum

Bruno Giacosa 1996 Asili di Barbaresco Riserva (red label) Magnum, (bottle 048 of 1520)

One of the many reasons Nebbiolo is so fascinating is its versatility.  It can produce wines with different style and character depending on the terroir...but all within northern Italy, and mainly Piemonte.  As Angelo Gaja has said,  Nebbiolo is ''infinitely more complex'' than Cabernet Sauvignon, which is grown all over the world.

After tasting a very powerful and noble 1985 Bruno Giacosa Santo Stefano Riserva last week, it made it that much more meaningful to taste a younger 1996 Bruno Giacosa Asili Barbaresco Riserva.  Asili has been mentioned as the vineyard capable of producing the best expressions of Barbaresco and even Nebbiolo in some cases.

I tasted this wine throughout a 24 hour period from being opened and double decanted.  Although not as powerful and complex as the Santo Stefano (which we have said closely resembles a Barolo), it showed wonderfully.  The colour was still a very dark red and showing no signs of the classic orange reflections.  The first thing you notice when tasting this wine at 15 years out, is how powerful the tannins still are and how much more time this can spend in the cellar.  It started off gamy, slightly chewy and with notes of toasted hazelnuts.  After an hour it lost the gaminess and hazelnut, the beautiful fruit came out and it stayed pretty much the same for 24 hours showing a textbook nose of tar and roses with a beautiful acidity making it show best when paired with food.

Shimmering orange reflections of '85 Barbaresco Santo Stefano di Neive

When I was given the chance to pick out some wine for a couple having dinner with a $3,000 gift certificate (in wine) I immediately knew in which direction to turn.  With over 17,000 bottles and a choice of around 3,000 wines in the cellar I turned to Piedmont.  Selling mostly big name French wines I wanted to open a classic Italian wine that had some age on it. I reached for an '85 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco selling for slightly under $1,000.  They paired with a Cotes de Boeuf and later some cheeses.  They were excited to share a glass with me afterwards and i couldn't have been more excited myself.

The Barbaresco from Santo Stefano has been called ''Baroloesque'' and Bruno Giacosa himself has been quoted, saying ''it is more Barolo than Barbaresco.''

Do Bianchi has some wonderful Giacosa adventures here with some more recent vintages along with the story of Bruno's controversial decision to not bottle the 2006 vintage.  It is very informative and is what held me over up until my first opportunity to taste the legendary wine...

Bruno Giacosa 1985 Barbaresco Santo Stefano di Neive Riserva (Red Label)
 
The colour of this wine was simply mesmerizing.  Partially brick red but also very orange with glowing orange reflections that seduce a lover of Nebbiolo.  This bottle delivered everything I ever wanted in Nebbiolo and more.  The nose was very intense with forest, cantina, and ripe Taleggio cheese.  On the palate it completely stuns you by throwing in some of the freshest and most delicious fruit with notes of raspberry liquor followed by layers of barnyard and a sprocking acidity!  by the nose you would never expect such a healthy fruited wine, but it's in very good condition and can age some more years or be heavily enjoyed right now.

above, so very hard to capture by photo, finishing the Barbaresco with shimmering orange reflections showing